Reviewing Unit 2: Multiplication with Engaging QR Codes

Trying to think of fun and creative ways to review for a math test can be tough!  With the help of my school's Library Media Specialist, I created an activity that gets the kids up and moving, working on their math strategies and skills, and engaged in an end goal!

I taped the 20 posters around the room for the kids.  Each student got a recording sheet where they were required to show their work and write in their letter clues.  There are 20 posters with 20 different problems.  Students moved around in small groups or independently in random order.  They were to start at any poster and go to a free poster once they were ready to move on.  They problem solved together and checked their work with the QR code which provided them with the answer and a letter clue.

They loved it!  My kids couldn't get enough.  They were fully engaged the entire time, encouraging each other positively, and checking their work to ensure their answer matched the QR answer.  By providing them with the answer, they were able to guide their math problem solving if they were incorrect in the first place.

The secret message had to do with our previous science unit.  Once the students unscrambled the message, they handed their review sheets in so I could look at their math work.  They came to conference with me about what problems gave them trouble, questions they had about their math, and to get their recording sheets checked.
















If you're interested in using this method of reviewing multiplication in 4th grade, click below to download it for free!

QR Posters with Multiplication Problems

QR Multiplication Recording Sheet

Discussion Sheets for Literature Circle

Fantastic news!
Our Donors Choose project was funded!  We are so grateful and the chair pockets look amazing in the classroom.  Kids are now able to store their devices and their Study Buddies in an accessible place so they can work more efficiently!

Check it out!

On another note, our fourth graders have been working on their novel studies and we are almost finished!  BCPS Unit 1 focuses on biographies and what makes an individual memorable or a positive influence on others?  The two autobiographical novels we're reading are The Tarantula in My Purse and 172 Other Wild Pets by Jean Craighead George and Where the Flame Trees Bloom by Alma Flor Ada.  BCPS provided us with journal ideas which we have made into discussion prompts to prepare students for the following day's literature circle or small group meeting.

Each discussion sheet also includes a section for a "thick question".  If you haven't worked on thick questions yet, you need to!  Your kids will be thankful you did.  Thick questions are questions that get people inferring or drawing conclusions and are not simply pulled from the text.  Here's a great resource from the Curriculum Corner to get you started.

So, once you have thick questions down with your kids, you can get these discussion sheets going!  For those 4th grade BCPS teachers, these resources are really for you.  Please feel free to use them with your literature circles during Unit 1 in ELA.  All we did was take the journal questions/prompts the county gave us and put them on half-sheets for homework reading.

This homework holds kids accountable, gets them reading at home, and then allows them to bring something to their groups the following day.  My students love to complete their discussion sheets and create their own thick questions for their fellow group members.  Discussion sheets allow each student the think and processing time they need to be prepared to participate.  When we are working in small group, I become one of the group members and participate in the discussion.  When we model the behaviors we expect in the classroom, students follow suit!

Here are the discussion sheets for the two novels.  Credit in shared efforts go to my teammate, Jen. Hope you find them useful!

Where the Flame Trees Bloom Discussion Sheets

The Tarantula in My Purse Discussion Sheets

Donors Choose

Please consider donating to help our classroom!  We are currently in a temporary building waiting for our new school to be built.  Fortunately our new classroom has tables this year instead of desks!  The one downfall to this is, I have no storage for my students' supplies and materials.  Each day they keep what they need for learning in their backpacks.  The backpacks are either hung up across the room or sitting beside their chair.  When students get up to go to their backpacks every time they need something, they lose learning time and/or disrupt other students.  If they choose to keep their backpacks next to their seat, it causes a huge tripping hazard and we have already had three falls!

If you can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated by us!  The seat pockets are built to last years and years of different classes so they will be with our school for a long time.

All of the information can be found on my Donors Choose site.

Our Donors Choose Site

Thank you so much for your generosity! 

The Classroom Economy

Another year with The Classroom Economy system!  Last year was a huge hit and my students learned so much about economics and most importantly--they were practicing real life skills in the classroom.

A picture from last year's board at the beginning of the year:

Here's how it works (a more in-depth explanation on the website) -

1. Students apply for jobs in the classroom.  Some jobs require recommendations from adults who know them well.  Students apply for a new job each marking period.
2. Each job received a certain salary and paychecks are issued bi-weekly.  
3. Students keep their own wallets which include a space to store their money and a place to track their transactions (deposits and withdrawals).
4. Students can earn bonuses for exceeding classroom expectations or fines for not.  These are added or subtracted from their bank accounts with their assigned banker (another student job).
5. At the end of each month, we hold an auction with classroom coupons and physical items to bid on. I usually ask for donations at the beginning of the school year from families and outside resources.  Donation availability depends on what the store/restaurant has already given out for that fiscal year.  Sometimes they're out of the goods, sometimes you hit the jackpot!

This TpT store by "Stories by Storie" has a free set of Reward Coupons you can include in the auction!

                  Some great places to call up for gift card donations are:

• Applebee's
• 5 and Below
• Friendly's
• Local ice cream/pizza places for a free dessert

All of the resources for this program are FREE on the My Classroom Economy site.  They send you the printed materials (some are printed in color!), they have videos to show your class as you introduce the program, and lesson plans that guide you with implementation!  The only things I have to make on my own are the wallets each year, the bulletin board, and the banker binders.  If you're tight on funds, Pinterest has some great free classroom coupons for students to bid on during the auction.  

I make the student wallets out of legal manila folders (left over from our school office), a plastic baggie, and copies of the transaction sheets.  These wallets stay in my students' Study Buddies (homework binders).  Some kids like to hole punch them (two holes fit) or just leave them in their folder for safe keeping.  

"Catching them" exceeding expectations is the way to keep the economy engaging.  Providing a warning before a fine will give the student a chance to right their wrongs.  Bonuses can be given with exceptional behavior, dedication to a task, a kid who usually has the sillies all day focused and was an attentive group member, a compliment from another faculty member, excelling on an assignment.  

I try to stress that they should meet with their banker the afternoon or morning after they receive a bonus or a fine.  This way, they can stay on top of their transactions.  Students can only meet with bankers when they are unpacking for the day or packing to go home.  Each Friday, I designate 20 minutes at the end of the day to tie up any loose ends they may have.  

Students do their jobs or they could get fired (this has only happened once!) and then will have to write a letter as to why they deserve to be re-hired, what efforts they will make to improve, and the importance of their position in the classroom.

This year we are just beginning our Classroom Economy and will hold our first auction at the end of September.  The students are so excited!

M.A.T.H. Program and Workshop Rotations

I've been using this program I call M.A.T.H. for about a year now and would like to let you know all about it just in case you're interested in using any of the aspects in your own classroom!

I am a big "Google-er" and spent much of my time searching for other math programs out there already in place and tested by the experts.  I took the pieces of each program that I really found beneficial for my students and intertwined them to become this one hunky program in my own room.  It has worked wonders for my kids.  They are now devoted deep thinkers, persevering problem solvers, kind and considerate collaborators, and best of all--mathematicians! 

This program is a little bit of Guided Math, The Daily 3, and Pinterest/Blog ideas all poured into one.  I am not selling anything for this program because most of it is already made for us!  I did all of the searching and trial and error on my own students.  This way, you just get the good stuff and are able to get started right away with the resources I’ve found or created along the way….Lucky you!

Free Printable Rotation Cards

So to best explain it all, I have two resources.  One is a Symbaloo Webmix with all of the resources and links and the other is a video PowerPoint presentation my school's STAT Teacher and I gave to Baltimore County during the STAT Institute last summer. 

I have provided our Symbaloo with all of the resources in one place.  I provided access to all of my 4^th grade math files, websites I love to use, the presentations, and a way for you to introduce it to your school at a Professional Development session (thank you to my school’s fabulous STAT Teacher—Megan H.).  That section focuses in on the Learner Centered Environment and how this program really embraces that teaching and learning style.

Our presentation resources are located on the left and the center of the Symbaloo page.  The right side contains resources from another BCPS Teacher who presented on the West Side during the same conference.

Here's the link to the handy Symbaloo!

Feel free to ask any questions or leave any concerns you have so I can help you get started with this amazing program right away!  If you have any additional resources you would like to share, please add them in the comment section.

Here is the OfficeMix video I created today using the PowerPoint presentation on just the M.A.T.H. Program and rotations with small group.  Please contact Megan or myself if you would like more information on the Learner Centered Environment section of the presentation!

M.A.T.H. Program PD Video

The beginning of M.A.T.H. this year:

ELA in-class flipped learning with EdPuzzle

Got the chance to enjoy BCPS's EdCamp (#edcampbcps) this past weekend!  Learned a lot and got to meet some great people.  My topics were to see if anyone else was using math workshops with Pearson Realize and about in-class flipped learning using EdPuzzle.  I got to jump into a GT discussion and effective methods to implement mentoring groups in schools.  My coworker joined me and it was so much better that she was there!  I would have been lost without her.

Onto something new.  I did have an old blog, but it used my maiden name and was based on second grade learning.  This blog will be focused on 4th grade learning and anything else I come across during my Google and Teaching Channel searches!

We do not have devices yet in fourth grade, but I am excited for them to come to us next school year!  I'm been trying to get my feet wet in technology applications that work well with my kids this year so I don't have to go through the trial period when the devices come our way.

Using EdPuzzle for my in-class flipped learning lessons has been wonderful.  It currently blocks online videos when the kids try to access them, but it plays my homemade videos using screencast-o-matic.com to record.


Here's how I get it done and still sleep at night--

• Start off with one lesson a week focused on something you would normally teach as a mini-lesson in class to the whole group.
• Use your normal ELA rotation model (I use a make-shift version of The Daily 5)
• Create a Flipchart, PowerPoint, poster, or pocket chart for students to follow during rotations.
• Create your video or use one already provided by an educational website, use EdPuzzle to create stopping points, questions, discussion questions, and external links to additional content for your students.
• Ensure students understand the expectations of the (already instilled and practiced) rotation model

During rotations--

• The first rotation does not include any small group work with you and students, they will get settled in their rotations and you can handle any stragglers who were in la-la land when you were explaining their jobs for the day
• The second rotation is when you jump in and work with the group who just watched the video and took notes.  
• Everyone has a job to do at each rotation that will be fit for their learning level and address skills you are currently working on or have learned in the past.
• Certain students can be assigned the role of "Experts" or "Pros" and help to answer any tech or general questions the other students may have
• Have a sign that states "Ask 3 Before Me!"  This means students should ask three others before they come and ask you.  This will eliminate a lot of nonsense coming your way.
• Change up the activities so kids can stay focused and engaged on each rotation.  For example, don't have two writing rotations or two worksheets included in the rotations.  Too much of the same thing can get boring for anyone!

Tips to remember--

• Have one major goal in mind for your flipped video and small group lesson.  Too many topics to focus on can become overwhelming!
• Rotation models MUST be working in your room before you begin an in-class flip (unless you have middle school/high school students)
• Students must understand your expectations and the consequences for distracting others/becoming distracted from their jobs
• Technology glitches happen.. always have a plan B or go with the flow like we do in our class
• Small group time is your time to address specific needs of each group and really dig deep with them.  Take advantage of this time!
• Rotations should be 15-20 minutes each (depending on your ELA block)
• Videos should be NO LONGER than 8 minutes for a fourth grade student.  With all of the stopping to take notes, and accountability checks during the video, it'll last about 15 minutes total.

Good luck with your in-class flip!  I'm still learning, but got my start from this video: