Walk the Plank!

Hey everyone!  It's Aimee from Primarily Speaking.

I'm popping in today to share one of my favorite partner math games with you! It's an oldie, but goodie. You know, one of those ideas that's passed on from teacher to teacher over the years (which is how I learned about it).  It's called Walk the Plank.  Cool name, right?  Not only does it have a great name, but it is easy to set up and the kids love, love, love it!  It is a great way to help students reinforce and practice their addition facts.  And, it gives them more practice with following rules and working with others.  Win, win!

For this partner game you will need some paint sticks. I sent my hubby to Lowe's one day and they gave him about 10 (for free...even though he didn't buy any paint).  Nice!  Number each stick as shown.

I recommend using the longer paint sticks.  My first set was made with the shorter ones and while they did the job, the numbers were really squished together.

You will also need some number cubes to match the numbers on your plank.  Mine are numbered 5 through 10.  I used blank wooden cubes and simply numbered them with a Sharpie. Easy peasy!  To play, the students will need two number cubes.

As you can see, the two players will also need some linking cubes. Each player places an individual cube next to each of the numbers on the plank.  They will need 11 linking cubes each. Note: you could use any small object as a game piece.

To play, Player 1 rolls the number cubes and adds their two numbers together.  So, let's say that Player 1 (yellow cubes) rolls a 6 and a 7.  They would add these numbers together and get a sum of 13.  Player 1 would then take the cube next to the number 13 on Player 2's side (purple cubes).  That's what the kids love. They get to take the other player's game pieces!

Play continues in this fashion until one player collects all of the other player's cubes.  It starts getting tricky near the end because the students only have a few numbers left on the plank and they can't control what they roll.  But, guess what, each time they roll they are practicing their math facts. They are learning without even realizing it.  It's the best!!

The numbers shown above work for my second graders, but maybe you'd like to differentiate.  Go for it!  You can label your plank and cubes with whatever numbers you want!  You could also use dice and number your plank from 2 to 12.

Have fun!

7 Terrific Uses for Task Cards

Hey everyone! It's Aimee from Primarily Speaking! I'm popping in today to share with you my favorite ways to use task cards in the classroom.

Task cards are such a versatile resource to have!  Here are seven different ways that I use task cards in my classroom.

Use them as a fast finisher activity.  I always have several activities available for my students to use when they finish an assignment early.  I typically rotate these activities, and several times a year, task cards make an appearance.  I simply place the cards on a ring, and put them into a gallon size zip top bag with a stack of recording sheets.

Use them in your small groups.  When working with my small group of math students (six kiddos total), I use the task cards during our time together.  I can place a ring of cards in the center of the group and everyone can respond on their own recording page.

Use them as a cooperative learning tool.  Pair students up and let them share the task cards. They can help one another solve the problem/answer the question on the cards, or they can solve the problems independently and discuss how they arrived at their answers.

Use them as a center!  Once again, you can place the task cards on a ring and inside a zip top bag with a stack of recording sheets and students can use those materials during your centers time.

Use them as a whole group teaching tool.  I often project one card at a time via my classroom projector.  The students use their mini whiteboard, or a piece of paper that they fold into fourths, to solve the problems on the cards that I project.  It's a great way to check for understanding on the spot, when you use the whiteboards.

Use them to play Scoot!  Scoot is a well loved game in my classroom.  It has been for years!  Simply place a task card at each desk and have your students scoot from desk to desk, on your cue, to respond to each task card.  Don't forget to establish a path of rotation prior to scooting!

Use them to play a game of I Spy.  I Spy is another huge deal in my classroom.  The kids looooove it!  I Spy is also commonly called Around the Room.  I place the task cards around the room, and the students go from card to card and respond to each one.  It isn't necessary that they visit the cards in order, they just have to make sure that they visit all of the cards.  As you can see, I place the cards on the floor.  Sometimes, I just don't have it in me to tape the cards to the walls, cabinets, etc.

Well, there you have it, seven different ways that I use task cards in my classroom.  Who knew that one little stack of cards could be so very, very useful?  The task cards shown in this post can be found in my TPT store.

I hope you were able to take a new idea or two away from this post! 

Super Time Tellers!

Hey everyone! It's Aimee from Primarily Speaking!  I'm popping in to share a quick and easy review activity with you today.

Back in December, my second graders learned to tell time to the five minute mark, and we've been working on it ever since.  Time is one of those skills that needs to be reviewed often. In other words, it takes time to learn to tell time.  With that said, we spent a few days in math last week reviewing this skill.  By this point, I've pretty much used all the resources I have, so I decided to make a quick I Spy game.

I posted the cards around the room. The kids visited each card and wrote down the time shown on each one.  Since the students are moving around and attending to a series of tasks, they are engaged and focused the whole time.  And, that always makes my teacher heart very, very happy.

I Spy is HUGE in my classroom. The kids love to get up and wander around the room as they do their work.  I tell them to pretend they are spies and have them move around the room as such.  I wish you could see them moving from one card to the next, it's pretty hilarious.  And, it makes for a super duper quiet activity.

If you're looking to add to your telling time resources, you can grab a free copy of this time activity by clicking {HERE}.  Enjoy!

Also, be sure to grab my Time Check freebie on TPT.  It's a quick and easy way to review this skill on a daily basis!

 
Toodles!

Organize That To Do List!

As teachers, I feel like we have a never ending list of things to do.  There is always something to copy, something to make, something to cut, paperwork to be done, things to buy, and the list goes on!

Every week, I make a list of the things I need to get done in order to prepare myself for the following week. For as long as I can remember, I've been making these to do lists on sticky notes.  Truth be told, I'm a huge sticky note hoarder fan, but my tasks never fit onto just one sticky note.  I finally decided that having multiple lists was annoying.  So, I decided to make a form that let's me keep track of what needs to be done each week.  Now, I have all of my tasks organized in one place (and I have more sticky notes lying around for other uses-hehe).

I can't tell you how nice it has been to use this form each week.  I can check things off when they are completed and I can easily add more tasks, as needed.

Are you looking to consolidate your list of things to do?  If you so, you can grab this FREE to do list HERE!  Have fun staying organized!

What's the Problem? A Holiday Freebie!

I love word problems.  There I said it, I really do.  Anytime I can squeeze in some extra practice for my kiddos, I do!  I especially love tasking my students with writing their own word problems.  This encourages them to think about word problems more critically than when they simply read and solve a problem.

We recently started practicing this skill in my classroom.  So far, we have discussed and reviewed how to write a word ("story") problem.  I made this chart and we review it before the students go to write their own problems.  Once they have these steps down, I will begin to encourage them to add extra information to their problems.

When my students write their own word problems, they use these What's the Problem mini books. This is the Holiday Edition and the kids have had lots of fun writing holiday related stories the past few weeks.

 Click {here} to download a FREE copy of this mini book.

Click {here} to download this mini book for FREE!

As you can see, students write a word problem to go with the provided answer.  This can be a trickier skill than one might think.  Some students "get it" very quickly, whereas others need repeated practice with the skill before it begins to click. Either way, they seem to enjoy writing their own math stories!

I've made one for just about every month of school, and they are all available for free on my blog.  I hope you can use them!

Toodles!

A Jar Full of Thanks {Aimee}

Hey everyone!  It's Aimee from Primarily Speaking.  In November, many of us encourage our students to think about the things they are thankful for.  It's the perfect tie in to Thanksgiving, of course!  I thought it would be fun to share one of the ways I'm doing this in my classroom this year.  It's a quick and easy idea, I promise!

Introducing our "thankful jar."

This super fancy "jar" is a place for students to share their thankful thoughts.  To make the jar, I took an empty tissue box and wrapped it in brown construction paper. Then, I cut out a turkey head and some feathers and glued them as shown.  It took less than 10 minutes to create.  But, if crafty projects aren't your thing, a simple (actual) jar or a small basket would do just fine!

I placed small strips of paper next to our thankful jar and told the students they could use them to write a sentence about what they are thankful for.  I'm not limiting the students as to how many thankful thoughts they are allowed to share.  I say, be as thankful as you want and share as much as you can!

Nothing fancy, or even cute about these slips of paper. ;)  We read a few thankful thoughts here and there throughout the day, and the kids love it!  Here's a look at some of the things they are thankful for.

I hope you are able to use this quick and easy idea to encourage your students to think about what they are thankful for!

Aimee {Primarily Speaking}

Hey everyone!  I'm Aimee from Primarily Speaking.

I am SUPER excited to be a part of this collaborative blog!  Primary Powers is your source for all things primary!  If you ask me, all teachers are superheroes, so we sure do hope you visit our blog regularly to recharge those superhero powers as we share ideas, tips and tricks, and much more!

Here's a bit about me...I have been teaching for 10 years.  Thankfully, all of those years have been spent in second grade! The idea of any other grade level sends me into panic mode.  Literally.

I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have a five year old daughter who is quite headstrong when she wants to be.  We enjoy hanging out at home, playing with squirt guns, and eating out at our favorite restaurants.  If we're feeling really crazy, we might even rent a movie. What can I say, we know how to party!

I love chips and salsa.  I really, really do. I've been known to munch on them as I cook dinner.  Don't tell the healthy eating police, please.  And, as far as I'm concerned, one can never drink too much coffee.  Well, OK, I suppose that isn't entirely true, but without that stuff at my fingertips, I wouldn't make it through the day.

Now that you know a bit about me, it's time to share something SUPER with you!  If you're looking for a fun way to motivate your students to write, give these superhero Roll-a-Story boards a try!  My students love, love, love them, and I hope yours do too!

Toodles!