So first let me start by saying how much I truly believe in the power of play in my first grade classroom. When my kids come in to a room filled with hands on experiences, "toys", and games, learning instantly becomes less scary. When learning just seems fun, it happens more naturally. Of course, we can't just sit and play all day, standards need to be taught and expectations are high. Which means, I have to get creative on how I can make play a powerful part of our learning. Side note- This post contains affiliate links which provide me with a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you purchase something through them. BUT, as always, I promise to never share something that I do not absolutely love using in my own classroom.  To set up for my Ice Cream Day I first gathered up a few ice cream themed activities , made a sign out of foam board, and bought tablecloths from a dollar store. I also sent home a letter to parents asking them to do......

Hi there! I hope you had a wonderful week last week and truly felt appreciated! This month we are going to share some fun ways to teach time or money during our Math Tip Monday Link up. My school district (and the 1st grade Common Core Standards) doesn't place a huge emphasis on learning about money. While I still think it is important to teach, my focus today is going to be on teaching time. Anchor Chart First, like always we start with our "Who Cares About Time" discussion and anchor chart. We brainstorm why knowing how to tell time is important and which professions find it especially important. For example, time is very important in baking (setting a timer so food doesn't burn), sports (certain amount of minutes per game/time-outs), and at airports (making sure planes come and go without accidents). Of course there are tons of other real world examples! Vocabulary & Concepts Once we set the stage for learning I make sure my students have a han......

Welcome to another round of Math Tip Monday! This month we are all going to share some of our favorite measurement ideas. In first grade we focus on nonstandard measurement. We look at the length of items, proper ways to measure, and also how we can use an object to compare the lengths of two other objects (transitivity). Vocabulary: measure, order, length, height, width, longer than, shorter than, nonstandard, unit, gap, overlap I like to always tie in real world connections. One way I do that is by starting my lesson with a "Who Cares?" anchor chart. We brainstorm a list of professions that care about measurement and who use it daily. Here is what my kiddos came up with: We also continue discussing this throughout the unit with our daily warm-up discussions. Some sample ideas for discussion starters are: How do doctors (for people) use measurement for their job? Do animal doctors use it in the same way or differently? When is a time you needed t......

Spring is in the air! Here in North Carolina we tend to go from 30 degrees to 80 in one week (sometimes in one day), so I am forced to embrace Spring. March is a short month for us due to spring break but jammed packed with St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and all other things warm and sunshiney! This month I am excited to share a few of my favorite Spring Math ideas for primary grades.   Shoebox Word Problems:  My kids still need plenty of practice solving word problems. Many can now go beyond adding to 20 and we are working on adding double digits and multiples of ten. Rather than simply solving word problems on paper, I created this simple shoebox center. First I covered a shoebox with brown construction paper, wrapped like a gift. Then I cut some grass fringe and added it to the top. Finally I cut some slits in the top of the box to slide my laminated carrot cards into. This is a simple center you can create with any problems of your choice, or you can find my C......

Hello! I hope you are having a great start to your year! January certainly seemed to fly by. Over the summer when Theresa's Teaching Tidbits and I planned out our year of Math Tip Monday posts I knew I would be teaching place value around this time of year. Thank goodness! We have done addition and subtraction (all Operation and Algebraic standards) for the past 18 weeks and certainly can use a change.  However...we are getting ready to kick off all of our place value fun over the next few weeks. Today I will share a sneak peak of some of our plans for the unit. I will be sure to come back and add photos throughout the next few weeks of the plans in action. When I first started teaching place value in first grade (pre-common core) years ago, I basically thought it meant taking out some of these old trusty base ten blocks and calling it a day. Students could quickly look at a number and see that they needed some long sticks for the first digit and some cubes for the second ......

Hi there! I don't know about you but I think this time of year always seems hectic and the kids are extra off the walls crazy excited about everything. While I would love to sit back and cave to my secret desire to do arts and crafts all day....teaching still needs to happen! Today's Math Tip Monday link up brings you tons of fun ways to incorporate seasonal activities into math lessons, while also keeping the level of engagement and content needed. I promise to keep it short and sweet today because let's be real...life is busy! Side note, not all of the activities below are super cute/pin worthy but the kids are enjoying them and that my friends, makes this teacher happy.  One of my favorite ways to get kids excited about a new season is to change up my math manipulatives. For example, we used plastic eyeballs for halloween counters, acorns in the fall, and little pumpkin beads in pie pans for Thanksgiving. This month I am busting out the jingle bells! You ca......