Five for Friday

Happy Friday! Week 5 is in the books, and I cannot believe how fast it is going by! I seriously love my new school. My kiddos are great, my teammates are great...I'm just so happy! Since I have some extra time, I am linking up with Doddle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! Click on the button below to head over to her blog and check out more blogs!

  

I was trying to think of a way to liven up a somewhat boring math review today. I knew I had this Twister game that was just dying to be used! I wrote different expressions on it, and the kids took turns throwing bean bags on it. All the students had to answer the problem not matter where it landed. The idea was that they would solve the problem and then be able to explain which strategy they used to solve it (doubles, doubles +1, +9, etc.). Man...they loves it! I will definitely be using the mat again. The plastic design was great for using Expo markers on it.

Good grief it took me FOREVER to make this little boat mystery picture. I was trying to match it to the addition strategy we were learning. The kids loved it. The first one I made was a simple smiling face, and they begged for another one. When they're that excited, how can I say no??? Check back soon for these to be added to my store!

We just started our new curriculum, CKLA, after already being in school for 4 weeks. I'm having a love/hate relationship with it right now. The planning piece is relatively simple because they do it all for you. However, I also know my kiddos, and after 20 minutes read-aloud, they're getting pretty squirrelly on the carpet. So, I try to make things a little more interactive for them. Our first domain was fairy tales, and there was a part that had riddles that checked their comprehension. Instead of sitting on the carpet and just asking the questions, I typed them up and taped them all over the room. They had an answer sheet, which I made using a tutorial from Amy Lemons at Step into Second Grade. You can check out that tutorial HERE. They also traveled with a buddy.  When the timer went off, they would rotate to the next card. They love any activity that allows them to walk around and use a clipboard!!! I will definitely be doing something like this again.

I scored this great app for free last night! It's called Snap Teach Reading Comprehension Skills. It is different non-fiction texts that can be read aloud to the student. The best part is that it tests their comprehension. (Okay, so the best part might have been the fact that it was FREE!) The voice is a bit robotic, but I can't wait to let the kids try it out. Head to their website HERE and check them out. 

I linked up with Ashley at Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd and Angie at Lucky Little Learners for their monthly #2getherwearebetter linky. This month was all classroom reveals. You can click HERE to go see my classroom reveal! Click on the button above to head to Angie's blog and connect with the link up!

I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend! I plan on doing a lot of...nothing. :)