Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Tried it Tuesday...gettin' organized, givin' thanks, & cashin' checks...

It's Tuesday...my favorite day of the week because I get to link up with my buddy, Holly, from Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday



So...what do I get for pickin' on Holly for the Saints beatin' the Bills last week??? I get...a loss from the Saints AND a loss from the Miami Hurricanes against Florida State Seminoles...while I was AT the game.  I also got a ginormous blister. I'm not pickin' on anybody else anymore.
Miami (me) & Florida State (Jerm)...we don't agree on ANY teams!

Tried It Awesomeness #1: Finally organized my Math games/task cards
I bought this shelf several years ago from a Chinese restaurant for $20.  They used to store trinkets on them. If I would've known how handy it would come in for me, I would've bought every one they had for sale.  It's the new home to all of my Math games that I finally got around to organizin' completely.  I had the kids help me start the organization process back in September, but just got around to buyin' buckets(Dollar Tree) and printin' labels.  It feels really awesome to have all of the games stored in the appropriate place.
*Edit-I just realized I spelled "operations" wrong on this label.  I will be fixing this tomorrow first thing.  How embarrassing!
I wanted to keep the labels simple because there is so much goodness goin' on with the games themselves.  I used a Sharpie to label each envelope at the top with the grade level & domain/strand. (Ex: 5.NF)
I purchased a wonderful 5th grade math pack from MissKinBK at the B2S sale on TpT this year and it covers so many areas that my students still need extra practice with.  Love!


Tried it Awesomeness #2: Thanksgiving Question Cards
Thanksgiving Question Cards- Instacards
Miss Nelson and I have paired up again to create some new items for Double Trouble...be sure to like us and check out some of our fun stuff.  We have lots of laughter when creatin' together.  


Thanksgiving Question Cards
Question cards to spark student discussion or prompted writin' has been a HUGE hit in my classroom this year.  We started out the year usin' Mustache Question Cards & then Halloween Question Cards.  My kids really enjoy them.

Question: Do you like to go out of town for Thanksgiving, or stay home?

Question: Describe the perfect Thanksgiving holiday.

Question: What does your family do after your Thanksgiving feast? 

Tried it Awesomeness #3: Writin' checks for the teacher
Last week we learned how to write checks, balance checkbooks, and how to budget our money while learnin' about addition and subtraction of decimals.
We used a wonderful interactive website to practice these things.  I believe these are real life lessons that every child should be required to learn.
TheMint.org - It makes perfect cents.
Fun for Kids:
1. Writing a Check
2. Balancing Your Checking Account
3. Living on a Budget

For further practice, I had the students write three checks: one to the teacher, one to a friend in our class, and one to their favorite charity.  They had a budget of $111.11.   Check out the Memo lines...my kids know me very well!
I found these checks online here.

The grand total from my students was $1,012.05.  They are so very generous!
Now...who knows of a bank where I can cash these things?

Be sure to check out the rest of the awesome Tried Its on Holly's blog!

8 comments :

  1. Alison, the check writing is such a great idea! I love the notes you got on the memos! That shelf looks great and I'm loving all the green organizing baskets!! Nothing feels better than accomplishing an organizing task!
    Courtney
    Polka Dot Lesson Plans

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  2. Love the question cards! Those would be so great for a journal activity or something to do the day before we leave for break! Love it!

    I also love checks your students wrote you. The memos are wonderful :) Definitely a priceless photo for sure!

    Amanda
    My Shoe String Life

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  3. I love your math bins - they look great and so organized. I am having a hard time staying on top of this right now. I also love how you use the question cards for writing not just discussion - so smart! Sorry about your Saints : (

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  4. Oh my gosh. Your organization makes me jealous. I'll come teach in PCB if you come organize my classroom. :)
    Jivey

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  5. I love that one of your students gave you $100, so you could retire. If only...

    Very cute idea!

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  6. I'm so sorry to hear about your Saints (cough, cough). I can't say much more for the Bills. They looked like they could have beat the undefeated Chiefs with their 3rd string quarterback but blew it again!! We are t.h.i.s. close to greatness I tell ya!!

    On a happier note, I can just hear the chorus of music in the air as you finished organizing your math task cards! Doesn't that feel amazing? I love your question cards and that adorable tin decorated scarecrow pail. Adorable!!
    ~Holly
    Fourth Grade Flipper

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  7. I love your question cards and budgeting ideas. The question cards are on my wish list. I think I am going to steal your math bucket idea of organizing task cards by topic. I teach grades 5-6 for Math, and my kids work independently a lot. I want them to be able to do task cards, but they need to be able to access different things. This is a great way to do it. I may create some buckets for reading or grammar practice task cards as well. Now I need a shelf (or to clear some room).
    ~April Walker
    The Idea Backpack
    Balancing the Backpack

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  8. We use the Mint too! We do a big unit on financial responsibility in all of my classes and I love the mint for warm ups and their fun little activities. Another favorite of mine is practical money management they have a ton of kid friendly games, soccer is our favorite, along with a cute spiderman comic for the kids to read.

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