OG Lesson Flow/Behavior Chart

We are on the next two last day of our 2012 Orton Gillingham Associate Level Training.  Almost done!  It has been a great week, and what an awesome group of trainees!  The thing I love about training is the friendships, networking, and extended learning communities that are developed.

If you don't know about the Orton Gillingham Approach or Trainings you should definitely check it out.  Ask any of the trainees.....well maybe wait a week or two until their brains have had a break and their opinions not so frazzled (just kidding).

So for all of you new trainees or Orton tutors, trainer, teachers, parents, etc. here is a schedule/checklist I created for my little friends who need a visual reminder of the flow of the lesson.  It also has a component where you or the student can monitor how they feel they are doing in each of the portions of the lesson.  ++ = Giving my best work  + =Just ok   triangle= needs work.  I have also built in Brain Breaks (stretching, yoga moves, joke, settle your thoughts jar, etc.) where I felt were natural breaks in the lesson.  This is based on a 30-45 minute lesson and you may want to extend the length of the brain break.

You can download the freebie here!   
Hope it is helpful!

Candi : )

Check Yourself	My Very Best	Just Ok	Work on It
Warm Up
Visual Drill
Auditory Drill
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
Words to Read
Words to Spell
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
New Info-
Words to Read
Words to Spell
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
Reading
Writing/Grammar
Recap

Subtract All and a freebie!

Wow! It's been a few weeks since I have posted.  But what a fun, but busy, month it has been.  I recently finished my first OG training as on-site director.  It was a blast!  Thank you to Jane Childers and all of the wonderful teachers from The Learning Center at The Lexington School who participated!     You ladies made it a truly wonderful experience and I hope to continue working with you!

So as I prepare for Math camp, I put together a quick resource on Subtracting All (or none).  I think we sometimes forget how important it is to directly and explicitly teach the vocabulary of the content.  I know I am guilty of getting caught up in what I am teaching and assuming they know more than they do.  So here is the freebie.

For those of you in the Lexington area you should check out this wonderful school:
The Lexington School

I hope you all have a safe and Happy 4th!  - Candi : )


                                                  A funny from Pinterest to leave you with:

Do you need to FLOSS (Z) ?

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

No I am not working on a unit having to do with teeth.  Instead we are reviewing on of the spelling patterns we have learned this year.  We have rules that we group as "short vowel flags."  Well the FLOSS(Z) rule is one of them.  If you are unfamiliar with the rule (which I was until I started my OG training) here it is:
If there is a-

1 syllable word with
1 short vowel
ending in F, L, S, or Z
you DOUBLE the FINAL consonant!!!

Enjoy!
Candi : )

Compound Words & a Freebie!

So we are down to 12 school days...I think.  It's the time of year when I get sentimental about my sweet firsties and try to talk them into staying with me next year.  I tell my husband I am sad to let them move up to which he replies, "you say this every year."  But it's true- you become very invested in their little lives and the daily routine is now at the point where it is fun and easier.  But next year will bring new little inquiring minds.

As the year is winding down and end of year assessments are being completed, I am able to see what areas need just that little bit of extra review before my sweet kiddos go to 2nd grade.  We work a lot on combining syllables, specifically focusing on syllable types- ie- combining closed and closed or closed and silent e, etc.  But after reviewing some informal assessments, I realized we needed a little more explicit instruction on plain ol' compound words.  I saw this cute Easter egg activity at The Lesson Plan Diva's site to create compound words.

I also included a freebie that I created.  You can download it here!

I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful end to your school year!  Summer is coming!
Candi : )

Blends-Again!

Please feel free to repost- but would you please link back to me : )

http://www.memosfromamultisensoryteacher.com/

Wow- it has been awhile since I have posted.  There has been a lot going on and I could not find time to get my posts up.  But I have been taking pictures and videos of the happenings in class to share with my blog friends.   So as we are winding the school year, we have been doing a lot of review.  Blends (initial and final) are still bugaboos for some of my kiddos.  

For those of you familiar with Orton-Gillingham, you have probably seen the "blending drill pack."  Well this was my little addition to the process.  I had posted earlier about adding small sticky notes in order to create a "button" for each sound that the student could "push" as they said the sound.  The above video is an example of how I would complete this activity.

For Parents- This is a GREAT review tool for the summer and easy to make on notecards.  

For Teachers- this is a GREAT and quick warm-up for a lesson.

For OG Tutors- I complete this right after my Visual and Auditory Drills.

I hope this is helpful.  I promise more to come-more often.  Thanks for your patience!

Candi : )

For a Sweet Little Girl

I came across a blog today about a sweet little girl named Avery.  She suffers from a rare genetic disorder.  It is such a moving story, and so courageous for her parents to choose to celebrate her in this way.  As I look towards the years in my life where my husband and I hope to become parents, I am so grateful for families like this who share their stories to educate and help other hopeful parents.  Please support Avery and her parents, and get the word out about SMA.

Canahuati Family thank you for your bravery and sharing your journey.  May God bless you and keep you all.  You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Here is the link to the blog:
http://averycan.blogspot.com/

I'm thinking BEACH!

Hello  friends,
It has been quite a busy few days and I have not been able to write you!  I don't know about you but I often find my mind wondering to the beach these days.  With the 80 degree weather, sunshine, and the fact my husband put my hammock up for the season....it is really hard not to go on mental vacays!

Anyways- in keeping with the beach idea I found some treasures at the Target dollar section....you know the one my husband says, "it's not a dollar section when you spend 50 dollars."  Yep that one!  So during my language lesson we use phoneme drill cards/flash cards and have the students trace the letter three times in cursive while saying the sound.  Well to spice it up a bit I took a math beach ball idea and made it into a language idea.  On the ball I put all of the sounds they had learned this year.  Then we take turns tossing, shooting, etc. the beach ball and whatever two graphemes/letters your thumbs land on you have to give that sound.  If it has multiple sounds, for example y that says /y/, /e/, and /i/, they have to give all three sounds.  Of course you then have those times when the thumb isn't exactly on a letter.....just choose the closest one.  Here is what it looks like:

Also in the dollar section, I found a set of plastic horseshoes.  I set these up and have the kiddos break into teams.  I quiz them on a spelling pattern, rule, etc.  If they answer correctly they get to throw their horseshoe.  Pretty cheap ways to have fun and chances to get OUTSIDE!!!! Here is a picture of them:

Anyways hope you enjoy!

Candi : )

Back in the routine....

Well last week and today was Spring Break.  I actually held to the promise to myself of doing absolutely nothing work related. So instead I was able to organize my house, ok I'll be honest parts of my house. My 3 year anniversary was this week too, so as one of his presents I organized what my husband calls the "knife drawer."  You see I hate having stuff sitting out on the counters.  He has tried to buy cutesy little utensil holders for the countertop, but I just can't do it.  Instead I put (he says cram) all of them in one drawer.  It drove him crazy.  I went to Target and bought the ridiculously overpriced drawer organizers and went to work.  When he came off I proudly showed off the new and improved utensil and knife drawer to which he was amazed and thrilled.  You see my husband and I can be both CDO (you know the saying-like OCD except the letters are in order as they should be) and complete slobs and we never seem to be on the same schedule with it.  But who knew organizing a few knives would make his day.  Anniversary gift = check.  Lame I know- but I also got him a new tie and a Woolrich jacket.

Now that I am working on getting back in the routine....yikes....tomorrow may be harder than I thought, I found a couple of photos I wanted to share...and no it's not the knife drawer.

Just as I have my students track with a pencil or finger as they are reading text, I also have them use the tracking strategy for mathematics.  This brings their attention to the numerals, helps them read the numerals from left to right, and also helps in determining which numeral is in what place.  If the student is able to read the numeral correctly...for example- "fifty-four" ....they can hear themselves say "fifty" and know there are 5 tens.  

Just a tip from my classroom to yours.

Have a great week!

Candi : )

Easter = Love

 God showing his unconditional love towards mankind. What a wonderful gift! I invite you to come or watch via internet to one of these great places of worship:

http://newspring.cc/

http://mudcreekchurch.org/

God's greatest blessings to you all!  Happy Easter!

Candi : )

Celebrate Calm

Last night Carolina Day hosted Kirk and Casey the father-son team from  Celebrate Calm.  I'll be honest, I was not exactly excited about going to a workshop on a Monday evening.  I must say I am so glad I went.  Not only did they give GREAT advice, they were very entertaining.  They were able to use humor and honesty to approach some tough scenarios that we as teachers, parents, etc. face each day.  It challenged me to do some self reflection on my own personal management.

Kirk offered excellent suggestions for breaking the (unsuccessful) cycles we sometimes fall into with kids who are oppositional, have difficulty managing energy, or have difficulty with social situations.  Casey offered the perspective of the child who has these struggles and what did and did not work for him growing up.  

They have a series of videos which I highly recommend- but if you get the chance to see them live take advantage of it.

Here is their website: http://celebratecalm.com/

Check it out!

Candi : )

Tick-Tock!

Hi Everyone-
I saw this really cute and helpful clock idea from the Learning Ideas Grade K-8.  I like that it has the hour listed but also the kiddos can really see the five minute increments.  You should check it out!

We do a similar clock created by our 3rd grade teacher.  Hopefully I can get pics of that up soon!

Candi : )

One more use for Painter's Tape

I know.... I know.....last post today I promise!  I was browsing through my photos (for a slideshow for school) and my husband spotted this one, and said I should post it. So here is one other way I use painter's tape.  For those of you using Singapore Math or Math in Focus you are working with number bonds.  We use Math in Focus as supplemental materials.  So I built number bonds on white boards using the tape so that my kids could use them while they needed the frame, but I would still have my mini-white boards still intact.

Parents- this would be an easy review tool for homework.  Tutors this is an easily transported manipulative.

PS- I got the boards in the Target Dollar Section (my fave!!!)

-Candi : )

Framing Your Thoughts

So I know I am breaking the "more than one post in a day" rule....but I have to have something to distract me while I fret over the Carolina game. (Go Heels!)  I have already loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, laundry is in progress, and lesson plans finished. As usual my husband is yelling out the score from the other room.  You see my Pa and I have this crazy idea that we can be bad luck charms to the Heels...so we only watch a few minutes periodically.    Here is my sweet Pa:

Anyways.... enough Madness here is something else- Project Read has an approach to Grammar and Sentence Structure called Framing Your Thoughts. I have been using it since the beginning of the year and I have seen quite a difference with my student's writing skills.  I like their idea of a "Bare-Bones" sentence- where the student develops just a noun and a verb.  From this point you build using parts of speech to create a complete sentence.  I like the sequential approach to it.  Plus it uses grammar for its intended and most useful purpose- Writing!

Here are some pics from my class:

Here's to a Tarheel win!  Candi : )

Painter's Tape

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend.  I just wanted to share a quick tip that you may already know- but just in case you don't.  A co-worker of mine introduced me to the idea of using blue painter's tape on a magnetic board (or any white board) in order to create handwriting lines.  I have also created a place value chart on my second board.  I have used electrical tape before- but it leaves a sticky residue.  The painter's tape pulls right off with no residue.  As my student's handwriting has improved I have made the space between the lines more narrow.  It has been great for handwriting practice, spelling, and sentence construction.

Hope this is helpful.  Have a great week!  Candi : )

Test Post

So we are switching email accounts as a school so I had to change over my blog email.  If you have ever tried to change the primary email on a blog it can be confusing at first.  But our faithful tech extraordinaire  (Thanks Bo!) figured it out without me throwing my computer or accidentally deleting everything.  Anyways- in doing so my profile has now changed and maybe a few other things that I may have not noticed yet...so give me a few days and I will have everything back to semi-normal again.

Grandparent's and Grand-Friends Day is tomorrow, so I am off to clean up for company and finish solar system dioramas.  Pics to come soon!

Happy Thursday!

Candi : )

It's Ridiculously Long Lasting.... Gum

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! So as I was walking into class this morning I heard one of my friends say, "Here want to try my new gum it's ridiculously long lasting."  Now that is some great marketing if you can get a firstie to recall your catch-phrase. 

We do let our kiddos chew gum only in our classes (not lunch, recess, etc.) as a way to increase focus.  We also try to have gum be peppermint in flavor, because of the research behind peppermint being a flavor/smell that wakes up your brain.

Anyways- I found it humorous and thought of all the reasons for him to offer to share his gum....I really think he just wanted to say "ridiculously long lasting."

A freebie for you:
We are working on the multiple spellings of long e.  I teach it as e by itself (most of the time at the end of short words and open syllables), e-e (most of the time at the end of a word following the e-consonant e/silent e pattern), and ee in the middle (most of the time) of a word.  We will move into ea (most of the time in the middle of the word- also words you eat....eat, meat, treat) and y (at the end of a 2 + syllable word).

Download it here!

Happy Wednesday!

Candi : )

Blends....urgh!!!

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! In first grade we are learning to decode new words, building new reading and writing skills, and everything is going along smoothly until....you add initial and final blends.  The bug-a boo of many firsties! 

For my Orton tutors, teachers, parents, and friends I use the blending drill pack that you may have seen in training, at school, or for homework.

Those of you who are not familiar with the blending drill pack you can of course make these with colored notecards. Prior to practicing with students, place colored sticky tabs on the blend cards- one for each sound in the blend.

1. Pull a vowel and have the student say the long and short sound.
2. Pull a consonant and place it following the vowel.  Remind students the vowel will now be short    because it is "closed in" by a consonant (closed syllable).
3. Then have students "push the button" (sticky) for each consonant sound followed by the vowel and final consonant.
4.  Then have students slide two fingers underneath blending the whole syllable/word together a second time for a smooth read.
5.  Flip the blend card for a new word.
*Double check possible word combinations beforehand....sometimes a word combination might surprise you.*

You can do the same thing with final blends. You can also change the syllable type and vowel sound.
I have found this really helps students see the two (or more) sounds in the blend, and aids them in pulling them apart and putting them together again.  It is also helpful when they are reading a word in text with a blend....I will place a small dash under each consonant and they "push the button" with their pencil.

This exercise will also help when they go to spell words with blends.  Below is a picture of how I do this exercise in class.
(We label the vowels with dots, and consonants with c.) They always have to "swoop" back under the word to blend and read smoothly.
Happy Blending!  : ) Candi

Road Trip and a Freebie

Well I have made it to Lexington to visit some of my favorite teacher friends the ladies from The Learning Center at The Lexington School.  I get to spend the day visiting with them tomorrow and then it is off to Indianapolis for the AOGPE conference.  A whirlwind of a trip, but I am looking forward to it!

So as I was looking for a document today for my grad class, I happened upon an oldie from my first year of teaching in fourth grade.  My kiddos at the time were very musically inclined and came up with a catchy tune to remember the steps of double digit multiplication.  So although I would not use it with my firsties, I thought those of you who teach older kids might find it useful.  If you are not into catchy jingles this is not for you!  Our fifth grade teacher sometimes cringes (with a smile) at the math jingles I use.  Hey- it's great to be in first grade!

Anyways- long story short download the doc here!

Candi : )

Get Your Brain Juices Flowing!

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to give a shout out to my little sister (well 24 year old sister) who created a "Get Ready to Learn" obstacle course for our school.  My wonderful principal partnered with my sister (who has her masters in exercise science) to create these stations to help our students get their brain juices flowing!  We use these during our mini-breaks (kids get a quick snack, water, opportunity for movement).  She researched which specific exercises worked on core muscles and vestibular motion.  Plus it increases their ability to focus on a task following the exercise.  Here is a picture of her modeling a station:

This station is called "Wibble-Wobble" and it is a kiddo favorite!
A book on the market that describes the impact of exercise on learning is:

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by: John Ratey

http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113506

We give our students "Brain Breaks" that are purposefully built into our lessons as often as needed for your particular group of learners.  Other types of "brain breaks" I use are quick and easy yoga moves, humor, music, stretches, and basic plyometric exercises (also known as "superman jumps" to my kids.

Parents:  I would encourage the use of "brain breaks" in homework to minimize the complexity of homework time.  

So go get moving!

Candi : )

Sequencing, PA, and Spelling Patterns...oh my!

Happy Monday Everyone!
So I tried an new activity today in LT (Langauge Tutorial).  
I saw this version of this activity at the 2012 NCIDA conference.  Susie Van der Vorst F/AOGPE of Camp Spring Creek, shared this during her presentation.  I also believe Kelly Ellis and Parker Tegeler of the Triad School also shared this activity in their presentation at NCIDA.

You can use this with poker chips if you would like to do it on the table.  Susie had put the vowels and consonants on foam circles- consonants one color and vowels another.  This worked great for first graders!!!  It gave them the chance to move and build sequencing, phonemic awareness, and spelling skills.

*This is also a easy and cool review activity to do at home to maintain skills over the summer!

I added one more element just to extend the options for my kiddos.  I put the short vowel flags, silent e, and digraphs on a third color.  So here are the steps:
1. Have students sequence the alphabet- telling them to begin on one side with a, ending with z, and m/n will be in the middle of their rainbow.
2. Have students tell you why there are two different colors (vowels and consonants).
3. Have students bring letter to the middle to create a syllable or word, and always remember to have them swoop under to read the word or syllable.
4. Have students change the beginning, middle, and final sounds to create new words.
*Bonus Layer: as they create new words, they have to put the previous letter back in the correct place.*
5. After we had manipulated several words, I then had digraphs, short vowel flags, etc. on a third color to have them practice building words using each of these.
This is such a great activity.  Thank you Susie, Kelly, and Parker for sharing! I am working on better pictures, but this is what I have so far:


*Note- This idea was borrowed from Susie Van der Vorst of Camp Spring Creek in Bakersville, NC (here is her website: http://www.campspringcreek.org/
and Kelly Ellis and Parker Tegeler of the Triad School of Winston Salem, NC

All pictures are property of The Key School.  Please site this blog when sharing pictures.

Enjoy your week!    Candi : )

A DIsney Star with Dyslexia

As a teacher who works with extremely bright students with dyslexia, I appreciate this Disney star sharing her story.  This is so cool!  She is the star of Shake it Up!  I love that she tells her story of sometimes something may seem hard, but it's not impossible.  Take a look at the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCcp-WfiEsc

Have a great week!

Candi : )

VCCCV Monster Words

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! So there is method to the madness of the English Language!  I wish I had learned these syllable division patterns earlier in life....how helpful would that have been.  So the "Monster" Words as we call them, are those few words that don't follow the VCCV (vowel, consonant, consonant, vowel- divide between the two consonants) rule.  These words have blends and digraphs. My students look for the blends and digraphs in the word, knowing they stick together and so they are able to divide the word.

I have uploaded a New Information Page freebie for you.  Happy Syllable Dividing!
MONSTER WORD FREEBIE 

Have a great day!   Candi : )

Number Bond Practice

For those of you who are working with Number Bonds as a tool for math instruction, here is a very simple, but free google doc.

Have a great weekend!    Candi : )

We are now a website!

Hi Friends!

We are now listed as a website!  Here is the link:

http://www.memosfromamultisensoryteacher.com/

Looking forward to sharing ideas with you!
Candi : )

V*CV or VC*V Syllable Division

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! In class we are reviewing "Tiger Words (V * CV)" and "Camel Words (VC * V)" for syllable division patterns.  I teach my students to try dividing the word both ways and reading it aloud to find the familiar word.  If they are having trouble reading the word, I have them cover one syllable with their finger and read it aloud, then do the same for the next syllable.

Here is a quick practice guide I made to review both.  I had them divide and swoop the words first, then write them in the correct category.
Download the freebie here!

: )  Candi

Cool Graphing Website

This week we are working on graphs.  This is a neat site for creating your own graphs.  We did it today in class and my kiddos loved it!

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

Enjoy!  : )  Candi

V * CV Tiger Words

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

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Thank you! Tomorrow my class will be working on the syllable division pattern V *CV. 

I have uploaded my new information sheet for you to download here!

Have a great week.

: )   Candi

NCIDA

Wow! The NCIDA conference went really well this weekend. There were some great presenters and I look forward to next year's conference in Hickory.

  Thank you to all of those who attended our math session.   I hope you were able to find it useful and purposeful.  I also hope you were able to take away some ideas for your class. Have a great week!

: )  Candi

Commutative Property of Addition

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! We are working on the properties of addition as we explore strategies for problem solving.  I always like to teach the equal sign as a symbol, but also as a balance.  I have attached a practice sheet from my class.

You can download the practice sheet here!  Here are a couple of pics of how we worked on this topic in my class:

I also teach them that the prefix com- means together.....so that no matter how the addends are put together, they still have the same sum.

: ) Candi

Short Vowel Flag -tch

Hi Friends,

As I am planning for this week, I have decided we will review the short vowel flags including -tch.  I think short vowel flags are fun to teach because it gives your kiddos who want to know the why- the why we sometimes spell /ch/ as ch and sometimes as -tch.

So feel free to download my -tch practice sheet here!

The second page which has a chart for spelling words with -ch vs. -tch on page 2 you can download here!
   

Happy Teaching!  : )   Candi

Math R & R

One of the things I love most about the structure of instructional time at The Key School, is that we spend the greatest part of our lesson in review and reinforcement.  Of course this is based on the Orton Principles, but the results are phenomenal.  Our kiddos need multiple presentations of material to bring it to the point of mastery. Our math team has worked together to create an "R & R" activity guide that we complete with our students in class. Some of the pieces of the R & R sheet are recall, and some use manipulatives.  They format looks the same, but material changes based on what you are covering in your classes.  Here is an example of one of my first grade R & R sheets. 

Hope you can use it!  : ) Candi

The "h" Brothers (digraphs)

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! It has been a crazy, but fun week.   I am getting ready for NCIDA and the AOGPE conferences in a couple of weeks. My math co-chair and I are presenting at NCIDA and we are both excited but have a lot to do.

 In class this week we reviewed the "h" brothers this week aka- digraphs.  Get these new info sheets here!

Have a great week! : ) Candi

I work with great people with great ideas....

In my five years of teaching I have worked with some wonderful people.  I have learned so much from watching them and working with them.  The picture below is from the current 3rd grade math teacher Amanda Smith at my school.  Our school focuses on instruction in math that starts with the concrete level (manipulatives), moves into the representational (connecting pictures/symbols with numbers) and then to the abstract level (working independently, working with numerals only, etc.) This is a picture from her class where she takes the concept of addition with larger numbers and regrouping to the concrete level, yet appropriate for the age group she teaches.

Soft G Rule

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! Here is one of my new information sheets for the concept of soft g.  I introduce this concept as "Giant Cyrus" complete with pirate eye patch and bandana.  Hopefully I can get those pictures posted soon.  His friend "Gently Cindy" visits on the day we learn soft c.  She prefers a pink boa and sunglasses.  : )

One of the reasons I love first grade: They still think it's funny when you play dress up!

Graphing

We are working on graphing this week.  Here is a little activity I created to use on the basketball court to get brain juices flowing and have some data for our work.

Get your copy here!

I also introduce my students to the morphological piece in the word.  I have attached my new information sheet for the root graph here.

Math Oldies but Goodies!

This is a list that my wonderful math team created for our parents.  
Included in this list are some suggestions for family games and books that would be great for time away from school, but also be meaningful to our student’s education.   Although we live in an age of technology, we would encourage you to consider these activities that would help promote math skills, problem solving, visual perceptual organization, teamwork, and critical thinking.  Often these “old” games are not considered for their mathematical value.  Consider introducing or reintroducing your students and parents to these resources as tools for review and reinforcement.

Get the complete list here!

The Language of Math

 Hi Everyone!

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Thank you! Even if you are teaching the little ones, do not underestimate the power of the language of math.  A lot of times as teachers we are more focused on the process and less on the language involved in the process.  Sometimes the language is the "hang up" for some students understanding.  Teaching the "word part" (root) of a word, even to a first grader extends their learning! Here is one way I do this with my kiddos:

I teach the root -fract-/-frac-/-frag- meaning to break through the discovery method.  I show the students the pictures of fracture and fragment and ask them what they think happened.  We then look at the similar parts of the two words.  They then begin to connect that these mean to break, which is the perfect lead in to fraction- breaking a whole into parts.

Here is a sorting/review activity to go with this, you can download it here!