Five for Friday~Story Problems

Hi, Friends! How are ya? It’s time for another Five for Friday!



It’s been an amazing day! It’s after midnight so, I guess I should say…yesterday was an amazing day! It started with the mad dash out of the door after missing the first go ‘round with the alarm clock. Just before dismissal, the heavens opened and rained down golf ball sized hail! In true TX fashion….20 minutes later….the sun was shining and we were off and making a mad dash for the first night of our church’s Spring Awakening conference. I can hear my pillow calling, so let’s take a quick look-see at what went down in Room 159 this week. Ready?



This week, math was all about addition and subtraction using problem solving. This chart isn’t all that cutesy, but it served the purpose of introducing new math language to problem solving.  Simple, but significant and part of the process of learning…



Admittedly, I think we did a little more adding than subtracting. No worries though because this will be our focus in math again next week. We used this story problem to practice modeling different addition sentences for the same sum (with 2 addends).

Students worked in pairs with a set of ten frames to model “teen sums”. Each pair of students were assigned a number and worked to model all of the combinations for that sum beginning with 0 + the given number.  We started with 0 in order for students to see the pattern developing as their first addend increased and the second one decreased. One student in the group managed the ten frames and one was in charge of the marker.



On the next day, we moved to creating story problems in order to incorporate writing in math.



We dedicate one day each week to story problems. This week was a little different because rather than simply have students work to solve story problems, I had them start from scratch to create them. In doing so, students had to model their thinking using ten frames and use math language in their writing. Differentiation for ability determined how many counters each student was given.

Students dropped their counters onto their desks, then arranged them on ten frames and told a story to their shoulder buddy before beginning to write. I also modeled one on the whiteboard before expecting them to do this independently. Once their stories were written, students were given a sheet of drawing paper to illustrate the problem they had written. Notice the finishing touch? Even my witty class of mostly boys LOVES doodle frames!

Part of the learning process was being able to get thinking onto paper…not every student got what they thought and spoke written perfectly onto their papers, but that was part of the learning process too. My struggling readers/writers dictated their story problem to me. I wrote it on a sticky note and they copied it onto the writing paper.




Math is ALWAYS the most active time of day in our classroom. You can check out some of the activities we use to review skills in my little TPT shop! I’m blessed to be participating in a sale with over 200 fantastic blogging friends! Here are…..ummmm, just a few 100 or so of them…



You might’ve noticed that things at A+ Firsties have changed a bit. The little rainbow is my previous logo. You’ll find the new one at TPT looks like my updated button. Click HERE to grab a freebie to write a few story problems of your own! Have a great weekend!

Brand NEW Hotness & a SALE

Hi, Friends! How are ya? Notice anything different on the little bloggity blog tonight? Like it? I LOVE it! FINALLY, Finally…finally, I have the perfect design that fits my personality to a T {for Tanya}…ha! Tenille at The Cutest Blog on the Block was such a dream to work with and brought my vision to life within days of my having shared it with her!

What better way to celebrate than with a sale? I’m joining in some savings fun with a few of my blogging buds! Around the house, I’ve got a little stash of ‘must go’ things piling up as we kick spring cleaning into high gear. I’m doing the same thing in my classroom.



If we haven’t used it this year or we’ve gotten the best use of it already, it’s being filed away or thrown away in order to make room for the new! Doing a little spring cleaning too? Check out the stores that are having sales this weekend to help you with bringing a little sunshine to your classroom for spring!

Soon, we’ll be getting ready for butterflies, plants, and all things spring! I absolutely LOVE this time of year! These are two of the units we’ll be using in the upcoming weeks. My entire shop will be marked down by 20% for the sale. Have a look see….click either of the pictures to get to my little shop! April morning work should be wrapped up and uploaded before the weekend is over.




Happy Spring Cleaning {&shopping}!

New Bloggy Goodness

Hi, Friends! How are ya?
I’m so excited about my new blog design done by the fantastic team over at The Honey Bunch! They really are a group of the some of the sweetest mind-reading ladies that you’d ever want to work with. 

I’m totally in love with the new design and it feels much more like walking into my classroom. Stay tuned! If you’d like to have them sprinkle a little magic over your blog, visit their site by clicking the credits below. Have a great weekend!

TA~DA!!! A NEW LOOK & GIVEAWAYS

Stop!  Wait!  Don’t Leave!  Yes! You’re in the right place! The cute little froggies have hopped away and my little blog spot has been glammed up!  Isn’t she pretty?  Thanks for being patient, as she underwent her makeover!  From what I was told…things were looking a little crazy for awhile there.  (I couldn’t look!) I had a few friends call me to find out what in the world was going on, lol!  And I guess me hinting around to exciting news didn’t help! Do you think they know how much I obsess over my little blog?

It’s still being tweaked a tiny bit, but I *LOVE* the design!  My previous template was all the way cute, BUT it was also a premade template that was resold a few times.  At first, I thought that wouldn’t bug me…..BUT IT DID! IT REALLY DID! I thought the blogosphere was big enough for all 3 of us to have the same design and never even see each other.  I was wrong! And every time I ran across one of the other exact same designs, I cringed just a little bit, lol! It was cute, but it was not unique….(sad face).

There are so many talented teachers, designers, and teacher designers out there! As I searched for a new look, I kept coming across other custom designs that caught my eye and they were all done by the same designer, so I scrolled down to see who it was and there was the name of the genius mind reader that put all this fabulosity together…..Miss Jenna Snowden!

 

 

She did an amazing job of putting exactly what I wanted without me knowing exactly what I wanted! And her work is super affordable! You should definitely stop by and pay her a visit!

Now, that’s not the only exciting thing happening!  It’s giveaway time!

Do you love giveaways as much as I do?  Who doesn’t, right?  Well, there are 3 in the works that I think you should definitely consider entering!

The first one is being hosted by Michelle Oakes at Fabulous in First Grade.  Her Giveaway is sponsored by Creative Teaching Press!  Stop by to see the awesome prize you may able to win for your classroom!

The other is being hosted by Mrs. Dani Patterson at Patterson’s Porch.  She’s a fab new blogger {and one of my coworkers}. She’s thrilled about having reached 50 followers! Yay! Don’t you just love it when that little number flips over another 0?  If you love Target and Teacher’s Pay Teachers, stop by and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to enter those giveaways! 

Oh, wait! Did I say there were 3? Sure did…stop by tomorrow and I’ll tell you about the 3rd one! Before you go, let me know what you think of my new pink & green, swirly, girly blog design!  Thanks again, Jena!