Teacher's Take-Out

How to Add and Subtract on a 100 Chart

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

How to add or subtract on a 100 chart is a piece of cake! It's really helpful for students who need a boost in counting by 1s and 10s. You do not need to worry about regrouping or borrowing either. All you need are some 2-digit numbers and a 100 chart. Once students become proficient in using the 100 chart to add, they will not need the chart. They'll know how to do it in their head!

Let's practice. Let's say you need to add 53+29. Find 53 on the chart below. I know that 29 has 2 tens and 9 ones. I start at 53. Add 2 tens which puts me at 73 and then add 9 ones. That will land me on 82.

If I was more advanced, I would start at 53, add 30 because 29 is closest to 30 and subtract 1. But for beginners, they do not think that way.

The 100 chart is also great for subtraction. If I had to subtract 83-25, I would start at 83. I know that 25 is 2 tens and 5 ones. I would go back 2 tens which would put me at 63. I would count back 5. That lands me at 58.

Most students need extra practice in subtracting. Working on a 100 chart will help students begin to see patterns, notice numbers, and start to have a good understanding in number sense. They will be proficient if they can do it all in their head with no 100 chart in front of them.

Click the 100 chart above to download for free. 100 charts will come in handy when adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers. Students will need to know how to add 1s and 10s when adding or subtracting. Here is a blog post about adding 1s and 10s. Students will also need to know their tens and ones and the value of each number too.

I have a few 2 digit numbers to practice this skill. Click the pictures below to see more. I have also updated these task cards and added Google links for Self-Grading Quizzes. Use the Google links to assign to students in Google Classrooms. Or use the printable task cards to practice adding and subtracting on the 100 chart.

Here are some other 100 charts you may like for the classroom:

100 Pocket Chart

Laminated 100 Chart
100 Chart - Set of 10
Wooden Hundred Chart

Thanks for stopping by today!
See you soon,

Educational Ideas for Kids Stuck at Home

Friday, March 20, 2020

If your students or kids are stuck at home because of school shutdowns, during long holiday breaks, during the long summer break, they're sick for a long period of time, or for homeschoolers, kids will need some ways to keep themselves busy. I have over 20 ways that will keep students busy at home using educational ideas. Most of these ideas can be done independently and will use very little material. I also linked a few ideas where you can purchase these ideas but ALL of these ideas listed below can be done without purchasing any products listed. They are ONLY suggestions.

Here is my list of ideas:

Play games like Monopoly and Yahtzee that teach a skill like money or addition. Play games that teach a strategy like Chess or Connect 4. Stay away from the video games as much as possible. Video games do not help the brain advance forward or learn new things. Board games and strategic games enhance our brains. Click here to read a blog post I wrote about how we should be playing games with children.
Find some paper and staple together to make a journal. Use a notebook or 3-ring notebook, anything will work for a journal. You can do a ton of things in a journal. Write down 10 things you did that day, make a "To Do" list and stick to it, write sentences using the letters in your name, write a paragraph about your day, write poems, or write your opinions and thoughts down. Anything goes. Just write! Click below to see ways to get students to write differently everyday. There are over 80 ideas to journal about. These prompts are great for any grade level.
If you get grocery ads, have students plan out a meal or a party using the food in the grocery ads. Have them calculate how much it would cost to plan a meal or even a party. Pick out 10 items in the ad and multiply them by 6, 7, or 8 to practice multiplication. Use division to find out how much each unit is in the pack. If you get 10 drink packs for $4.87, how much is each one? Students can make a list of items in the ads to categorize by fruits, vegetables, meats, junk food, drinks, ect. Grocery ads can be used in a variety of ways.
Research the state or country you live in. There are hundreds of places to research. Once you finish one, start another. Find the state bird, state flower, population, rainfall, climate, and/or historic places of each state. Make a book about each flag for all the states or countries. If you don't want to do a state, then research an animal or person. There are hundreds of ideas to choose from. Research Reports can be done on any subject or person and are never ending. My Mini-Reports, below, will help students get started. These are great for research or final presentations. There are 4 reports to choose from; Biography, Country, State, and Animal.
READ, READ, READ. As a teacher, I cannot stress enough how IMPORTANT it is to read. You learn a lot when you read. You comprehend, pick up new words, sequence in your mind, and make predictions. Reading helps in ALL subject areas. The more you read, the better you get at it! Practice reading all kinds of genres too. 3rd graders and up should be reading chapter books and nonfiction material. Just sit down and read. If students are out of school, they should be reading at least 60 minutes a day. Complete a book report when finished reading a book or write a summary of each chapter you read. All you need are paper and pencils to describe the story. Stories always have a who, what, when, where, why, and how in them. Students could also come up with questions about the story and then answer them too. Book Talk, below, is loaded with over 90 pages of ideas to do with books. It keeps the conversation going about any book they are reading.
Let your kids help you follow a recipe by measuring ingredients. Students will learn a lot when they see cups, 1/2 cups, 1/4 cups and measuring spoons. Find recipes they would be able to make and have them write the recipe out on a recipe card. They can make an album of their favorite foods and start saving recipes. Some will need help in the kitchen but there are many recipes kids can make that don't require the stove, oven, or using a knife to cut. If you don't want them in the kitchen, use the measuring cups and teaspoons to play with. They can fill a tub with water and measure using bowls to see how many 1/4 cups can make a 1/2 cup?
Find some worksheets or review books geared to their grade level to complete. You can find many workbooks at Costco or Sam's Club or even Walmart and Target. I've even found them at the dollar store. Assign pages for them to do everyday. Here are some of my popular worksheets:
Watch a tv program or show and then write a summary about it. Include characters, the setting, the problem in the show, and how it was solved. Write a sequence of events; what happened first, second, and so on.
Make a calendar of the month. Put in important dates, appointments, birthdays, ect. Get to know the calendar. Know how to spell the days of the week, months, and holidays too. Know how many days are in each month, how many weeks are in a month, and days in the year. Click the picture below to start learning the calendar.
Have the students make an agenda of what they are going to do for the day. They should incorporate time which will help them learn about the clock. How many minutes will it take to get these tasks done? Use the clock to write in how much time it will complete each task. For example, from 7:30-7:40 eat, from 7:40-8:00 get dressed and brush teeth, from 8:00-9:00 a.m read. Stick to the schedule. When students know what their day looks like, they will be organized and motivated to complete tasks likes chores or school work. It's good for them to make their own schedule but you can help.
Take a walk in your neighborhood. Write down things you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. When they get home, write sentences about each feeling or sensory. Take a walk on another day. Compare what you see from day to day. Write about what was the same or different from each day. Make a Venn Diagram to show the comparisons. What are other things you can compare?
Find a picture on your phone for them to write about it. They should be using paragraph form to write about the picture, or they can write captions for the picture. They should include a who, what, when, where, and why for each picture. The packs below extend more writing. Click the pictures to learn about each one.
Write a letter to someone in your family or to your friends. Stuff the letter into an envelope, address it, put a stamp on it, and mail it. Or just deliver it to their bedroom door and tape it to their door. Everyone loves to get letters.
Students can pick out 20 words from a book they are reading and find the definition of each word and write them in a sentence. Many dictionaries are online or using a real dictionary would also be great. Make a crossword puzzle for your vocabulary words, put them in ABC order, separate them from syllables, and/or separate from long and short sounds. You can do a lot with a list of words.
Write directions for a game you play or come up with a new game to play. Students can write step by step instructions on how to play the game and the materials used to play.
Write directions on how you go to school, or to a friends house, or to the store or mall. Pretend you are GPS and instead of saying the directions out loud, write them down. You can find google maps of each city and state online. Once you teach them how to read a map, they should be able to write down any directions to any place. This will help them learn about their neighborhood and state too.
Have them measure all the rooms in the house. Get out a tape measure and find the area and perimeter of each room. Make a map of your house listing all the measurements for each room. Measure in inches, centimeters, and/or feet. Then, they can order the rooms from smallest to largest. This pack below has some fun ways to use area and perimeter by building rooms.
Make a list of ways to help people. Once finished, have them draw or make a posters of the items on their list. Make posters about life skills or ways to be a good reader or writer. Anything goes.
Make a set of flashcards on paper or index cards. What do your kids need to work on? Math facts? States and capitals? Vocabulary words? Students can write the word or fact on one side of the card and the answer on the back. Flashcards are great for kids to do independently. They are self-checking and keeps the learning going and active.
Count coins. Empty your purse and pockets and get students to practice counting coins. Have them make word problems using money too. For example; If I have 2 quarters and 3 dimes, how much money do I have? Or if I have $0.36 and spend 2 dimes, how much money will I have left? I have a set of coin counting worksheets and I have a FREE money board to help students count coins. Click the pictures below to read more about them.
Know those high frequency words (HFW)! Students should be able to read and spell the HFW by 5th grade. There are so many ways to use these words. Write the words in a sentence, use the words to write a story, put 10 words in abc order, look up each word in a dictionary, separate the words by vowel sounds or nouns, verbs and adjectives. Get creative. Write the words on little sticky notes and post all around the house. Have students go around the house to find all the words to read. Let students look in newspapers or magazines to find words and cut them out. This pack of high frequency words go all the way to 1,000!

Hopefully there are some ideas you can start using right now to keep kids active and learning at home no matter what the situation is arounds us. Below is a Choice Board of the ideas above. Click the picture to download for FREE!

Choice Board Educational Ideas to do at home

Thanks for stopping by today!

See you soon,

Playing Games in the Classroom

Monday, March 16, 2020

How many of you play games in the classroom or at home with your own children? If you are a teacher or parent that does NOT play games, then your students might be missing out. Games can improve knowledge, increase testing scores, and do so much more.

I love games! When I first started teaching, I quickly realized kids LOVE games too! They are more engaged and are involved in an activity when a game is being played. They have fun and they don't even realize they are learning either. Plus, games provide much needed practice on curriculum standards.

Did you know that playing games helps with:
1. Sportsmanship- Students learn to be good winners and losers. There are no "In your face or I'm the best" behavior when they win. There are no, "you cheated, you suck, I don't want to play anymore" behavior when they lose. Congratulations are in order and definitely a rematch! Games will help students interact with their classmates and get to know them better. When you get to know your classmates, you will treat them better and hopefully become friends.
2. New concepts to learn- Student's brains are in overload when they learning something new. Learning new vocabulary words or memorizing math facts can be overwhelming. Games helps ease learning. If students are needing to practice math facts, rolling 2 dice and adding them together can help students practice and be engaged at the same time. Most of them won't even realize they are learning and practicing math facts. When learning new vocabulary words, a fun Jeopardy game can help students practice reading and reviewing words.
3. Develop skills- Many games will have your students developing many skills when they play games. Think about Monopoly. When they play, they are learning about money, counting money, reading big numbers, and developing an understanding of life like paying bills.
4. Improve skills- Games will provide practice with skills. When students practice, they become better at it and improve. Think about baseball. If I play everyday and practice, it will improve my baseball skills.
5. Motivate students- Students are more motivated to practice a skill by playing a game than doing a worksheet. Students will be more willing to participate and become involved when playing a game.
6. Engagement- When students play a game, they are engaged so much that they don't even know they are learning or practicing skills.
7. Challenging- Some games challenge students. Some games use higher level thinking or involve strategies to stay in the game. For example, battleship or chess are games that use strategic thinking. These games are good in keeping the brain focused and learning new strategies by making better moves.

Games in the classroom are proven to improve skills. When students are engaged and involved, their learning goes way up! They will remember more and exercise the brain with much needed skills and strategies.

In my classroom, I set up a station for games to be taken home to play. I use it the same way they would if they were checking a book out of the classroom library. I take a gallon size plastic baggie and glue the directions on the front of the bag. I provide all material that's needed for the game and put in the baggie like dice, scratch paper, pencils, task cards, gameboard, and game tokens. Students sign a sheet or card letting me know what game they took home and the date they took it home. Once they return the game, they can check out another game. If students like to play a certain game, think about how you can let them take it home to play.

I have a ton of games that are educational, engaging, and challenging for your students for a variety of classrooms.