Teaching Trio

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Tech Thursday: Multiplication App

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Share reviews of websites or apps you've tried, tech tips that make your {teaching or personal} life easier, and helpful tutorials. Our hope is that this linky provides a place for teachers to share and learn new ways to use technology and engage students!

Be a rule follower!
Rule #1: Include the image above and a link to our blog somewhere in your post.
Rule #2: Be a good blog reader...visit the two blogs who link up before you and leave some love on their pages!
Rule #3: This linky is not intended for product promotion. You may include products you've created in your posts, but they should not be the sole focus of the post.

This week, we are sharing apps. Just tell what it is, why your students love it, and why YOU love it! I want to share an app my students are crazy about...

What is it? Sushi Monster is a free iPad app from Scholastic. It provides fast-paced practice for addition and multiplication facts.

Students choose addition or multiplication from the home screen. For both operations, students receive a set of target numbers (sums or products) and several numbered sushi pieces. The goal is to feed the Sushi Monster with numbers that make the sum or product he is asking for. when you choose the correct pair, he gobbles up the sushi.

Why my students love it: I'm guessing it's the music and the silly monster gobbling up the sushi!

Why I love it: It's backwards from what most multiplication apps do... This one starts with the product and asks students to choose two factors rather than providing the factors and asking for a product. The game also gets progressively harder, and includes multiplying by multiples of 10 (6x120=720, for example). Best of all, it's FREE!

What apps are you using in your class? Link up and share some with us!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Wordless Wednesday {10/15/14}

Wordless Wednesday!

I am going to link up with Sugar and Spice for her weekly linky.

My daughter and I spotted this pumpkin on the interstate. It was huge!

How are you getting into the spirit of fall?

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tried it Tuesday: The 5 B's

Today I'm linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday.

Tired of your students running up and telling you every little thing? Trouble with tattling? Do you have students that need a Band-Aid for a teeny-tiny speck?

Teach your students the 5 B’s!

The 5 B's is a classroom management tool meant to reduce off task "teacher telling" and tattling. The 5 B’s help your students know when it’s appropriate to go to the teacher and what things a teacher needs to know about. What are the 5 B's? The 5 B's are Bleeding, Broke Bones, Being Sick, Bee Sting, and Bullying.

I start this at the beginning of the year, but it can be started at any time. I literally teach my students the 5 B's and what they mean. I always give them examples such as a teeny speck on their finger that really really hurts but doesn't need a Band-aid or a bee sting is different from spotting a bee. We review the 5 B's every day for the first week of school (or the first week you introduce it).

As the year goes on, you can just refer back to the 5 B's. When my students come up to me at recess, for example, I hold up my 5 fingers and ask if what they are about to say is one of the 5 B's. Most of the time, they just go back and play. Fabulous!

I have used this for a number of years and in a number of grades. It works!

Check it out at my TPT store!

Let me know if you have used something similar!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Sunday Scoop {10/12/14}

The Sunday Scoop is based on the popular 3-2-1 graphic organizers so many of us use with our students. Tell us three things you HAVE to do, two things you HOPE to do, and one thing you're HAPPY to do (because these days, we could all use a little motivation to find something to be happy about every week!). It's a short and sweet way to connect with each other every Sunday (or Monday... the linky will stay open all week!)

Here's what to do:
1. Just save the image above, add your text to it (we use PowerPoint), and post! You don't even have to explain yourself any further if you don't want to.
2. Include the button above and a link to our blog on your post.
3. Link our post up here on Sunday morning (or whenever :) )
4. Be a good blog reader, and leave some love for the two posts before yours!

Here's the Scoop on my Sunday... Family mini-vacay edition!

Since the hubby and I are both off for a four-day weekend, we decided last minute to take a quick weekend trip to Gatlinburg, TN, just the three of us! It is so wonderful to not be able to come up with more than two things I have to do today! One more day of hanging out here, and we'll be headed back home to reality.

Link up and share your Sunday Scoop! (I need some reading for the drive home!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Tech Thursday: Keyboard Shortcuts I love!

The 2nd week of the month means TECH TIP TIME!

I am going to continue on with a couple of previous posts we have had on shortcuts. Why? Shortcuts make life soooo much easier and save oodles of time! Hummmm... probably why they are named shortcuts....

The short cuts for this week are some of the new ones I am trying to learn. Now, don't wig out on me and go cross-eyed thinking you can't remember all of these short cuts. I can't either! That is why I have re-posted a special tip at the bottom to help us remember and learn the shortcuts we need. So KEEP READING!

CTRL + ESC : Qpens the start menu! Yay! No more searching!

CTRL + SHIFT + ESC: Launches the Task Manager directly without closing everything else down when you use CTRL + ALT + DEL.

ALT + F4: Closes the current program that you are using. This saves you the time of moving your mouse up to that teeny tiny x.

CTRL + W: Closes the current window that you are in. This is especially helpful when you have a lot of browser windows open but only want to close the top one.

F6: Jump to the browser address bar from anywhere on the page. Love this! No more moving to my mouse and dragging the cursor to the address bar! F6 and BOOM, you are there!

ALT + TAB: Cycle through all of your open windows on your computer! One of my new favorites! Love this since I always have lots open at one time and am constantly going back and forth between windows and programs. It is also kind of fun....

CTRL + TAB: Cycle through all of your browser window! Okay, I love this one too! I don't have to go to my mouse and drag it to the tabs at the top of my browser anymore! I can do this one with my 2 little fingers! Fun!

Now you are probably wondering, "How am I ever going to remember all of these?" Take a look below!

Have you ever seen those huge lists of keyboard shortcuts?

Just looking at one of those lists stresses me out. How am I ever supposed to learn them all? AND if I have to look up the shortcut every time I have to use it, how would that save me any time? Who knew that "shortcuts" could be so overwhelming and time consuming?

I wish I could take credit for this tip, but, of course, like the good teacher that I am, I have "borrowed" it from a technology class I had on Microsoft Excel. The instructor handed out a sheet of about 100 or so keyboard "shortcuts" and then gave us this tip on how to learn them all. Yes, my friends, I did say ALL. And the tip is soooo simple ...

Write 3 keyboard shortcuts on sticky note.

Stick the note to your monitor.