Five for Friday- Math Facts, Constructed Response Tasks, Stellaluna and Bats, Scarecrows and a Halloween Sale

Happy Friday, y'all!

We are linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the "Five for Friday Weekly Linky Party."  Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom! We have a Halloween Sale this weekend in our store!

Stellaluna and Bats galore! I know I already talked about Stellaluna on Tuesday's post- (click here to read it), but my kids and I just had such a great time with it! I have really been working on annotating with my students because I want them close reading and truly THINKING while they are reading. They have LOVED it! Check out how we have been analyzing text-

One of my students' favorite parts of fourth grade is spending time with our kindergarten buddies. We try to get together with them every other week to read, write, and help them with their fun projects! 

We reviewed multiplication and division fact families by making Halloween posters. I gave each student a colored sheet of copy paper. We folded it into fourths, and then they pasted the title, and bats in each box. Students chose their fact families and added some spooky decor! The adorable bat clipart is available from Krista Wallden. :)

Each student  worked on their own "Spider Facts" booklet. It is great practice for morning work, classwork, and homework! We ALWAYS need to review our facts! Click here to see it! 

We've been working on math constructed response problems. I want my kids to really be able to read a math story problem, analyze it, and then explain how they solved it. I started off doing these problems whole group so I could model my thinking. Then, I had the kids try them working in pairs. Now, we've been using them for homework. My students are enjoying them, and they are gaining confidence solving these tasks. If you want to use these in your classroom, please check them out here. 

I hope you have a great weekend, and don't forget to check out all the blogs linked up to Five For Friday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stellaluna and Bats! Article to Annotate and Storyline Online

Hi, Friends!

With Halloween only a few days away, my students and I have been getting into the spooky spirit by studying bats. We've read one of my favorites, Stellaluna, and are completing some reading activities from our Fiction and Nonfiction Stellaluna and Bats unit to go along with the story.

Yesterday we made inferences as I read aloud the story, and today we completed a cause and effect chart. These are two important skills that always need review! :)

One cool thing (that y'all probably already know about) is that you can actually watch a reading of the book Stellaluna on the website Storyline Online.

My kids and I really enjoyed this! It's awesome because they add music in the background, and zoom in on the amazing illustrations. And, for my kids that wanted to hear the story again or share it with a family member, all they have to do is go to the website at home because it's FREE! There are tons of great books on this website! Another Halloween favorite available there- I Need My Monster- please check that one out if you haven't :)

Tomorrow, we are going to start reading some nonfiction books and articles about bats, and we are going to compare what we learn to Stellaluna. Bats by Gail Gibbons is one I always use, but there are many other great informational bat resources available.

I found an article about vampire bats on National Geographic Kids website. I printed it out so that each of my students can annotate on the text.

We are going to read the article together and keep track of our thinking- what we learn, what we wonder, connections, etc. It's a fun way to close read such an interesting topic! Here's a link to the article: Vampire Bats

If you are interested in our Stellaluna resource, it's available in our TPT store here: Stellaluna Pack

Have a great rest of your week! Happy (early) Halloween! :)

Winners of the NEW Constructed and Extended Response Math Performance Tasks!

Happy Sunday! I hope you've had a great week! :)

Here are our winners from the Pin It to Win It for the NEW Constructed and Extended Response Math Performance Tasks!!! If you won, we've emailed you!

Our 2 WINNERS are-

Thanks to everyone who participated! :)  

Hope you have a great week!