Combo Bakery

The day before Thanksgiving break was the perfect day for mixing up the learning.  Our classroom was transformed into the Combo Bakery.  When the chefs arrived, it was time to cook up the days objectives.  What is a thesaurus's favorite breakfast?  Synonym rolls, of course ! We started by putting on chef hats and coats.  Then, we read a recipe for synonym rolls.

First, the students had to sort synonym pairs in their baking teams.  Then, each student picked a word on a blank synonym roll.  The students had to use the thesaurus to come up with several words to go on the bun.  They had to navigate their way through the thesaurus using guide words.  The chefs really did some excellent work.  We celebrated their successes with tasty cinnamon rolls.  Thank you, Mrs. Wolverton for the delicious treat.

The afternoon brought more bakery learning; however, this time the focus was on author's purpose.  The chefs learned the ingredients that help us determine whether the author wrote a piece to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain....PIE!  The students were put in teams of four.  They had 24 slices of text.  Each group member made a selection.  They read the text to their team and had to sort the pieces into Persuade, Inform, or Entertain pie tins.  They worked so hard.  Each team member had to agree on the author's purpose for each piece of text.  Students had to justify their selections.

And....why were the students so engaged?  Because every eight text pieces that the group sorted correctly meant that team got to play a round of Pie Face!  Oh my goodness!  Author's purpose has never been so fun...or sticky!

Representing Multiplication and Division in Third Grade

Third grade is building a foundation for multiplication and division.  We have been solving word problems with multiplication and division scenarios.  The students had really solid background knowledge about multiplication.  However, the concept of division provided opportunity for new learning. 

We represented division equations using manipultaives and a fair share strategy.  We also used a number line to show repeated subtraction.  Finally, the students really made a strong connection using the inverse operation- multiplication.  They loved seeing that the fact families applied to multiplication and division.

Next we are moving to applying multiplication and division strategies to move the facts to fluency. This is an easy standard to practice at home.  There are some wonderful apps to use for practice.  Two of the students's favorites are Quick Math and Math Bingo.  You may remember these apps from when we were working on addition and subtraction fact fluency.  These are apps that grow with you!  If you have a computer at home, here are some great games that require Flash.  Each are linked to the blog.

Meteor Multiplication

Fruit Splat Multiplication

Bleepy's Gifts Multiplication

Croc Doc Division

Demolition Division

Fact Fluency in Second Grade

Second graders have been working towards fact fluency with their addition and subtraction facts.  To practice the students have been using mental strategies like doubles, doubles plus 1, using 10, fact families, and decomposing the problem into known sums.  For example, adding 9+8 by making it 10+7.  By the end of the trimester, the students should know from memory all the sums of two one-digit numbers (within 20).


This is an easy standard to practice at home.  There are some wonderful apps to use for practice.  Two of the students's favorites are Quick Math and Math Bingo.  These are great 2 dollar investment apps because not only do they help your child practice addition and subtraction facts, but they include multiplication and division when your child is ready.  If you have a computer at home, here are some great games that require Flash.  Each are linked to the blog.

Alien Addition

Pirate Sums

Jet Ski Addition

Reindeer Cafe

Fast Food Math +/-

Fruit Splat Subtraction

Cone Crazy Subtraction

Of course, old fashion flashcards will also promote fluency.  In class we love to play games.  I sent home Gobble Bump before Thanksgiving.  Additionally, Playing cards are a great tool.  Play a version of "War" but flip over two cards every time.  The largest sum takes the cards.  Another class favorite is the game Sergeant.  This game is a fun way to practice missing addends.  You need three players.  Two players duel while the third is the Sergeant.  The two players each hold a card up to their foreheads without looking at their own card.  The Sergeant tells the players the sum of the two numbers.  The first player to correctly identify the card he/she is holding wins the round.  This is also a great game for practicing multiplication and division...just change from the sergeant giving the sum to giving the product.

Kid Power

We are on a mission, a mission to make a difference.  We have joined the UNICEF Kid Power team.  By joining this team, we have joined a movement to get active, save lives, and help UNICEF end global malnutrition. Every step we take wearing our bands, we help unlock lifesaving food packets for children in need around the world.  Here is a quick video introduction to this exciting movement that we get to be a part of:

We have been working for about 4 weeks now.  This week 5 students completed their first mission and moved onto their second.  As a class, we have released 85 life-saving RUTF food packets. Our first movement goal is 100 packets.  The students have been doing a lot of math with the bands. They figured out that in this first mission, 2500 steps gets them a powerpoint.  It takes 10 powerpoints to release an RUTF packet.  Everyday we record our steps and powerpoints in our math journal.  The students have also been looking for patterns in their data.  On the days we have a lower step count, like on early out Wednesdays, the students have been finding ways to get more steps in.  For instance, standing up and jogging after completing part of an assignment or running a few extra laps at recess.

The bands have been great for academics with meaningful math applications and helping the students learn about the different parts of the world where our RUTF packets are going. However, the most powerful piece is the empowerment.  Kids helping kids.  So incredible!  I overheard a recess conversation, one of the third graders said, "This is important work, probably the most important thing I have ever done."  These students are empowered in their mission.  They are really encouraging each other in class, celebrating each other's accomplishments, and are so proud of their work for UNICEF. I couldn't be more proud. Just look at their comments to each other on SeeSaw.

Thank you so much to Mr. and Mrs. Wardell and the Billings Education Foundation.  Last year, I wrote a grant called "Fit for Philanthropy" and the Wardell's generously funded the idea.  The Wardell's are amazing proponents of children and education.  I am so honored to have been touched by their generosity and friendship.  I can't wait until they get to visit and see these amazing students moving to make a difference.