Gobble Gobble! Thanksgiving Addition Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Gardens need weeding, houses need cleaning, teaching resources need revising! Recently I've been working a lot on looking through some of my resources created in previous years and giving them mini-makeovers - fonts, graphics, and more!

This little set of nine Thanksgiving math games needed quite a makeover. In fact, it kind of turned into a do-over!

I love games that require our students to do MORE thinking. Solve-and-sort games are a good example of that. Solve-and-sorts are games where students think (for instance, add three numbers) and then think again (determine whether the sum of the three numbers is more or less than ten).


Here's an example of a Turkey in the Pot solve-and-sort for representations of even numbers.

Players take turns determining the number that the picture represents and then deciding whether the number is even. If it is even, the card goes into the turkey pot. If it's not even, the player keeps the card. When all of the cards have been used, the player who is left with the most cards wins the game.


* In its earlier version, each game had 16 cards.  What was I thinking???  There are now 32 cards for each game - more opportunities for practice, and now suitable for use with more players, making these games even better for your math centers and small groups.


The nine games in this set address these skills:

* Addition facts through ten
* Subtraction facts through ten
* Comparing numbers
* Combinations of ten
* Recognizing odd and even numbers
* Counting by fives
* Representing numbers as tens and ones
* Three addends

You can see the whole set of Turkey in the Pot games here.

If you already own this set, please take a moment to log into your TpT account, go to your "My Purchases" page, and download the update (at no charge, of course!)

Would you like to try a free game for sums of ten? Here you go!

Happy Teaching!

Let's Make Thanksgiving Butter!

Hi, Teaching Friends!


November - oh my, how did THAT happen? My days (and weeks!) fly by!

 Have you ever made butter with your class? It's a fun and active Thanksgiving project that will amaze your little ones!

You'll need a small container of heavy cream, a bit of salt, and a jar (clear glass or plastic). You could have each child use a baby food jar instead for individual "butter churns", but in my experience, some kids will poop out after two minutes, and you will get very sore and tired arms if you have to take over the job for more than a few of your students. Besides, using one large jar makes it more of a "community project". And that's part of the fun!

Pour the cream and a bit of salt into your container. If you fill it only halfway, you'll find that it's easier for the cream to get the movement it needs to solidify.

For safety's sake (and because there's always someone who needs to test the lid to see if it's on tight enough, and I'll bet you know exactly who that is in your class!), I put the whole jar into a zip top plastic bag. When the children shake the bottle, be sure they're holding the bottle and the bag, not just the bag.

Very cold cream takes longer to turn to butter. You can save yourself a few minutes of shaking by letting it sit out for a while before you begin.

It will take about 12-15 minutes of vigorous shaking to turn the cream to butter. When the jar is completely white and you can't feel the liquid sloshing anymore - keep shaking!  You've made whipped cream, but the job isn't done. After a few more minutes of shaking, you'll start to see the white separating from the sides of the jar as a ball of butter begins to form.

Warning: although 15 minutes can pass like a blink in the classroom, it definitely won't when you're shaking up the butter jar.

In view of that, you might want to be prepared with some fun ways to keep your students involved in the process. A favorite is to sing and dance to "The Butter Boogie".  I'm sorry that I don't know the author, but I used this song with my classes for years. If you wrote this, please let me know so I can credit your clever work! Click here to get a copy that will also be a nice addition to your students' poetry notebooks.

Other ideas to keep the shaking time passing quickly:

* Sing the alphabet song. Sing it fast, sing it slow, sing it in a funny voice, ...

* Count! Count by fives to 100, count from 1 to 25, count forwards, count backwards, ...

* Sit in a circle on the floor and pass the jar around as you shake it. Stand as you pass it, march in place as you pass it, kneel as you pass it, ...

And keep on singing that Butter Boogie!

Have some bread or corn muffins on hand to enjoy with your homemade butter!

*****

Are you looking for some activities to tie math practice into your pre-Thanksgiving days? Here are two that you'll like!

Click on the pictures for a closer look!

       

Happy Teaching!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Hi, Teaching Friends!

I love the way Thanksgiving brings us back to thinking about what's really important, the things without which our lives would not be the same. That very act of thinking about those things is a warm and settling feeling, don't you think? I've heard it called an attitude of gratitude.

I shared this image from Lifehack on my Facebook page recently. I think it's so true.

The list of who and what I'm thankful for is incredibly long ... I am truly blessed!!

My top three?

1. The assurance of the presence of the Lord in my life, to guard and to guide me.

2. My wonderful husband ... we just celebrated our 40th anniversary this month!! Now that's a blessing!

3. My family ... two wonderful daughters, three amazing and oh-so-fun grandchildren ... and number four is on the way this spring! Yay!!


I hope you'll get to take some time in the coming days to slow down and really think about what makes your life the way it is, the things you'd never change even if you could.


Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Books - Share Your Favorites!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Every teacher builds a nice, fat collection of favorite books for every holiday, all school year long. and every year, the collection grows by a few more, because - well, you all know how it goes. A good book is irresistible!

Here are two of my Thanksgiving favorites ... just a picture and a short sweet tag.

 

 

 

A quick read, fair-sized dose of facts, adorably illustrated - and you can even sing it! Perfect!

Story told well, interesting notes at the end of the book, but the thing I love  most is these little side dialogues, like in the picture above. Packed with info, sometimes humorously presented, ... your kiddos will love sitting afterwards and reading these with a buddy.


The last on my favorites list is Friendship's First Thanksgiving. To read more about it, and to collect the free activity pack you see here, I hope you'll check out my post at Teaching Blog Roundup.

Please share the name of your favorite Thanksgiving book in a comment below!

Happy Teaching!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Teaching Friends,

What are you most thankful for?

Who can narrow it down to just one thing? Not me.

I'm thankful above all for the Lord's grace, provision, protection, and promises, and the daily assurances He gives me of all of these things.

I'm thankful for my very dear husband, two wonderful daughters, and three of the cutest and sweetest grandchildren in the world. I'm thankful for my thoughtful, generous, and just plain fun friends.These all are the people who fill my heart with love.

I'm thankful for the privilege of living in this wonderful country, for the freedoms that we have, and for those who put their lives on the line to defend those freedoms.

I could go on lots (and lots and lots!) more, but I have to also add that I'm thankful for the opportunity to still be involved in the world of education. It's in your blood, you know, this teaching thing. :)  If I'd have had to leave it completely when I retired, I know that I would miss it dearly. Instead, this changing world of teaching allows me to feel that I can still be of some small help to teachers and students ... and now the influence goes around the world! Who ever would have thought it? So, I'm thankful for you, because without you all of this would not be possible.



Happy Thanksgiving... and Happy Teaching!

Sums of Ten Thanksgiving Freebie

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Are you working on sums of ten with your first graders? Don't get discouraged! For some little learners, you'll need to try lots of different ways to make all those combinations of ten STICK!

I remember one little darling saying to me, "Wait- you mean we have to REMEMBER these???" Yes, sweetie, you do. Although, I really couldn't fault her, since I have a very clear memory of my own first trigonometry test, where I was in total disbelief that there wasn't some kind of reference chart, that I was actually supposed to memorize all those... things. (You can see right there how I met up with the first test that I ever failed. Hittin' the wall is no fun, people.)

So, we need to teach those combinations of ten lots of different ways, and convince our students of just how important those sums of ten are... because we have lots of different kinds of learners!

I love the idea of Rainbow Tens that's all over Pinterest, where you write the numerals from zero to 10 across the bottom of the page and make a different color arch to link each set of addend partners... zero links to ten, one links to nine, etc.  Nice visual!! That makes a great anchor chart to keep posted and referring to in your classroom.

I've also used Friends of Ten, with headbands or wristbands for each student, each with a numeral 0-10 on it. Randomly put clusters of students around the room and on the word "Ten!", students quickly move to find and hold hands with a friend that makes ten.  They love this game (most likely because they're up and moving around!), and it's another way to make the point that you need to know all of those facts, but the totals of ten are the Super Important ones!

Since we're coming up on Thanksgiving, here's a free sums of ten board game for partners with a turkey theme, Turkey Time Tens. Your students will roll a die, determine what number needs to be added to it to make ten, and cover that number on the board. What?!? That's missing addends practice, too!

The download includes both color and grayscale versions. It's a simple game, but hopefully a helpful one for you and your students! Just click here or on the picture to get your download. Enjoy!

Happy Teaching!

Thanksgiving: Hardship, Cooperation, & Gratitude

Dear Teaching Friends,

I've been thinking a lot this week about how Thanksgiving will be very different this year for those who are dealing with the results of Hurricane Sandy. I find myself so uplifted by many of the survivors' stories, both those from during the storm and after. They are stories of human triumph, of individuals reaching out to answer the needs of strangers, and of the mercy of God.

This is real life.  These people have been through devastation and many will continue to deal with years of hardship. They are now experiencing an outpouring of generosity from others who are coming alongside them with support, like food, clothing, and shelter, but who are also working cooperatively side-by-side to rebuild. Many express their gratitude, not just for the help they are receiving or for the opportunity to help those less fortunate, but for the fact that they survived the storm.

How closely this parallels the story of the first Thanksgiving! The Pilgrims went through the terrible hardships of illness, hunger, and an extreme winter. Their survival came largely through the support, cooperation, and compassion of the Wampanoag people. They came together to celebrate with a feast to express their gratitude to God for bringing them through the winter. 

Yes, our understanding of other facets of this experience may have changed somewhat in recent years, but the basic concepts of hardship, cooperation, and gratitude endure.

Could these themes of hardship, cooperation, and gratitude be used to deepen your students' understanding of Thanksgiving? Perhaps drawing connections to current happenings in our world or right in your own community can be a way to help your students better understand the Pilgrims' experience.




Now, beyond these deep thoughts, those of you who are regular readers know that I always try to squeeze in some cross-curricular teaching and a freebie for you! "Hardship", "Cooperation", and "Gratitude" are great Tier 2 vocabulary, so here's a making words activity to reinforce the words and remind your students of the concepts.

If you are searching for more Thanksgiving and fall activities for your class, click to visit my Autumn Learning Pinterest board!

Happy Teaching!

Thanksgiving Spin and Graph Freebie

Dear Teaching Friends,

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I though I'd share this quick Thanksgiving spin and graph freebie. Since the results will be different every time your students play, you'll want to keep a few of these in your math center all through November. 

Your students can play this independently, or with a partner. If they play as partners, they can take turns spinning and both record the data of that spin on one graph. OR they can take turns spinning and each record the results only on their own graph, comparing the graphs when they're finished. OR if you have a few students that could use some up close and personal attention with data collection, use this as a teaching activity for a small group session.  {I like to give you as many options as possible, even with a freebie like this one. Let's keep those kiddos learning lots!}

There are four data collection questions on each graphing page, giving your students multiple opportunities to count and compare.

Data collection? Put a check in that column!

Find more autumn graphing activities here.

If you're interested in more math with a Thanksgiving theme, click to see Turkey in the Pot, nine solve and sort games for addition and subtraction facts through ten, combinations of ten, odd and even numbers, counting by fives, place value (tens and ones), and three addends - yep, it's all in there! :)

Happy Teaching!

Sentence Building for Thanksgiving ... Literacy Center Freebie!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Do you use a pocket chart as a literacy center? I love pocket charts for so many reasons! The kiddos are up out of their seats and manipulating words rather than only writing. The pocket chart is also very forgiving - no need for an eraser, just a quick rearrangement!

So, for Thanksgiving, why not a pocket chart activity? Here's a set of 19 word cards and punctuation cards that your little guys can use for building sentences about Thanksgiving. For those students who need a bit more support, there are models of 13 sentences to build with the cards. There's also a response sheet for students to record and illustrate one of the sentences. And just for fun, there are 3 easy-to-make turkey pointers to encourage one-to-one match as the students read and check the sentences they build.

Click on the picture to download "Making Sentences: Turkey Talk".

Whether working independently...

...or cooperatively with a partner,



 a pocket chart is a "good thing"!

If you like this kind of activity for your pocket chart, click here to see 15 more of them at my TPT store (including two more free sets!) ... everything from pets to snowmen to leprechauns!

Happy Teaching!



Sums of 10 Thanksgiving Game Freebie

Hello, Teaching Friends!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely fall afternoon! Our home is full of the lovely aroma of apple pies baking. My husband is really enjoying it, because, trust me, this doesn't happen often... unless I have some apple essential oils diffusing!

Before you know it, many of our homes will soon be filled with another luscious aroma - roasting turkeys! So, how's that for a not-so-subtle segue into telling you about the freebie I have for you today!?!

If you're working on sums of 10, you're probably using lots of hands-on activities with tens frames. Once your little guys are ready to move on to something with a bit more challenge, here's a Thanksgiving game that takes them a step higher. 

Your students will solve 32 addition math models and then sort them by their sums: equal to 10/ not equal to 10. You might want to provide tens frames and/or manipulatives for those students who need them while playing the game.

Click here or on the picture to get your free game.

This game is part of a set of nine Turkey in the Pot solve-and-sort games.  There are Turkey in the Pot games for ...

* addition facts
* subtraction facts
* recognizing multiples of five
* odd and even numbers
* comparing numbers
* Base 10 representations of numbers

Like the sample freebie above, all are Common Core aligned. Click on the collage below to see more at TPT.

Click here to see another free Thanksgiving game for practicing sums of ten!

Happy Teaching!