Communication and Expectations

I recently found myself in two (very different) situations this summer that got me thinking about the students in my classroom.

My reason for sharing these stories is all about communication and expectations with students in our classrooms, not to belittle anyone involved in the stories or in hopes of sympathy.

As a teacher, it is very difficult to get married and have a proper honeymoon during the school year. I got married last November and decided to postpone my honeymoon until the summer. Best decision ever! My husband works a flexible job where he earns many comp hours, so we took a two week trip to Ireland and Paris. We couldn't have been more excited - that is, until we got to the airport. Long story short - EVERY flight we were on had a delay, we experienced two schedule changes, and our luggage was lost for three days. That was just getting to Europe. Unfortunately, coming home was no different. Our airline company did what they could to make sure we arrived to our destinations. However, the communication was lacking. We were delayed on every flight we were scheduled on, each with no explanation or realistic timelines provided by the staff. The staff was very impatient and, instead of talking to us, posted updates on the computer monitors displayed around the terminal. Every ten minutes there would be another ten minute delay. Why get our hopes up if you know that the flight is delayed an hour? I know why... ten minute intervals appears better than one 60 minute chunk.

Don't we do this as teachers? "Beat around the bush" and "sugar coat" information that we feel might not be received well? Adults don't like this and students are no different. Being direct (while remaining professional and polite) would have been better in a situation such as this. In the end, we all want to know the truth and be given as much information as necessary - our students are no exception.

First time home buying is a very exciting and stressful experience. My husband and I took the plunge and are buying our first home together. My husband and I are blindly being led by our real estate agent. Don't get me wrong, he is a very busy and hard working man, but sometimes lacks in the area of communication. There have been many common things that have popped up throughout this journey that we didn't know were possible. We have been blindly doing whatever is asked of us the moment it is asked. We were not once told, "here is what to expect..." or "it is common for this to happen..." until AFTER the event.

As a fourth grade teacher, I am used to providing more information than is necessary. Students need clear expectations before beginning any assignment in the classroom. This is a key idea that every profession should cling on to. Again, why are we any different than the students in our classroom?

Fast forward to the week of closing. As per usual with purchasing a home, our closing date was delayed twice. This would have been fine with us, but we were not given any warning or fair expectations of the situation. Instead of being direct and saying "there is no way we can make this happen today...", we have been told "there is still a small chance." This raises false expectations of the situation and gets us excited about the possibility, even though there wasn't a chance to begin with.

I encounter this on a daily basis. Students often ask: "may we take a second recess?" or "can we have five extra minutes of this game?" Instead of the common response of "we'll see", I simply say "no." Trust me - students appreciate the clear and concise answer. Two minutes of disappointment is better than two hours of false hope. You're not only practicing good classroom management, you are earning their trust. Telling a student (or class) "we'll see" and not following through creates a resentful classroom atmosphere.

Just remember - if it upsets you as an adult, think about how similar situations affect our young students.

A Teacher's Summer

Summer's here and I have been diligently working on new ideas and creating new products for my classroom next year- just kidding! I have been laying on the couch clicking "Play Next Episode" on Netflix. But it is the thought that counts, right? I mean my summer has not been a complete waste... I have pinned several Guided Math ideas to my Pinterest page.

Summer is what keeps us teachers going. You would think we use this time to recharge- NOT. It has been two weeks of summer and I have already accomplished more personal check-list items that most people do in ten month's time. I have done everything from cleaning closets to impromptu house hunting.

My summer will be full of Netflix, house hunting responsibilities, and traveling.

What are you up to this summer?

I promise I will get to work soon. I have a bundle of task cards and other Guided Math related products to make for the upcoming school year. So keeping coming back for exciting new products! In the meantime, check out my TPT page. It isn't too early to stock up!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cool-Beans-Ed

Here is a picture of our *potential* house. We will close before the start of the new school year if all goes according to plan. Wish us luck! 

Math Curse - End of Year Project

Whew! STAAR is over and we can breathe! The countdown for sunscreen and flip flops is on. I finally gained a free moment to catch up on TPT products and blogging. Don't worry - you haven't missed much. My kiddos and I have been in STAAR review mode. We have been spending a lot of time reviewing the rigorous content in *FUN* ways! More on that later...

I'm not going to lie, I have been uninspired recently. Last week, I was desperately searching for a fun end-of-year project that aligned with the book "Math Curse." No luck... Then I realized that I could just make something of my own instead of using my time searching for something! Here is what I came up with:

I read this book at the beginning of the school year and told my students that we would be able to solve all the problems by the end of fourth grade. PRESSURE! I obviously had to follow through...

I typed up what I felt to be the most engaging problems from the book, also keeping in my mind the ability level of my students. The last question on the worksheet encourages students to think outside the box and create their own MATH CURSE!

Students then published their MATH CURSE on the template shown below. They had a blast! I was blown away by how rigorous some of their math problems were! (Check out the two examples that are typed in the picture below... talk about good work!)

Finally, I pulled 10 questions from the students' work to create a quiz for the students to complete the following day. The project took three days in all.

You can find this product at my TPT store by clicking HERE.

Spending, Saving, Sharing

The Personal Financial Literacy unit in the new math TEKS really has our kiddos thinking! Students are being asked to think outside their little world when it comes to money and financial institutions. Fourth graders across the state are learning what it means to spend, save, and share money... and it is FABULOUS!

Here's a challenge - ask your students (or personal kids) basic questions about money and banking. Their answers will shock you! My students truly think each person has a "locker" in the bank. They elaborated by saying when you travel your bank sends money (via snail mail) to the bank location where you received cash! Needless to say, kiddos these days have wild imaginations.

Here are is a great lesson for teaching spending, saving, and sharing money:

Start by reading "Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday." The kids love this read-a-loud. It is also a good reference to the value of money and how it has changed over the years. This is an engaging way to start your lesson! You can buy it from Amazon by clicking here.

Then have your students create a "spending, saving, and sharing" foldable for their math journals. Here is an idea for how this might look:

I tried using an interactive anchor chart and love it! Split large chart paper in three sections and label them in three sections: spending, saving, and sharing. Students will work with the shoulder partner or table team to brainstorm ways to spend, save, and share money. Each pair or group will get three sticky notes, one for each way to use money. Encourage students to be specific in how they will spend, save,  and share money. I had my students keep their answers realistic and think about how it applies to them as nine/ten year olds. Get creative with this! It really does generate great conversation about money.

Use these great task cards to assess your students' knowledge of PFL. You can purchase them from my TPT store. Just click here. 

Click here to access other great products from my TPT store.

5 Tips for Teacher Pay Teachers Beginners

I recently started taking my TPT business more seriously. I've had my TPT account for about two and half years now and haven't been very successful. Don't get me wrong- I have done FINE (about $30-60 a month), but I wanted to do GREAT. I started my TPT account as an experiment. I was already creating resources for my personal classroom, so why not share them and make money while doing it? I have really stepped up my TPT game these last several month and have seen a significant increase in sales.

Disclosure: I am no where close to quitting my job and calling this a career... my TPT income just provides me with extra spending/saving money that I didn't have before. There are some TPT professionals out there that bank! I am just your every day teacher who needs extra cash for savings!

Here are 5 helpful tips for TPT beginners:

1. Become a TPT "Premium Member"
This may seem like a hefty up-front cost ($60/year), but it is totally worth it. You only get about 50% of your sales as a regular member. "Premium Members" gets 85% of what they sell! You do the math... If your products are quality ones, then you will have no trouble getting your $60 back within the first month (+ more!). To become a "Premium Member," go to your dashboard and click the link below your profile picture. You can set up automatic yearly payments through PayPal. Super easy and so worth it!

2. Clean up your Store
This was a HUGE one for me. I had many products that never sold or just weren't quality products. Customers will NOT come back if they buy a crummy product (this includes your freebies, too!). Take your time to think about what is QUALITY and what it not. Just to give you a bigger picture - I had about 25 products in my store and ended up deleting over half of them! I even spent the time to create new cover pages for my products, add more content, and change the font/clipart. Take your time to make your products look nice and make sure the content is quality.

3. Download "Cute" Fonts
Invest in some "cute" fonts. Teachers, especially elementary teachers, want their products to be rigorous and CUTE! You can download font bundles from TPT... just spend some time browsing around. Per Copright law, you cannot use font packages for commercial use unless you have purchased the rights. Be careful! Some font packages allow you to use them for personal use only - they don't always allow you to use them for commercial use (for your TPT products).
I downloaded this font package: Hello Fonts.

4. PROOFREAD
Take your time while creating products. I cannot tell you how many times I had to "edit" a product after it was already posted because I noticed a mistake. This is a pain in the behind. You have to edit your product, then "edit" it in TPT by reposting the file. Luckily, TPT lets you send your edited product to customers who have purchased the product. I have not received negative feedback about this, but I am sure it is a pain at the consumer end because they have to reprint the product. Generally speaking, customers don't like when there are mistakes!

5. Market your Products
I highly recommend creating a separate business email for your TPT account. For example, my store name is "Cool Beans Ed" and my email is that.cool.beans.ed@gmail.com (I had to add "that" because the email I wanted was taken). I also encourage you to create a Pinterest and Facebook page. It never hurts to promote your products! I have seen sales increase since I started my Facebook and Pinterest pages.

Happy TPT-ing.

Visit my TPT page for exciting elementary math products! Just click here.

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Thanks for visiting my page - I am off to play with my sweet little Winston! I just gave him a bath and he's making a mess in the kitchen. ;) 

Measuring Angles in Fourth Grade

Here is what you'll need:
1. Types of Angles Foldable (from my TPT store)
2. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (via Amazon or other book retailer)
3. How to Use a Protractor (via Downeast Teach on TPT)
4. Measuring Angles Scoot Activity (see pictures below)

Here is what you do:
1. Types of Angles Foldable
This resource comes from my 4th Grade Geometry Vocabulary product. You will only need the types of angles page for this specific activity. Have students glue the foldable and copy down the definitions in their math journals. Here is what it should look like:

from my TPT store

2. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland
You can purchase this book from Amazon by clicking the link above or from any other book retailer. I prefer Amazon because it is inexpensive and quick! This is a must read if you haven't already! What a fun book that introduces the concept of measuring angles in an engaging and exciting way.

3. How to Use a Protractor (via Downeast Teach on TPT)
I found this resource several years ago and it is always my go to when it comes time to measure angles. This resource is clear and concise. I have my students add it to their math journal! The students love it! You will need to add your own guided practice as you see fit.

via Downeast Teach on TPT

 

4. Measuring Angles Scoot Activity
From my experience, I found that teaching students how to measure angles on a small worksheet can get messy! Worksheets don't provide enough room to accurately measure an angle. The angles are often printed small and students have to use the straight edge of the protractor to extend the rays of the angle. It definitely gets messy!

I decided to take a different approach this year. I used the plain side of old book covers to create my own angles for students to measure. Don't forget to label each angle with a number. I made twelve (#1-12). You can make more or less, it is up to you!

I posted the angles around the room in numerical order. Students worked in pairs to solve the problems. In addition to measuring the angle, I had my students identify the type of angle and name the angle. We did the "SCOOT" approach. Students start at a station and work with their partner to measure the angle, name the angle, and identify the type of angle. My students needed about three minutes for each station. You will need to play around with the time to see what works best for your students. When the timer goes off, students will rotate to the next station. Don't forget to restart the timer!

Continue this process the students have answered all the questions. Students can record their answer on notebook paper or you can create your own template.

Did you enjoy this Geometry activity? You can download my Geometry Bundle Pack by clicking here. It contains FIVE great activities for a low price! Don't pass up this great deal.

You can download other great products from my TPT store. Just click here.

Types of Lines

Fourth grade math introduces many new geometry concepts to our Texas fourth graders. Students learn about different types of lines including intersecting, perpendicular, and parallel. This may seem super straight forward, but this concept can present itself in a variety of ways. 

Here is an idea for a "Types of Lines" lesson in your fourth grade classroom:

I start by having students create a new vocabulary foldable entry in their math journal.
You can find this product at my TPT store. Just click here.

This is what it will look like when the students put it in their journal. This example isn't specific to types of lines, but you get the idea!

We then break out into guided math groups. At my table, I go through my "Types of Lines Word Problems Task Cards." The tasks at the other stations are up to you!

You can find this product at my TPT store. Just click here.

You can find both of these products PLUS three others in my Geometry BUNDLE PACK! 

Just click here.

Check out my TPT store for other great products. Just click here. 

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Measuring Angles with a Protractor

Using a protractor to measure angles is a new skill for Texas fourth graders. Measuring angles with a protractor is a skill that was moved from sixth grade to fourth grade through the implementation of the new Texas math TEKS.

4.7C determine the approximate measures of angles in degrees to the nearest whole number using a protractor.

Measuring angles using a protractor is tough skill to assess. Protractors are not allowed during the STAAR test, so test makers are creative in their presentation of this skill. I created "Measuring Angles with Protractors" Task cards using inspiration from released STAAR questions. It is always tough to predict how the TEKS will be assessed, so it is best to teach a skill from multiple angles. The following pictures are my interpretation of the TEKS.

  

You can purchase a FREE preview of my task cards by clicking here.

You can purchase the FULL SET of "Measuring Angles with Protractors" task cards by click here. 

Please visit my TPT store for other great products. Just click here.

DIY Thing One & Thing Two Costumes

Here's what you'll need:

• Two headbands
• I bought an inexpensive set of soft, colorful headbands from Wal-Mart. They were about $3 for eight headbands. You can also use one you already have at home!
• Two spools of blue tule 
• These are found in the ribbon aisle at Wal-Mart for about $2 to $3 each.
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Laminated print of the "Thing One" and "Thing Two" designs 
• Hole puncher
• Red shirt
• Red pants/shorts/skirt 

Here's how you do it:

Step 1: Google "Thing One and Thing Two" to find the front logo for your t-shirt. I just copied and pasted them into a Word document and them as large as possible. Print and laminate for durability.

Step 2: Use a hole puncher to punch two holes at the top of your logo. Thread some of the blue tule through the holes to create a necklace. 

I preferred to wear mine as a necklace to avoid holes in my t-shirt from safety pins. If you don't have a printer, you can use a black marker to design your t-shirt logo. You don't have to laminate - it's just an option! You can also tape or laminate it to the front of your shirt.

Step 2: Measure out your blue tule in one foot sections. These don't have to be exact. You'll be cutting a lot - so CLOSE to one foot is good enough.

Step 3: Loop your tule around the head band. See the pictures below for a more detailed explanation.

 

Step 4: Put it together! 

Check out this The Cat in the Hat measurement activity for Dr. Seuss' birthday! It is FREE! 

Just click here.

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