Favorite Geometry Activities, and I Found Them on Pinterest

Whatever would I do without Pinterest?  It is such a great resource, as well as a great place to organize information.  That is never more true than it is with our Geometry unit.  We do not have an up-to-date math book that reflects the Common Core, so I am constantly looking for resources to utilize when teaching a unit.  I have found so many wonderful ideas on Pinterest, including the one above.

Right before winter vacation my math groups reviewed lines, angles, plain figures and geometric solids using marshmallows, toothpicks and pretzels. Needless to say, the kids loved it, and they got to eat their math when they were done.  It was the first day that kids would rather be in my math small group than working with the iPads. I found the idea here.  We discovered that the toothpicks worked a lot better than the pretzel sticks, but they are not as tasty.

Another idea I found was this art activity for symmetry.  It was also a good opportunity to talk about how to hold the ruler to draw a straight line, as well as using it for measurement.  I find that fourth graders do not always know how to do this well.  You can see the original idea here.

There is so much new vocabulary connected with Geometry, so anchor charts are very useful.  I also have my students create foldables to keep in their math notebooks.  I have found many great ideas for both on Pinterest.  I created a Geometry board on Pinterest, which makes it easy for me to share these resources with my colleagues.  All I have to do is send them the link to my board.  Here is a link to my Geometry Board.



 We started back to school on Thursday, and now we are working on area and perimeter.  No matter how much we practice, the kids still get confused about which formula they need to use.  This video has a catchy tune that helps them keep it straight.

Next week we will get another chance to eat our math, when we use Cheese Its for area and perimeter. Another clever idea that I found on Pinterest!

Park Your Writing Here!

Like many fourth grade classrooms, we do a lot of writing.  That writing takes many forms.  Sometimes we take our work through all the steps of the writing process.  Often we do quick writes in the form of reading response and exit slips.  I have seen several ideas for creating a parking lot for the completed writing in the form of a Ticket Out the Door or a Numbered Chart. Both of these ideas use sticky notes.  These are both a great use of sticky notes.

The downside to sticky notes is sometimes they are not that sticky and end up on the floor.  They can also be expensive, and it is very limited amount of space to write.

Then I remembered I had this pocket chart, that would let me accomplish the same thing.  Instead of numbers, I wrote student names on a label for each pocket.  For some responses, I just give students a quarter sheet of notebook paper or an index card.  In this case we did a book review about our read aloud book.  

This book review form is something I had stored away in my files.  The original form was just a word document, and I did some cut and paste to get four forms per sheet.  I ran it on colorful card stock, which is totally unnecessary, but I like color. 

The advantage of a parking lot or chart for posting ideas is that it enables students to share their ideas easily.  My students are eager to post their response.   It also lets me see at a glance who has completed the assignment.  I used the top row to post the question or topic they are responding to.  I also placed additional forms there.  

The kids like the Parking Lot so much, they were trying to fit some other work in there as well. 

If you are interested in the book review form, you can see it here.

Here is the back of the book review form. 

Once again I got the idea from Pinterest.  I have found some great writing ideas on Pinterest.  Here is a link to my Pinterest Writing Board. 

Fraction Bingo

We started working on fractions this week.  Once again I turned to my friend, Pinterest, for ideas.  I am gathering resources on this board, Fractions.  I liked the idea of creating a Fraction Bingo game, and I found this post from Primarily Speaking. Since my kids are older I decided to create a game that gave them more choices.

I created a board with figures divided into fractional parts.

They determined what fraction of the figure to color.  They cut out each square and glued it into a square on the BINGO board.  This way each student had a different board.

In order to make the game fair, I labeled a craft stick for each letter of the word Bingo.  

I also wrote each possible fraction on a square of cardstock.  Then I placed the sticks and fraction cards inside an empty oatmeal container.

It was easy to reach my hand in and pull out a stick and a fraction to call out.  I recorded the fraction called on a sheet of paper, so we could check accuracy.

Finally we tested the game by playing it.  The class gave me feedback as to what worked and what didn't.  Next time I will pull out all the fifths and sevenths, since I didn't have any on the game boards.

As we played, I realized that we can use this game again next week as we learn about equivalent fractions.  It will be easy to cover not only the fraction called, but equivalent fractions as well.

If you are interested in trying this game here is the Blank Fraction Board  and
here are the Fraction Bingo Pieces.  Please let me know if you have any difficulty accessing these.

Roll a Monster

We've done a lot of testing this year.  A few weeks ago the kids were test weary and so was I, so I tried this  activity that I found on Pinterest.  It originated from a website called Expressive Monkey.  Students roll dice to decide which body shape, eyes, mouth, etc. to draw to make their monster.  We played with it for a while. Then they chose one to draw for their book cover.  Next they wrote a story about their monster.  I had the happiest writers in town!

I posted the finished books on our Tiger Pride board.

A Dozen Ideas for the Classroom, and I Found Them All on Pinterest

School begins on August 22nd, so I've been working in my classroom for a couple days each week. I like to work on projects at home and then go to school just long enough to install them.

As you can tell from other posts on my blogs, I am a big fan of Pinterest.  Over the past year I have been pinning lots of ideas, with the plan to implement many of them in the fall.    I've had a variety of projects to work on at home.  Here are a dozen ideas that I found on Pinterest.

1.  Classroom Rules

I've always had the standard list of numbered rules posted in my classroom.  They were succinct and to the point.  Permanent magic marker on a poster has made my expectations for behavior clear.  Then I started seeing some other ways of posting class rules.  Some were painted on wood, like this Classroom Rules Subway Sign on Etsy.  Or this one where you could download a PDF and print yourself.  But none of them quite met my needs.  Instead, I used the computer, scrapbook paper, and a poster frame to come up with my Classroom Rules.

2.  Welcome Sign

I also created this Welcome Sign to go outside my door.  This idea didn't come from any particular pin, but it was inspired by ideas to use picture frames from the dollar store.  It's a lot better and more welcoming than the piece of white paper that I had taped outside my door last year.

3.  Whole Class Journals

All of my students have writer's notebooks, as well as blogs, but I like this idea for Whole Class Journals.  Students take turns writing in a class journal on various subjects.  I set up one for Favorite Places, Family, Pets, Sports, Hobbies, Favorite Memories, the Weekend, and Wishes.  It's a great way to share writing, learn more about each other, and appreciate each other's work.

4. Partner Wheel

A Partner Wheel is something I used last year.  Our class does a lot of collaborative work, but taking time to assign partners can be a real time waster.  There are times that I let kids choose their own partners, but sometimes we end up with more play than work that way. A Partner Wheel can make this a quick process.  You can set the wheels up so you pair strong readers with weaker readers.  You could set it up so girls get paired with boys.  You could make it a random arrangement.  If you have students who are better off not working together, just put their names on the same wheel, and they will not ever be partners, no matter how many times you turn the wheel.

The original blog by Karen Moler has templates to easily make your own partner wheels.  They won't work for me, because I have 26 students, so I need to put 13 names on each wheel. That's proving to be a little tricky. I thought I had it done, but when I recounted I found there were 14 spaces.  Once I have it done, I'm going to make several copies, before I put the names on.  I'm going to make a few wheels, to pair partners in different ways.

5. Back to School Foldable

I like foldables, and we will definitely be using this memoir mini-book.  If you go to the original post on For the Love of Teaching Math, you can download the PDF and view Andrea's step by step directions for cutting and folding the mini-book.

6.  Class Jigsaw Puzzle

Last year, on the first day of school, my class put together this jigsaw puzzle.  Each person made and decorated a piece that included their name.  We assembled it, and it hung on the outside of our classroom door all year.  The original idea for this puzzle poster came from a blog from Germany.  While I had a year of German in college, it wasn't enough to enable me to read the blog post.  I managed to read the picture well enough to come up with this "getting to know you" activity for our first day of school.  It was a great way to show that everyone in our class is unique, and that without everyone, our class would be incomplete.

Hint:  If you decide to do this activity, mark the undecorated pieces so that kid know which is the right side, and where the top is.  Otherwise their work may be upside down or on the wrong side when the puzzle is assembled.

7. Circle Poster

This year, instead of the jigsaw puzzle, my class is going to make this circle poster.  It works on the same principle, and it should be easier to assemble.  This time each person decorates 1/4 of a circle.  I haven't been able to find the original blog post but here is a link to my Pinterest Pin so click on the link to see what the finished poster should look like.  Oddly enough, when you try to go to the blog, it appears to be from a German blog again.


8.  Top Ten Facts About Me Poster

This was another great way to get to know your students and we did this one last yeaar.  I saw a poster similar to this on Pinterest, and if you want them ready made, you can order them from Really Good Stuff.  I got out my scrapbooking "how to" books and designed my own, and then had 11 x 17 copies made.

I tied the project into our Writer's Workshop and grammar lessons.  It was a good way to review sentence structure and talk about writing complex sentences using vivid language.  I modeled the writing process and designed my own poster, demonstrating how to add designs that added meaning to the poster.  Each person presented their poster to the class a' la David Letterman.  We had a lot of fun with it.  I learned a lot about the kids, and it made a nice display for the hall.

9. Finished Work Cart

I've seen a lot of organizational posts about decorating and labeling the drawers on those rolling plastic carts.  I like this one for handing in work.  This has become a big issue for me, because lots of new reading materials were delivered to my classroom and I needed to find a place for them.  We have a new reading adoption, Houghton Mifflin Journeys, but we are not retiring the old one, Houghton Mifflin Reading.  That means lots and lots of little tubs of readers.  I needed the shelf space where I usually have my finished work boxes.

This project proved to be a lot more difficult than it looked, but I like the final outcome.  The blogger, Sue, from The Very Busy Kindergarten,  said that she used double stick tape, but I didn't have any, so I started out using clear contact paper.  That is a favorite beginning of the school year tool for me, but it didn't work very well in this case.  After the top two drawers, I switched to packing tape which worked much better.  I had trouble getting the paper to stick flat against the drawer front.  I was afraid the decorative paper would get torn by students turning in work.

Hint:  The next time I do this, I will probably only cut paper to fit the front panel and not curve around the edges.  Also, I just randomly chose paper.  I do like color, but next time I think I will coordinate the colors a little better.  It's okay for now.  I like the fact that I can just pull the entire cart over to wherever I am working in the room.

10.  Tiger Pride

I have several bulletin boards in my classroom, and I needed some new ideas.  I saw this idea for a Proud Wall.  Students decide what goes on this Wall of Pride.  I like the idea of letting kids choose work that they are proud of and would like to share with others.  This can also be a showcase for artwork and writing that is not necessarily the result of assigned work.  We are the Phillips Tigers, so I put together this Tiger Pride bulletin board.

11. Binder Clip Mailbox Labels

I have been using the same set of mailboxes for at least 8 years, and before that they belonged to a friend who has since retired from teaching.  It can be tricky to get the labels for the new class of students to stick on the mailbox slots.  I never would have thought of this solution on my own, but I saw it on Pinterest.  Label binder clips and use them as your labels.  Easy peasy!

Hint:  If you want to write the names with a permanent marker or use clear labels like I did, buy light colored binder clips.  I didn't think of this beforehand.  I solved my problem by putting a small piece of white paper under the student name, so that they could be seen.

I also used the same idea to label my file baskets.

12.  Owl Display

I like owls, and I have been wanting to make them part of a display.  I've seen ideas like this pin and this one.  I don't have this one together yet, but I am in the process of making owls.  Here's another opportunity for me to use my scrapbook supplies.  Each owl will have a student name on it.  My caption will be "4th Grade is a Hoot!"

So that's it;  a dozen ideas to begin my school year, and I found these, and lots more, on Pinterest.  I have been teaching for 25 years.  Twenty-two have been at the same school.  Things get old and worn out in that time.  I've had a lot of fun putting these projects together, and I like the fresh new look it has given my classroom.

Pinterest Hint

I have been bookmarking or pinning these ideas over the past year.  If you are on Pinterest,  be sure that you pin the actual blog post that has your information.  Sometimes it was the blog that got pinned and not the post.  This makes it hard to find the information when you want to go back to it.  That's something I've learned the hard way, as I've been looking through my boards.

If you would like to look at my Pinterest Boards you can find them at  http://pinterest.com/barbaraday/.  I have boards on lots of subjects besides education.  You are free to view or follow if you're interested.

Pinterest: Professional Development From the Comfort of Your Couch

Since I first began using it, Pinterest has become a very popular social networking site.  If you have never checked it out, it's a social networking site with a twist.  Instead of carrying on conversations with other people, you follow their ideas and interests.  Pinterest works like a virtual bulletin board.  You create boards about things you are interested in, and when you find websites, blogs, ideas or photos that you like, you pin them to your boards.

Like other social networks you follow other people, but in this case you really follow their pins and boards.  In other words you see the things they are pinning to their boards.  If you like it, you can repin it to one of your boards.  At the present time, I have 29 boards.  My boards center around education, food, my hobbies, and a few other topics.

If you are a very visual person, like I am, you will love it!  It is sort of an on-line magazine. In this magazine you choose the topics that you want to see.

During the year or so that I have been using Pinterest, I have been inspired to try many new things in my classroom.  I have been introduced to blogs I didn't know existed, and astounded by the dedication and creativity of teachers from around the world.  Pinterest has also prompted me to be more creative myself, and to put my own spin on things.

Of my twenty-nine boards, nine of them are devoted to education topics.  I have a Math Board.  When we were learning about geometry, I found many great ideas including this lesson for using Cheez-Its to learn about area and perimeter.

I discovered the world of Foldables on Pinterest, and I have a board for that.  I saw an idea using a foldable to create a book report for biographies.  I addapted that idea, and when we studied the Middle Ages, we created Medieval Paper Dolls.  Each person chose someone from the middle ages to learn about.  They used a pattern that I had, leftover from my days of teaching first grade, to make the paper doll.  They wrote a story in third person, describing life for this group of people,  then they also wrote a story from the point of view of their character.  All of this was in the little book that their person is holding.  I was very happy with the way this project turned out, and I will definitely do it again.  We were also satisfying the requirements of one of our Iowa Core Standards.

Right now there are many ideas being posted for beginning of the school year activities.  Last year my class created a Name Puzzle, which hung on our classroom door all year.  The original idea for this puzzle poster came from a blog from Germany.  While I had a year of German back in college, it wasn't enough to enable me to read the blog post, but I managed to read the picture well enough to come up with this "getting to know you" activity for our first day of school.  It was a great illustration of the fact that everyone in our class is unique, but without everyone, our class would be incomplete.

Good ideas are always a catalyst for more creativity.  Where are you finding inspiration as you move toward a new school year?  If you haven't tried Pinterest, I highly recommend it.  My recommendation does come with a warning.  Pinterest can be highly addictive.  You can spend hours exploring one great idea after another.