New Place Value Activities for Fall

For some reason I've had place value on the brain...is that a bad sign? The various color-by-code pictures have always appealed to me and an idea for making puzzles with a place value angle popped into my head a couple of days ago. Here's a close-up that shows how they work:

These puzzles review place value up to Thousands so students will find the underlined number and determine if it is in the Ones, Tens, Hundreds, or Thousands place. They will use the key on the bottom of the picture to choose the correct color for each space.

Here are all three of the images...an owl flying by the harvest moon, a squirrel searching through the autumn leaves for acorns, and a raccoon enjoying a snack of apples:

This packet will be discounted for a few days...right now it's $1.25. Click here to see it in my TeachersPayTeachers shop.

In case you missed it I posted this freebie place value puzzle, It's a Fluke!, a few weeks ago:

Click cover image to visit my TPT shop.

When all the clues are solved, a picture of sun, waves, and a whale tale emerges. It can be downloaded from this page in my TPT shop. Over 200 people have downloaded it so far, so maybe it's not a fluke!

The Common Core State Standards for Math Content start to require "Understanding Place Value" in 2nd Grade.

Hope you're having a great summer!

Loreen
My web site

A Different Kind of Mystery Picture [Part 2]

Part One of this article is here.

The next puzzle is going to be based on one of my favorite math concepts, symmetry. If you're a new reader of this blog, my most recent picture book is called Seeing Symmetry (see a video preview here.) Anyway, I wanted to use shapes with and without line symmetry for the clues. The kids find the symmetrical shapes to solve each clue. The squares (on the left) have the lines that will be drawn in the grid square.

The photo below shows the clues page with some of the symmetrical shapes circled in orange. The grid rows and columns are indicated by different symmetrical shapes. By the way, line symmetry is introduced in grade 4 of the Common Core State Standards (4.G.3), and it's also taught in 3rd grade in many states. Just a few of the squares have been drawn in so far (see below).

 Once all the clues have been solved and the lines drawn in, an owl with outstretched wings should appear.

As you can see, the owl is also symmetrical. Any glitches in the drawing will be obvious and the student can double-check that square again. Once it looks correct, they go over the lines with a black or dark marker. I like the Crayola® brand  SuperTips because they are a good thickness, are washable, and don't have that awful brain-melting smell that certain markers do (yes, Sharpie, I'm talking about you.)

One of the nice aspects of this different kind of mystery picture is that once the drawing is complete, each kiddo can color it with their choice of colors.

It'll be fun to see the whole flock of uniquely colored, symmetrical owls that will fly in, don't you think? Here is the cover and a link to this puzzle:

Click Cover image to visit my TPT shop

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you like this kind of mystery picture…I'm interested in any and all opinions pro or con. Toodleloo!

Loreen
My web site

First Graders See Symmetry!

Two hundred 1st graders came to the annual Young Authors Conference at the University of Central Florida today to share the books they had written and illustrated…always a delightful type of event. I was fortunate enough to be the featured author this year so was able to speak to all the participants.

My newest picture book Seeing Symmetry was the main focus of my presentation, though I wasn't sure how much the kiddos would know about the topic. In Florida it’s taught in 3rd and 4th grade. 

We looked at the cover of the book and I used my Super Simple LOS Locator…

…(a barbeque skewer with the point cut off) to show how the tiger and butterfly image can be divided into equal mirror image halves. (A high-res version of the above poster plus quite a few related printables can be found in the Activity pack for the book on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.)

Though the kiddos weren't very familiar with the word symmetry, they had no trouble making great guesses about what various shapes folded in half would turn out to be. I held up folded cutouts of various items from the book such as a butterfly, teddy bear, and star, which they could readily guess.

The trickiest ones were the number 3 and the letter Z (which has rotational symmetry for those of you who haven't thought about this subject recently.) The red construction paper Z has a button in the middle…in its collapsed state it looked like a 7 or a 1, but once the parts were rotated into their proper position, the Z revealed itself.

I drew a symmetrical butterfly, then asked for ideas from the students to draw a symmetrical alien, which turned out perfectly silly, as intended! Copies of the aliens will be sent to the schools later for the kids to color or otherwise embellish upon. In addition, each child received a copy of the book for his or her very own! They were very excited about that and kept asking when they would get their book.

Another highlight was a Symmetry Chant that had its world premiere (ha!)…since I've never tried writing or leading one before, it was hard to predict how it would go. The kids acted like they do call and response chants every day and had no trouble following me. The specific items mentioned in the verses were the various shapes I had shown earlier. We practiced first with me saying 1-2-3; they repeat 1-2-3; A-B-C; A-B-C; and so on a few times. Then on to the real deal:

Seeing SYMMETRY Chant

Here and there       Here and there
And everywhere     And everywhere
We can see            We can see
Symmetry!              Symmetry!
Our two eyes          Our two eyes
See butterflies        See butterflies
A perfect square     A perfect square
A teddy bear           A teddy bear
The number 3         The number 3
The letter Z             The letter Z
Most any car           Most any car
A shiny star             A shiny star
Up and down           Up and down
And all around         And all around
We can see             We can see
Symmetry!               Symmetry!

I held up the various cutouts as we went along. It worked really well in a spontaneous situation like this, and would certainly be awesome with a little rehearsal. If anyone would like to use this chant for educational purposes, by all means feel free. If you'd like to include it in a blog post or article, please credit me as author and give a link if possible.

For those teachers who are incorporating the Common Core Standards in their classroom, the applicable one is 4.G.3:

Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

Many thanks to Penny Leggett and Taylar Clements for inviting me and making this event run so smoothly with the help of a small army of UCF students. The tech set-up was great and special thanks go to the guy who found me a clip-on mike instead of the big handheld one! We were discussing afterwards how visiting a college campus can make such a big impression on young students and hopefully will inspire many of them to think “I can go to college, too” when the time comes.

WOW MOM: A Mother's Day Card with Line Symmetry!

Why try to explain when pictures are so much easier...

If you'd like to download the Preview which has more info, please visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Thanks and have a symmetrical Spring!

Loreen

“Reading is an Investment” teaches kids about money

While digging through the blogosphere, I stumbled over a new program in Vermont designed to teach young children basic financial concepts. Debuting this fall statewide, I’m delighted to say that one of the three books utilized will be Follow the Money.


The story begins as George, a quarter, is minted. Taken to the bank, he soon becomes change in a cash register drawer, then goes on to be spent, lost, saved, donated, and even washed in a washing machine as he travels hand to hand through the economy. Among other things, I wanted to show how people make such varied choices about how to use their money.

The second book is One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway, and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes. It’s based on true story about a boy in Africa who started with one chicken and ended up with a large poultry farm. The story shows how microlending impacted not just the main character but also his family, village, and region. 

The third book is Money Madness, written by David Adler and illustrated by Edward Miller. It explores early systems of exchange such as bartering, and early forms of money including rocks, feathers, and lumps of metal. It describes the advantages of money with concrete examples to show how difficult it could be to trade bread for a house, for example.


Many of us didn’t get very much practical information about personal finance and almost certainly could have used more guidance at an early age. It’s wonderful that the State Treasurer’s Office in Vermont decided to pursue this important aspect of their students’ education. 


As John Bramley, one of the Reading is an Investment program supporters stated, “Financial literacy is more important today than ever, as shown by recent events.” I suspect we can all agree on that point.


[Update August 29, 2010] The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has a K-12 standards PDF available with an outline of the knowledge and skills students should possess. Topics include taking responsibility for personal financial decisions; finding/evaluating financial info from various sources; developing a plan for spending and saving; and many more. Mastering these topics is a good investment for all ages, no doubt!