Christmas Must-Haves / Must-Dos

Check out the Portable North Pole...Santa sent me a video with my name in it to show to my class! He even knew how old I was, where I lived, and what I wanted for Christmas!!! I posted some pictures here because they wanted to show their parents.

Watch the Video!

Santa said my name...and spelled it correctly! He said I was on the nice list!

He knew I asked for books for Christmas!

(I should have asked him for a house...but come on, it is New Jersey - even Santa can't afford a house here!)

He knew I had a new niece this year!

He knew I had a fabulous new class!

We saw the file he kept on me

and the machine that told him I was on the nice list!

We have been tracking Santa using the NORAD Santa Tracker. You have to wait until Christmas Eve to track him this year using Google Earth, but here's the video from last year!

Click on the Countdown to Track Santa picture to go there!

and you can play games while you wait for Christmas Eve!

Kids can also leave Santa a free Google voicemail by calling the number 1-855-34-SANTA (1-855-347-2682)!

or use Send a Call (this one's for adults only)

We are waiting for Santa to send us our Elf on a Shelf. We're hoping it won't take long...and maybe me switching schools caused a delay! We can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl and see the DVD that it comes with!

Check out what some of the other Elves on Shelves have been up to!

Check out more Christmas / Winter ideas on Pinterest.

Test Prep Materials

I have finally come across some great NJ ASK test prep materials thanks to the before/after school tutoring program here at our school! There are still 5 months until the test, but you can never start preparing too early! I don't spend time cramming near the end, nor do I make testing a focus. I do, however, want my students to use test taking strategies throughout the year and to feel comfortable when they take the ASK the first time. I'm sure I'll be posting about this again as the test gets sooner, but for now here are some materials you may want to consider purchasing. (Keep in mind that I posted the NJ materials, and most of them also come aligned with other states' standardized tests too!)

Right now, we are using the following products by Triumph Learning:

New Jersey ASK Coach (Language Arts Literacy and Math Level C) for direct instruction

Ladders to Success Level C for math, reading, and language arts skills acquisition

ASK 3 Workout for Math and Reading review and extra practice

In the past, I have used Qworkbooks Explore series for language arts literacy and math.

Measuring Up to the NJCCCS

Just a disclaimer: we have now moved to common core standards, so there may be some changes coming to the NJ ASK...but since we did not receive Race to the Top funds, who knows?!

Click here to download NJ ASK released test samples!

Math

Language Arts Literacy

Do you have any materials or questions about the NJ ASK?

Place Value Math

Today's objective for my before school tutoring was using place value to strengthen number sense. It's usually our first topic of the year in math, so it was a great place to start.

 I have my students use dry-erase boards to write numbers in standard from (7,565) after giving them word form (seven thousand five hundred and sixty-five), or I ask them to write a number in expanded form (7,000+500+60+5) after being given the number in standard form. It really makes reading numbers, determining the value and place of each digit, and comparing numbers much easier!

A great website to use for place-value is the University of Utah's National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.  It has the following place value blocks interactives:

With the simple base blocks, you can model a number:

With base-blocks addition, you can add numbers up to 4 digits and show regrouping if necessary:

With base-blocks subtraction, you can subtract numbers up to 4 digits and show regrouping:

To compare numbers, check out my post on balance scale equalities and inequalities!

Check out my other math posts here.

Winter Holiday Resources

The Teacher 2 Teacher Blog has just put up my second guest post...check it out here and see the cool winter holiday materials available! I don't know about you, but it has gotten into the mid and lower-60s in the last few weeks here in New Jersey and that has made it really hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit! I'm not in BahHumbug / Grinch mode, but getting ready to buy my first house has put a damper on my winter shopping. :( Hopefully my post will help us all out! 

P.S. Our PBSIS theme this month is Caring - this cute Grinch activity is perfect for it. Click the pic to check it out!

Check out my Christmas / Winter Pinterest PinBoard!

Link to this post if you have something to share!

Young Thomas Edison

Next week's Journeys reading story is called Young Thomas Edison. My students were super excited to hear this because they live in the town of Edison, NJ, which was renamed for him in 1954! The village of Menlo Park, where Thomas Edison created one of his most important laboratories, is part of the township of Edison.

The story is very inspirational to young students because, as Amazon puts it, "Michael Dooling explores the origins of Edison’s scientific genius: his interest in mixing chemicals – sometimes with explosive results – his diligence in his work as a paperboy, and his difficulty paying attention in school." Every kid can relate to having trouble in school at some point, so it is easy for them to make a connection and feel inspired!

Just a couple of important facts:

• Edison earned 1,093 United States patents for his inventions.
• These three inventions are considered Edison's greatest: the electric light system,  the phonograph and motion pictures.

Check out a timeline of Edison's life. Download questions about it here.

Play Online Games here.

Visit the website for Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ. You can book a field trip there, and children under 16 are free!!!

Those close to NJ may also like to visit Locust Grove Mansion, the Pennsylvania home and workplace to Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph.

Some great books to pair this story with are:

Thomas Alva Edison by Tamera Bryant


Thomas Edison: They Called Him Wizard by John T. Cunningham

For more Young Thomas Edison activities, visit my class website.