QR Codes- Trying It Out

The kids used the QR Code activity I found online last week. It was rough! As a teacher, I know that not everything will be successful and I truly try to push my kids to be self-directed and everything, but this activity blew up in my face. The QR Code part worked wonderfully and the kids really enjoyed using the codes and even mentioned to me that it was like a scavenger hunt. The content was the difficult part. I didn't review lines, line segments, rays, and angles before they did the activity because I just taught it 2 units ago... That was the big mistake. They were getting confused and frustrated- and I don't blame them! So, I learned two things: 1. Next time this activity will be during or right after the unit that teaches the material. 2. I need to review those concepts. 

Learning isn't just for children! I learn every day. I'm not afraid to admit that it didn't go well. Next time will be better. :) 

Fraction Comparisons

Using the fraction strips I mentioned in the last post, we compared fractions. It's easy to see which is larger when they have the strips to use. The kids loved this activity and it was easy for me to see who got it and who needed more help. 

Fractions

Not too long ago I found these fraction strips on Teachers Pay Teachers (I think). They were a freebie. I know that's right because I only do freebies right now.

Anyhow, I laminated them, cut them out, and numbered each individual piece with the student's class number so they are easy to organize. I won't lie- about half way through that process I was so tired of doing it that I couldn't decide whether to laugh at myself or cry out of self-pity. I finally finished! We were able to use them Friday. 

I started out having them identify fractions and then moved on to finding equivalent fractions. 

It was really neat and the kids enjoyed it. They actually said, "aw man" when we had to clean up to go home. You know you're doing something right when that is the reaction you get on a Friday afternoon. Love my kids! 

Bottle caps and QR Codes

Let's talk about how excited I am about THIS! I'm so working on this over the summer. Apparently you just print and stick the Avery labels on the caps and voila, you've got a game using technology. I am thrilled!

ELA QR Codes

I'm trying something new. So excited! I have created QR codes using Qrafter and then put them into Publisher to create a fun activity for my kids. You can get this here. (You won't be able to preview it because it is a Publisher document, but you can download it just fine!) I used the "Word Detective" task cards activity that I found here to make this.  Should be fun! I'll update on how it went later. We most likely won't get to this until after Spring Break.

Bridal Shower

I suppose you could say, "these are my people." This is my team. I love these ladies. They keep me sane! Today we got together to throw a bridal shower for one of my teammates who is getting married this summer. It was great! It's always nice to get to celebrate important things in one another's lives.

Writing a Research Paper

We're working on writing research papers. Yes, in third grade. Holy cow! So, my kiddos are working on researching extreme weather. They are loving these topics! I am excited to see their final products. They're at many different places in their writing process and I'm having to learn to be ok with that. I don't know what it is, but I don't have a hard time with them being in different places in their learning except for writing. I think maybe it is because writing is such a step-by-step process and it's hard to keep up with what step everyone is on, but that's ok. This week I've just taken them in groups and taught different steps while the others researched or wrote on their own. It's worked very nicely. I'm actually excited about how well it has worked. Like I said, I'm excited to see the final products! 

Just Because Gifts

Today one of my sweeties brought me a "just because" gift. It brightened my day. What a sweetheart!