Snow Math and a Freebie

Looking out at the blanket of snow, it is hard to imagine each tiny flake in its six sided uniqueness. But who wants to study a big blob of white - it is much more interesting to look at the magnified images of the crystallized flakes.
For a math unit, I used snow flakes as an anchor theme. For example, I put the number ten in the middle and one number in each arm of the snowflake, then watch my students breeze through six addition facts (10 + each of the numbers in the arms). This, and other innovative snow-themed addition activities are available in my Snow Math Addition packet.
Also available are Multiplication and Subtraction

How are you teaching with snow during this winter storm? Try this freebie... Its a Snowman ABAB patterning sheet - the kiddos will love the cute snowmen.

 

Even more for free... Click here for my Snowman Color by Word

Enjoy the snow!
- Lisa

Everything About Snowmen

I live outside Chicago and after a cold winter with no snow, we are finally covered with white. The snow is thick and wet, dripping from houses and trees so that everything glistens white - even the sky looks white under a heavy cloud cover.

My kids have built two snowmen - excuse me, snow women - this week, and I'm sure more are on their way. Let's use snowmen as a theme for teaching winter concepts, math, and reading!

Everything Snowmen

In this fun winter packet, students
- learn about snow
- make new words from the letters in snowman related words
- put winter words in ABC order using cards suited for a bulletin board
- practice ABAB patterning
- complete addition and subtraction sentences using snowmen visual cues
- write a short story about a snowman
- practice winter rhyming words
- play a candyland-style board game
- label a snowman
- compare and contrast through a venn diagram

- Lisa

Teaching through Animals - Kangaroos and Koalas

My favorite lessons are those that use animal concepts to teach broader skills. Students practice writing skills as they create a story about a kangaroo bouncing around the classroom, for example. Or students practice ten frames while learning about types of  marsupials. I have loads of lessons of this type, but I picked 2 to share today: Everything Koalas and Everything Kangaroos. Enjoy!

Everything Koalas

Everything Kangaroos