My goal was on sale at Academy Sports but you can also find them on Amazon.. or use a trash can!!!
I want to preface this post with a simple piece of advice- try the fun stuff. I am always nervous before I try something new.. but setting expectations is everything! Managing kids is HARD. I’ve learned so much from those around me. This activity went so well because of the expectations. For this activity I used my probability resource for simple probability that also includes finding the difference between theoretical & experimental probability. I placed students into groups of 3-4 (I have also done partners in the past.. do what you prefer!) I set a timer for an allotted amount of time- usually 15 min. This resource has 20 questions so this allows plenty of time to attempt as many as possible. YouTube has the cutest timers btw. Students begin working & can go in any order they choose- I stress that they can decide which ones to try or skip. I like to offer some choice & some teams want to tackle all the hard ones first, while some like to try all the one point questions first. A group raises their hand when they have an answer & I check their work. If it is correct I check it off on their paper. (see photo.) This is how they earn points. I tell my students that if they raise their hands for me to come check answers but I am busy checking another group, keep working & when I come over I will check multiple answers at a time if needed. This way they are efficient!
I check off work as they go so they can keep up. If it is wrong I tell them try again, I give them prompts as needed.
When the timer goes off they add up their points. Then they can see how many hoops they have earned. Once they know this information, they can decide which group members wants to shoot hoops/how many each member can do. Then one group at a time is called to shoot the ball. (I got my goal at a local sports store but you can even use a trash can/paper!) I have a student tally mark each goal made by the team. To keep this manageable I have my ‘audience’ stay seated as if we were at a game. The only students standing are to be the group who has been called to participate. If I see too many are getting up, we pause until they are seated. I find the more strategic I am with procedures the better things like this go. The overall winning team gets candy in my room. (: Please email me if you have questions or suggestions! bmccarley@mcssk12.org
This was one of the MOST FUN ways I can think of to practice slope!!! Functions are huge for 8th grade math.. I have two advanced 7th grade classes to actually learn all of the 8th grade standards instead, & our unit on functions is SO long! This was such a fun way to practice applying our knowledge of slope using graphs, tables, & word problems. This product is from Rise Over Run on TPT. She is amazing!
There is an awesome recording sheet- look at all the ways they have to justify the slope!
Students were challenged with real world scenarios- but that was my favorite part! The tasks were on cholesterol & students getting sick with the flu. These are awesome tasks. I had gloves & masks donate by parents so the only thing I actually paid for out of pocket was the resource itself! I definitely think this is what made the lesson have a hook. YES my kids stayed on task & YES they loved these materials. We started out by doing questions 4-6 together so they had 3 examples. That left 9 patients for them. THEN I passed out the masks. I set 2-3 patients on each table & as they completed all the patients at their table they went to another table to solve. This kept it pretty organized! I checked answers as they went along & at the end of class we went over the top 2 that they struggled with.
I loved doing classroom transformations when I taught elementary school, so I am excited to share that I finally tried one with my middle schoolers! We used football decor to prepare for our inequalities quiz. All of my supplies was CHEAP from Wal-Mart, but here are some similar things on Amazon.
Stress Balls (these are actually the exact ones I bought)
I even wore one of my favorite shirts from Trendy Teacherz– we interrupt this lesson to bring you football season! Use the code BROOKLYNSBRIGHTEST for 15% off!
Students were placed into groups of four to complete 4 downs aka tasks to prep for our quiz. I let them decide on a team name for fun! As students completed each ‘down’ one player of the team had to complete a problem. I had them write their name next to the problem for accountability. All players were supposed to watch for errors. Once they were finished, I came to check their answers before they started the next down.
The third and fourth downs were identifying the inequality on a graph & then actually graphing an inequality. When they completed all four downs, they put their team name on a ticket & placed it in the football ticket jar. When the timer went off for the game, I drew for a ticket. The winning team members each got a mini stress football. My middle schoolers absolutely loved it!!!
If you are interested in this specific content, it can be found in my TPT. I used this for my 7th grade math class. What are your favorite classroom transformations!?
With all of the test prep my class has been doing lately, I knew I needed to reward them with some type of fun review! I created this very low-prep racing theme for my students to ‘race’ into 2nd grade and prep for our reading assessment!
Materials:
Cones- borrowed from my PE dept
Referee shirt from Amazon (I got mine 4 years ago for another transformation, but this link is similar.)
I created a driver’s license for my students that you can find here. This really got them excited! I told them if they were not on task they *might* lose their driver’s license. :0
I had 4 rotations for this transformation. This one is a card game using sight word phrases from the DOLCH list. There are 2 special cards: Speed it up (draw 2 more cards) or stop for fuel (miss a turn). I told them as they read the phrase show it to their group to make sure they read it correctly. (: When all the cards are gone they count to see who has the most- that is the winner!
The next rotation was a sight word board game using sight words from our reading units. We use Reading Street so I pulled from that. Students roll a dice and read that many spaces of sight words. Whoever reaches the end first wins.
This rotation was for nonsense words. Students took turns drawing a card and reading the words- again they had to show it to their group to make sure they said it correctly. If they drew a flat tire card they had to place one of their cards back in the bottom of the stack. When all the cards are gone they count to see who has the most- that is the winner!
As I mentioned, I had four rotations. my final one had oral reading fluency passages and students took turns reading those!! The other 3 rotations + driver’s license can be found in my TPT here.
Overall this transformation was VERY simple to prepare & the 3 rotations in my store will be used in centers for weeks to come! They were easy to explain and my class loves card and board games. If you have every done a racing transformation, I would love to hear details!! (: -Brooklyn
I have wanted to do this for years and I am so glad I finally did! Besides the black lights this is actually not expensive. Many teachers borrow black lights from family friends. I was able to purchase some rather well-priced ones linked below.
Got the hype started the day before with this free note! You could even use this without black lights but they make it SO much fun! My number detective resource.
I used two resources to make 3 activities for my students! One is my own number detective activity that includes addition and subtraction within 20 without regrouping. Students use highlighters to draw models and it is awesome to see it glow! I used manilla envelopes to give it a real case file look. There is a certificate you can award at the end when they solve them all. I made sure to check each case before they moved on to the next.
The other activity I used was a missing number fluency to help prepare for DIBELS math state testing. I used a Target halloween ring toss kit and students solved those cards as they got a ring. The tic tac toe (first picture on the post) was made using the neon tape and students also used those cards. They had to solve a card before they could pic a spot for the X or O. These cards are great because answers are on the back! (Our math coach recommended them.)
CertificateRing Toss. I wrapped the glow tape around it all!
I know that SO many glow transformations have been planned in classrooms! I would love to hear about yours! One of my students actually said this was the best day of his life LOL so I definitely want to do another before the year is over!! (:
This is one of my favorite classroom transformations!! It is a popular one and I love the endless possibilities! We completed this contraction surgery in my classroom. Here are the details!
I got the tip to hang tablecloths from the ceiling by Simply Engagement with the Velcro dots!! It was SO cool. I had a parent make copies beforehand of the contraction booklets which saved me a lot of time, so I recommend doing this if possible. I of course modeled to the students how they were to cut the patients (words) with their scalpel (scissors) because this is VERY important for students to see the purpose of the surgery.
One trick I used to keep my students focused was reminding them that we could NOT wake the patients.. so we had to stay quiet!! If the noise level got a little loud you would hear a student say, ‘DO NOT WAKE THEM UP GUYS!’ and it was all I could do not to laugh. If a student finished early I told them to help a fellow surgeon!
There are so many possibilities with surgical transformations- before I taught 1st grade I used a TPT resource for a distributive property surgery. Have you done a medical transformation before!? I would love to hear about it!!
This has got to be the BEST transformation ever! I was inspired by Vanessa on instagram and knew I had to make this work for my first graders. This could be used for ANY grade- trust me. You can use whatever skills you want. I will explain what materials I used and what content I used for my first graders, but I hope you are inspired to do this no matter what grade you teach!
Starbucks Materials- Donated by local Starbucks (Details below)
Green butcher paper for the sign- our school keeps this on hand.
Getting Supplies Donated
I simply asked one of my local Starbucks (inside of Target actually) if I could have some supplies donated to do a Starbooks transformation in my classroom. I had taken my teacher badge just in case they needed to see it but they said they didn’t even need it! They even gave me the cute little drink stoppers! I made sure they gave me a few extra cups for the tip jar and sign. They also offered the sleeves but I opted out because I knew I wanted to make sure the Avery labels were showing.
Parents were more than happy to donate some hot chocolate!
The Content
I used this as a review component so we focused on fact and opinion from nonfiction texts, and character/setting/retell from fiction! We also had spot a sight word on the back, so if students found one of the sight words from our last unit, they put a dot next to the word. I have all of this in my TPT store, along with an editable version because I want you to make this work for your classroom, your standards, your needs, etc! I also included some chalkboard print outs if you don’t want to buy chalkboard stands. I offered two flavors, but let’s say you’re in kinder and want to try this.. you could just have the one flavor and have lots of book choices for that flavor! You can still do the sight word search and you can choose what you want the kids to be looking for as they read. If you are an upper grade, you can incorporate more vocabulary since sight words may not be your focus, or discussing the theme of the book, etc. So. Many. Options. (I’m even sitting here thinking if you’re studying fables you could have a Fable Frappe.. or how about a Fantasy Frappe? The list goes on..) And I will also add with older kids this could last all day if you want as you read longer texts! This took about an hour and a half total, but a good 20-25 min was me modeling what I wanted them to write down on those tasks! (:
I literally made this sign on the floor during indoor recess the day before.. so don’t think you have to stay forever after school getting this ready! The chalkboard markers worked great even on this thin butcher paper! I hot glued the cups on for an extra touch.
I let the edges curl naturally and just used binder clips to make it hang from my curtain.
I also wanted to incorporate contractions, so we had a tip jar where students wrote down a contraction if they came across it while reading. I also had them write their name down under the contraction so I would know who tipped me & they liked that! We ended up having two tips jars because so many were found and the kids were thrilled that I was ‘rich’ from so many tips! I only had to stay about 20 min after school to get all this ready. (Making the poster during indoor recess did help- that took 20 min.) I already had my books chosen- I grabbed here & there for a couple weeks leading up to this. The morning of, I plugged up the crockpot as soon as I got to school because I knew from experience it takes a little time for mine to heat up for this.
One of their favorite parts for sure!
Logistics..
Okay, so what do you do once you have everything set up & it’s time to begin!? I completed an example of each choice with the kids. I told them they could choose from the two flavors, so be thinking what you would like to taste today. Once examples had been shown explicitly (this is first grade lol) they returned to their seats & I called one table at a time to take their order. I wrote their name on their cup and checked either Fiction Frappe or Dark Roast Nonfiction. They chose their book from the table, the task sheet that matched their drink choice, and then they went to their table to begin reading. Once I had taken all of the drink orders, I made my rounds facilitating and helping students as needed. (They were allowed to help neighbors with a word if needed, things like that, etc.) Once I saw a student was about halfway through their tasks, working hard, etc. their order was served. This kept everyone on track and focused!! First grade can be really challenging to keep everyone focused and I promise you that they knew they would not get that hot chocolate unless they were working hard and it WORKED. Again- if they also saw contractions, those went in the tip jar mentioned above. If students finished early (because we all know that happens!) they were allowed to return their book and grab another. For the second book I didn’t require them to grab a new task sheet but instead they could keep searching for sight words as they read this second choice. It worked very well! I had about 5 students who actually really wrote detailed answers and finished their tasks later in the day with their books.
Taking those orders!
Avery labels had the cutest coffee theme already made under pre-designs! Enter your own text & it’s good to go!
Samples
First and foremost YES these have permission to be posted! (: This is a student sample of the Dark Roast Nonfiction and Sight Word Search to give you an idea of what they were working on as their orders were served!
This is editable in my store. This is editable is my store.
Unforgettable Transformation!
This was so memorable for my students because they were able to read and have FUN. “Miss McCarley we feel like real teachers because we are drinking coffee.” (It’s hot chocolate guys LOL) “Miss McCarley can we take these cups home?” We all know reading is hard for many students, and in first grade it’s hard for almost everyone because this is when we are all learning how this works. This transformation served a purpose- yes it looks cool and has some hype, but at the root of this were skills we practiced all week reviewing.. and we topped it off by incorporating them into this little Starbooks experience on Friday. Their faces say it all! I encourage you to think about skills your students need- they may be similar or different than mine- and you can create this for your students! Again, my product can be found here and is editable. If you do this transformation please tag me on instagram because I want to see it!
Place Value Bootcamp has been one of the best transformations EVER! To me the best part of a bootcamp is that it can be about any content.. I have seen bootcamps for reading, writing, and math! This particular bootcamp is content-wise perfect for 1st grade (or review for 2nd grade) BUT will also lay out the perfect general set-up for a bootcamp in your classroom no matter the grade. (:
Tell your kids to wear camo, black, brown, green.. I wore a camo tulle skirt!!
Make this a BIG deal!!
I told my class on Monday that we would have bootcamp on Friday. (They said what is a bootcamp???? #firstgrade) I told them every day we would be preparing for bootcamp- we mentally had to be prepared… OR ELSE lol. My particular bootcamp had 4 stations, so each day I taught how the station would work in small groups. (You could also do this whole group. My class needs small group everything.. I know my kids!) I only showed them enough so that they knew the routine of the game, task cards, etc. Then I would say okay, clean up, I have to show another group. They 100% protested!! They didn’t want to stop. I reminded them to be here Friday for bootcamp & they would see it again. This built up so. much. anticipation. I cannot tell you how many times I was asked if ‘today’ was bootcamp…. My particular bootcamp can be found here.
Bootcamp Chant!
There is a chant by Teacher Tipster on Youtube, but we changed it just a bit to add some personalization. (: In between rotations I had my students drop and give me ten! We did push ups, pull ups, jumping jacks.. it was SO much fun!
My Stations
Station 1:
These come with and without a QR code option.
Students will sort if place value statements are true or false. There are base ten models & descriptions such as 15 = 5 tens 1 one (false) or 35 = 3 tens 5 ones (true) There is a QR code option for this sort. 20 task cards total either way. (1.NBT.2)
Station 2:
This can be played as partners or as a trio.
This would be voted as the class favorite for sure! Students played a place value game 4 in a row to practice identifying 10-19, those tricky numbers made from a group of ten and then some ones. The students can play over & over again in this rotation. The best part are that the cards cover 3 variations. EX: 10+4, base ten models, and a description such as one ten and six ones. Students put their game piece (dollar spot erasers in my room) on the identified number to get 4 in a row. (1.NBT.2)
Station 3:
Some questions ask about tens and ones- some ask to draw base 10 models.
The dog tags are a part of my TPT product btw.
For this station, students completed a Write the Room for drawing base ten models and identifyfying the number of tens or ones in a number. There were a couple of variations. EX: Draw a base ten model for 13. How many ones are in 65? There is a recording sheet and 20 task cards total. (1.NBT.2) I was really impressed with those models!
Station 4:
There is also an option to print the task cards without the QR codes.
You can see the variation in contexts.
This station was great because my students compared numbers, but there was a little rigor here. Some number comparisons are listed such as 45 and 6 tens 3 ones. (Comparing the number 45 and 63.) There is a QR code option for this set of task cards. 20 cards total either way. (1.NBT.3)
Have you ever completed a bootcamp transformation? I would love to hear about it!
Writing a class book is exciting, but pairing with another class to have a book signing!? THAT is taking it to the next level. My 1st graders were able to collaborate with a 5th grade class (find her blog here) to share their writing. We allowed for volunteer readings on a class stage with a red carpet! Our reading coach even arranged for a real author to come speak to the kids. Parents donated snacks, and we also provided all students with a certificate of achievement. Check out Studentreasures Publishing if you are interested in doing this with your class! I found the process very simple and rewarding.
