Subitizing Snowmen

Hi all!  I'm in Orlando, Florida today at the NAEYC conference.  I will be presenting a session this Saturday morning at 8:00am, so if anyone's around and wants to stop by for a quick hug, I'll be there.  Also, I put up a new free product on TPT for December, if you'd like to take a peek:

Subitizing Snowmen

I realized that some of my children really need extra practice with subitizing.  When you use these, you just flash the cards really quickly.  It's not a counting activity, it's just for them to visually recognize (from the position) how many are there.

Have a great night!

My Almost Halloween Post

Hi, everyone! Happy almost Halloween! My kids have been loving this book that's really the classic 5 Little Pumpkins finger play. We have been using this story for subtraction. Here we are holding our pumpkins over our faces while doing the song (because I have not gotten picture release forms back yet)!

Here's a little video if you'd like to hear how the song goes. My ESOL kids know all the words to the song now. If you leave the pumpkins in Math center, it's really sweet to watch the kids singing and talking with the pumpkins.

So, my county decided that this year we would do addition and subtraction in October! :) Yikes! Some of my kids don't even know their numbers yet! I have to play catch-up and surround them with numbers all day long, especially for those that didn't have pre-K. My kids have also really expressed an interest in all things Halloween-y this year. Hence the creation of my Halloween Addition Cards.

I found that the party store has spiders and bats, and the grocery store has candy corns and pumpkins. I haven't done the ghosts yet (you can see the ghost clip art in the product), but I'm thinking of using white marshmallows. The thing that I like about the candy corns and the pumpkins is that they are not mushy like chocolate candy. I put them in Ziploc bags, ten to a bag, and the kids can use them during math class for problem solving, then take them home and ask their parents if they can eat them.

You can check out the Halloween Addition Cards HERE

I would love to get messages from you and find out how it's going in your classroom!

Captivating Numbers

Hello, everybody!

My curriculum this year for math is very different from every other year. In the past, we've started with shapes and positions. But this year, we started with numerals, quantity, and counting. I found that many of my students that did not have pre-K were calling numerals "letters," "shapes," and all kinds of other terms that weren't numbers. You know what I mean. So I thought it would be really motivating to make differentiated number puzzles for my kids and have them work on them during morning work, and whenever they finish their other school work. After I assessed them and found out what numbers they needed to work on, I differentiated instruction by giving them these puzzles: 

We used Microsoft Publisher to fit the range of numbers on a single page. Then we printed them out on colored card stock. We cut them individually, without guide lines, so that each puzzle would be unique. And the color of puzzle matches the color table they sit at. I put the cut-up puzzles in sandwich bags and had them in the kids' chair pockets by the time they arrived in the morning. They LOVED them!

We also took pictures of the students. I can't put them up yet, because I don't have all my photo release forms collected. But the students really enjoyed having their pictures taken while they were saying the numerals and putting the puzzles together. Teacher tip: You can also use these pictures for your students' portfolios and conferences.

Back to School Songs and Games

Thanks, Tammy, for inviting me to join this Blog Hop!

About a week ago, all of the kindergarten teachers on my team met at my house.  There are six of us this year, more than ever before at this school.  We started talking about the beginning of the school year.  We discussed how we always do rules and procedures the first week, and how we get to know our kids' personalities, likes, and dislikes.  The conversation then moved on to songs, music, and fingerplays that we love to do with children during that first week.  We like to use music because it builds language and team spirit, and it really gets the wiggles out.  My true reason for using music is that it calms me down as well as the kids, and it's just plain fun!  Some of our favorites include:

Chant:  Who Took The Cookie From The Cookie Jar?
Chant:  Bippity Boppity Bumble Bee, Won't You Say Your Name For Me?
Movement Song:  Going On A Bear Hunt
Dance:  Mack Chicken Dance Medley

Since I've been teaching for a long time (shh, don't tell anybody - over 20 years!), I thought everybody knew about Dr. Jean Feldman.  But some people don't.  I was lucky enough to see her early in my career.  I love, for example, how you can tell kids to "kiss their brain" when they do something right.  Former students of mine have returned in their 20's and said "Mrs. Dudley, I remember when you told me to kiss my brain!"  I think Dr. Jean songs are a must-have for any teacher.  For the first week of school, I like:

Name On Your Paper
Scissors Snip
Tooty Ta
Phonercise
Peanut Butter

Over the summer, I've also been watching free teaching webinars from EdWeb.  They're really informative and convenient because you don't have to watch them all at once.  They're usually about an hour in length, and you can even get a certificate by taking a quick and easy test afterward.  I think these webinars are good for veteran teachers or new teachers, because there's always something new to learn.

During the first week of school I introduce a set of gentle superheroes that I had especially designed for kindergarten and pre-k.  I did this because my students kept telling me that they wanted superheroes in the classroom.  I knew I couldn't do things like Batman and Superman because of copyright laws, and also because of the violence.  So I made my own!  Over the summer, I created a new set of alphabet word wall headings using these heroes.  I also recently wrapped up all the superhero products that I made so far into a big, discounted superhero bundle that I think teachers will really love, especially for the beginning of school.

Below is your chance to enter the giveaway for the big K-2 prize pack.  Good luck, and have a wonderful opening week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

A Newly Discovered Treasure

This is just a quick post about a book that I discovered this summer called Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One by Kate Duke.  I was so surprised that I had never heard of this book before since it was published over 20 years ago!  It's adorable for any pre-k or kindergarten classroom.  It's not just the cute story of two little mice falling in love, but the book explains to young readers how to build a story from start to finish.  The brilliant way in which the author incorporates a conversation between an aunt and her niece about story elements such as characters, setting, problem, and solution is so appealing to me.  The book even has a few moments of danger to add spice to your story time.  I had been looking for a very long time for a book that would really inspire my students to write stories, and I'm so glad that I found this treasure.  I would love to know if you've ever seen this book before, and how you use it in your classroom.

3 More ABC Ideas

This is my second post about ideas to help your students learn their ABCs.  Using various modalities to teach letters is a brain-friendly way to get your students to really progress.

1. My kids love the song "Learning Letter Sounds" by Jack Hartmann.  I use these pictures along with the song:

There's also a beautiful YouTube video of the song:

2. You can use ABCMouse for free in your classroom.  It's really excellent for pre-k, k, and 1st grade.  Your students can read books, do puzzles, play games, and all kinds of very interactive activities.  The website will also keep track of each student's progress.

3. I love making and playing games with my students.  I especially like this Superhero ABC Bingo game that I made especially for pre-k and kindergarten students.  They're my own creation and I did it because I wanted to have a set of interesting, non-violent superheroes that the kids could make up their own stories for.  See what you think!

I would LOVE to hear what you do with your kids to teach them their ABCs.

Sight Word Surprise

Happy Wednesday, everybody!  The reason I called this post "Sight Word Surprise" is because I went to a super website today that's totally free and has tons of fantastic sight word games for either your classroom or to use at home with your own children.  There are customizable Bingo games, Snakes and Ladders games, Go Fish games, and much more.  It's a really cool site and truly brightened my Wednesday!

3 Easy Math Lessons With M&Ms

Involving all five senses is truly the way to get to deep learning. I came up with a few connected lessons that activate all the senses and get their whole brains working. M&Ms are a convenient, cheap, easily available manipulative that you can find in any grocery or convenience store. The colors really catch the eyes of the children, and when they know they're going to get to enjoy a few yummy chocolates when the lesson is over, it makes learning that much sweeter. I don't like to use absolutes when I describe my lessons, but ALL my kids were engaged in these activities. Here are 3 things you can do with one bag of M&Ms.

1. SORTING 

With a handful of M&Ms, students were told to sort them. Since it's so close to Valentine's Day, I like to use one of my heart sorting mats, like the one below. You can print it out and laminate it for all kinds of math activities.

Sorting Mat Hearts by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

The children were told they would be allowed to eat one M&M from each group when they were finished They were also asked to try and spell color words during the activity.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.B.3 - Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category

2. MORE & LESS

After they sorted the M&Ms, I asked them which group had the most, which group had the fewest, and if there were any equal groups. Since each child had a different amount, it was fun for the kids to talk to each other about their different answers.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6 - Compare Numbers

3. ADDITION

We read The M&M's Addition Book, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath, to introduce some new Math vocabulary, such as addend, sum, and equation.

I don't read the whole book to the students; I don't think it's necessary, and it's a little high-level for Kindergarten. I usually just read about a quarter of the book. This sets up the idea that we are going to use M&Ms for adding. When I do this lesson, I read the book while the students are on the rug, and THEN they do the first two activities. After that, we do addition, using two regular six-sided dice. I told the children to only use two different colors of M&Ms to keep it simple. They would roll the dice, and take the number represented on one die from one color, and the other die from another color, and add them together. This gave them lots of exercise in reading the numbers on the dice, counting out the candies, and then doing the addition. They barely notice that their lessons are being reinforced! You can use dice with numerals or dice with pips, depending on the needs of your students.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1 - Understand addition, and understand subtraction

Have a wonderful week, and happy Valentine's Day!

Ways to Make 10

Students Wearing Number Hats To Show Ways To Make Ten

Happy Sunday everybody!  I have off tomorrow and I'm so glad, because last weekend I went to a 3-day workshop and I really needed to rest this weekend.  It was one of the best training classes I've ever attended.  The presenter was Frank Kros from the Upside Down Organization.  The workshop was called Creating Connections, and it was all about presenting but with brain research totally at the forefront.  I love how Mr. Kros mixes factual information with games, fun, and realistic ways to take the knowledge that you've learned back to your job.

I wanted to share with you some of the ways I implemented what I learned at his workshop in kindergarten this week.  We are told over and over again by experts that moving is one of the keys for learning.  I've often heard presenters say this in the past, and I think "I have my kids moving.  I use music, dance, and games to teach content."  But this time I really internalized everything that was being presented.  I reflected on how, when we ask questions to the students during whole group time, we're usually talking to one student while the rest are just listening.  Why do we do this?  I think because it's the way we've done it in the past, and it's the way that we were taught.  This week I tried having them draw on whiteboards ways to make ten, instead of just having one child show it.  It worked beautifully, and my assistant and I could really see which of the 28 students got it and which had no clue.

Another little movement activity I did was based on the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors."  Instead of saying "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" you say "One, two, three, math!"  When you play with a partner, you both put up a certain amount of fingers on one hand, and you can add up the fingers.  My kids loved it, and they told me I was the best teacher ever!  Even my lowest ESOL kids got it.

Another thing I tried was having the kids use sticky notes as exit tickets, and they stuck them on the door so that everyone could see different ways to make ten.  It worked beautifully in the workshop with Mr. Kros, and I think it would work a lot better in my classroom if I use the right sticky notes.  I used old, cheap sticky notes that weren't quite sticky enough on the back.  So the kids were complaining a little bit that their notes weren't staying on the door.  Live and learn!  I told the kids that teachers aren't perfect, and because the activity didn't go as well as I thought, it would just make me a better teacher.  Nathan, a really cute, curly-haired boy in my class, said "Mrs. Dudley, don't worry.  I think you're still the best teacher I ever had."  They always say that, and I think it's so funny because in most cases I'm the ONLY teacher they've ever had.  :)

JiJi, a co-teacher at my school introduced me to this YouTube video, and since brain research says that music can really engage and stimulate learners, I added this to my repertoire.  Take a look.  It's really adorable!

The song is about numbers going to a party, so I thought to bring it home I could use party hats so that the kids would have to find a partner who, together with their own hat, would add up to ten.  I made an anchor chart in case they got stuck.  Here it is:

Addition to 10 Anchor Chart by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

And here is a paper that I used with my students to give them opportunities to show and write different ways to make ten.  I used 2-color flip chips so they would have a manipulative to work with.

Addition With Ten Frames by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

We took a walk down the hallway to show and tell another kindergarten class how we could make ten, and it was really enjoyable.  Yesterday I gave the hats to that teacher, and her kids came and did the same thing for my class.  Each pair also got to say the numbers, so even more practice and repetition but in a really active manner.  Think about all the opportunities for movement!

I'm wondering for what other subjects I could do the matching party hats.  What do you think?  Write me a comment below and share your ideas.  It's always so nice to hear from you.

Maryland Sellers Giveaway!

Hello everyone!  I wanted to let you all know about some great giveaways involving Maryland TPT sellers starting today, January 17 and running through January 24, hosted by the terrific Cheryl at Techie Turtle Teacher.  She has done a ton of planning and organizing for this giveaway, including several ranges of grades, so that everyone can benefit!  Please feel free to check out the Maryland Sellers Giveaway starting this Saturday.  You can also directly access the K-2 Rafflecopter giveaway using this additional link.

Enjoy the giveaway, my friends!