Magical Product Swap

MrsStanfordsClass 

It is that time again for the Magical Product SwapI had the pleasure of swapping with the wonderful Shannon Piles for this magical product swap. When I went to view her wonderful store products, it was such a difficult decision...she has so many fantastic items to choose from. I finally chose the Show Me the Money pack. This looked like the perfect item!

Because I do not teach math, I tested this wonderful product out on my young daughter. She loved it! She has not yet learned money in school, but she does know some from asking us questions about it. I used the first set of cards to test out on her. 


To begin with, I set out the recording sheet, the first set of cards that correlated with one another, a pencil, and some actual coins (I thought that with her age, it would be nice to touch, feel, and see the coin.). I showed her the first set of cards that were recorded on the sheet as an example. We walked through each card and talked about them. 

It was then time for her to do the second set of cards, still with my help. She did a great job; I attribute this to the fact that the cards are laid out wonderfully and the recording sheet was easy to follow. 


Below is a picture of her examining the actual coin to those on the card. I showed her how to look for certain characteristics of each coin. 


I let her complete the third card all by herself. I was one proud mommy! She did a great job, and then continued on with the other cards. 



This was a wonderful resource to use with my daughter. If you are a math teacher who teaches counting coins, this is one product you need to invest in for your students. It will keep them engaged in their learning while having fun. 

Please check out Shannon's TpT Store. I am certain you will find products to add to your resource collection. Also, check out her amazing blog If My Calculations Are Correct for ideas to use in your classroom. 

Testing, Testing...Day 5 (A Little Late)


Please accept my apologies! If you were following my testing incentive posts, I am a week late with Day 5. I am not sure if it was because I was SOOOOOO excited to be finished with our standardized tests or what, but I am late. 

Testing Day #5...the race to the finish. (Or at least that is how I viewed my sweet students as I observed them taking their tests. You would have thought it was a race!) The last day of testing was over social studies content. While I feel certain my students were prepared for it, I am a little concerned at how soon they ALL finished. I know it was the last test they took, and I know they were tired of doing nothing except reading and answering questions. I understand their frustrations, as I was once a student myself. They flew through it and were ready for....drum roll, please...to go outside and run out all of their nervous energy! They all brought in their basketballs and footballs that morning, and when I greeted my homeroom students, they all wanted to make sure I was going to let them go outside after the "all clear" testing announcement was made. 

So, you guessed it! I hurried them out the door as fast as I could when the testing clearance was announced, and they ran and played for an hour until it was time to go to lunch. Luckily after lunch, they were tired and sleepy and compromised with a video. 

For their incentive on the last day, I filled a bucket of different candy and posted the "Wishing You Luck on the Test" printable. If you are looking for testing incentives to use in your classroom, check out my Motivational Ideas for Testing and Assessments Pack; your students will love them! 


This week we are back to grindstone, reviewing old content, previewing next year's content, and next week we will begin our last novel together. Stay tuned to more posts about "what happens after testing." 

Testing, Testing...Day 4

 
 
"Reach for the Stars" was our theme for today. I thought it was appropriate since they were taking the Science portion of their standardized tests. The looks on their faces were not confusion, but they were looks of sincere determination. My students have been working so hard lately, and I am truly proud of each and every one of them! I think they really needed the candy to keep them going today. Some of them looked a little bit sleepy.
 
We can officially say we have completed four out of five testing days. Only one more day to go! Yahooo...I think I might just be a little more excited than the students. Now, don't get me wrong. There are many other things that they would rather be doing than taking these high-stakes tests, but as the test administrator for my students, I am exhausted! (There will be a follow-up post about this!)
 
If you have missed my other posts about the testing incentives I use, you can find my Testing Incentives and Motivational Ideas pack. This is my go-to resource for all testing incentives. I simply choose the incentive I would like to use, print, and attach the candy. It is wonderful, and it has made my life so much easier this testing session.
 
Here is the little present I had sitting out on all of my students' desks as they walked into the classroom this morning. (And I didn't have too many empty candy wrappers to pick up today, so I was very pleased!)
 



Testing, Testing...Day 3



 
Today marked the third testing day for my sweet darlings. They are officially more than half-way finished with testing! Hooray! Today's test was the mathematics portion of the test. They worked their fingers to the bone coming up with their answers. I always love to see my students work hard and feel good about their work.
 
Because it was the third day and half-way point in the testing, I decided I wanted them to know that I was cheering for them 100%. I put Cheerios in ziplock bags for the students to eat during their break to fuel their brains. They enjoyed their snack and were very appreciative.
 
If you need ideas for testing incentives, check out my Testing Incentives and Motivational Ideas for Assessments pack for a resource to use throughout the year, year after year. 

Testing, Testing...Day 2


Day 2...Language Arts!

My students came in pumped and ready to go this morning. They knew they had prepared for their test, and they felt good about it. This is the first year our county has used the Common Core Standards, so where the students were feeling good about things, I was sweating bullets! Our test is also kept under lock and key, and we are never allowed to preview, see, or look at the test questions. This is a HUGE NO-NO in our county/state. Still sweating bullets! 

After the students began their test, I walked up and down the rows to make sure everyone was bubbling in their answers on the correct form. Although I did not (and repeat cannot) stop to read any test item, I did notice that it looked very long. When they were finished taking both sections of the test, they immediately said they felt good about it and that most of it seemed easy. I was relieved! 

For their little incentive today, I decided to give them bubble gum. They were given some before the test, during their break between section 1 and section 2, and some after they finished. This was a treat for them because they are never allowed to chew gum in my class...I despise cleaning it off of the carpet! 

This is how today's incentives were displayed. 


If you missed my Testing, Testing...Day 1 post, you missed where I get my incentives from. For my go-to resource for testing ideas and incentives, click HERE. There are 11 ideas to use, ready to print! They came in three different formats for each idea. 



Testing, Testing...Day 1


(Today begins a series of testing posts. The posts will span our county's five day testing session.) 

It is that time of year again. Testing! Testing! Testing! My students have worked diligently and learned the standards for their content areas. We have been reviewing and setting more goals, as each student wants to excel and do his/her very best. 

Our county chose to test over five content areas during a two-week period. Day 1 tests Reading, Day 2 tests Language Arts, Day 3 (during the 2nd week) tests Math, Day 4 tests Science, and Day 5 tests Social Studies. The students are not fond of the two-week spread of testing, but I guess it helps prevent ultimate burnout! 

Today, my students took the Reading portion of the CRCT. They read for 70 minutes on Section 1 and answered questions. Then, they took a 10 minute brain break to recover. As soon as our break was over, they read for 70 more minutes and answered even more questions. As I observed them testing, I noticed each and every one of them was taking the necessary time to read, comprehend, and respond to the questions. I was so proud of them and their hard work today.

To get them motivated this morning, I placed a little incentive on their desks. Today they received "Good Luck on the Test 'Smartie' Pants." They loved them! And I had fun preparing the goodies. 



If you are interested in my "go-to" resource for testing incentives, clink HERE. In this resource, there are 11 motivational saying/incentives for testing. Simply print, add the candy, and give to your students. 



Tomorrow my students will take the Language Arts portion of the test. They are ready! I hope you will check back tomorrow to see the goodies they will receive. 

It's Officially April!

April 1st...well, let's say as an educator that April 1st is always a fun, joke-filled day with pranks and students trying to get the last laugh. Although I am very excited to be on spring break this week, I am a little sad that I won't get to joke around with the students today. However, my daughter did pull a joke on me this morning, and she is only four!

It's officially April. It is hard to believe how quickly this school year is winding down. I have less than two months left with my kiddos. It seems as if we just got started!

It would not feel like the first of the month unless I joined Farley's Currently Link-Up. So here goes!


I hope everyone has a marvelous Monday. And for those who are teaching today, I hope you and your students have a great one!