Cooperative Learning with Task Cards #1

With test prep season upon us, I am going to start a series of cooperative learning strategies that can be used with task cards.  Whether you have task cards that are multiple choice or simply question/answer format, the cooperative learning strategies can be used to keep your students actively engaged avoiding the monotony of simply answering questions.

Pick a Card is a strategy that I use quite often.  Directions for the strategy are below.

Today's post is one of six in the series.  I have decided to add in a little extra.  I recently finished an entire set of task cards aligned to the 4th grade Common Core Math.  There are a total of 31 sets, and if purchased individually they would be valued at $69.75.  Although these cards are aligned with 4th grade common core, depending on the need of your students, they can also be used with 3rd and 5th graders.  Throughout the series there will be a total of three opportunities for you to win a complete set of task cards.

Today is the beginning of the giveaways.  

Here is what you need to do in order to enter for a chance to win (to enter you will need a Pinterest account):

1.  Pin THIS post to a board of your choice and copy the link in Rafflecopter below.

2.  Go to my TpT store HERE, and pin at least one set of task cards to a board relevant to you and copy the link in Rafflecopter.  Please add a $ sign to the end of the description so that other Pinners will know it's a paid item. :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Within the next six weeks in addition to a weekly tip for using task cards, there will be two more chances to win a complete set of Task Cards for 4th Grade Common Core Math.  The only catch is that you will need to stop by every Wednesday to see if it's giveaway time.  :)

***Winners for this giveaway will be announced on Sunday, January 13***

A Winter Freebies Frenzy!

It is hard to believe that we are amongst the holiday season.  It always seems to creep up!  Tomorrow we are back to school after Thanksgiving break and students tend to be a bit restless.  Don't tell the kids, but their teacher has counted the number of school days until winter break.  Shhhh......we only have 19 school days!!

Below you will find a coordinated collection of winter freebies.  I hope that you find them useful, especially during the last few days before break! 

This Math Centers Mini Collection contains two different games both aligned to Common Core.  Each game comes with a recording sheet, directions for play and playing cards. As an upper grades teacher, I have never been a true center user.  So, this is something I would use for early finishers or as an anchor activity after a short lesson.

Match It is similar to memory but with a twist.  Students are up and moving around with this activity.  Each student is given a card and they move around the room checking their classmate's cards to find their match.  Students love this.  While the activity was made with Match It in mind, it can be used as a traditional memory game also.

One of my favorite games, I have...Who has...!!!  This game is not a new one, but I have updated it and added an additional eight cards.

The next three freebies are items that serve different purposes.  Exit slips for a quick check on student's learning.  A winter themed Think Tac Toe that is perfect for early finishers, and Find a Buddy Who that gets your students up, walking around, and talking with a purpose.

Laura Candler from Corkboard Connections is hosting a Holiday Learning Link-Up.  You will find many freebies and holiday learning ideas.  It's the season of giving! 

Pinterest Weekly Round-Up 6

Last week's favorite pins! 

Original source:  Water Cycle simulation via Pinterest

Original Source:  Social Studies Central via Pinterest

Original source:  National Geographic Young Explorers via Pinterest

Original source:  First 100 Days via Pinterest 

 Original source:  Factors Venn Diagram via Pinterest

Hump Day Sale-Math Centers-CCSS aligned

It's that day! Hump day AND sale day on Cooperative Learning 365. Today I'm featuring my Math Centers Level 1 and Level 2.  Finding Math Centers for upper grades are often times hard to find.  These Math Centers contain everything that you need and are easy as 1-2-3 to set up,  Little to no assembly is required to put the activities into play!

A printable poster for each activity is provided and contains the skill, Common Core State Standard being addressed, materials list, and directions for play.  Not all center activities require a recording sheet, but are provided if necessary.  The range of Common Core State Standards addressed allow for differentiation within your classroom.

There are two versions of the Math Centers, an owl version and also a Halloween version.  Below you will find specific details about each center.

Today only, these centers are 20% off in my TpT store.  Click the images below to be taken directly to the specific version and/or level.  

 

 

Hump Day Sale

I recently finished Fourth Grade Math Magic.  Math Magic is a collection of math printables that introduce new skills, provide review, and extend upon skills within the Mathematics Common Core Standards.  Each week contains 25 questions that are provided in the same format and sequence. 

Fourth Grade Weekly Math Magic covers all 4th grade Common Core Math Standards.  Depending on the needs of your students these weekly printables could be used in 3rd grade as well as 5th.  There are four sets available.  Each set includes nine weeks worth of practice with corresponding answer keys. 

From experience, I highly recommend implementing a spiral review for Math whether you find Math Magic to be your answer or another type of review.  I think the consistency and repetition plays a huge role in each students' success with mathematics.  

 For today October 3, all four sets of Fourth Grade Math Magic are 20% off in my TpT store.  To get the best value you will also find all four sets bundled at a discounted price.

To be taken to a specific set, click the images below. 

Pinterest Weekly Round-up 2

Here they are, my top 5 pins for the week past.  I love all things anchor charts.  There are two anchor chart Pins that I highly recommend.  Hopefully you will find many uses for the Pins below.  To learn more, click on the links below to be taken to the original sources. 

Original source:  Paper Plate Sundial via Pinterest

Original Source:  Write Like a Scientist Anchor Chart via Pinterest

Original source:  Math Live via Pinterest

Original source:  Classroom Anchor Charts and Posters via Pinterest 

 

Original source:  Interactive Small Group Anchor Charts via Pinterest

Do you have a favorite Pin from last week?  Leave your link in the comments to share!

Common Core Assessments

New school year, new district, and new grade level.  School is back in full force.  Today was day eight, and I could not have asked for a better start!  Pictures of the new homestead are coming soon!

In addition to beginning the year and my daughter's 5th birthday, I have been working hard to finish the ELA Common Core Assessment Pack for 4th grade.  Math has been completed for about a month now, and I really don't think it was as tedious as Language Arts.  I have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into compiling this resource.  Well, I may not have literally bled, sweated, or cried but you get the point.  It took a lot of time and brain power, but I'm happy to announce it's finished and ready to be put into action!

Below you will find a preview of what is included.  For Math, each standard has a one-page printable assessment.  The English Language Arts Standards are the same except for the standards within Writing and Speaking/Listening.  These standards are better assessed locally through students' writing and teacher observation.  You will not find a printable assessment for these. 

The English Language Arts contain answer keys for each printable assessment.  Unfortunately, I have not included answer keys for Math quite yet, but they are in the making and will be added very soon.  If you purchase them beforehand, you will be notified through TpT when they become available.

 

When compiling these assessment packs I envisioned using them for common formative assessments.  Please keep in mind that these assessments are simply one type of assessment.  You as the teacher are the best judge of the assessment that should be used in your classroom. 

If you are a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade teacher you can find assessment packs aligned to your grade level by following the links below.  Thanks to The Lesson Plan Diva for starting the 1st grade assessments and allowing me to compile the 4th grade!

The Lesson Plan Diva - 1st Grade Common Core Assessments-Math

The Lesson Plan Diva - 1st Grade Common Core Assessments-ELA

Sunny Days in Second - 2nd Grade Common Core Assessments-Math

Sunny Days in Second - 2nd Grade Common Core Assessments-ELA

3rd Grade Gridiron - 3rd Grade Common Core Assessments-Math

Fix It - A Cooperative Learning Strategy

Introducing.....Fix It.  A cooperative learning strategy  in which students are given a problem and three multiple choice answers. Two of the answers are correct and one incorrect. Students are to find the incorrect answer and then "Fix It" on their response sheet.

To introduce this strategy, I have created a sampler that is aligned to Common Core Standards 3.NBT.2 and 4.NBT.4.  The sampler contains 15 cards, but the full card packs will have 30 question and answer cards. 

I like how this strategy allows students to find the incorrect answer versus the correct.  A twist to the traditional multiple choice.  You can download the free sampler HERE in my TpT store.   I hope you find these useful!

Geo Board Match

There is an unexplained attraction to geo boards.  The moment my students see these surface, there is a round of "yay, I love these!".  For a bit of review we pulled these out and had at it.

My students partnered up for this activity.  Each set of partners had a set of geo board match cards, rubber bands, and two geo boards.  Partners would draw a card to take the challenge.  They would independently create the figure using the available clues.  After they each finished creating the figure, they would compare their boards.  Of course their figures may have varied and may not have necessarily looked like the answer on the back, but if they could prove the clues then they were good to go.  That is the beauty of geometry, as long as the figure was created by following the clues, by definition, they are correct.

As an extension, I had students create their own shapes and then they identified the attributes of their individual figures.  These activities differentiated their learning and allowed them to think outside the box.

To grab a free copy of the Geo Board Match cards that we used, click HERE!

Go Green with Number Draw

With Number Draw, students can practice a variety of concepts without the paper/pencil!  Concepts may include sums, differences, products, odd and even numbers, and also prime and composite numbers.

Variations

• Students use only use one hand, where the largest product would be 25.
• Students use both hands, where the largest product would be 100.
• Find the sum.
• Find the difference.
• Is the sum, difference, or product even or odd?
• Is the sum, difference, or product prime or composite?

Problem Solving At Its Finest

Recently I decided that I needed to add a bit more problem solving into my student's daily routine.  I have known about Laura Candler's Daily Math Puzzler Program and thought I would give it a try.   

Laura has four available levels.  I am a fourth grade teacher, and I knew my students’ ability varied, so I needed to determine what level(s) I needed.  After six months with my students, I know that they are fairly good at problem solving.  I was confident that I could start my students on Level B, but I wanted to track their progress.  For this reason, I went ahead and gave them a problem solving pretest.  I used Laura’s free Problem Solving Assessment, and tested them on Level A,B, and C.  Using the tips for analyzing the students work outlined in the pack, I grouped my students accordingly.  The results of the pretest placed approximately two-thirds of my students in Level B and the rest were in Level C. 

I have found that my students respond best to short periodic practice, so I wanted to keep this problem solving practice short and to the point.  I cut out each problem so students only have one problem to look at.  Even though students are on different levels, they do not make this connection because once they have completed their problem, I check their work giving them immediate feedback on their own problem.  Once I have checked and provided instruction, if needed, they take their problem and glue it into their Composition notebook that we call “Brain Book”.  Our Brain Books go home daily for parents to look at and sign, so parents are also seeing how students are doing on their problem solving. 

As a result of using Laura Candler’s Daily Math Puzzlers, I have seen improvement in my students’ ability to problem solve. What has always been a chore and full of moans and groans, has changed into an exciting part of our day.  Their excitement is due to their ability to feel successful, the quick process, and the immediate feedback.

Daily Math Puzzlers contain an amazing amount of resources in all available levels.

• Tips from real teachers that have implemented the program
• Letter to parents explaining the program
• Cooperative learning activities are outlined with directions
• Progress charts 
• Rubric 
• Enrichment activities and games 
• Practicing calculator skills 
• Checklist for students to use while solving problems 
• Math problem template for creating additional problems 
• Encourages students to show their work and explain their thinking 
• The eBook is convenient for printing and pulling up examples onto the Smart Board

In addition to the resources found in the Daily Math Puzzler eBook, you will find other helpful resources in Laura Candler's Problem Solving File Cabinet.


If you are looking for a way to add more problem solving to your day, want to excite your students, and want support I highly recommend Laura's Math Puzzler's Program!

A Little Hands-On Geometry

Teaching Geometry is my favorite part of 4th grade Math.  It lends itself to many hands-on activities.  Students feel success and get excited, especially those who struggle with computation.  I hear my students say, "I'm good at this!"  That my friends, is fun to hear!

During the past couple of weeks, we have been busy constructing and exploring two and three dimensional shapes.  Laura Candler has some amazing Geometry resources!  In teams, my students worked together on Laura's Tangram Polygon Challenge which is free on her website along with Tangram Patterns.  I chose to use the advanced challenge, which allowed room for differentiation.  All students practiced composing and decomposing shapes at their level.  I had some students who were only able to construct simple shapes such as a square with two triangles while my advanced students were able to create more complex figures with more pieces.

We also got a little sticky!  Yes, sticky!  Inspired by a Pinterest photo, my student created three dimensional figures using marshmallows and toothpicks.  It was a little tricky at first, but overall I was very proud of how well they did.  The figures were a little rickety, but after a day or two the marshmallows hardened and they became much more sturdy.  Students were able to count the vertices (marshmallows), edges (toothpicks), and visualize the faces. They thought constructing these three dimensional figures was the best!

Do you use cooperative learning in teaching math?  What ways do you get students actively involved?