Addition & Subtraction Racing School

Hey friends! So I was so intrigued by Amy's Multiplication Book Camp idea that I wanted to create something similar for the beginning of the year for addition and subtraction math facts. I wanted to something that the boys and girls both would be interested in. What better theme than racing!?!? So for those of you who saw Amy's post of Multiplication Book Camp back in May, this should be a little familiar to you (click on the link above to visit Amy's post for a refresher or introduction if you would like).

To start off, I will focus on addition first and give my kiddos a pretest to determine which facts they have already mastered and which facts they need more work on. Once each kiddo knows what facts they need to work on, they will be given flashcards (Pit Stops) and title cards for each fact number (Lap Cards) to practice every night for homework. These will be cut out, hole punched, and put onto a binder ring. That way they will be kept together.

The kiddos will complete Practice Laps every day (daily timed tests). They will keep track of their progress of the Practice Laps on the Lap Times sheet.

To go along with the Practice Laps and Pit Stops, there are games and activities that my kiddos will complete. Just like Amy, I too do Math Rotations in my classroom (click on the link to see Amy's post that explains what math rotations are). Therefore, when my kiddos are at the game rotation, they will be completing all of the games and activities that are included within this set (I will only choose one per day/week, depending on how long my kiddos need to complete each activity/game). These games/activities include the following (some have both addition and subtraction editions, some just have addition):

• Winston Cup (Addition Chart Game)
• Parking Lot (Addition & Subtraction Game)
• Put the Pedal to the Metal (Build a Race Car Game)

Teacher example of the "Put the Pedal to the Metal" Game

• Black Out (Addition & Subtraction BINGO)
• Capture the Flags (Addition Strategy Game)
• Red Light, Green Light (Addition Exercising Game)
• Race Track (Addition & Subtraction Racing Game)

Once my kiddos graduate from Addition Racing School, they will move on to subtraction, which will follow the same format.

I got these cups that have black and white checkers on them from Party City. They were $1.00 for each one. I will use these to store my timed tests in.
















I also found these pencils I will give to my kiddos after they graduate from the addition school. They too were from Party City. They come 12 in a pack.








I wanted to share a FREE activity for you to check out that goes along with this set. Download it by clicking on the picture below. If you like it, check out the Addition & Subtraction Racing School set in my TpT store by clicking here!

How do you help your kiddos learn their math facts?

The first 3 people to comment will receive this set for FREE! (Don't forget to include your email address in your comment so I can send you your FREE set)

If you happen to miss out, don't worry! I have a 20% off everything sale going on in my TpT store until Friday, August 2nd. :)

Stayed turned tomorrow because...

More details tomorrow, but I can tell you it is a huge team effort from a ton of your favorite bloggers!!  And thanks, Kayla, at Primary Junction for making the cute button!

Happy Race Day! Have a wonderful day!

Classroom Library & Beach Bum Throwback Sale

Hey pals! Amy and I just got back last night from our wonderful R&R trip to Florida. Like Amy had said, it was a much needed trip for me as well. We definitely enjoyed every minute of being on the beach (laying out, seeing dolphins, walks on the beach, watching the fish and birds, etc.)! I miss the view already! We took so many pictures! These are just two that I took.



Amy & I on the beach before sunset

The view from the doors leading out to the pool/beach area

Since this happens to be my first blog post, I thought I would introduce myself a little bit. I am married to my wonderful husband, Philip. We have been married for almost 2 years (September 10, 2011). We currently don’t have any kids. Philip and I love to travel. As a matter of fact, we just got back from a wonderful week long Paris, France trip on July 22^nd (3 days prior to going to Florida with Amy). Besides spending time with him, I love being with my family and friends. I am currently getting my Masters in Educational Technology from Mizzou. So I am always busy! Oh….and in September…I am going to be an aunt to Calliope Ann!! I am SUPER excited about that!

Hubby & I in Paris (July 2013)



Hubby & I in Nashville (January 2013)

Ok…enough about me! So unfortunately this summer is coming to an end for Amy and me. We can get into our classrooms on Friday. Sigh! I wanted to share my classroom library set-up that I started last year. It was a huge success for me and my students. I don’t know about you but I have had some difficulty getting my kiddos to put books back in the correct bin (no matter how much I review and teach how to return books). I used Jessica Winston’s book bin labels to put on the front of my book bins. I used the ones from the previous year but these are her labels (Click on the picture to also go to Jessica’s Blog).

I also printed off numbers (1-30) onto Avery address labels (put several numbers on one label) and gave each bin a number, which I also put numbers on the books that belong within the bins. This helped my kiddos know which bins each book belonged to when they would return books. It helped my library stay SO organized! 

I laminated the labels onto construction paper to make them sturdy and add some color. Then either I hole punched them and used ribbon to tie them onto my book bins (if the book bins had holes on the sides) or put them into a sticky label holder (for the bins that didn’t have holes). I got the label holders from Wal-Mart in the Home section. After putting the labels on and the books in the bins, I put them on the shelves.

This is what my classroom library looked like last year.

 

I got my book bins and student book boxes (along the top of my shelves) from Really Good Stuff. Some of the bins came from Wal-Mart as well.

How do you set up your classroom library?So I must tell you that I never got a chance before we left for Florida to “Throw a Sale” in my TpT Store. Therefore, you can get 20% off of everything within my store from today till Friday! Enjoy! I would love for any new followers on TpT!

I am SO excited to finally be blogging! Have a splendid day!

 

Planner Freebies galore!

Hello darlings!

Don't forget about our sale!

I also wanted to give you some freebies because I just love my followers!  I appreciate all your comments and emails!  They mean so much and they encourage me to continue the blog!

So I love all these awesome teacher planners I am seeing around on the web and I decided to make one to fit my needs.  I got it bound at Office Max. You can download all of this for free!  I just ask that you pin it to share with others!

Sorry, because this is a freebie, it can not be edited. 

Do download, click each picture that you want. 

Gradebook

 Dividers

If you want an editable one and one that is already put together for you, go to ErinCondren.com.  She has beautiful planners for $59! 

Have a super day!  We will be back from our vacation tomorrow night, so make sure to take advantage of the sale!!

Editable Open House Resources- FREE

Hello darlings!  I am relaxing, enjoying the last few days of summer, at Clearwater Beach, Florida!  Oh the sunshine!  I wanted to bring you a little sunshine today as well and give you a few awesome freebies to make your Open House {or in my case, Meet the Teacher Night} successful!

These resources are EDITABLE in powerpoint!  Then you can just save them as a PDF.  I have included my samples below so you can see how I use them!

If you download this, I just ask that you are courteous and pin this. Please follow my store and blog.  Thanks!!

Favorite Pin Friday

Hello darlings!  We are enjoying our little Beach Vacay right now.  I hope you can take a peak at our sale!

I am so excited about making this for my room! I love how Hope gives the directions too!

This also looked awesome!  It annoys me so much when kiddos leave the room and the door slams.  It is so noisy.  I think this will help!

A bunch of my teacher friends from my building pinned this!  I wonder if we all will have photo booths!

I really like how she does her Word Wall.  It looks simple and that it would actually be used.  I am going to try to do something like this.  Maybe I can write on it with dry erase?  I like having a word wall where kiddos can add words that they need.

My sister sent me this adorable video.  You have to watch it!

This is another pin sent to me by my friends Gretchen.  Let's just say she knows about a little episode I had the other day...




I am loving this hair style!  But... I think I am too chicken to cut my long, curly hair... This would mean getting up even earlier to straighten my hair... What do you think?

Inspirational Pin!

Beach Bum Sale and Math Rotations

Hello Darlings!  Jamie and I are on the plane to Clearwater Beach, Florida!  Yay!  I can't tell you how much I needed the beach this summer!  But, don't be too bummed that you are stuck at home..we have a HUGE SALE planned for you!  EVERYTHING in our stores is 20% off!  

So here is a little Throwback to last year!
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Originally Posted September 4th, 2012

Hello again darlings!  I hope your year is off to a great start and you haven't felt the need to strangle discipline any of your little young'ns yet!  My kiddos are super sweet this year, but they are also super low... What to do..what to do.  Well, instead of pulling my hair out, I am putting my Math Rotations to good use.  I have been teaching math this way a couple years now, ever since my district adopted the Singapore Math Program.  It works great!

Grouping Students

So..how does it work you ask?  I pre-asses my students at the beginning of each unit.  Make it easy on yourself and just give them a five question multiple choice sheet that covers the topics of the unit.  That way you can QUICKLY assess their strengths and weaknesses.  Next, I group them according to the results.  Ex. All 5 correct: West   (advanced)

       3-4   correct: East

       2 correct: South

       0-1 correct: North (low)

I usually play around a little bit with the East and South groups to even out the number of kiddos.  I also assign each student a partner who is in their group to play at the game station.

Rotations

Once I have all my little honey buns in groups, I teach them about the rotations they will be making each day. Each rotation is "supposed" to last for 15 mins.  I have been "flexible" with my timing for each group, depending on their understanding of the lesson.  There are four rotations: Teacher, Desk, Game, Fast Facts.

Grab a free rotations sign by clicking on the pic.

Teacher:  this is when the kiddos come to me at the carpet for the actual lesson that is presented on their levels.

Desk: kiddos work on the practice assignment at their desks after the lesson (West groups starts here first since they are the advanced group.  They get an assignment before the lesson.)

Game:  I have a game for each skill.  I usually keep the same game for one week so that I only have to explain it once. Check back, as I will be adding some of my games.

Fast Facts: I am lucky enough to have two computers with Internet access. (If you don't, get inventive.  Maybe just have them take paper quizzes and have the partner grade it with an answer key right then.)  I use the SELF CORRECTING TIMED tests from Multiplication.com!  They have quizzes for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I teach two kiddos how to log on and they are our Computer Experts.  At the start of math, they pull up the page from our favorites bar and then the page is open the entire time.  Kiddos click on the quiz they need.  They type in their name and press START.  Once they press start, the computer keeps track of the time.  Kiddos type in the answer to each problem and press enter.  I tell them to skip it and press ENTER if they have to think about it at all. When they finish, they press FINISHED (I know! Weird huh?)  Now it will show them all the problems they missed and how much time it took to complete.  To pass and be able to move on to a new test the next day, they can only miss ONE and their time must be 3 minutes of less.  Now I tell them if it is a couple of secs over that is ok.  When they finish  they print the test and go grab it. (My kiddos have to hustle to the library.)  Next, they make flashcards  for any of them that they missed.  While kiddos are waiting for the computer, they are practicing their flashcards from the previous day.

Accessing Quizzes:  Put it on your favorite's bar.
Go to Multiplication.com.
In case you ever get lost, it is under Resources-Online test and quizzes.  Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are found on this page. 

Here is where we keep our Fast Fact Folders that contain our flashcards and our previous quizzes.  I always have kiddos start with the pretest so that at the end of the quarter, they can take the posttest and we can measure the growth. The bucket contains pens and index cards.  No more running to go grab a writing utensil.

Sorry, I couldn't rotate the pic.

Here are the rules the kiddos came up with.