Addition sort - regrouping or no regrouping

This is a little activity my class did this week. They cut out the headers and the sorting cards and (in small groups or pairs) decided if these are problems that require regrouping or not. They can then solve the problems if you wish.

You could laminate these and the children could write on them with dry-erase pen or you could leave them without laminating and they can write on them (but not use them again!).

They could also be used as prompt cards. You give the child the equation on a card and they must invent a word problem to fit it.

They're free to download from Google Drive by clicking here or on the image below.

Freebie: 2-digit addition and subtraction colouring sheet (no regrouping)

This blog post does exactly what it says on the tin! Here's a 2-digit addition and subtraction colouring sheet (without regrouping).

Click here or on the image below to download it from Google Drive.

Thank you to My Cute Graphics for the clip art.

Angry Birds-themed grammar board

If you've seen my classroom reveal post from a few weeks ago, you may remember that I said I had plans for this board:

It was stolen from inspired by this photo that I found on Pinterest:

Image source: Pinterest

It contains Angry verbs, preposition pigs, wooden nouns and adjectives (that) rock! Here's my class' version:

Healthy Teeth: Rethink Your Drink activity

Hello there,

This idea is not mine. I blatantly robbed it from the following picture I found on Pinterest.

Image source: Pinterest

 Here's how we did it in my classroom:





I gave the children a number of different bottles/cans/cartons of drinks. I asked them to put them in order from what they thought contained the least amount of sugar to the most. There were lots of different ideas about this and it prompted some good discussion.

We looked at how you can find out how much sugar there is by checking out the label. The children then weighed out this amount of sugar and we displayed it in a plastic bag in front of the drink. We then reordered the items and discussed our thoughts.



Finally, we shared our learning by presenting these findings at the school assembly. (For any Mary I students out there, you'll be glad to hear that the wonderful "Brush Your Teeth" song made an appearance. I still can't get ch-ch-ch-ch ch-ch-ch-ch-ch out of my head!)

Free heart investigation sheet

Hi all,

Just a quickie for you tonight! Here's a freebie. It's an investigation sheet to use when examining the effect of exercise on the heart.

Click here or on the image below to download for FREE from my TPT store.

Enjoy!

Freebies: Resources for using commas in a list

I came across this lovely "silly sentences" resource on Seomra Ranga and knew I wanted to use it at some point. It contains parts to construct sentences, following a cleverly-created colour map. The flashcards are colour-coded accordingly. 

Did I think to download his other versions of this wonderful resource from here and here? Nope! I got a little carried away with an idea. I decided to make some of my own bits and pieces to add to it so that I could use vocabulary that I'm sure my pupils know. I also added in a few more nouns (which I could have found if I saw the other two versions on Seomra Ranga). 

As we are currently focusing on the use of commas in a list. I created some comma and "and" flashcards too.

I tried them out today and the children LOVED the activity. They were falling around laughing at their crazy sentences, meanwhile helping one another to put the commas in the correct place.

You can download my additions (related to commas and with some extra vocabulary) for free by clicking here. Be sure to check out the originals from Seomra Ranga too!

Monster and alien themed classroom decor set

Hello all! I hope you're surviving the first weeks of school! I, for one, have been very glad to relax this weekend!

If you fancy have a space theme in your classroom, have a look at this monsters and aliens themed classroom decoration set. It costs $6 (about €4.50) and is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

The behaviour management clip chart in the pack is available on its own (in English or as Gaeilge) for $2 (around €1.50).

Page 3: "Welcome aboard our planet!" sign
4-10: Class calendar - days and numbers 1-31 (plus editable squares)
11-12: Days of the week
13-15: "Yesterday was," "Today is" and "Tomorrow will be" signs
16-19: Months of the year
20-26: Word wall headers ("Word Wall" and each letter "Aa" "Bb")
27-33: Welcome banner (pennant-style)
34-37: Classroom management clip-chart
38-43: Table numbers (1-6)
44-50: How we go home (Header, After-school club, Day care, Walking, Bus, Bicycle, Car)
51-53: Blank EDITABLE labels (lined, not lined and circular)

Classroom reveal: Owl-themed PYP classroom

Hello there, followers! It's that time of the year again - classroom reveal time! I still have a few bits and bobs to do but this is the classroom as it looked today after day 1 with the children!

This is my teacher desk area. I've gone to town on the paper flowers on my own bulletin board. I love my little stationary house from Tiger and my set of drawers to help me organise resources for the coming week.

 Here is my classroom management behaviour clip chart. I got this one from Under The Alphabet Tree and added my own "Are we being principled?" sign.

 Here's the central focus board for my first unit of inquiry. I've displayed the transdisciplinary theme as the centre of the paper flower and will change this according to each unit. Don't you just love the watermelon bunting from Tiger?

Here is one side of work wall (high frequency words). I've kept a section separate for vocabulary specific to the unit of inquiry.

These photos show both sides of my reading/reflection corner. I have yet to add some cushions (and I definitely need to have a word with my children about how to put books back carefully!). The R-E-A-D owls are from Kathleen Amari-Crookston. I made the paper lantern owl display that reads "We love books."

The reflection corner consists of 6 different reflection sheets. You can read more about the exact contents and purchase them (individually or as a pack) in my TPT store.

Here are my Learner Profile and Attitudes reflection sheets. The children will use one of these each week to set a goal. They will then reflect on how well they have achieved that goal using the same sheet.

These reflection sheets will then be stored in this stripy box in A5 folders. Tomorrow, the children will design their own cover sheet for this folder.

As you can see, there are also some Learner Profile and PYP attitudes certificates. These are available for the children to take, fill in and present. to a student who demonstrated one of these attributes/attitudes. I will then hang them up on the classroom

Here is my editing board. The giant pencil is from The Teacher Wife and the "capital letters detective" display is by me (and available in my TPT store!).

If you have read my blog over the summer, you may have seen the post in which I created these owls. Now you can see what they were used for. Each owl's tummy has a picture and a description of each of our essential agreements.

As for the board below, you'll just have to wait a little longer to see what I'm doing with that one. I spent a lot of time preparing some parts for it which the children need to finish in the coming weeks. All will be revealed in due time!

Here is the calendar/birthday area. The adorable owl-themed classroom birthdays display is from Halle Hird, the owl-themed calendar set is from from Apple Girl Amber and the header was from Sparklebox. All other elements were made by me. 

And finally, some more IB PYP displays. The first one is my cupboard, backed with blue paper. The wonder wall is for children to post their questions about the unit. I added a "We are inquirers" sign with cute detective clip art from My Cute Graphics. On the other door, I've displayed the transdisciplinary skills. These are also available in my TPT store.

The other display is on my door. I bought the owls swinging from the tree wall sticker on eBay, added this action cycle freebie and created my own purple lettering. My plan is that the children will take photographs of themselves representing the attributes of the Learner Profile and I will add each of these on clouds above the tree.

 I hope you've enjoyed this little tour. If so, please leave a comment. It'd make my day! ;)

Teacher Mini-Emergency Kit: Prepare for the unexpected!

Do you have an emergency kit in your classroom? I'm not talking about a First Aid kit. I'm referring to things that you might need in the very likely case of little emergencies like spillages and little illnesses. I can tell you that I feel much more comforted knowing that mine is there.

I recommend the following:
*A FULL change of clothes - In this line of work, you'd never know who could throw up, pee or have a nosebleed on you. On a less disgusting note, the risk of paint spillages or getting soaked with water (especially during capacity lessons or science experiments) is also a high possibility. 

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*Spare shoes - Just in case you wear a pair you mistakenly thought were broken in and don't want to hobble around like a fool all day. Or maybe because one of the aforementioned bodily fluids has found its way to your shoes.

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*"Lady products" (not necessary for you male readers!) - more than likely in a school with other women you (or they) will forget one of these and be glad that there's a backup.

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*Crackers - It's great to have a spare pack there for the time you forget your lunch or the day your tummy doesn't feel quite right.

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*Throat lozenges/spray - If you're prone to a sore throat, it would be handy to have some to hand.  Make sure that any medicated lozenges/sprays are kept in a safe place, out of the reach of children.

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