Accountability in Workshop

I don't know about you, but it can be very challenging to monitor behavior while students are working and while teaching in small group. I teach 100% in small group. It is very rare that I do whole group lessons and holding students accountable was the biggest obstacle I had especially when I changed schools and had a class of 30 4th graders!

Here are two things I use to monitor behavior and help with accountability.

#1  Class Dojo
Class Dojo was a game changer for me once I realized that I could have it pulled up on the board and on my ipad while I was at the back table and click students names to give them points. When I do this their name pops up on the computer and 'dings' and everyone in the class can see who gets a point! It is a GREAT way to show positive reinforcement for on task behavior during workshop and I don't have to say a thing! I promise it is like magic. I never take points away, and I do not invite parents to Class Dojo, I don't want to deal with parents e-mailing me asking me questions about points.

#2 Group Captain 
A group captain is key! I do not let students move from their tables during workshop so the captain is in charge of getting all the materials for each rotation and passing materials to the next group. Captains are also in charge of making sure their group follows their CHAMPS and are on task. To make it official, I created Captain Sheets (Get it for FREE). I laminated these colorful papers one for each table group for each class that I teach. The papers have a "pledge" on it that the student signs their name under to state that they promise to follow their job description.  Captains are to give points to students at their group that are making good choices, having great math talk, on task and helping others when need be. It is impossible for me to see everything while I'm teaching, but giving this job to the captain allows helps me keep the students on task. The Captains are allowed to only give 3 points per kid, and that is if that kid was absolutely perfect! Captain's receive 3 points from me every day as payment for their job. They get 3 points every day as long as I did not have to tell their group to get on task or to tell the captain to follow directions. You can come up with a system that works best for you in your classroom! I found giving a max amount of points works best!

On the captain paper there is a section for comments that they can write to me about a student if they feel the need too. It is awesome to see these notes about kids. Some notes are about how a student was acting up or not working. Most comments are super sweet, they love to write about how hard a student at their group worked or how one student helped another. Sometimes I give extra points or don't give as many points based on these comments!

At the end of the day I have a trust worthy student use my ipad to put in all the points into class dojo. The next day the kids are able to see how many points they have. I tell the captains to not show the people at their group their captain paper, they do not need to see how many points they are getting or notes written about them. Students at each group pick new captains each week. I tell them it is up to the old captain to decided who is the new captain, and I don't make people be captain, some students don't want that type of responsibility! ; )

I pass out Vis-a-Vis wet erase markers to the captains to use since they won't smudge when I stack the papers on each other. You could always use dry erase too.

You can get this captain paper for FREE on my TPT store!! Hope this helps you out as much as it's helped me! I've used this for 3 years now!

Math Mate-Personal Anchor Charts

It has been a while since I wrote last! But I have a good excuse...I had baby #2!!! We had a sweet baby boy in early April. It was a VERY fast delivery, water broke and 12 minutes later he was born...in the CAR!! Terrifying, but I guess we now have a crazy story to tell for the rest of our lives!

I've been working on this project while out on maternity leave and summer break. I am so excited to use this in my classroom!

I teach in small group only, therefor when I am at the kidney table working with a group of students it is extremely important that interruptions are at a minimum.  One of my rotations is "At your seat work" and most of the time it is independent work.  My school requires that we use anchor charts for students to reference during class work, so I thought it would be nice if my students had their own personal anchor charts at their desk for them to review. I am hoping that with the anchor charts it will minimize the interruptions when students are stuck and hopefully build some confidence.

There is at least one anchor chart for EACH of the following 4th grade standards:

4.OA.4- Factors and Multiples, Prime and Composite Numbers

4.NBT.3- Rounding

4.NBT.5- Multi-digit multiplication, standard algorithm and area model.

4.NBT.6- Long division, standard algorithm

4.NF.1- Equivalent Fractions

4.NF.2- Compare Fractions

4.NF.4- Multiply a whole number by a fraction

4.NF.6- Fractions as Decimals

4.NF.7- Compare Decimals

4.MD.1- Metric Conversions

4.MD.3- Area and Perimeter

4.MD.6- Use protractor to construct and measure angles.

4.G.1- Lines and Angles

4.G.2- Classify Triangles and Quadrilaterals

Multiplication Chart included for students to reference too!

    

I am only making 12 folders with these charts glued on them. I'm planning on only having one group (about 6 kids) work on independent work at a time, but I'll make a 2nd set just in case. I am making MY folders so they hold ALL the charts, but you could also make different sets of folders with the charts on them according to which standards you teach together. I like how you can personalize these for what works best for you.

My hope in making them so all the charts are out, is that the students might look at the anchor charts I haven't taught yet and maybe teach themselves the skill on them or at least get some back ground knowledge from looking at time! 

To make the larger folders like mine, I took two folders and duct taped them together. This also makes them a bit more sturdy and with longer folds to keep independent work more private. 

Duct tape together and you're good to go!

I plan on laminating mine once I get back to school. 

                   

Here are a few examples of the anchor charts included! 

 

 


If you want to make smaller folders and select certain charts you can just use one folder and fold it the following way:

Fold the flaps inwards to the center of the folder. 

 

Don't have any folders? Print and laminate charts and hole punch in the corner. Place anchor charts on a ring for students to flip through!

Hope everyone has an amazing school year!!! 

Identify Triangles and Quadrilaterals

I'll be honest...when I teach triangles and quadrilaterals it is usually towards the end of the year, right at the beginning of state testing season. I feel in the past I haven't taught it as well as I could have and I wanted to make a point to do better this year. I always felt rushed to teach this standard and I felt like it was an easy one. However my scores in this standard have always been lower that what I expected. I attribute this to my speed in teaching it and knowing that it isn't a power standard on state testing.
I was determined to do better this year teaching this standard and I feel like I succeeded as my percentage for proficiency for this standard was in the 70's when in the past it's been in the low 60's! Reflecting on the school year there are a few things that I felt helped!

• Figure out at the beginning of the year what students already know about theses shapes
• Determine any misconception and take note of them for future teaching
• Create and anchor chart and keep it up for WEEKS!!!!
• SPIRAL REVIEW SPIRAL REVIEW SPIRAL REVIEW!!!!
• Make the lesson as hands on as possible!

I created an anchor chart after review what they knew about angles and triangles and left it up for a long time. I did the same for quadrilaterals and made a "family tree" to represent the different quadrilaterals. The students really used it during workshop when I did spiral review activities. I felt that leaving the chart up allowed the students to use their resources instead of me having to keep teaching it. 

I swear by spiral reviewing EVERYTHING! I taught triangles and quadrilaterals at the beginning of the year this year and I was able to review it all the time. I would randomly throw in task cards, or a hands on activity in workshop to keep the information fresh in their mind. 

I tried to make this as hands on as possible as many times as I could. I WISH I had a set of geo boards, and I requested them for next year and pray we actually get them! There were a few other things I did to make it hands on! One that was really fun was the students had a "Guess Who..." worksheet where the shapes had a speech bubble with a characteristic and the students had to match the speech bubble to the shape. THEN the students got a sheet of construction paper and cut out a shape of their choice with a speech bubble with a characteristic that they came up with do describe that shape. The students drew faces on the shapes and got super in to it! They were adorable hung up around the room and in the hallway! 

(Click the link above to get the worksheet for FREE!)

Another activity I did was SUPER fun and interesting. I put the students in groups and gave each group a different color sticky note. I drew some shapes on the board and they had to write characteristics that described each shape. ONE characteristic per sticky note and they could put as many sticky notes up as possible! It was neat to see the students work together and used their observations to describe the shapes. They put things like, has perpendicular lines, has two pairs of parallel lines, has two lines of symmetry....etc! It was so fun! We had a good time seeing which sticky notes were the same and which color had the most on the board!  What a quick and EASY set up activity was AMAZING results! 

In workshop I utilized my task cards in review VERY often! I also used the coloring page had morning work some days and the extra worksheet as homework. One of my favorite ways to use the task cards is to tape them around the room and to have the students solve them on a clip board! Gets them up and moving which is always fun! 

I hope some of these ideas help you as you plan for the next school year! I will be sure to do the same this year as I got great results!! Share any other ideas with how YOU teach this standard!! I would LOOOVE more activities to implement! 

Line Plots with Fractions!

I LOVE teaching line plots with fractions! I have always teaching fractions on a number line first and teach them how to read and understand how number lines work. Once they have an understanding, I teach how to plot the data. 

I have found that many students have the same issue with line plots, and it is understanding what the questions are asking. The biggest misconception I've found is that when the questions asks, "What is the longest length?" the students will pick the fraction with the most data points. I have to go over and over and over this with the kids and tell them to read carefully! Especially the ESL students who struggle with vocabulary, they tend to really have a hard time understanding the difference between the most common length and the longest length.

To help with this I cut straws and had the students measure them and plot the on the number line. They LOVED the hands on aspect of it and got a measurement mini lesson! Once the data was plot, the students could easily see which straws were the longest/shortest and which straw length was the most common or least common. This activity also helped with the questions that ask, "What is the combined length..."I was able to put the straws end to end to show what the question is asking!

In the past I actually had the students measure REAL earthworms! Oh man do the kids love this! This year I wasn't able to do it because I did not have any worms! In the past I our school had compost bins and I was in charge of taking care of the worms!

Oh well...straws work great too...and are less squirmy!! 

Check out my line plot task cards to help enforce this skill!! They are great and give a variety of questions to practice this skill! I know you'd love them! 50 questions total which include 20 task cards, worksheets and coloring page! All for a great price!!! 

                                    

Add and Subtract Fractions and Mixed Numbers

Last week I taught adding and subtracting fractions on a number line. I decided to just use painters tape as my number line so I did not have to keep redrawing lines over and over again! When I started writing on the table instead of dry erase boards, it really got the kids attention!

Here I showed how to read a number line and how to add and subtracting using a number line. I extending the activity for some groups by making them represent their answer as unit fractions and then as a multiplication sentence (multiplying a whole number by a fraction).

I also have task cards that I use to practice this skill! You can get them and all my other cards at my TpT store!  I also have task cards for adding and subtracting mixed numbers!! All of these include 20 task cards, worksheets and coloring pages. A total of 50 questions in each set.


Don't be afraid to get your desks dirty!! The kids love it and it is so much easier that getting out all the dry erase boards!! Even better...you don't have to BUY dry erase boards!!!

FYI---dry erase board cleaner gets all the marks off best once you are done! 

Multiplication and Other Facts Student Recording Sheet

A new school year has started and I've been trying to come up with an eco friendly way for my students to practice their multiplication facts. They are supposed to come in to 4th grade knowing them...but we all know that is not always the case. So I find myself spending the first few months of school really drilling the basic facts so that way multi-digit multiplication, long division, and simplifying fractions are much easier for them.

I do 100 question multiplication timed test every Friday. I try to make it fun for the kids and not stressful. I remember being so stressed out about learning my facts and dreading the timed test! So to do this I tell them that they are competing against the other 4th grade classes to see which class can get the most students with a 100 on the 100 timed test. When a student gets a 100...and I mean a 100%...not "oh you only missed one I'll get it to you"...100% on 100 questions in 5 minutes, they get their name outside in the hallway. I color coded each class a different color and since our school is the wolves, their name will go on a wolf that is the color of there class. I told the students that which ever class has the most names outside the door will get a prize before Christmas break! The students are SO excited about it, and it's only been the 2nd week of school and the kids are working together to study and help each other reach this prize!

For the students that pass the test early, I give them a 100 question division timed test, if they pass that with a 100 I give them a paper with about 30 two digit by 1 digit multiplication test, and if they pass THAT before December, I give them a double digit multiplication page to do in 5 minutes! I promise the kids get SO excited about this! I just find these timed tests on line...there are a whole bunch of them that are free to print off!

So...to help them study and check their progress, I like to use the free website called Fact Dash. The kids simply type in Fact Dash in to google and it is the first link.

When they click the go button they have the option of choosing which operation to practice. 

They can also choose the length of the drill. I tell my students to do no more than 3 minutes at a time.

When the students get done with their drill they record their results on the Fact Dash Data chart I created for them! I usually tell them to practice a few times and the record their best time on the chart! The most questions they will be asked is 30, so they simply just shade in up to the number of the total they got correct. It will be up to you when you want them to move on to the next set of facts to practice! : ) Make sure to tell them that when they have this chart, if they are setting the timer, then they are to write the time on the data sheet on the top right hand side and continue to use that time for the duration of recording on that sheet. If they want to change the time to 2 or 1 minute, they will need another recording sheet from you! 

I made these charts for all the operations on this site so you can have students use the same data recording with out looking too different from their peers! 

Get these charts for FREE from my Teacher Pay Teacher site!! Be sure to follow me and leave a comment after you download! : )

Check out my other 4th grade math items! My favorite are my task cards I made for ALL 4th grade math standards! 

Hope this helps you easily hold your students accountable to studying  and tracking their progress and it doesn't require you do do a nights worth of grading or printing off drill for the different operations!!!!

Another Year Begins!

It has been a LONG time since I posted last! Over a year...I can't believe it!
I had a crazy end of the school year in 2016! As many teachers know, life always gets hectic around EOG time...and to add to the stress, I decided that I would apply at another school. I loved the school I was at, mostly because of my 4th grade team. They were my family and I'd been with them since my first year teaching! But, I had an opportunity for another 4th grade position at a charter school just a mile from a house that my husband and I just purchased...yes another big event I added to my plate at the end of the year. I was driving about 30 miles to work every day, so a one mile drive at a 2 year old school seemed appealing!



With a heavy, heavy heart I left my school out in the country and accepted a job at a charter school in a suburban, middle to upper class location...very different than the public, title one school I'd known for 5 years. I was so depressed about leaving, it felt as if I was breaking up with someone...and I guess in a way I was! I was happy at my old school, but knew God was pointing me in this direction and I couldn't ignore it, I knew it would be a better place for my future. A huge bonus was that I had a co-worker/friend from my old school who worked at this charter school, and would be my neighbor! Once summer began, I decided to teacher summer school for 3 weeks, I got pregnant but unfortunately miscarried just a week before my training at my new school began. It was a heart breaking summer...not at all relaxing or rejuvenating! The miscarriage took a long time for my body to recover from it seemed like. School started with a blur! I felt like a brand new teacher all over again...especially since I had to teach all four subjects again, which I had not done since my first year teaching! SCARY! My new school was amazing! So supportive and positive! They were wonderful helping me get on my feet and were understanding when I needed to make doctor appointments to figure out how to get my body back on track after the miscarriage and to help me get pregnant again!

The stressful summer and beginning of the year ended and started turning up in January 2017! I was finally feeling like myself again, feeling like my confident teacher self and ended up getting pregnant again and another co-worker/friend from my old school quit and got a job at my new school!! I ended the year happy and so blessed to be a part of such an amazing support system of co-workers, friends, admin and amazing students and parents!


That kind of explains my lack of adding to my blog and adding new and exciting things that I've been doing! Life just took over for a little bit and it took some time for me to get back in control! I am now 7 months pregnant, enjoying my summer, resting and working on new Teacher Pay Teacher items for my classroom and store! My school is using my classroom for the training of new teachers so I went in yesterday and today to clean it up! I'm adding some pictures to share my new classroom for the first time!

This past year I had to teach all 4 subjects, but this year all I have to teach is 4th grade math! I am beyond excited to get back in my comfort zone and back to focusing just on one subject! I feel this is the best form of teaching...as long as you trust your co-teachers! 
I have always loved how I do my math centers/workshop! I do not do a lot of whole group teaching, I do most of my teaching at "teacher table." I think it is wonderful and has totally changed the way I work in the classroom. I do my very best to schedule my rotations so I meet with EVERY group EVERY day! My students sit with their center groups and I just differentiate at the teacher table with kids I see missing concepts and also in the other centers the kids are working on while I'm at the back table.
 
I have the same system but this year I changed the stations to spell out MATH. I saw this on pinterest and thought I'd give it a try! I have 5 table groups, so I have 5 rotations. I'm a little nervous about having 5 rotations...sounds like a lot, but there are some rotations I won't have to create a ton of work for. The M stands for Mrs. Camp, that is where the kids come to the back table with me. A stands for At desk, which is where the students will work on independent work at their seat...this is where I will do my best to differentiate for each kid...still trying to figure out the best way to do this! T stands for Technology, where I will have the kids rotate between Iready, Tenmarks, Khan Academy...etc. H stands for Hands on, here is where I will have the students work with their group either playing a math game or working on task cards with each other. The spiral is where they will do a spiral activity to review past skills. I think a spiral review each day is absolutely critical to be successful in math! I think I'm planning on having my kids work on Drops in a Bucket pages or I might buy a spiral activity from TpT that I saw.

Last year I did not have room for my math word wall and it killed me!! This year I made sure to find a spot for it! I bought math word wall vocabulary cards from a seller on TpT and I LOVE IT! The students really use it and I think it really helps build their vocabulary! As always, I only add to it when I get to that new vocabulary word! Word walls are no good if you add all the words for the year at one time!
The Bravo Board is where I will pin up students who did great on their work and show it off! This is something new that I've never done! We have an achievement board outside in the hallway to display students work, but sometimes students do not meet all of the requirements to get on the board out in the hallway, so I wanted to have something in the classroom for kids that worked hard and deserve to be recognized!

I bought a cursive math alphabet a couple years ago on TpT and I LOVE it!! Another way to reinforce math vocabulary and cursive! My school also uses CHAMPS to help with classroom expectations. I was new to this, this past year...I've learned to really like it and the kids expect it since they've had it since kindergarten!
 
I added this little growth mindset quote above my door this year....I had college banners hanging their before, but they kept falling all year long so I changed it up! I think this is cute and I'm in a pretty bad habit of saying "awesome" ALL the time! I also added a little reminders dry erase board for me to write messages on there! I think this will help students stay organized since they will be rotating classes for the first time!

I am excited for a great year! I am looking forward to getting back to my TpT store and Blog and for my sweet baby girl due in October!!