My class spent a week digging into one of our favorite novels… Tornado. It’s a class favorite every year! This year I tried to a few new things with it. We focused a lot on vocabulary, comprehension, and making inferences. Our favorite thing was making a little comprehension booklet to go along with our reading!
You can find that booklet and lots more to go with the novel HERE! (Comprehension questions, vocabulary quizzes, inferring pages, etc.)
We also used this cute little tornado from Cara Carroll to make a self-to-text connection!
My students started learning about multiplication while I was out last week. I was worried, but for the most part they understand the concept really well. I was blessed with a great sub who did a lot of teaching in my place!!! This week we have focused on arrays, arrays, and more arrays!
We started the week modeling arrays in our math spirals. Give the kids paint dotters and you will be the best thing ever!
Once we were a little more knowledgeable about arrays we did our annual “I Spy Arrays” activity. This is a freebie that can be found HERE!
We also made our Array Flapbooks. Each student chose which type of array they wanted to make. Giving them small choices like which markers to use, choosing their multiplication sentences, and what their arrays are made of give them so much more ownership of their assignment!
I was running low on steam and ideas, so we got the paint dotters out again today! I gave each student two number stickers that they had to use to make a multiplication sentence. Then, they used the paint dotters to make an array that matched their equation. Afterwards they had to create a word problem to match their equation and array. We read the word problems aloud and had to match the array with the correct word problem!
We have also been working on arrays and multiplication during small group time. We matched multiplication sentences to arrays, used white boards to draw arrays, and completed a quick assessment!
Phew! I’m ready to move on from arrays at this point, ha!
In my spare time I have been prepping our 3-digit math stations that we will start in a couple of weeks. I want to spend our last few weeks of school really nailing down our regrouping skills. It’s something they struggle with every year in 3rd grade, so I’m bound and determined to review it until I’m blue in the face! I decided to go black/white this time. Can you tell I’m running low on colored paper?? I pretty much have green, blue, yellow, and orange left!
This little laminator saves my sanity almost every single week. I keep one at home and one at school. There’s nothing more I hate than cutting out lamination from our school laminator… the large sheets, the wasted lamination, the peeling!!! I have never had problems with either of my laminators! I have THIS one and THIS one! They both work equally well!
You can check all of my triple-digit stations out HERE!
Hi, I'm Amy
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
I love your family updates! Best of luck to bringing your 2 new babies home!!
Congrats and as a fellow adoptive parent ( ha ans Lemons) my prayers are with your family. I found great comfort somehow in the knowledge that the same moon shined upon us both. God speed
So many great ideas during such a full week. I've been thinking of giving Tornado a try in my room, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit until now. Thanks for all of the info!
Hi Amy!
I've been following your blog for a while and have purchased a few of your TPT units (love them all!) but I'm wondering how you manage to get the colored paper and laminator machines and pages? Does your district reimburse you or does this all come out of pocket?
I'm asking because I'm a new mom and and finding that I need to stop spending personal money in the classroom.
4 Responses
I love your family updates! Best of luck to bringing your 2 new babies home!!
Congrats and as a fellow adoptive parent ( ha ans Lemons) my prayers are with your family. I found great comfort somehow in the knowledge that the same moon shined upon us both. God speed
So many great ideas during such a full week. I've been thinking of giving Tornado a try in my room, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit until now. Thanks for all of the info!
Hi Amy!
I've been following your blog for a while and have purchased a few of your TPT units (love them all!) but I'm wondering how you manage to get the colored paper and laminator machines and pages? Does your district reimburse you or does this all come out of pocket?
I'm asking because I'm a new mom and and finding that I need to stop spending personal money in the classroom.