Creating Common Core Activities...& FREEBIES!

I have been having fun working on new activities for my classroom, but that means I've been a less than fabulous blogger.  So, here is what I've been doing instead of cleaning my house to help my students!  Since our district does not have a good math program or a current Common Core math adoption, we always have to buy or make our own materials.  I wanted to have some materials for Operations and Algebraic Thinking, so I created my Associative Property of Addition Pack!  It has twelve reproducibles, plus a color and B&W mini-poster for the focus wall, and a math packet cover in case you'd want to put them all in a little workbook for your kids.  Here is a little peek:

 

You can read more about it HERE at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  If you download the preview, there is a freebie sheet in there for you.  I have found that creating my own materials to meet Common Core State Standards has made me A LOT more familiar with the standards than I was before!  Do you find that as well?

 

I also was able to overcome my technology issues and posted my Winter Math & Literacy Activities Pack.  It has quick and easy centers and reproducibles for your Common Core classroom! These can be used as seat work and/or centers. These are adorable in color or in grayscale. The centers have just enough color to be cute and not deplete your colored ink supply!  I have printed them in black and white and mounted them on colored paper and they are still adorable.  Did I mention that I love things to be cute?!? 

Included are:

• Pauly Polar Bear’s 120 charts (includes counting multiples of 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s)
• Pauly Polar Bear’s Commutative Property of Addition
• Polar Pals Place Value Match-up
• Winter Count, Group, & Tally
• Polar Pals Evens & Odds Game (with Expanded Notation)
• Eskimo Expanded Notation
• Pauly and Penny’s Greater Than Less Than Sort
• Arctic ABC Order
• Snowy Sight Word Bingo
• Blizzard Sight Word Card Game
• Winter Making Words
• Winter Nouns
• Cold Contractions

Here are just a few of the activities and reproducibles:

I was going to offer a freebie from this pack, but I can't due to graphics terms of use.  I do not have the license to distribute freebies from Scrappin' Doodles.  Please check them out at my Teachers Pay Teachers store and let me know what you think.

I'm linking up with TBA for Sometime on Sunday Freebie Friday!  We had a fun day at school where it actually SNOWED during RECESS!  This was very unusual for us Oregonians!  It was the first time that I could remember it snowing A LOT while we were at school.  Since the kids were really hyper excited to work since it was snowing too cold outside, I had them do a writing activity where it was OK to really think about snow.  We used a 4-Square writing format to plan out a paragraph.  Since my Firsties are just beginning writers, I provided the topic sentence and the "wrap-up" sentence.  They had to write three details explaining why they were going to have so much fun on our snow day.

I thought they'd all be whining mentally exhausted by all of the thinking going on, but they actually wanted to move right on to using the 4-square to write their paragraph!  I was very proud of the work they did and so were the kids!  Here are some reproducibles for you to use if you'd like to try it in your classroom.  CLICK HERE OR ON THE FIRST PICTURE TO DOWNLOAD.  Please leave me a quick comment if you decide to use and download this activity.  Thanks, so much!  Now, go and explore other great bloggers' ideas for Freebie Friday!

Have a great week, Everybody!  What are you doing with your students this week?
Corinna

Winter Math & Literacy Actvity Pack Coming Soon!

I am thrilled that my latest Teachers Pay Teachers item is almost ready!  I'm looking for a few proofreaders that can check it over for any errors.  If you are available to do so TODAY, please let me know.  You, of course, will get a free copy of the finalized product.  Thanks, Friends!

Have a great week, Everybody!

Corinna

 

Fun With Santa!

I am SO ready with a full cart at Teacher's Pay Teachers for their big Cyber Monday sale! Maybe your cart would like my new Santa's Christmas Math and Literacy Centers pack? Take a peek!


CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE



So, this is why my house is still a mess after having a week off! :)  I hope you like it!

My sweet blogging buddy, Leslie, The Groovy Teacher, has some fantastic new products that you really need to take a look at.  Her Super Math Pack 1 and 2 will change the way you teach problem solving with your students.  She also has a fun new Christmas Writing Pack that is great.  Click on the wreath below to see for yourself.

 

Have a joyful week!

Corinna





Christmas Fun & TpT Sale!

If you are like me, you already know about Teachers Pay Teachers' gigantic Cyber Monday and Bonus Tuesday sale--and you've already pre-shopped and filled your cart with goodies! 

In case you need some new Christmas activities, I've created my first big product: Santa's Christmas Math and Literacy Centers!

I am excited that I finally finished it (thank goodness for our Thanksgiving week break)!  I hope you go and check it out.  There are 12 centers included.  When you download the preview, a FREEBIE Making Words activity is included.  But, since you're my fabulous followers, I'm including another FREEBIE for you.  Click on the picture below to download your freebie. 

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great day!

Corinna

 

Math Centers and a Thanksgiving Freebie!

What a week!  I was SO glad to see dismissal time roll around and my four-day weekend begin!  We have a non-paid "furlough" day attached to our Veteran's Day weekend.  Then, next week I have just 4 days to get in all of the last-minute assessments before doing report cards.  Maybe I over-think my grades, but I just want parents to know exactly how their child is doing and I want to know how best to help my struggling students. 

I finally have my math centers/math tubs going!  Yay!  They are allowing me to work with a small group of students that need extra help while they practice math in a fun, engaging way.  The first time the kids got to use them, they worked for AN HOUR without any problems!  I couldn't believe it!  Of course, by the time my centers were all prepared and ready to go, we only had about a week left of October.  But, the kids are ready to try out the November math centers next week.    Here is what I did for our Halloween Math Work Stations.  I made a chart listing the options, with a little screen shot of the games.   This allows my beginning readers to find the correct game more easily.

Does this format look familiar to you?
The district adopted Bridges a million years ago and the only part I liked was the Work Stations recording sheets.
 So, I made my own sheets with FUN math games made by great bloggers!!!

The kids have to play all of the games once, then after that they may revisit some favorite stations.  They have to keep track of which stations they've been to by coloring in a symbol on the sheet (pumpkins, Pilgrim hats, Christmas trees, etc...).  I staple the chart to the front of a pocket-folder.  When kids play a game that has a recording sheet, they put the sheet inside of the folder.  At the end of the week (or however long we use the math tubs), I staple the chart to all of the recording sheets so that I may do a quick check of how the kids did and parents can see what we're doing for math.  The kids are loving this and so am I!  I have to give some shout-outs to some of my favorite bloggers who have fabulous TpT items that I use for my work stations.  I LOVE Anna Brantley and all of her centers!  I used her "Fall is Here" and "Gobble, Gobble, Gobble" centers for our upcoming November math stations!  Her products are so good (I've already purchased her "Holly Jolly" and "Wnter Wonderland" centers)!   For my Halloween math stations, I used Leslie Hope's "Halloween Math Centers--BOO!"  Leslie is The Groovy Teacher blogger, so go and check her out.  She is one of my FAVORITES.  Her style is exactly how I'd want to make things, but I don't have to because she already did!  Teach With Laughter'shttp://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teach-With-Laughter "Halloween Math {10 Work Stations}" is WONDERFUL!  The directions are so clear for the kids and they love the games!  I have a lot of her products on my wishlist.  I could go on and on, but I want to share a freebie with you!

Here is a quick and easy literacy center activity for November: Thanksgiving ABC Order Center!  Click on the picture to download it for yourself!  Let me know how you like it.  If you are a new follower, leave me your contact info so I can visit you, too!

 

Have a lovely week!

Corinna