Gomoku on the 100s chart

There are many versions of Gomoku online game.  Two players take turns claiming squares and the goal is to get five squares in a row.  Rows can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Here is a free 100 chart with larger squares so many math materials will fit as markers. 

To use this game to practice number sense, students must claim their number with an equation.  For example, when the red player chooses the space 45, he must claim it by telling the other player 9 X 5 = 45.  The blue player verifies that this equation is correct.

Students may use any process we have learned in class to claim their number.  I have each pair turn in a paper with the two names and a list of the equations they used to play the game.

Update November 2: Now available as a set of seven games in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Gomoku Games is also available in my Teacher's Notebook Store.

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo

 

I found this book in a local bookstore recently and immediately loved it.  Elliot visits the aquarium with his father and comes back with a pet penguin.  The story reminded me a little of Mr. Popper's Penguins (the book, not the movie), but as a picture book I would use it a little differently in my classroom.  The ending is not what I expected.

I focused on picture books with my students the last several weeks in class.  I find that older children still love picture books and are happy to have me sit and read one to them.  I can use them to teach many of the reading strategies we are working on and we can use them as starting places for our own writing.

Here are some prewriting questions to think about:

Having a penguin as a pet (or some other exotic animal) is a fantasy of many children.  What exotic pet would you want to own?  What problems would this cause for you or your family?  What problems would this cause for your neighbors?  What would you need to take care of this pet? 

Here is a free printable graphic organizer to plan a story.

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Summer Theater Workshop

For the next two weeks, I am volunteering at a Summer Theater Workshop for middle school and high school students.  They have already auditioned and started memorizing the scripts.  July 19-20 we will have performances open to the public.

We are working on an original musical called, "Miss Compton's School and the Dangerous Dig" written by a creative husband-wife team. 

I love having time to pursue this opportunity.

Quote of the Week -- July 7, 2013

"You always pass failure on the way to success."
Mickey Rooney

More Activities on the 100s Chart

Update: To download a free 100 chart that will accommodate many math material cubes, click here.

Today's freebie is really two activities that you can have students do with the 100s chart.  The first one is called the Sieve of Eratosthenes.  Students take a chart and shade in all the multiples of 2 (not counting 2).  Then they shade all the multiples of 3 on the same chart (not counting 3).  They should notice that all the multiples of 4 have already been shaded when they shaded multiples of 2, so they continue with multiples of 5. The multiples of 6 have already been shaded, so finish up the chart with the few multiples of 7 that have not already been shaded.  The multiples of 8, 9, and 10 will already have been shaded.
 
The result should look something like this:

Those that are left uncolored are the prime numbers.  Prime numbers have exactly two factors, one and itself.  Composite numbers have more than two factors.  One is neither prime or composite.

Once students have completed this chart, they can use it to develop strategies for the Factors and Multiples Game.  I introduced the Factors and Multiples Game on my blog a couple of months ago.

Activity number two is a variation on the game.  Like the original version, the first player chooses an even number less than 50.  The second player chooses a number that is either a factor or multiple of the first player's number.  Instead of using strategies to choose a number that has no uncovered factors or multiples, the students work cooperatively to create the longest factor/multiple chain.  Teams record their chains on a class chart and see who can create the longest chain.

I hope you and your students enjoy these activities.

   

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

 

I loved the premise behind this book. A girl finds some yarn in a box and begins knitting.  Each time she finishes a project, she has enough extra yarn to start another project.  Soon the whole town is colorful and then the yarn is stolen.

We studied several genres of short stories this year in my fourth grade classroom.  I put this in the fairy tale genre, although there is a strong moral at the end.

Students can create their own fairy tale or analyze this one with this graphic organizer.

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Teacher Trash Talk

When I wake up this morning, our state budget crisis may have narrowly averted.  Our state budget expires June 30 at midnight, and as I schedule this post, no agreement had not been signed.

One of our legislators, decided that a solution was to write "An Open Letter to Educators" that I found insulting.  Liz Pike suggests that teachers who are discouraged by a lack of cost of living adjustment should find employment elsewhere.

When I first started an education blog, I thought I would be a voice for teachers.  I soon learned that it was healthy for me to ignore the critics.  I avoid reading the comments under educational news items.  I know that my principal, colleagues, parents, and students are happy with my work.  I don't go looking for self worth on social media.

I can't always ignore Pike's attitude and those like hers.  I notice that these attacks happen when we are talking about compensation and they come from people who are far away from today's school setting.  These comments about pensions and time off are nothing new.

My first year teaching, a non-educator friend parroted what she had heard about teachers and pay.  If we cut the pay of teachers then the ones who really want to be there will stay.  Somehow this will improve teacher quality.

Maybe if I should work for free, because I just really love my job.  (I'm sorry, family, I couldn't afford groceries this week, but the good news is I have a fulfilling career.)

I would love to apply this to our legislators who can't agree on public fish consumption statistics, so they can't come up with a budget.  Maybe if we cut pay and benefits, only the ones who care would show up.

I'm willing to give it a try.