Math Tubs!

Hi everyone! I *finally* found the time to write a quick post! These ecards always seem to sum up my life perfectly:

Anyways, since I began this blog I have yet to write about how I run my math tubs...so let's get started!

I use a system similar to my literacy centres.

(click the pic below to link to my original post and download your FREE editable SmartBoard file!)

How it all works:

I use math tubs primarily as extra practice. It works particularly well for fast finishers and differentiation; after our daily math lesson (including whole group, small group, and independent work periods), I put up the SmartBoard file and students move to their assigned math tub activity as they finish their day's work. That way, whether students work fast, slow, need extra 1:1 assistance, etc., everyone is learning and DOING math for our entire math block. There is no.wasted.time. 

I run my math tubs so that there are never more than 3 students in one group (ideally, I like to have 2 students per group). I just find this minimizes "social" time and maximizes on-task learning time. Click the pic below to download a FREE editable copy of my math tubs SmartBoard file. 

To keep things interesting, I change the background every once in a while to match the season/holiday. (If you are unsure how to change the background once you've downloaded it, just Google it!)

As I mentioned above, the activities in the tubs are extra practice. There is no skill put into a math tub that students have not yet learned or had the chance to practice. Throughout the school year, as we move through the units and learn more concepts, the variety of activities in the math tubs widens. For example, we started with patterning at the beginning of the school year, so the majority of our math tubs were patterning activities with some basic number sense activities as review from kindergarden (you will see these activities in more detail below). Right now, I have one math tub that will always be a patterning math tub (not always the same activity, but always the same concept), I have a couple number sense tubs from the unit we just finished, and I have just added a time tub since we are currently learning about telling time. 

My 8 math tub bins are from a local dollar store:

(click HERE to download my FREE number labels!)

Here's a closer look at the hands-on activities in each of the math tubs...

(these activities were from the beginning of the school year)

1. Large Number Formation Mats using Play-Doh (FREE!)

2. Mini Number Formation Mats with assorted beans, peas, and corn (FREE!)

3. Number Order Game 

(students reach into a bag, pull out any 4 cards, read the cards, and put them in correct number order on the mat)

4. Number Word & Numeral Match

5. Sorting, Extending, & Creating Patterns

6. Number Sort & Match

(students find all the number word cards, numeral cards, and dot cards that represent the same number, and use the manipulatives to count and show that number)

7. Missing Number Cupcakes (FREE!)

8. Number Representation Match

(students match each numeral tree with the correct tally card, number representation picture card, and 10-frame representation)

How do you run your math tubs/centres/stations?!

Let's be friends!

Get teaching tips, ideas, and FREEBIES every now and then.

Built with Kit

Pattern Party Part 2!

So, if any of you have been following my blog right from day 1, you might remember that my VERY FIRST blog post on Fun With Firsties was all about our Pattern Party!

Well, it was such a hit that I brought back the pattern party for it's second year!

We got the party rolling by making edible pattern bracelets with Fruit Loops and Twizzlers. And there was definitely more eating than patterning going on...I may have been guilty of this, too.

Then we rotated through 4 different pattern centres in our table groups:

At the first centre, the kiddies got to make their own pattern crowns using stickers and stamps:

(I wish I got a picture at the end of the day; they were all too stinkin' cute in their pattern crowns!)

Cute story: at this centre, while licking and sticking stamps, one little cutie decided to share with us that "my mom doesn't let me lick things at home, which is crazy because I just love licking things!" HA!

At the second centre, they made patterns with play-doh and cookie cutters:

The third centre functioned like a "free choice" centre. The kiddies could choose from a variety of math manipulatives (snap cubes, animals, keys, pattern blocks, and beads) to sort or build patterns:

And finally, at the fourth centre, they got to make pattern strips using popcorn kernels and dried split peas (a lovely fall colour combo, I might add!)

In addition to our pattern party during our end-of-day math block, the kiddies also came dressed in patterns (as you may have noticed in some of the pics above!) and had the opportunity to bring in a small patterned object to share with the class. And with that, pattern party part 2 was another huge success! We wore patterns, shared patterns, made patterns, and ate a whole lot of patterns. Sugar 'em up, and send 'em home! ...you're welcome moms and dads ;)

Let's be friends!

Get teaching tips, ideas, and FREEBIES every now and then.

Built with Kit

On another note, I am super excited to whip out some of the literacy centre activities from my new Everything Autumn pack next week. In the upcoming weeks we will have a fall week (this week), Thanksgiving week, pumpkin week, spider week, and Halloween week...and all of the resources I will need are now featured in this one HUGE pack!

Woohoo! *150* pages of hands-on literacy centre activities! 

...on the flip side, it looks like I'll be laminating and cutting all weekend...

Here's a small peek at what's included:

Happy fall ya'll!!! Have a great weekend :)

Throwback Thursday

Since I'm still quite ill with Linky Fever, I decided to fuel the fire by linking up with the fantabulous Cara over at The First Grade Parade for a little Throwback Thursday

So, just as Julie Andrews sings in The Sound of Music...let's start at the very beginning...

My *very first* blog post!!!

(Originally posted on October 9, 2012)

HELLO WORLD!!! 

(I believe that is the customary first-blog-post greeting, yes?) haha This is my very first year of teaching and I am starting a blog mostly because I want to remember this year forever, and what better way to do that than a digital scrapbook! For all my teacher friends (and parents...Hi Mom and Dad!) I will be posting various activities that we do throughout our school year. I'm hoping my firsties' parents might get involved, too, so that they can have a closer look into the goings-on in our grade one classroom!

So I suppose I'll dive right into my first education post with a pattern party! At the end of our patterning unit, we had a pattern party to celebrate everything we learned about patterns (my kiddies breezed through this unit so it was certainly a nice introduction to the school year!)

I set up a different "centre" activity at each of the table groups. Station 1 was making a pattern crown using stamps and stickers:

Station 2 was making a pattern strip using popcorn, beans, and pasta:

 Station 4 was cutting shapes out of playdough and making a pattern:

The kiddies LOVED our pattern party. We came dressed in patterns and some even brought patterned snacks and lunches!

I forgot to take pictures at the end of the day but after our pattern centres during math time, the party raged on and we made pattern necklaces out of liquorice and fruit loops. That obviously went over very well with my hungry little peanut gallery :)

(LOVE the crowns. They wore them for the rest of the day!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Now it's your turn to head on over to The First Grade Parade and join the link-up!