Try this New Free Math Website!
Earlier, I showed you a video about how to set up an account with iKnowit.com. iKnowIt is a fabulous new math website that gives students a variety of practice problems to solve through a fun and interactive new platform. Now, I am going to show you what a student sees when they experience iKnowIt. Remember iKnowIt is absolutely FREE until August 2018. Give it a try! Happy Viewing!
How to Set Up an IKnowIt Account (free)!
Guess what?! Have you heard about this great new math website?! There are math lessons set up for kindergarten through 5th grade. Students are given a score for problems they get right so that you could potentially use this for a quick grade. Winning! Right now you can set up an account for your class absolutely free–until August 2018 that is! In the following video, I show you how to set up your free account and how to assign lessons to your students.
Pi Day Lesson Freebies!
Recently I told you my plans for teaching a Pi Day lesson. I am pleased to tell you it went very well! I am going to share a few things with you that may help your future Pi Day go well.
First of all, I explained to students how Pi was determined. In case you don’t know, pi is the number that you get when you take the circumference of a circle and divide it by the diameter. Then I showed students this fun video. You really need to explain pi first before the video since the information may get lost in the cutesy-ness of the video.
Next, I talked to the students about how some people try to break records with how many digits of pi they have memorized. I showed them this website with a million digits of pi and scrolled down a bit so they could see all of the digits of pi. Students were amazed when I showed them this website and highlighted the names of people who have broken records with memorizing digits of pi. I gave students a paper with as many digits of pi as would fit on it front and back and had them highlight any numbers that meant something to them. These numbers could be ages, birthdays, lunch numbers, addresses, zip codes, etc. By the end of the week, I had one student coming up to me and spouting off the first 40 digits of pi she had memorized. Students seemed slightly obsessed with memorizing digits of pi.
Then I gave students a box of several objects that were circle shaped to choose from. I just had these items around my classroom. Now, you must understand that I tend to collect recyclable items and always have a few on hand. This helped quite a bit with this project. At this time, no lie, I have about thirty toilet paper rolls in my backseat. They have been there for several weeks just waiting to go into the school and be a part of some project. 🙂
I also borrowed some hula hoops from the PE teacher for an extra fun challenge!
I told students that they had to measure a smaller item before they measured the large hula hoops. This seemed to work best for students to manage their time more wisely.
I showed students how to measure around an object with some thin wire that I had. I chose wire instead of string because string seems to stretch too much, thereby giving inaccurate measurements. With the wire, students were able to bend it to mark off a point to show where to stop measuring on a ruler.
I had students to measure with the metric side of the ruler and I showed them how to convert the marks between the centimeters into fractional tenths of a centimeter. For example, a length that measures 5 cm and 2 mm could be written as the decimal 5.2.
I did allow students to use calculators for this activity because I really wanted them to be able to have several decimal places after the decimal. Not all of my students had been taught division with decimals yet.
At the end we discussed how the measurements didn’t come out to be 3.14 exactly and why that happened. We discussed the possible use of wire, human error, and so forth. Students used words like precision to describe their measurements if they weren’t 3.14. Another topic of closing discussion was looking at papers that had decimals that weren’t preceded by a 3. We talked about why that may have happened as well.
I would teach this lesson again. The students were engaged the entire time and really seemed to enjoy this change of pace.
Download the Activity Sheets here if you would like them.
Do You Have a Pi Day Plan? {Giveaway Time}
Fill In Fraction Freebie: Counting by 1/2
Just finished up this free fraction sampler for you all! This includes some pages of fill in number charts counting by ½. There is also a completely filled out chart of counting by ½ that could really be useful for those students who are struggling with the concept of halves or even counting by halves.
This sampler is a few pages of the 60 newly posted fill in fraction number charts that has charts counting by ½, ⅓, ¼, 1/5, 1/6, ⅛, 1/10, and 1/100.
I hope you enjoy the freebie! Click here to download.
Does Water Have Feelings? {Science Experiment}
Well, it may not have feelings, but it responds when you talk to it. If you have been following my blog at all, you will know that in the fall we did an experiment with rice jars. We said, “I love you” to one, and “I hate you to another”. Then we let one jar just sit as our control group. If you want to read more about the rice jar experiment, go here.
After that experiment, it made kids become curious about what would happen if we repeated the same experiment, but with different items such as fruit or water. Well, we did repeat the experiment with water and repeated another experiment with blueberries. This post will be about what happened with the water experiment if you want to repeat it in your classroom or at home for that matter.
First we took three jars of exactly the same size and put the same amount of spring water in each one. I used spring water because I have a water cooler in my room. Then we put exactly 1 cup of water in each jar. We made a jar to say “I love you” to, a jar to say “I hate you” to, and a jar with no label that was just to sit as our control group. The kids in the classroom talked to the jars every day for 30 school days before they left the room. The jars just sat over the weekend, and they just sat if we had a day out of school. The students picked the jars up when they talked to them, but for the most part didn’t really pick up the control group jar.
Below, I put these against black construction paper so you could really tell the difference in the three.
Ironically, our 30 days ended on Valentine’s Day, so we opened the jars on February 14th. The control group jar just smelled like water and the water was very clear. The love jar didn’t have a really detectable smell to me but one of the kids said it smelled like cut grass. It was a little whiter in color than the control group water, but not very much. The love jar looked very similar to the control group. Next the big difference was in the hate jar. We could easily see that the hate jar had a cloudy white color to it compared to the other jars. It also smelled musty when we smelled it. More condensation was also on the sides of the jar. Upon close examination, we also noticed that the lid had grown mold or mildew on the top.
Below, in order the control group jar lid, the love jar lid, and the hate jar lid.
Ok, so I know the experiment isn’t perfect because the lids aren’t all the same, but I couldn’t find another one of the metal lids at the time, so I used the purple plastic one.
What a fantastic and powerful way to teach kids about bullying and kindness. The power of the kids’ words is evident when they speak to the jars without you having to say much. I do suggest you ask questions when the jars are opened such as:
Why do you think this happened?
How is this like when we talk to people?
Do you think your words affect people the same way? Why?
What do you wonder now?
Did our words really change the water? Was it just some bacteria that floated in the air? Were the jars clean enough? Was there bacteria in the water? What could explain these differences? (I feel like I am a script writer for Ripley’s believe it or not.)
Now, this happened not once–but twice. First, with the rice experiment and now with water! Something is definitely going on here. You don’t believe me? I dare you to try it at home for 30 days.
What will we do next? Well, the kids in my class decided that they wanted to put three NEW jars in boxes in separate corners of the room to talk to each day–so that is what we will do!
Help Your Strugglers with Fraction Number Sense!
Sad but true…Most kids start out struggling with fractions. In real life, we don’t count by fractions and fractions are smaller than our normal counting numbers. Sometimes students get the “top number” and “bottom number” confused. The computer makes fractions with a slash, and teachers tell students to write fractions with a straight line and not a slanted line. There is so much to stumble over as a student!
Could making fractions a part of your daily routine actually help students have a better conceptual understanding?! But of course, darling (with godfather accent)! I mean, after all, when teaching kids to count, we count over and over again EVERY DAY in kindergarten. Students count by 2’s, by 5’s, by 10’s etc. and that is how we teach them to develop number sense. We somehow lose this idea when it comes to fractions. What if we actually gave the same tenacity to counting with fractions?
I am going to show you the tool to use to be able to support your students through scaffolded understanding of counting with fractions. Behold! Fill in Fraction Number Charts! 😉
Students have the opportunity to count by ½, ⅓ , ¼, 1/5, 1/6, ⅛, 1/10, 1/12, and 1/100. There are a variety of number charts included so that students can start out finding patterns when counting by a unit fraction. Then there are three levels of charts when counting by each fraction. Each chart level gets increasingly more difficult as it scaffolds learning. This could also provide differentiated practice for your learners. When students become comfortable counting by unit fractions, they can then try the three levels of simplified charts if the unit fractions can be simplified. Then after daily practice, ta-daaaaaa, better fraction understanding!
Oh, my gosh! What a great idea for morning work! Great way to start the day!
I’ll be back in a few days to show you a special fraction freebie I have in store for you!
Stock Market Game Freebies
If you are playing the stock market game in your classroom, you may have noticed the need for some sheets to go along with the students’ trades. Let me save you the trouble. I have made some here and you are welcome to use them. The first one is a page which is for students to make a simple trade. There are no specific math formulas. This is the one I used with the students first. Click the blue links to download the pages.
This second page I used for a math support because a lot of students were confused with the math calculations for brokerage fees. This page allows for a step by step process to figuring out how to calculate the total cost of a trade.
StockMarketGameJournalPageMath
Next, I made this page for students to sign an agreement that they wouldn’t trade without their partners’ permission. I ended up not using it because I felt that the Journal Pages required students to agree without this additional page, but some of you may find it of use.
I hope I just made your life easier! 🙂
Essential Oils for Classroom Concentration {Win a $25 Credit}
I have an amazing offer for all of my oily teacher friends! Here is a guest post by Stacy from GotOilSupplies.com about how oils can help your children in the classroom or while studying. Got Oil Supplies has some absolutely beautiful pendant necklaces so that your child can be diffusing an oil all day long for maximum learning potential. They also have other amazing products! You must stop by to check them out! AND…you must sign up for a chance to win this $25 store credit from their website!!! 😀
I received some sample roll on bottles for mixing my own oils, and beautiful gold labels from Got Oil Supplies. I love how they have metal roller balls and how they are made with blue glass. I have never bought a bottle with a metal roller ball. They work so smoothly and so much better than plastic roller balls! They also came with these beautiful gold lids which match the gold labels–very classy looking! What’s great is that the price is a great value for the quality of the bottles!
Keep scrolling and reading to enter to win a $25 Got Oil Supplies Credit on the Rafflecopter below.
Essential Oils for School:
Unleash Your Potential with Aromatherapy
Essential oils are highly concentrated oils renowned for their therapeutic and medicinal effects. They’re naturally extracted from plants through a process called distillation. Distillation is done by heating or steaming a part or parts of a plant (such as leaves, flowers, roots, bark, or stems) until the essence is produced. The extracted essential oil retains the plant’s fragrance as well as its other natural properties.
Essential oils can be dispersed through an essential oil diffuser or can simply be applied onto the skin. Due to the high potency of these oils, they can provide healing effects to human body just as much as the plants from which they’re extracted. They’re antiseptic, meaning they’re a good choice against infection. They can also boost the immune system. Furthermore, they can be used to relieve asthma, vertigo, bronchitis, and headaches.
Perks for the Mind
But the most prominent benefit of essential oils lies in their effect on the human mind. The fragrance of essential oils contain true essences of plants; hence, they are best inhaled. They’re known to provide a lot of positive effects to the brain, from stress relief to learning enhancement, depending on the particular oil you are using. Since they are a great aid in brain function, a number of essential oils are found to be helpful for students.
Rosemary
The first essential oil that can aid in learning is Rosemary. Rosemary extract can improve your mood and brain performance. Its fragrance relaxes the brain and can, therefore, help you focus more. This essential oil is best when diffused during study time, whether in school or at home.
Peppermint
One of the biggest struggles during study time is when a lazy mood hits you. Good thing there’s peppermint – an essential oil with an energizing effect. Its minty aroma can make you feel cool and refreshed. Plus, it can also help enhance your focus. Diffusing peppermint essential oil after lunchtime is helpful, most especially when you need to study during that lazy hour.
Cedarwood
Among all essential oils, it’s cedarwood which can deliver the most oxygen to the brain. Oxygen is important to sustain active brain function; thus, the more oxygen gets sent to your brain, the better your mental capacity becomes. This is the reason cedarwood is strongly recommended during exams as it can keep you calm, focused, and alert – all at the same time.
Lemon
A sleepy mind is not a well-functioning mind; so, better use an essential oil freshly extracted from lemon. Lemon’s citrus scent can rejuvenate an otherwise sleepy spirit. It’s also known to provide an energy-boosting fragrance that aids in concentration. As a matter of fact, this particular scent has been found to aid in several cases of learning disabilities. Wake up to a fresh scent by diffusing a lemon essential oil during the morning and start your school day feeling energized.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood can help maintain healthy blood circulation in your brain. It can help enhance your memory and concentration. Its soothing aroma can also save you from the stress and anxiety you usually get the night before your final exams. This essential oil is best inhaled during review time.
Frankincense
Frankincense is commonly diffused to soothe stress and anxiety. Aside from that, it has also been found to calm a preoccupied mind, giving way for mental clarity. Hence, it’s usually best to use this oil when you need to improve your focus and thinking.
Blended Oils
There are also essential oils made from mixed extracts that provide synergistic benefits. Peppermint and wild orange blend is a good example. It combines the refreshing effect of peppermint and the uplifting scent of wild orange in one essential oil. A blend of rosemary, coconut oil, and lemon is also a great choice if you need enhanced focus and memory.
Another famous blend is the vetiver and cedarwood blend. The essence of this blend can both calm your mind and boost your thought processes. This blend is best inhaled during the morning.
Choose Carefully
While there’s no denying that essential oils are beneficial, you shouldn’t just grab the first ones you see. Keep in mind that these oils tend to vary in terms of purity – and of course, you’ll want to go for those made from the real thing, completely devoid of additives.
1000 Follower Giveaway Celebration! Win a $100 TPT Giftcard!
