Teaching Probability

Probability seems like a pretty easy thing to teach, but it can be a tough topic for students to really understand. You can do a lot of fun hands-on activities with probability with cheap and easy to find materials. We often use dice, spinners, playing cards, and coins.

I found a set of assorted dice with different numbers of sides for my classroom on Amazon. Over time we tend to collect a lot of dice as teachers! I like the ones with different numbers of sides so kids can figure out the different probabilities of each one.

This assorted set of 100 dice can be found on Amazon for between $18-$20. Click here for my affiliate link.

There are a lot of great picture books for teaching probability! Read alouds for these books can be found on youtube OR you can purchase or borrow the books. Here are a few of my favorite picture books related to probability and the order I use them:

It’s Probably Penny by Loreen Leedy – This one is the first one we read together in my classroom. It introduces and explains a lot of the vocabulary we use with probability and it gives clear examples of each one for the students. Click here to purchase a pack for this book in my tpt store.

Pigs at Odds by Amy Axelrod – The pigs are heading to a carnival and of course they get to play all sorts of games involving probability. Each game gives students a chance to think about and talk about the chances the pigs have of winning.

Probably Pistachio by Stuart Murphy – Use this picture book to practice the topic of probability throughout the course of the story.  Students have to use some of their prior understanding of probability to answer questions related to this story. Click here to purchase a pack for this book in my tpt store.

Bad Luck Brad by Gail Herman – Brad has a bunch of bad luck until the end of the story when he finally gets what he wants – the movie he wants to see. He remembers what is was like not to get his way throughout the day and is sure to make his friend feel better about not getting the movie choice he wanted. Click here to purchase a pack for this book in my tpt store.

That’s a Possibility by Bruce Goldstone – This book contains real life pictures that show examples of probability. It gives very clear examples of probability over the course of the book. It also gives the teacher a lot of chances to discuss the possibilities with students as they read aloud the book! This is a book you could easily read more than once and have different things to talk about. Kids could also use real pictures from magazines or Internet search to make their own probability posters!

A Very Improbable Story: A Math Adventure by Edward Einhorn –

Quack, Quack Welcome Back!

This fall I am using a rubber duck theme in my classroom! I am looping with my classroom this year and I think I am going to use the phrase, ” Quack, Quack Look Who’s Back!” on my welcome bulletin board.

I also created a set of STEM Challenges with rubber ducks to do the first couple of weeks of school. Click here to buy these challenges if you are interested!
I changed up my table signs to some with rubber ducks that go with my color theme as well. I plan on using assorted rubber ducks as rewards throughout the year!

I also created a staff morale booster with rubber ducks! This one is a freebie in my tpt store! There are 8 of these to choose from and they are all FREE!

We are also going to do a Rubber Duck Weekly Reading Passage to start the year! There are quite a few of these available individually and in bundles in my store. These are a great way to get students to look back through a text passage. Click here for the link to this one!

I also ordered these adorable tiny little ducks on Amazon! My kids love to collect little things and I know they will love these ducks! Click here to grab these on Amazon! (This is an affiliate link.)

Stay tuned for my Welcome bulletin board and pictures of my classroom. We can’t go in for another week, but I am working on getting things printed and laminated at home!

What is your theme this year?

Using Soft Starts in the Classroom

We begin each morning with Soft Starts in my 4th grade classroom. They are a nice way for students to come into my classroom each morning. We rotate different types of soft starts throughout the year. We begin the year with games students can play in order to get to know one another.

This week we will be changing to dinosaur/fossil themed soft starts. We are studying fossils in science, so these soft starts give students a chance to learn some things about dinosaurs, play dinosaur card games, explore fossils, and do some fun artwork using tracing plates, stickers, and stamps.

The Soft Starts packs in my tpt store have labels for containers, items to get, and rules for kids to follow. You can also just put a different soft start item at each table. I have soft starts with STEM, dinosaurs/fossils, words, and squishy things. I am working on adding more! Click here to see my Dinosaur Soft Start Pack.

My students spend the first 15-20 minutes each day on the soft starts. I put up a timer when they have 5 minutes left and they know it is time to begin cleaning up. I store everything in shoebox tubs and bring them out each morning.

What things do you do in the morning as your students come into your classroom?

Using Clip Art for Welcome Bulletin Boards!

Looking for an easy to put up your PERFECT Back to School bulletin board? Just use clip art! Pick out the clip art you want, place the clip art onto a powerpoint slide and adjust it to the size you want. Then add a text box and type in a student name. Do this for all the kiddos you are expecting and print!

I did a Rock and Roll theme last year. Each student got an inflatable guitar to take home the first day! I grabbed the inflatable guitars on Amazon!

Best part about using clip art? I can choose the SIZE I need for my bulletin board! I can also make new ones quickly when I get new students the first few days!

What is your Back to School theme this year?

I am doing colorful light bulbs this year!

Mailing Unusual Items to Students

At this time of distance learning across the country, I have been looking for ways to connect with my students, and one of my favorites is through writing and mailing them notes each week.  They really look forward to getting a weekly note, and I have discovered that you can send unusual things through the mail!

This week I sent them cards with a small growing creature tucked inside.  You can grab the growing creatures cheaply on Amazon or on the Oriental Trading Company site.  I also got a set of 200 cards and envelopes in bright colors on Amazon.  They just have to place the creature into a cup of cold water for 5 days.  I encouraged them to change the water each day.  At the end of 5 days, they can send me the results through a text message picture or even a flipgrid video!  Filpgrid is amazing!  Check it out if you have not already!

I found a read aloud of the picture book, It Came in the Mail, by B. Clanton.  It is an adorable book.

The character  in the book gets unusual things in the mail.  I am sending my own students something unusual next week!  I found some foam door signs from the Dollar Tree in one of my teacher tubs of rewards in my basement.  I’m going to mail one to each student!

I have a writing pack to go along with this book in my TPT store, too!  Click here to buy it!

What are you doing to connect with your own students during this time of distance learning?  Share ideas in the comments!  The first five commenters will get this pack for FREE!

You’ve Been Slimed! – Staff Morale Booster

Teaching is tough!  I am always looking for ways to boost the morale of my colleagues!  Over the years I have made several of these types of freebies.

You’ve Been Mugged!

You’ve Been Penned!

You’ve Been Stickered!

You’ve Been Slimed!  (My newest version!)

Choose a version that will work with your staff and get your colleagues smiling today!

Shark Week 2019

I love shark week!  Each year I try to post a freebie in my store for sharks!  This year I am posting some shark bookmarks.  There are three different versions of the bookmarks to choose from for your students.  This file also has a set of blank bookmarks that can be used for any topic!

Click here to grab this shark freebie!

In this classroom we are…GATORS!

We are the GATORS at my school!  I made this freebie poster set to hang in my classroom!  Click here for the free download!

Now includes posters for BEARS, EAGLES, HAWKS, TIGERS, SHARKS, and WILDCATS!

Alligators, Alligators…

Our school mascot is the alligator, so I am starting the year with a couple days of lessons surrounding the alligator!  Our classroom already has a frog theme this year, so I am thinking the alligator stuff will fit in perfectly!

We are going to start with an Alligator Escape Room activity.  I am hoping that it gets the table groups working together, communicating, listening, and learning where stuff is in our classroom.   Click here to purchase the Alligator Escape Room pack!

The escape room should take the students much of the morning time to finish.  It includes a reading paragraph, some math, a video to watch with questions, and two fun STEM challenges!  Students get a sheet to complete as they are going through the Escape Room!  When they finish, I got plastic alligators to give each student!  I grabbed these alligators on Amazon, click here for the link.

We are also going to read the picture book If you Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, DON’T! by Elise Parsely.  It is such a funny story!  Click here for the book link!

We are going to use this picture book as a mentor text and we are going to write our own funny stories using cause and effect (got to get started on those curriculum standards right away)!  Click here to purchase this writing pack!

 

We are also going to grow our own alligators!  This science lab is just AMAZING to students because the allgiators get SO big!  We start school on a Thursday, so by Monday these gators will be HUGE!  We place one of these in a plastic tub of water.  The kids take some measurements on day 1 and on day 5!  You can sometimes find these at the Dollar Tree.   Click here for the link to the growing toy!

The students will each have their own smaller alligator to grow!  You can also do one per group!  These can be purchased at Educational Innovations.  Click here for the link.  We use this pack for our smaller growing alligators.  Click here to purchase the Growing Gators pack!

 

What are you going to do during your first few days at school?

Bats! – and Making a Bat Cave

Kids absolutely love learning about bats!  We had a great time writing and doing science activities with bats!  The kids favorite part…THE BAT CAVE!

This was really easy (and cheap) to make!  Just a pack of plastic sheeting from the nearby Home Depot, duct tape, and a box fan!  The kids got to do research and read inside the bat cave.  They also got to teach younger kiddos all about bats while they brought them in the cave.

We also wrote reports on bats!

The kids had to do a lot of research to write these reports!  They learned a lot!

We also read a lot of books and found out a lot of information we did not know!

You can find these activities (and a lot more) in my Bat Pack!  Just click here to purchase the pack!

What animals do your students love to learn about?