Using Data to Tell How Many More or Less

Using data to tell how many more or fewer (less) in a category is a common core standard for my first grade students. Even though I found some practice pages in our math workbook, it wasn't enough. I really needed more. I wanted additional pages, not just for classwork, but also for homework. 

Since I needed some extra practice sheets I created a packet and also a video that I posted to YouTube. In both of these resource I use a matching and circling strategy. I like having my students do this. They match the items in each category and then circle the extra. I found that this is a good strategy for helping students understand what I mean when I was ask for how many more or how many fewer. They can see that I am really asking for the difference between the two. For some reason this concept is really hard for them. They can tell that one category has more or less than the other, but they have a difficult time with the idea of comparing the two in order to answer the question of how many more or how many fewer. 

I think that students really begin to understand this as they continue to develop their number sense, so long term it probably isn't a concern, but since my students need to have this for their unit test I wanted to give them a helping hand and additional practice.

Besides using the practice pages and the video I also used manipulative in order for students to see how the items in each category could be matched. You can see my blog on Creating Story Problems for more information on how I did this. 

Here are the  links to the resources that I have talked about in case you are interested.   

Using Data to Tell How Many More or Less in a Category - Practice pages

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Using-Data-to-Tell-How-Many-More-or-Less-2092632

Using Data YouTube Video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0DEO8Nf-Es&feature=share

Creating Story Word Problems

http://anavarresteacherblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/creating-story-word-problems.html

Creating Story Word Problems

This week as part of my math centers I had my students work on story problems using dinosaurs. I wanted my students to have some hands on experience in creating their own story problems before I asked them to solve written word problems. I knew they needed this in order to really understand what a word problem is, so I got a little creative. I put a blank sheet of paper (green cardstock) in a sheet protector. Then I set out a tub of dinosaurs and some whiteboard markers. I asked students to draw their dinosaur environment/scenery and then create a story problem to go with it.

My students loved this. Some students seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much and were taking a little too long to draw their picture and/or to pick out their dinosaurs, but when I checked on them, they were doing these tasks with a purpose. They wanted specific things in their picture and they wanted specific dinosaurs for their story problem. They really took it seriously.

When I first introduced this activity I really only gave one example. It was very simple. Example: There were 6 dinosaurs in the grass and 3 more joined them. Now there are 9 dinosaurs. As I went around to have students tell me their story problems they were using the word "joined.". They also began trying to write out their story problem or were trying to set up their equation.  I even had one student ask if they could do a subtraction problem.

This very simple activity was really worth the time. I'm going to use it again next week, but this time I am going to have student use comparison word problems. Example: There are 8 red dinosaurs and 2 black ones. There are 6 more red than black and there are 6 fewer black than red.

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Barn Animal Phonics

I was going through some of my resources the other day and I pulled out this Barn Animal Phonics activity. It is a little too early in the year for me to use it with my first graders, but it is one of my favorite review activities.

Students read the animal cards and put them in the barn if they can read the words or in the pasture if they can't. The set includes CVC, ll, ck, CVCe, and vowel team words. I like using it as a review activity because of the various phonics rules. It also works well for providing differentiation for students who are already reading. This activity is a good way for students to practice words and to help strengthen their overall reading fluency. 

I like using this set as a center activity. There are five different types of animal cards. I make two sets of each. I keep each set of cards in a plastic bag. Having the extra cards at the center gives students enough choices, so they are able to keep busy without having to wait on others. I encourage students to partner up with someone (a stronger reader) if they need support with some of the harder words. 

Another way I like using this activity is a resource for struggling readers. It is a good way for students to practice and help monitor their own progress. They can see how many more words are going in the barn vs the pasture as they learn to read the words. 

You can purchase this product and my TpT Store if you are interested. Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Barn-Animal-Phonics-441116

Desk Decorum

At the end of the first day of school, some of my students already had messy desks. I teach first grade, so my students have never had to be responsible for keeping their desks orderly before. I'm not quite sure that some students even know what this means. In order to help make my point a little more clear, I decided to take some pictures of some examples.

I first showed my class this student's desk and talked about this being pretty good, but that the bag of counting cubes could be placed in the pencil box. 

I then showed them this picture and asked my students what they thought about this one. They agreed that it was pretty organized. 

Next, I showed this picture. We again discussed what students thought about this desk and how it could be more organized. 

Lastly, I showed this picture in which we again discussed how this student's desk could be more organized. 

I didn't mention any names as I showed the pictures, and it wasn't done to make anyone feel bad, it was just a good way to help students realize what is being expected of them. One problem with the two unorganized desks would seem to be the lack of a

pencil box, everyone has one now, but that doesn't mean that things always get put back in the boxes, so the pictures are still helpful.

After showing students the pictures I gave them a couple minutes to make sure that their desk decorum was up to par, or basically that things weren't falling out of their desks. Then I introduced the idea of the Desk Fairy. I let them know that the Desk Fairy would be checking to make sure that they were keeping their desks organized. If the desks were not nice and neat then the Desk Fairy would be leaving a card on their desk as a reminder. 

This was just one of those Back to School lessons that needs to be done, but it was actually very helpful. I'v included the link to my Desk Fairy Freebie Cards if you are interested. I have found them to be a useful tool. 

FREEBIE! Desk Fairy - Clean Your Desk Notice

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Freebie-Desk-Fairy-Clean-Your-Desk-Notice-1955840

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