How about a Little Christmas Math?

Seems like this time of year, all kids want to focus on is Christmas. With that in mind, we can adapt any subject to the holiday season. I find the easiest way to teach with a Christmas theme is with math word problems. You can take just about any word problem and adjust it to Christmas.

For example:

John visited the candy store. While there, he bought 8 Jolly Ranchers at 15¢ each, 6 packs of M&Ms at $1.25 each, and 3 packs of bubble gum at $1.45 each. If he handed the cashier a $20 bill, how much change did he get?

Abra Cadabra Chrismafy:

John visited the candy store to buy Christmas presents for his friends. While there, he bought 8 red or green Jolly Ranchers at 15¢ each, 6 packs of holiday M&Ms at $1.25 each, and 3 packs of Santa Bubble Gum at $1.45 each. If he handed the cashier a $20 bill, how much change did he get?

Want to know the answer?

If so, you need to sign up for my email and get a FREE Christmas math problems worksheet (on Wednesday) along with a lot more! . . . or hey, do the math!

Email Sign up!

Guess what! 

I have joined with some talented teacher-authors to give a few FABULOUS gifts for you this December. We all can use a little break this month, right? We gave you freebies in November along with a $400 giveaway. Now we are giving some of our best resources to you for ONLY $1.00! Many of these you won’t see at this price again. http://bit.ly/2Oz4xdq  We appreciate you and the hard work you do. Enjoy!

                                                     

Please click on the link to find all sorts of deals for only $1!

Here's what I have for only $1:

December Holiday Packet

Christmas Pages

Want to find math word problems? Here's a link to a plethora of challenge for your kids!

Math Word Problems

Want to find lessons with a holiday theme?

Christmas Lessons

Gifts For You!

I have joined with some talented teacher-authors to give a few FABULOUS gifts for you this December. We all can use a little break this month, right? We gave you freebies in November along with a $400 giveaway. Now we are giving some of our best resources to you for ONLY $1.00! Many of these you won’t see at this price again. http://bit.ly/2Oz4xdq  We appreciate you and the hard work you do. Enjoy!

Now for Monday Music Moves Me.

TpT Sitewide Sale, Inferences, FREE Resource, #MMMM

We just got back from my brother's home. Getting together every Thanksgiving with all of my siblings (and now their families) goes back to our childhood! Though we're sad that our parents are no longer with us, we now enjoy multiple children named after them. We had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope your holiday was wonderful, too.

TpT Sitewide Sale

In case you didn't know, today and tomorrow is the Cyber Monday TpT sitewide sale. Everything in my store, and many other stores, is 20% off. If you add the code CYBER19, you will gain an additional 5% to receive 25% off, with the exception of my new Who Was Frederick Douglass? Book Studies which are at 50% off.    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Catch-My-Products

Who Was Frederick Douglass? Book Unit

Inferences

What is it about making inferences that is so difficult for kids? I wish I had the answer. I've found the best way to achieve this skill is to constantly model and practice it. Give your kids reading passages in which they are asked to draw conclusions from the story. Next, follow up by saying, "What makes you say this?" You will find that soon your kids will answer questions by stating their thoughts and give reasons behind those thoughts.

The reasoning behind thoughts is important because every time you or one of your students tells how they drew a conclusion, it models the skill for the entire class. Therefore, you are actually accomplishing more than just making inferences. Students are drawing conclusions using textual evidence, too.

Inferences Through Photos

You can also teach inferences through pictures. Why does this puppy have so many toys in his mouth?

Your kids imaginations could go wild as to the reason! Actually, when we got home last night, we brought my daughter-in-law's grandmother's dog's toys. Jack has too many toys and doesn't play with these anymore. Benny had no stuffed animals because he ripped them up. Don't get me wrong, he loves stuffed animals but is still a chewer and a puppy. He was so excited to have new toys and put them all in his mouth at once. That is not to say that a child can't think of another reason for the toys. Even a creative answer would work. Maybe, Benny is cleaning up the place by carrying his toys to the bin. Yeah, right. Or, he could be grabbing all of them so that the other dogs can't have them. That last one could actually be right. ;)

I have a new freebie for you on inferences.

Free Christmas Inferences!

If you download this, please leave me feedback so that others can find it.

Music Monday Moves Me

The theme for this month is Christmas music, so I will post one song for you and you can ask your students to make inferences about it.

So kids, why did this happen? What conclusions can you draw from the song? Have fun, and I'll see you next week!

Creative Problem Solving about Toys

In the gifted and talented program, kids were often asked to problem solve. This too is a skill that can be taught. Let's start with a problem about a toy. Suppose Honey Bear, a golden retriever, has lost her ball under the television set. What can she do to retrieve it?

In order to retrieve her ball, we must go through the steps of creative problem solving.

1.) Brainstorm - In a group, students will think of as many ideas as possible. Accept any idea given, even if it seems silly. Sometimes bad ideas have a way of sparking good ones from a team member.

2.) Evaluate - Is this a good idea or not? Students must decide if it will work, is easy or possible to do, costs money, or if it is safe.

3.) Decide - Which idea is the best way for Honey Bear to get her ball back? Looking at the criteria, the group decides on which strategy to use.

4.) Act - The group will put on a skit showing Honey getting her ball.

I have two packets that present problems for practice in creative problem solving.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Creative-Thinking-Activities-Gifted-and-Talented-1401246

and

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Creative-Thinking-Activities-Gifted-4439046

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

Now for Music

Since we're talking about dog toys, I've got to include my favorite song about dogs! After all, without dogs, there would be no toys under the television. Also, my dogs ARE my toys!

Next up, "Barbie Girl" by Aqua

Last Day to Win & Friday Freebies

LAST DAY.... We are thankful for teachers! A group of thankful teacher-authors have come together to help one lucky school employee or homeschool parent win...

💚 a $400 Teachers Pay Teachers OR an Amazon gift card. Yes, you read that right! You choose!

Enter the raffle here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4ac3361f17/?

Today, is Friday, so you can find a lot of freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers! I'm focused on free reading passages. Just go to TpT and search #fridayfreebie3!

Teachers: Enter for a Chance to Win $400 Gift Card to TpT or Amazon

Because we are thankful for teachers, several Teachers Pay Teachers sellers and myself have gathered together to offer an amazing contest. Just think of all you can buy for your classroom with $400!

Please clip on the link provided and enter this fabulous contest, today!

Click HERE for Rafflecopter Entry

Creativity in the Gifted Classroom with Creative Music

Not only is creativity a part of most gifted programs but also creativity can be taught. The best way to teach creativity is to give kids prompts and have them solve these creatively.

For example: What if everyone is asked to pose multiple ideas for the design a coffee cup and the best creative thinker wins!

The $1,000,000 Question is, "What makes a specific coffee cup the best?" The answer guides students in the creative process.

A. Originality - To receive the most points, students should come up with ideas that no one else has ever thought of. If more than one person has the same idea, maybe it's not so unique.

B. Flexibility - How different are student ideas? You could mention having a golden retriever on the cup for one idea. If your next idea is to place a labrador retriever on the cup, is that a different idea or the same idea with a slight tweak? Flexibility means that your students should devise ideas unlike their previous ones.

C. Fluency - How many unique ideas can each student think of? The more ideas the better. This is a numbers game that relates to flexibility because if the ideas are not new and different, who cares how many they come up with?

D. Elaboration - This is the skill of going into details about a given idea. For example, I would draw a picture of a bright red golden retriever retrieving a coffee cup with another golden retriever on it. Both retrievers would be wearing green Santa coats and hats with dog bones where white fur would usually be. Is this enough detail to picture the cup in your mind? Is this idea original? If so, award points.

With these guidelines, students are ready to engage in a creative activity. You might want to put a time limit on the students brainstorming ideas and then have them go back to revise these before sharing with the class.

I have two lessons that relate to this topic.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Creative-Thinking-Activities-Gifted-and-Talented-1401246

and

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Creative-Thinking-Activities-Gifted-4439046

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

Now for Music

Since my post was on creativity, I'm posting creative songs for this Monday Music Moves Me blog hop

First up is an oldie with a new twist. Watch Crazy Frog in "Popcorn" by Gershon Kingsley. This song was written in the early days of the Moog Synthesizer.

Next up is a strangely unique song, "Blue" by Eiffel 65

Finally, how could a post of original songs not be complete without the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen?

Logic Puzzles & Music

Are you looking for a fun way to make your kids think? I've found that my students always loved logic puzzles. What makes logic even better is that kids have a sense of accomplishment when they finally find the solution. Furthermore, logic puzzles come in all types from the little students to adults. I've even bought a few logic puzzle magazines in the drug store for a fun break!

To get started with these, I introduce my students to the basic puzzle just to get the feel of what I want them to do.

I'll treat the rows of the grid as ownership. For example, Aundrea owns all of the boxes next to her name; however, ownership is shared with the colors. Blue owns all of the boxes in the column below the word.

Next, I'll point to different boxes and ask, "Who owns this one?" Once the kids understand how the grid works, we move on to the symbols.

I will ask a child, "When you make a mistake on a paper, how does your teacher let you know something is wrong?" I am looking for the idea of an /X/ to show incorrect. Once that is understood, I introduce /O/ to show that something is right.

We will then work a puzzle together.

If your student is an older child, you'll need to challenge him or her with a multi-grid puzzle. These work just as the basic grids, except students are solving three puzzles at once. Also, kids will need to look at the other grids to solve the one they are working on. I call this feeding off of the grid.

Sometimes, I will use side notes to help organize my thoughts, too.

Once your kids get the hang of it, logic puzzles make for great centers, work for early finishers, or just a fun and challenging reward for the students. Logic puzzles involve higher level or critical thinking skills and may be worked independently or in cooperative groups. Also, we all know the boy or girl in class who is brilliant, finishes everything early, and constantly needs something to do, so here you go!

If you'd like some free puzzles to try out your students skills, I have a lot at my store. Click HERE to check these out!

I also have a lot of logic bundles: Click HERE for logic bundles!

I once had a friend refer to me as the logic queen. LOL!

Since it is Monday, it's time for a musical selection. Our theme is Native American music.

First up is Cher with "Half Breed." If the kids were against Cher when growing up, they shouldn't be now!

Since we're talking about Cherokees, here is another favorite of mine from Paul Revere and the Raiders, "Cherokee People."

Accountable Talk

Can you believe it's already November? With the new month comes a new blog topic. This month, I will focus on those higher level thinking skills that gifted and talented students love and those in the regular classroom need.

There is nothing like an active discussion in a classroom. I love seeing every kid excited and hands raised. Of course with the excitement comes those who can't wait to be called on, too, but that's okay. At least they're engaged. I have found the secret to how to get kids talking. The first step is to arm them with key phrases that you want to hear, such as: 

I agree with ____________ because . . . 
I disagree with ________________ because. . . 
In addition to what ______________ said. . .  
Can you tell me more? 
And my favorite, "What makes you say that?" 

All of these sorts of phrases enhance accountable talk. The next thing needed is that topic that not everyone agrees on. In this political climate, you can easily find this, but you may not want to. How about a story where the character is faced with a challenging decision? You can follow these with your lively discussions on whether or not the right thing was done. This works well with just about any story or novel.

To help you have fun getting your kids talking, I have many short passages that are purposely written to be vague!

Here is a free product that will get kids talking. My only request is that you leave feedback so that others can find it.

Free Accountable Talk Lesson

Are you thirsty for more? Please find the bundle. All of the resources in the bundle can be purchased individually as well.

Accountable Talk Stories

And now, for musical selections!

First up is Bonnie Raitt with Something to Talk About.

Remember Tears for Fears? Here is Shout.

Those who have been with me for awhile, may have seen this one on my blog, but it's worth posting, again. Two of the greatest musical talents of all times have joined together, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson are classic in Say, Say, Say!

Good Bye Wish Bracelet / Hello 20% OFF SALE

Back in July of 2018, I attended the Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) conference in Nashville. While there, my friend Kathy Simpson of Sunshine and Lollipops gave me a "wish bracelet."

Although I must admit, when I got it, the star was not tarnished and worn.

I made a wish that I would hit a monthly sales goal for my Teachers Pay Teachers store. With an overabundance of confidence, I figured I'd be meeting that goal come September or October, 2018. Little did I know, I'd be wearing a tacky piece of string with a tarnished star for 15 months straight! The goal was a bit unrealistic in the short run, but I am happy to say I made goal, today!

The bracelet is supposed to fall off and then the wish comes true. Not exactly how it went. First, I reached my goal, and then I cut it off.

Notice the "Daily Goals" book? That is from another friend named Cindy Martin who has a wonderful store called Teacher's Brain. She's given me the motivation to keep working on my store to achieve my goals with her Confidence Tool Box.

                                                                                                                             The bottom line: 

Now, this bracelet is gone!

To celebrate, my entire store is 20% off for, today only. Be sure to check your wishlists to see if there is anything you want at a reduced price.

Woo hoo! I feel like I've waited forever for this day, so please stop by Catch My Products to help me celebrate.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Catch-My-Products

Halloween

I love Halloween. Unfortunately, not everyone shares my love, so my advice for this time of year is to proceed with caution. Early in my teaching career, I got into trouble. My first grade class and I made a witch's brew. It contained a lot of spicy good ingredients like cranberry juice and cinnamon sticks, but I went too far with my class.

     For example, I said, "Here is cranberry juice . . . or is it blood?"
     The kids all giggled.
     Then I said, "Here are cinnamon sticks . . . or are they bones?"
     Once again, the room echoed with the giggles of small children.

However, when the kids got home, their parents weren't laughing, and I was called under the carpet! This was over thirty years ago, at a time when few thought to question the fun of Halloween. Today, making a Witch's Brew would only be worse. So before celebrating witches and goblins in your classroom, you must make sure the principal and school supports this. Many Halloween parties have been replaced with Harvest parties, which could also spell a good time.

Halloween has certainly changed in other ways, too. Years ago, our doorbell used to ring nonstop with trick-or-treaters from the wee little ones to the teenagers. We'd make sure to buy lots of candy so that we wouldn't run out. In fact, once my brother ran out of candy, so he gave each trick or treater a can of Coke. This was a big hit because the same kids kept coming back.

Last year, we only had one trick-or-treater, so I didn't buy as much candy, this year. I hope we don't run out. I bought a six pack of small Cokes in case we do.

If you're looking for classroom fun, I have Halloween resources and Fall Resources. Here are a few possible buys for your kid's. They will love these!

Halloween Activities for Primary Students

Halloween Logic Puzzles and Brain Teasers

Autumn Logic Puzzles

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

Now, since it's time for Musical Monday Moves Me, here are some fun Halloween tunes.

Here's a fun song from a fun movie! GhostBusters

I love the spooky music that goes with this video. HA! HA! I recently watched Halloween, with a young Jamie Lee Curtis, for the first time. This is a hoot.

For this last song, I figured I needed to post the entire sketch in order for you to appreciate the song. Plus, this was my son's, daughter-in-law's, and grand dog's Halloween costumes. Any questions?

 

And finally, here is my very own Halloween commercial, designed by my son. You'll be sure to get a chuckle.

Red Ribbon Week

Ribbon by, Kate Hadfield Designs
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kate-Hadfield-Designs

Red Ribbon Week falls during the last full week of October and has been a tradition since 1988 to teach students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. This annual tradition is marked by school assemblies, 5K races, bracelets, and other trinkets to remind students about the dangers of using drugs. Most importantly is a pledge which students sign to agree to be drug free!

I was once a sponsor of the Pride Team at our K-8 school. Upper grade Pride students were typically the middle school leaders. They were the kind of kids who could step into an elevator, face the back wall, and have all the other kids follow their stance. They would sing and put on skits to remind all to be drug free. Also, several of these kids attended national Pride meetings.

I used to commemorate Red Ribbon Week with a door design. I would post pictures of witches and ghosts at the top and drugs on the bottom, "Witches and ghosts give me a chill, but DRUGS are really scary!" I would also have my kids sign pledges promising to remain drug free and hang these on the wall. Did this work? With some, maybe even most, but not all, for sadly, I do have a few former students who have died from drug overdose.

To help you teach drug awareness, here is a free product from my store that I hope you will download and leave feedback!

Click HERE for FREE Red Ribbon Week Reading Passage.

And now, since it's Monday, here are my Monday Music Moves Me songs.

They are all about anti-drug topics, so have a listen to:

Neil Young, "The Needle and The Damage Done"

Next up, Lynyrd Skynyrd, "That Smell"

And finally, here is Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Under the Bridge," about Heroin addiction.

October Research

When a new month arrived, I'd find a lot of tidbits about the month through research. Why not have your kids research people born in October? They may choose a celebrity or famous person and write a report about him or her.

In searching October birthdays, I found the following people:

• Buster Keaton
• John Lennon
• Eleanor Roosevelt
• Molly Pitcher
• Bela Lugosi
• Pablo Picasso
• Mahalia Jackson
• Teddy Roosevelt
• Sylvia Plath
• Emily Post

Perhaps your kids don't want to research these "old" people, even though it might be a great challenge for them. If that's the case how about researching the current celebrities listed below? If you're over 30, you've most likely never heard of most of these kids, but your students probably know them. Most are Gen Z stars through youtube or young pop culture.

• Brie Larson
• Alex Guzman
• PewDiePie
• Cardi B
• SSSniperWolf
• Queen Naija

Famous people born in October are not the only research possibilities. How about looking into famous historical events? Your kids could research the following:

• 1636 - Harvard was founded
• 1793 - Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded
• 1871 - The Great Fire of Chicago started
• 1881 - shoot-out at the O.K. Corral
• 1884 - Greenwich began universal standard time zones
• 1908 - Henry Ford's Model T first went on sale
• 1927 - First full length "talkie" film, The Jazz Singer, opened
• 1929 - stock market crashed starting the Great Depression
• 1946 - Twelve Nazi leaders sentenced to death in Nuremberg, Germany
• 1957 - Russians launched Sputnik, first Satellite in space
• 1967 - Thurgood Marshall sworn in as first African American on the Supreme Court
• 1973 - Yom Kippur War against Israel started when Egypt & Syria attacked

Find products related to October below:

                                          

Click HERE for Historical Fiction Reading Passage on The Chicago Fire.

Also, find enough Fall Activities to keep your kids engaged and challenged throughout the month of October.

Click HERE to find the Autumn Activities Bundle

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

October Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week is here and definitely a good thing to teach in the classroom. I'll never forget when my son came home from a fire assembly worried about being on the second floor of our house. We bought him a flexible ladder to keep by his window, and that helped him to sleep well. That ladder has never been used in over twenty years, but it still sits below his upstairs window. I'm just thankful he never used it to escape out of the house during his teenage years. At least we think he didn't . . .

My best year in teaching fire prevention was when we entered our city's video contest. My kids had a blast making a movie about fire prevention. It won a prize and was shown to the school, so it may be worthwhile for you to search the local fire department to see if any contests are in place. If they aren't, there is nothing wrong with putting on a skit for another class. The kids will love it and learn about staying safe, too.

Click HERE for Historical Fiction Reading Passage on The Chicago Fire.

Also, find enough Fall Activities to keep your kids engaged and challenged throughout the month of October.

Fire Prevention Week Activities

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

Now, for a song!

Varying Sentence Structure

We've all seen our students write stories that begin with the same subject in each sentence.

                               


                               He went to the store.
                               He bought a candy bar.
                               He ate it on the way home.

         BORING.

Today's focus is varying sentence structure in writing, which can also be called using syntactic variety.

First off, if the subject is the same, students can combine the sentence into one sentence with series commas.

He went to the store, bought a candy bar, and ate it on the way home.

That fixes the feel of being in a car where the driver constantly slams on the breaks. Of course, this sentence has other problems, but if you've been following my writing articles, you know what to do!

Syntactic variety not only means joining sentences for smoother prose but also sprinkling short sentences along with the long ones to make for a better sounding passage.

In Love with Chocolate!

When Malcolm entered the Sweetie Pie candy shop, he spotted his favorite chocolate bar. The dark chocolate Millie bar, complete with marshmallows, almonds, and honey waited for the taking. Yum! Unfortunately, the Millie is the most expensive candy bar in the shop. $3.45 for one delightful taste. It was worth it! He carefully dug a five dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to the waiting clerk. Before he could step out of the store, Malcolm had already ripped the wrapper. The sweet chocolate sloshed around in his mouth providing ecstasy!

Notice the shorter sentences sandwiched between the longer ones. Also, the sentences do not all start with "he" or use the same structure. That is syntactic variety. To teach this skill, have your students play with simple sentences or ideas. Tell them to include an interjection (Wow! Yay! Yikes!) somewhere between their long sentences. This technique will make their passages shine.

If you are interested in teaching students to vary their sentence structure, below is a link to a PowerPoint lesson that does just that.

PowerPoint Lesson Varying Sentence Structure

I send these posts to my mailing group; however, they get free resources along with the article. You can, too. Just join my group by clicking below!

https://mailchi.mp/b9a669919a4c/samplerpack

You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!

I hope you've enjoyed my series on writing skills. Tune in next month where I will provide guidance on things to do in October.

Thanks to Kate Hadfield Designs for the clipart. 

Kate Hadfield Designs