Fractions Picnic

    One of the great (and terrifying) things about distance learning has been the necessity to learn new things. I have learned so much over the last couple of months, and I know I am going to be a stronger teacher going forward. I learned a ton about Google Sites, Seesaw (I even became a Seesaw Ambassador!), and my new favorite--Boom Cards!

    I had heard of Boom Cards before, but I hadn't devoted the time to learning them. As I had switched grade levels this year, I felt like I had enough on my plate. COVID-19 had other ideas, so as I was scrambling for digital activities for my students, I decided to give Boom Cards a try. I am so glad I did! They are fun and engaging for kids, and easy for teachers to use. They give kids immediate feedback, and can even give teachers a performance report on the activities students complete! They will definitely be something I work into my small group rotations as we return to a traditional classroom setting (whenever that may be--fingers crossed for this fall!)

    This is one of the first activities I created for my students: Fractions Picnic. I love this activity for practicing halves and quarters! Students get to prepare food for a picnic, choosing the correct way to divide the food based on how many friends want a serving.

    If the student gets the answer wrong, they get immediate feedback and the chance to select the correct answer. This is one of my favorite features, since it addresses misconceptions right away.

   

    Every slide of this deck includes optional audio directions so pre-readers can play on their own, but your kiddos who are reading independently don't get annoyed by hearing directions they can read themselves.

Such a fun, no-print, no-prep math center!   

You can check out a free playable preview here! If you're ready to purchase, you can find it here in my TPT store.

Keep teaching with heart and passion!

Project Based Learning: Design a Zoo

    I love the whole idea of project-based learning! The idea of addressing all subject areas in the context of one project makes so much sense, and allows for better real-life application. I had dabbled in PBL a little bit, but never to the extent of this project, in which I asked students to design a zoo.

    This was the perfect project for the end of our strange traditional-turned-virtual school year, and the kids really took it and ran with it! They were able to complete it at their own pace, collaborating with their families, and it went so well that I'm already planning to use it again next year when we're (hopefully) back in the traditional classroom.

    While the task of designing a zoo sounds monumental, I broke it down into individual tasks for my students. Differentiation was easy as I gave families the freedom of doing more or less than suggested for each task, depending on the needs of their child and family. (Let's face it, crisis schooling is not the same as homeschooling; I know some families just didn't have time to go all-out on a project, and that's okay!) Using this in the traditional classroom will make for easy differentiation, too, and I've included teacher tips for both higher and lower lever learners for each task in the download which is available here in my store!

    This project includes all of the subjects and many first grade standards. First, students select animals to include in their zoo and conduct research on them, making notes about what they eat, what kind of climate they need, and more. Next, they design the habitats based on their research, and create a plaque for each animal exhibit.

    They work on mapping skills as they create a map of their zoo, and coding as they then use their map to give directions to popular destinations.

    Math is integrated as they come up with prices for tickets and extra amenities they included in their zoo, and also as they set a feeding schedule for their animals.

    After all of that work is done, they get to add in art and technology as they design advertisements and create a commercial. Some of my kids even decided to design t-shirts!

    It was so satisfying as a teacher to see all of the ways my students completed this project. After completing all of the tasks and research, most of them actually set up a physical zoo in their house, and they were incredibly creative! Some of them made animals out of clay, others used stuffed animals--one even used her sister wearing an animal hat! They all truly made it their own, while learning and applying skills along the way.

    I hope your class has as much fun with this as mine did! You can find it here in my shop or here in my TPT store.

    Keep teaching with heart and passion!