Monday, September 28, 2020

Sneaking Math Vocabulary into Notebooks for a Quick Game!

Hi Friends, 

It's been so long since I've blogged, but I am trying to bring my blog back and update my TPT store. I changed subjects AGAIN, so you will see more Math resources as well as Science and ELA (hopefully from Robyn). Together, we can cover it all. Our school has been going under major renovations and someday, when it is finished, it should look really nice. Right now, I am still getting used to it with the ever changing cohorts and plans. Tuesday, I am welcoming cohorts A and B into the classroom. It will be basically like a first day of school with 21 in class and 4 online until further notice. On the bright side, 4 online should be easier to manage than 13 online. 




Anyways, I wanted to show off a little teacher hack that I just thought of and love. I created these really cute Math Vocabulary posters for my Unit 1 Math lessons. I wanted cards to match my curriculum, but have the vocabulary word, definition, and example picture all on the front. Once I created these, I thought they would be great for a student's math journal as well as be a great reference point on my bulletin board. 


I printed them as slides 9 to a page and had students cut them out. We added a small piece of tape to the tops, taped them upside down (so we could flip them up) and wrote the vocabulary word on the back. On the board I wrote some examples, students lift the mini poster, read the word and definition and find where my board examples go in their notebook. Basically I've created an interactive notebook game for a concept understand/vocabulary check. Pretty cool, right? It's perfect for the last few minutes of class when there isn't enough time to log into Xtramath or students need to reference vocabulary.  I can leave my examples on the board all week and give the students the full week to finish before we do a quick share out check. 



So here is what the notebook looks like and so far the students have really enjoyed using it as a reference. I am definitely hearing an increase in math vocabulary during discussions as well! win/win! 





I will definitely be making these for future units, so keep an eye out! What math games are your favorite? Since it's my first year teaching math, I'd love to learn some fun activities!