Oh no, Subtracting with ungrouping!?!

Ah yes, Subtraction with ungrouping.  One of the 3 toughest topics to teach second graders (at least I think).  This goes along with counting money and telling time.  Why oh Why are these so hard, I don't know.. all I know is that I need to take some extra time and give a little extra love to these 3 Math babies..

My district uses Math Expressions for our Math program.  I.Dislike.It.Alot!  The lessons are jam packed, and I just don't get the sequence they have most of their units in.  So I usually just got through the unit, look at the strategies, and decide how to teach the concept in a way that will most benefit my students.  I couldn't believe it when MX went from counting quarters, to counting dollars, to subtracting from 100.  All in a matter of 3 lessons.  REALLY? Subtracting across double zeros to start? What are you people thinking? OK- I mean I kinda get it, subtracting money.. but it just seemed too adventurous to start out with for me.  So this is how we started...

1- Explanation: "Today we are going to begin something new in subtraction where we need to ungroup in order to find the answer.  This can be a very tough thing to understand but if you stick through it, I know you will be able to wrestle and beat this new way of problem solving!  One thing that is really important is that you UNDERSTAND HOW we solve problems like this and WHY.  When you go home at night to do your homework, if you're not sure how to do it, you can ask mom and dad for help- but if they are not doing it the way I am showing you and you don't understand what they are saying, I want you to come back to school with your homework unfinished, yes unfinished, and I will help you understand because the most important thing is that you understand and can explain what we are doing.  You need to know more than the steps to solving these problems and we can learn it together!"

I also sent this note home to parents to let them know: Feel free to save & use as you please (It's not really cute but it gets the point across)

2- Introduction: I gave each student a work mat that had a hundreds, tens and ones column.  Each table group got 1 box of unfix cubes.  First I asked them to make 2 tens.  Then 3 ones.  (How much do we have, value yadda yadda etc).  Then, I told them that I wanted them to subtract 7.  Some of them took 7 off of the 10, left the other 3 intact (in 10's column) and said they got the answer, others didn't know what to do, and a few others decided to break apart their 10.  Yay!  I asked those students to explain what they did and praised them for their wonderful thoughts- it's much more meaningful coming from them than me.  Then we did another problem together just like this, but went through step by step.  Here's a picture of one of my kiddos in action...

We tried this a few more times and they were really getting it! (I have no idea what I'll do when we get to subtracting from 100 or more, I don't have enough unifix cubes for that!!) Tomorrow, I'll introduce the paper & pencil strategy that involves the expanded method and hope that {most} of them will get it. This is my first time teaching this to 19 of my own little babies, so I'm hoping this strategy will prove to be an effective one that will lower both my stress & theirs when it comes to the difficulties of subtraction with ungrouping! (Why the heck can't we just say TRADE!?)

Economics Resources & some giveaways!!

Just found out a few hours ago that my county has a 3 hour delay tomorrow. 3 hours?! What is the point people?  Oh well.. my butt will be at school around normal time to get some de-cluttering done!  I guess this makes up for the 3 hours I lost on the early release we were supposed to have Feb 6, but is now taken away because of Friday's freezing rain early release. {Holy Cow, did that even make sense?}

Oh yeah, and I CANNOT believe I have reached 100 followers. Yippee!  I will be hosting a nice celebratory giveaway next week after the superbowl, so be sure to check back.  I love all my lovely followers.  It's like I have a little virtual family :)

Onto the reason of this post... S.S. If you're like me it's the "dreaded" S.S. time.  Yep, S.S. is not my strong point.  Growing up, I really disliked it.  I was never any good at it no matter how hard I studied or how hard I worked.  All those dates and people and laws and blah blah blah blah.   I don't even know why I was so terrible at it.  Starting in 9th grade I had GREAT teachers and I loved them so much.  My world history teacher was actually in the movie, Meatballs!! Peter Hume, he was the Stomach, remember that movie?  Yup, he was my teacher, and he was basically awesome. {R.I.P}.. Anyway, maybe it was my previous awful teachers that just contributed to my hatred of history.  I don't know.. all I know is, I'm not a big fan, and I'm not very good at it.

Lucky for me, second graders don't need to know dates or laws or a whole bunch of people.. I've been warming up to this idea of S.S. being fun!  Pretty much thanks to all you lovely bloggers.  The unit we are currently working on is Economics (yuck!)  I was really dreading this until I found a great unit on TPT by Amy over at Teacher Chick.  It's an Economics Carnival! How fun is that?  Oh and you get to eat donuts during one of your lessons.  Whaaat!? How could I ever say S.S. was not fun? Check out her blog here...

Well- I will tell you guys more about that once we actually get to it.  We just started so we're barely into it but I wanted to share a resource that I made for our unit that is a great assessment tool/study guide.  I wanted to get an idea of what they knew, if anything ..& have something for them to use to practice the vocab. So, one of the upper grades teachers that works with Justin has these great mats that she makes.  You can visit Tammy's Store Here if you are an upper grade teacher and want to check out her mats! I promise you, her products will not disappoint you.  I think I need to stop babbling.. 

Stealing her idea, I made a mat for our own studies!  It looks like this...

It has a second page of definitions for each word they need to know when it comes to economics!!  So basically this is what you can use these mats for.

1.) Pre-Asses: For some units and grades, this is not really necessary because they aren't going to know much at all.  But to preassess, you would give students the 3 column sheet and have them categorize the words into one of the 3 columns.. 1. I've never seen this word before 2. I've seen this word before but I don't know what it means or 3. I've seen this word and I know what it means.  Especially for units of study that are built on in grades before, this is a great way to see what they remember or what may not have been hit.  This is great copying practice too!

2.) Study Mat!  Finish your lesson early or want to leave a little extra time? Early Finishers?? Give students the word mat and have them cut out the definitions on the second mat.  Students just read the definition and match it to the correct word.  Instant easy study activity!

3.) Post-Assessment: You could give students the definition cards and ask them to tell the word or vice versa.  

There are so many things you could do with this mat!  I'm looking forward to using them in my room for many things that aren't just S.S.!!  If you want to give this a try in your classroom... click on the image below to head on over to my TPT store!  Maybe put it on your wish list for the big superbowl sale!  The mat also comes with essential questions that help you focus your instruction! 

If you have a unit coming up that you would want one of these mats for, I would be happy to make one for you.  I would just need the words and definitions you want on the mat! :)

I'll be making more to go along with other units of study.  So if you like it, be sure to check back for more.

LASTLY- Onto some giveaways I was lucky enough to be able to participate in!

Olivia over at Liv2Teach is having a 1000 TPT Followers giveaway!  She's got a ton of different prize packs.

And there are also a ton of prize packs to win over at What I have Learned... You definitely don't want to miss out on an entry for one of those infamous Classroom Friendly quietest pencil sharpeners!! I know I need to get myself one of these!

Alright, y'all.. I hope you've stuck through all my rambling!  If you've made it here, I'll give my economics mat to the first 3 people to comment telling me their most favoritest thing about S.S.!! :) 

Friday Funnies- A Linky Party!

I  know there are a TON of linky parties out there, especially ones that happen on Fridays.  It something about the words "Friday" and "party" together- BUT... my kids just keep saying these funny things, and it would be a shame not to share.. and you can't really do Monday Funnies, Tuesday Funnies etc.. it just doesn't sound FUN, so that's why I  had to come to the decision to make it Fridays. So welcome, Friday Funnies!!

 Friday Funnies will be a weekly linky party to share all the funny things that your little ones said throughout the week.  So, if you're like me... dust off that journal- you know, the one you got to write down all those great moments, but haven't used..  and keep track of all those funny moments.  Who  knows, maybe one day we could compile them all into a book :)

Here are a few of my funnies from the week!

Other Teacher: Mark* asked me if I saw the hump in his hair and asked if I liked it.  He said his mom did it for him.  He is just too funny.

*10 minutes later at recess*

Student: Hey Ms. G!

Me: Hey Mark!  Heeeeeeeeyyy, you have a bump in your hair!

Student: No, It's not a BUMP, its a HUMP

Me: Oh, I'm sorry, you have a hump in your hair!  Did you do it?

Student: No uhm my mom did last night.  

Me: Oh, you asked her to? 

Student: Yeah! She did it when I was sleeping with her hairspray.

Me: Oh, you didn't do it this morning? I'm surprised it stayed like that through the night.  She must have some pretty strong hairspray.  Is it suave?

Student: Yea, I think.... It's got a green top.

Me: Well it looks pretty neat.  What made you want to put a hump in your hair?

Student: Well, Patricia Polacco has a hump in her hair!

Me: Ooh, I see.  How did you know that?

Student: Well I saw her pictures.

Me: Cool!  Hey, maybe you could be an author like her!

Student: No, I'm not an author, but Patricia Polacco is!

Me: Yea, but I bet you could be if you really wanted to.  

Student: Yea.  Do you want a hump in your hair?

Me: No, I don't think it would look as good as yours.  I think I'll stick to just looking at yours.

Student: Yea, not everyone looks good with a hump like me.  It's windy. Is the wind blowing my hump away?

Me: Well, a little bit but not much. It's still there.  That hairspray is holding on strong.

Student: Oh! Ok.  

Me: Why don't you go play?

Student: No, I don't want my hump to be blown away by the wind.  It's time to go inside now?  It's pretty cold.

(Side note: The entire time I am talking to this student, he he walking trying to look back at his shadow to see his "hump")

This precious little boy was so serious about his cool Patricia Polacco "hump" and he came sporting it again today..touching it every once in a while to make sure it was still there.  Oh how I wish this little bundle was in my class!

Ok- last Funny...

Student: Ms G (talking very slowly).. I feel draaaafty

Me: You feel drafty?  What do you mean you feel drafty?

Student: You know, like dizzy and light headed

Me: Ahh you mean DROWSY

Student: Oh Yea! That's it... (And skips off COMPLETELY FINE)

So there are some of my funnies from this week.. I hope you decide to link up and share some of your own! :)
 P.S. Since this is my first linky party, I am testing out using Text links- but will switch to pictures soon.. I promise!!

Crying from Laughing so hard

Why do I love Impractical Jokers?? This is why... You MUST watch until the end, it will get you laughing, trust me! And you  just might need a good laugh right now!

Watch them Thursday nights on TruTV.  They don't disappoint!

Exploring the Pacific Ocean and some MLKjr :)

We went to the Pacific Ocean today! Yep, you read that right.. us east coasters, went to the Pacific Ocean!! Ok- maybe it's more like, the Pacific Ocean came to us.  A few years ago, National Geographic created this traveling map of the Pacific Ocean with loads of activities and fun stuff to do with kids of all ages! It is one of the world's largest maps.. seriously, how cool is that?

We JUST found out about this yesterday and since we didn't have much of a chance to look at all the amazing activities, we decided as a grade level to figure out some way to take advantage.  And we did! All 80 (YES, 80) second graders took a trip to the Pacific Ocean today.  We brought all 4 classes into the gym where the map was rolled out. We gave pairs of students cards of things like animals, mountains, trenches, etc to locate on the map.  The cards gave clues about where they were {Great maps skills practice!} THEN- we let them read in the ocean!  Oh-My-Gosh, it was SO adorable.  80 little 7 and 8 year olds spread around this ocean reading with their friends.  Check this out...

Is this not absolutely precious?  I so wish I could have been like "hanging" above them and taken a shot looking straight down.  It would have been the COOLEST.  But since I couldn't do that, the stage at an angle had to work.

It was really so much fun!  They especially loved it because they got to take their shoes off and they could read with friends from another class!  If it's possible for your school to get the Pacific Ocean to come to you, I definitely recommend it {Just click on the link above}.  I wish I had more time to prepare because we could have done things like locate/learn the Ring of Fire as well as many other activities.  Maybe the Pacific Ocean can come again next year!

When we had to leave, of course we had them "swim" out of the ocean and twist, turn, and shake to dry themselves off before heading to specials.  

Today, we also paid some respect to Martin Luther King Jr. after our 5 day weekend.  We were supposed to do this on Friday but ended up have a snow dusting day.  Snow days in NC are ridiculous (to me) but of course that's coming from a Northerner.  Then yesterday we had a Common Core teacher workday.  So yep, the kids had a super long weekend.  Possibly Probably another snow day this Friday.  Keep taking away from my Spring Intersession mother nature, keep on taking..

Where was I?  Oh yea, Friday, snow day, MLK lesson... ah ha, that's it.  I started off the lesson by asking them why we had Monday off.  Of course, they all knew because of MLK's birthday.  We grabbed our Schema folders out of our brain and talked about everything we know about MLK (He fought for blacks rights, he helped the woman who sat on the bus and wouldn't get up, he had a famous speech).  Then, I whipped out this book...

LOVE this book! I introduced it by telling them that we were going to read this book today about Martin's Big Words, and that these words were his dreams.  As we read through it, we had to stop and talk...duh, right?!  (How would you feel?  Do you think Martin was right?  Do you think what he did was a good thing? Was it fair that black people were treated differently than white people?) After we finished the book, they were pretty sad that he died so we took a minute to just sit silently and pay respect to him.  Then we began a discussion on what his "Big words" were and what they meant.  And let me tell you, 7 & 8 year olds know what they are talkin' about!  We had a GREAT discussion.  As a celebration for Martin, his words, his dreams, and what all of those words mean for us today, each student make a collage of his words.  I totally forgot to take pictures of theirs so I'll post them up this weekend, but here is the example I made for them...

I know it's kind of late for your plans, but if you like it.. maybe you can add it to your "next year plans" AKA pinterest board :)

And last- for a new smile moment/brain break that my kids LOVE!! I can hear them in my head right now, "Ms. Gravelle can we do the Sid Shuffle, pretty pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase!" And they get a kick out of the "prince" dancing with all the "regular" people.  Not kidding.

Check back soon for Spy Reports, How to promote problem solving with the Common Core Math Practices in your math class, indoor recess fun, and new S.S. Resources!  

Tuesday picture love

I just had had HAD to share these pictures with y'all! I just love the art that our art teacher does with the kiddos, it comes out amazing.  This is 2nd grade! Can you imagine the 5th grade sky scraper pieces?

I should've turned the flash off, but oh well :)

That last one was unfinished..but look how darn cute it is.  Can you imagine how awesome it will look once she gets to finish it?

Ok, that's all for today.  Be back tomorrow with hopefully some great pictures from our activities that I have planned after our 5 day that was supposed to be a 4 day weekend :) 

Off to the world of planning

A Clutter Free Plan!

Hey All!  I have been wanted to post but my computer is just driving me ca-razy {like Amy says about girls night out in Big Bang :)} Ok yes, I'm a Big Bang geek!  Ever since I had to update the z-scaler, my laptop is going ridiculously slow.  I have to close and reopen chrome just to change to a different website and it is just taking hours so I'm hoping to get the tech guys in on Tuesday to fix it for me.  Then hopefully I'll be back to normal!

On to the meaning of today's post: Clutter Free Classroom Challenge Week 2: Make a plan!

This weeks challenge is to come up with a plan for all that clutter! And.. here's my plan!

First of all: Why do I want to become clutter free? That's easy.  I hate clutter/disorganization in my classroom. I've noticed that my unorganized room this year has led to less organized kids.  So organized room=organized students.  Oh yea, and maybe if I'm clutter free, I won't be at school so late.  When I'm at school on a workday, I want to be able to concentrate on other classroom necessities like planning the best lessons for my kiddos.  not organizing that cabinet that looks like a tornado came through.  Most importantly, I want to utilize all my resources. I have so many great resources to use, but I just forget that I have them... until after the lessons.  Anybody else have this problem?  

On to the plan...

1- Purge ALL baskets that do not go with my blue/green color scheme.  I'm kind of crazy when it comes to things matching and I know I will never use them. Why keep them?

2- Go through all resources and organize into subjects.  Make a list of all resources based on topic so that I can easily see the resources I have for our current unit of study :)

3- Organize my library.  Put stickers on every book and every basket so that students can easily find what basket the book goes back in.  Organized library that is easy for the kiddos to keep clean=happy me.  Maybe get one of these...

Intelliscanner Picture coming soon.. this is my computer being ornery

4- Don't buy new things unless I ABSOLUTELY NEED it.  

5- Organize all math materials into labelled bins that can easily stay organized :)

I'm probably missing something, but this is a pretty good plan I think!  If you haven't joined yet, don't miss out!

Hope to be back to regular blogging soon!