Working the Teen Numbers

Booklet from Kindergarten Works. 

My class loves composing and decomposing numbers.  They feel like math rock stars!  I am so proud of their hard work and thinking about number.  The Common Core asks children to think more about the quantities rather than just memorize how to count and write numbers.  Visualizing quantities is important for mathematical understanding.

We began this work early in the year during calendar as we talked about the date and its value.  Next, we moved to learning our teen numbers using a Number Train.  We are now composing and decomposing our teens.

I must admit, it has been much easier to teach because of the many fabulous teacher created resources from bloggers like you.   You have made teaching this skill easier and time saving.

Here are some of my favorite resources to teach Teen Numbers.
Leslie from Kindergarten Works has many resources (similar to the one above) that help teach teen numbers.
I like this, this and this from Maria at Kinder - Craze. She has really inexpensive resources that I use all the time in my room.

Lastly, I purchased this from Kroger's Kindergarten.  Although, we do not do Morning Work, I plan to use it as homework.  I am so excited about this because it is so difficult to find Common Core aligned assignments.   I've also put her Valentine's Day Math Books on my Wish List; they are great for building numbers to 5 and 10.

Finally, here is a quick Ten Plus Some More Exit Slip  that I plan to use with my students.  There are three different sheets so that I can distribute them at random as a quick progress monitoring assessment.

Learning the teen numbers can be fun!

Happy Teaching!

6

All Aboard the Number Train!

All Aboard the Number Train!

All Aboard the Number Train!

All Aboard! Choo! Choo!

We are having such a fun time learning about teen numbers with the help of our number train.  (Little do they know that we are learning many Common Core Standards, too.)

We've used our Number Train as a math routine.  As I introduced it, we practiced counting on from the first number cart.

Counting 17 sounds like this:
10 (I circle the set with my hand) and then, count on.  11, 12, 13, etc.

Magically, a student led us towards our next steps.  The student said, "That is 10 plus seven more."  (Proud teacher moment here.)  So, I wrote down his thinking.  And the rest, just followed.

Composing and decomposing numbers.

We've been using these student work mats to help us compose and decompose numbers.  The class likes it a lot.  So much so, that I know some will be ready to work with larger numbers very soon.

How are you doing with those tricky teens?  Can your students visualize what 12 means?  I must admit that is a tough one.  We are working on it; daily.

Click on the links to use it with your students.

Happy Teaching and Learning!

12

Teaching Empathy to Young Learners

Teaching young children to be aware of the emotions of others can be tricky but important to creating a caring classroom environment.  

When, I read The Potato Chip Champ, I knew that I wanted to use it to teach my students about empathy.  

First of all, I felt that it was important for my students to understand what empathy meant.  This video did a good job of portraying what empathy looks and feels like.  

(For a longer video with more examples, download it as a  podcast via iTunes.)

Next, I read the book to my class.  We paused along the way to see which pictures showed empathy; an understanding of how others feel.   Then, we discussed how we could show empathy.  We used this sentence frame to help our discussion.

Click to download.

Students said that they could show empathy by asking, "Are you okay?" or saying "I'm sorry."  I think this book did an excellent job of showing how our actions and reactions have a lasting effect on the relationships we have with others.  I will use this in the coming weeks as I teach about the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders.  

I am delighted that Maria Dismondy has generously offered an autographed book for one of you. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To learn more about the book, watch the book trailer video.

Be sure to visit Maria's blog and/or Facebook page where she provides an upbeat view on many topics that you'll not want to miss.  

Happy Teaching and Learning!

6

The Hat and Animals in the Winter

This was our first week back after Winter Break.

Fitting "everything in" has been somewhat of a challenge this school year as we are required to teach our reading series with fidelity.  Well, we had this week "off." As a result, I was able to spend more time on teaching other literature and incorporating a winter theme throughout the day.

Not wanting to have my students loose valuable learning time, I used Hello Two Peas in a Pod's  Phonological Awareness Curriculum for January.  We read The Hat and followed the lesson plan format.  My students were engaged and I loved how easy it was to teach! I could see instantly what my students need in Phonemic Awareness.

At the end of the week, we made Hedgie to go along with the story.

The one on the left is what I intended it to look like.  The one of the right was what we made.  The students painted snow onto a transparency.  While that dried, we created our Hedgie.  The original idea can be found here.  

Students enjoyed fun winter themed literacy centers.  They made sight words using this snowballs created by Little Minds at Work.  Ice fishing was a huge hit!  All you need is a box to go along with this Lakeshore game .  I simply wrote the words onto the fish with a Sharpie.  Lastly, we reviewed rhymes with this mitten hanging center.

Our favorite activity was learning which animals hibernate or migrate.

We learned about dens and made paper bag dens using a lunch bag, cotton and paper plate.  Simple but effective. We turned our buddy reading area into a den.  If you look closely, you can see a few book boxes that students could use during their reading time. 

Finally, we sorted our stuffed animal collection and discussed if it would hibernate or migrate.  This song went along perfectly.  

Overall, it was a productive first week back to school.

Happy Teaching and Learning!

10

My Hopes and Dreams

I've never made resolutions.   But I do believe in this.

Click image for your copy.

As I return to the classroom, I want to remind myself why I teach.  I teach to touch the hearts', minds' and souls' of children.  I can make a lasting impact in their lives. I know because teachers made a lasting impact in my life.

Cheers to the new year!

5