Happy summer everyone!  I am so excited for summer, and I have been working like crazy on new things for my classroom!  I can't wait to use these things with my students this next year!

Divisibility rules are a great thing for students to work with and memorize.  This helps students know when a number can be divided by smaller numbers.  These rules are in four different sizes ranging from full sheets for posters, and down to 9 cards on a sheet of paper so that way they can be put on rings for each student to have at their own desk.  I love the idea of putting them on a ring so students can carry them around and flip through them quickly.

Place value is something that students continuously struggle with, and need to keep working on.  I created these fun dice activities for students to create their own numbers so they can practice many different ways.  I also created some interactive notebook pages and spinners.  These are going to be awesome for my students to work on their place value skills, and practice in many different ways.

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Cassandra

It's crazy to believe that we have already made it through 100 days of school!  To celebrate our 100th day of school we did some fun activities!!

Our 100th day of school falls in the middle of our National Lutheran School's week, and it fell on Field Day this year so we couldn't have them dress up like they were 100, so instead we did many different 100 activities instead!

During math I had four centers set up for my students to work on, and they had 5 minutes to work at each station.  In one center they had to see how tall of a structure they could build, using ALL 100 cups in the 5 minutes.  The groups all did great, and it was interesting to see how they stacked the top to make their structures taller with the same bases!

The second center was working to find 100 ways to make 100.  It was awesome to see the way that they could deconstruct the number, as well as represent it in different ways.  They were able to come up with spelling it, using place value blocks, adding, subtracting, and multiplying.  It was the easiest for the first group because they could write anything, but by the fourth group they had a harder time because we were trying to not have duplicates!  Together, both classes were able to come up with 100 DIFFERENT ways to make 100!!

Next, the students worked on counting coins.  All of the coin amounts were less than 1.  A great way to build on this would be to find how much change they would get from $1 if this was the cost of their item!  It is a great resource that can be adapted to fit the needs of your students!

The last center was a place value center where they had to count the base ten blocks. This is a great skill to practice and can once again be added to in order to make it more challenging.  These math centers can all be found in my 100 Days of School activity pack, which also include some fun writing ideas, prompts and lists to make!

During our writing block they worked on writing what they would buy with $100!  It is amazing the things that they think they can buy with only $100!  I am always amazed at how far kids think $100 can stretch!!  This writing from The Creative Classroom is one of our new favorites, and I love that it comes with a self checking checklist so the kids are becoming more an more aware of what they need to be checking for as they are writing!

Follow Mrs 3rd Grade's board 100th Day of School on Pinterest.

I have pinned a bunch of fun ideas on to my Pinterest board and can't wait to start planing for next year!!

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Cassandra

Superhero Day is one of my favorite days of our school year! I  love that we are able to set the stage, bring fun to the classroom, and keep our students engaged all day long with learning!

Our superhero day this year was on a Friday, so my coworker and I stayed late on Thursday to set the stage!!  We didn't want the kids to see it before they walked in Friday morning, so we worked hard on pieces after school all week, and then put it all together Thursday after school!

The sign was one of my favorite parts!  We use KG Wake Me Up to cut out the text!  Then we glued it onto the green plates.  We then tied the plates together so that way it would be easier to hang.  Finally, we taped the plates back to back to help make them sturdier.  We then used these hanging clips (amazon affiliate link) to hang the plates!  I LOVE these clips and use them to hang things in my classroom so that way I don't have to put holes in student work.

Another way we decorated the hall was with our array city!!  I had the students in my class draw the arrays on the black paper with yellow crayon.  I did not tell them what it was for.  I just told them it had to be an array, and then when they turned it into me they had to tell me what their array was and the product.  I then took all of their arrays and taped them together!  I LOVE the way it turned out!!

The final thing we did to set the stage with some big decor was make these superhero capes on our classroom doors!  We left a note for the cleaning crew that they would leave our doors open too, so that way we wouldn't worry about any of them being ruined before morning!  We used a tablecloth from Walmart cut up and then hot glued them to our door!  We covered the door with a black tablecloth and used packing tape to attach it to the door!  Finally we used the amazing Krista Wallden's clipart to color a superhero to add to the door!

Friday morning before the the day began I snapped this picture!  I found these awesome coffee mugs at Walmart for my teaching partner and I.  I put together this welcome sign for our boards so that way the students would know that we are serious about our superhero day!!

The first thing we had our students work on was their thankful card when they walked in!  This is something that we work on EVERY WEEK!  They know that when they come in on Friday mornings this is the first thing they do!  I LOVE doing this because it gives them time to reflect on something that they are thankful for.  By the end of the year they will have a collection of things that they are thankful for too!  We have also been giving our students brag tags so I put together these fun superhero brag tags for them to remember our Superhero Day!!

During math time we had so much fun!!    We had a few different activities to do!  We were practicing our multiplication by playing bump, solving word problems, measuring our superheroes and graphing!  You can check out all of these activities here!!

In the afternoon we got together with our first grade buddies and worked on writing about our superheroes!  First we decorated our own superhero and then write adjectives to describe them.  This was a fun activity for them to work together and help our first grade buddies with their describing words.

While they were working on these I pulled kids one by one into the hallway so they could take their picture in front of our Photo Booth wall!  We have been using this wall all year to take pictures, so of course we had to give it some superhero flair!!

Overall the kids had a great day dressing up like superheroes, fighting villains during superhero math, creating their own superhero and learning about superheroes in the bible!  I LOVE superhero day and can't wait to do it again next year!!

Follow Mrs 3rd Grade's board Superhero Day on Pinterest.

For more awesome superhero ideas feel free to check out my Pinterest board!!

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Cassandra

I can't believe we have LESS than three weeks for Christmas activities before break!  Where oh where is this month going to go!?!

Today I am excited to bring you some great ideas of things to do for math this month!!

I LOVE all of the great things that you can do during December to practice math skills and bring the Christmas magic to life in your classroom!!  One of my favorite things to do in class is to have a snowball fight!  There is no prep required for this, nothing you need to copy or have ready.  

I had my students write a math fact on a sheet of paper.  It could be anything we had learned about, addition, subtraction, and beginning multiplication.  They had to write this in marker so we could tell the problems apart from the answers.  Then they took that sheet of paper and crumbled it into a ball.  On the count of THREE we started throwing the snowballs across the room.  Students then had to grab a snowball, flatten it out and answer the question.  They had to show their work, and write their name to get credit for their team.  I let them play for about 5 - 10 minutes!  Then we went through and quickly checked to see what team had the most points!  It was so much fun, they enjoyed it, and were totally engaged the whole time!

Another fun and easy activity that we do is create these Christmas trees out of scrapbook paper.  I use these scraps left over from our elves that we make earlier in the week.  They have to make their tree using at least six strips of paper.  They then measure their papers to the nearest quarter inch to practice their measurement skills.

One of my other favorite ways to keep students engaged during these busy weeks is with lots of scoot games or task cards.  I love these because they are moving around, going from place to place, and not just sitting in one seat filling out a worksheet.  I typically will put these in centers or taped around the classroom with washi tape.  The students are able to practice many different skills using these tasks cards, and they can be engaging and fun!

There are a lot of great task cards that you can use to keep your students engaged, learning and having fun this month!!  You can check out my snowman set here, my growing multiplication and division bundle, lots of awesome math products on TPT like this awesome freebie by Angie from Lucky Little Learners.

You can find more awesome ideas by these wonderful teachers too!!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Cassandra

I am back again this month, linking up with Ashley and Angie to bring you another month of the wonderful #2getherwearebetter linky party!!!  I am SOOOO excited for this month, since it is ALL ABOUT MATH!!!

Math is my FAVORITE subject to teach!!  I was so excited when we split third grade this year, and I got a teaching partner FOR THE FIRST TIME! EVER!!  To make it even better, she agreed to teach the reading side of things so I could teach MATH!!

Do you have a math cupboard like this!?  I am slowly going through this stuff and GETTING rid of it!  I have too much, and too many things that just sit there and aren't getting used!  I know I need to give these to classrooms who will use them!

This is where the magic happens!  Just kidding, but this is the area I use for my small group work area.  I LOVE it because it has plenty of room for about four students to sit with me.  Plus I am able to use the white board right next to the table if I need to.  I can also keep many resources close by so that way I don't have to go looking for things.

Now on to the good stuff!  Keeping your students engaged!!  One of my favorite ways to do this is by having them write on their desks or the tables!  This keeps them excited about what they are doing, and keeps them motivated to work hard.  We talk about how it is a tool, and using the expo markers aren't for doodling, drawing or playing.  They know that it is a privilege to write on their desks, and that they won't be able to write on their desks if they can't use the tools correctly.  I make sure to use a color that they aren't using, and I use them as my marker to go around and make corrections, offer suggestions, or mark correct answers.  By doing this it helps me to know what problems they are working on, and where they are.

Another way I keep my students engaged is by getting them UP and MOVING!!  I don't have them stay in one place for too long so that way their bodies are moving.  My students are ACTIVE, and they need the movement.  By doing this I don't have to take as many brain breaks during math either, since they are moving around the classroom and getting their wiggles out working on partner work, games or small group activities.

Another way to keep my students engaged is to have them play partner games!  This way they can keep each other accountable, practice their skills, and have fun at the same time.  This is a center they go to every week, most of the time twice a week.  I mix up who they are going to the center with as well so that they are working with other students in different ability ranges and they can go from being the teacher, to the student, to the competition.  I also join in playing games with my kids to keep them on their toes.  On the days I say I am going to join the games they actually don't pick a partner, or hope that they are paired with me! I love this because it not only helps me continue to assess the students, but also helps build that relationship!

I LOVE to get my students working together!  On the 100th day of school last year we came up with 100 ways to write 100!!!  It was so fun, the kids loved racing up to the board to add their post it notes to the board.  I love finding ways to do things like this so that way they work together, and are pushed to think outside the box.

I blogged in August about other ways I keep my students engaged, hands on and worksheet free!  You can check it out here!!

Don't forget to check out my amazing linky hosts Angie and Ashley!!

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Cassandra

Learning math comes easily to students, or it is something that they struggle with.  This can be said for every subject, and it is something that we try and talk about so that way they know that they can get better at things that before they believed they weren't good at.

Math has always been my FAVORITE subject and comes easily to me.  Over the years I have worked with students who have struggled with math and couldn't understand what we were learning about.  Luckily I have been able to find ways to bring fun to math for my students!

Dice games are some of my favorite, and Kim Sutton has AMAZING games in her books!  I have been blessed to attend TWO of her workshops!! I would go every year if I could, because I always pick up new information!  Beam Me Up 10 is a great one because it forces students to work on their sums of 10.  I have a TON of dice in my classroom!  These ten sided dice are PERFECT for place value!!  My students love playing with them too, because they are new to them.  Plus they are great for expanded form.

These place value cards are another great Kim Sutton activity I picked up!!  They have been perfect for so many things.  I have been working with students on knowing the difference between even and odd, the ones, tens, and hundreds places, as well as ordering numbers.  Having students build numbers is a great way to see what they already know, and what they need help with.

We have been LOVING playing Bump games!!  These are an easy, no prep game where all you need are dice and marking chips.  Last year I didn't have these plastic pieces, so we colored paper and used cut up pieces of paper!  I have been having students practice their multiplication facts, even though they don't realize they are doing that.  They roll two dice, find the sum, and then use the counting rule on the board they have.  I have created boards for counting rules 2 through 10!!  I love that they have this opportunity to practice!

What is your favorite activity to help students understand math concepts!?!  What else would you like to see more of?!

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Cassandra

I love Sundays for many reasons, and one of them is that I get to link up with some amazing people to share my plans for the week!!

First, I want to share my lesson plans for the week!

I am so excited for our final week of our religion unit!!  We started talking about creation a few weeks ago, and our ending our unit this week discussing the fall!

In math I am excited to start bringing out some of our fall units, even though it doesn't feel anything like fall here!  We are patently waiting for Halloween, that is when it finally starts to cool down!!

Finally, in science we are rocking in our earth science unit!!  These science units by The Creative Classroom and The Blessed Teacher are AMAZING!!  They both have multiple units that have made planning this unit so much fun!!

I am also excited for my goals for the week!!  I have a fun week ahead of me, and can't wait for Wednesday night when we head to the Crowder concert!!

You can check out Teaching Trio to see what they are up to this week too!!

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Cassandra

I am linking up this morning with Doodle Bugs Teaching to bring you my Five for Friday!

I am SOOO thankful for AMAZING Arizona blogging friends that I have made!!  Do you recognize these two!?!  LOVE them both!!

So thankful for amazing friends here in AZ who share the same passion as I do!! @theblessedteacher @learninginwonderland you ladies are AMAZING!! #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #AZontheRise #iteachthird

A photo posted by Mrs. 3rd Grade (@mrs3rdgrade) on Sep 7, 2015 at 2:32pm PDT

I am not a person who loves worksheets.  I just don't like them.  To battle this I have been finding ways for my students to practice their skills without realizing they are working and without standing in front of the copy machine!  I introduced the game BUMP this week, and my students LOVED it!!

I have been in Target a few times this week checking out the back to school SALE section!!  If you haven't been there yet, RUN!!  I grabbed pencils for $1.67, folders for 5 cents, spiral notebooks for 5 cents, post it notes for 30 cents and MORE!!  I love buying now for school NEXT year!!  Plus, check out this amazing section for Halloween, and this ISN'T the Dollar Spot!!

I posted this last week on my IG, but I don't think that Krista could have said it any better!?  Why is it that short weeks always feel like long weeks?!

A photo posted by Mrs. 3rd Grade (@mrs3rdgrade) on Sep 4, 2015 at 11:19am PDT

I was working Wednesday night and this song came on my Pandora station!  I had to quickly go find it and add it to my list to share!!  I LOVE this song and it spoke to my hear this week!

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Cassandra