Teaching on the Fly!

Sometimes it seems like the best lessons aren't what you have written down in your plans, but what springs out of what your kids are saying or doing. 

We have been working on telling time to five minutes. We needed some written practice, but the kids were antsy and I could tell they were sleepy and grouchy after lunch. THEY NEEDED TO MOVE!

I pulled out a pack of flash cards that showed clocks with different times on the front. (I got them from Dollar Tree  last year.) I scattered them around the carpet and divided the class up into two teams. They sat on the perimeter of the carpet so that they could see the cards. One member from each team stood up and hunted for the card that showed the time I called out. The others hunted as they were seated so that they could grab it when it was their turn. I started out giving them all the time they needed to hunt, but after a few tries, I set a timer for thirty seconds. When it went off the next two members hopped up and hunted if the first two had not found the correct card.

They had a ball playing and begged to play again after our writing lesson.

It might not have been in my plans, but it worked!

Have a great weekend. I'll be working with our State Department all weekend on Common Core Coach training for ELA. I'm hoping I'll learn some things to help my kiddos with the new assessments. 

My Week at a Glance - and a Freebie

It's going to be a busy week.

Here's what I THINK I'm going to be doing....you know how plans change. Our nine weeks ends next Tuesday, so I'm trying to finish some things.

The entire school starts off each day in the gym for announcements. I love getting to see all the kids every morning, and it's usually the only time I get to see the teachers from the other end of the building all day!

I've planned all of my Morning Work for the week.  I have it projected on the white board waiting for us when we get to our room from Morning Meeting. 

Click on the pic above if you want a copy.

Our main focus for ELA this week is finishing up our three paragraph report on Wilma Rudolph. We researched together, but each student is writing his own report. It's been interesting to see which facts they choose for their report. Once we are finished, we are moving on to procedural writing.

My literacy stations focus on ou/ow words and a review of nouns and sentences. I'll be using my "Welcome to the Circus" packet I've added to my store. If you missed the freebie from Friday, go {HERE} to get one of the activities I'm using. 

All my sentence writing activities are from the St. Patrick's packet linked to the pic below.

 The noun literacy stations are from my Nine Lucky Nouns packet posted at my stores. Click on the pic for more info.

We are beginning telling time to the nearest five minutes in Math. If you missed the freebie, click {HERE} to pick up a copy. Click on the pics below to see what I'm doing in my Math stations this week. 

We are also celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday all week along. There's a special school-wide activity planned for each day. Today is Hat Day. I can't wait to see the kiddos all decked out!

Have a wonderful week!

This and That....and a Time Freebie!

What a week it's been so far! I had to miss a few days to help my parents out with some doctors' appointments.....my DSL line has been wonky and I couldn't post.....I feel like I'm behind in so many things...both at home and at school!

There's just not enough time!

And speaking of time......

that's our next skill in math. 

I've made a whole packet on time for my Teachers Pay Teachers Store and Teachers Notebook Shop, but I wanted to offer a freebie, as well.

Our standard requires the students to tell time to the nearest five minutes, as well as relate it to either an a.m. or p.m. hour.

This worksheet is one of my favorite time-related activities.

Students pick a time (to the nearest five minutes) and write a sentence that describes what they would be doing at that time if it was a.m. and if it was p.m. After writing the sentences, they illustrate them.

If you'd like a copy, just click on the pic above. If you'd like the whole packet, click on one of the store links in the right sidebar.

If you have TIME....leave me a comment!

Here's to a happy Friday! We have a big day planned at our school tomorrow. I'm going to bed early to get ready.

Hickory Dickory Time -- Freebie

Students match the time on the clock to the analog clock in this freebie.  After they have matched all the pairs, they choose one and illustrate what they would be doing at that time in the AM and in the PM. Click on the pic below to download the Google doc.

Time Bump -- Freebie

Here are two versions of a Time Bump game. The Third Grade version is based on telling time to the minute. Second Grade's version tells time to five minute intervals.

Click on the picture below to download the doc.