Mastering Multiplication

We just finished up our unit on the 4 operations. When I am introducing multiplication and division with large numbers, I first focus on the skill. Then we follow up the skills with an in-depth problem solving unit.

One of the first skills I teach is multiplying large numbers by a 1-digit number. Our standards in Texas include multiplying a 4-digit number times a 1-digit number. This is an important skill because it builds on their knowledge from 3rd grade (2-digit times 1-digit) and lays the foundation needed for 2-digit times 2-digit - which comes next in our curriculum.

We spent a week on multiplying by 1-digit numbers. All of the activities that my kids did were in a Google Slide that I shared through Google Classroom. They worked through the following activities at their own pace:

They started with a video lesson, while completing a student anchor chart. The completed charts go in their math binder.

After the video lesson, they completed a sort. The sort was multiplication problems. They solved them on white boards and then sorted them by odd products and even products. {My kids LOVE to work problems out on white boards!!}

Next they used a deck of cards to create 10 multiplication problems that they solved on white boards and *their favorite part* got to check with a calculator. What! You let your kids use a calculator?? Yep! It keeps them motivated and they have to go back and find their mistake if they see that they get the problem wrong. We also spend a lot of time discussing why they really need to do the work on their own and use the calculator to check.

Finally, they complete a set of task cards. There were 10 task cards. I posted each card around the room. They walked around the room with a white board to work the problems. Then they posted their answers to a Google Form that automatically graded all their work. With a click of a button I could see which kids needed more help before their Friday math quiz (hallelujah!).

My kids love having their assignments in Google and having the freedom to work at their own pace. It also helps me pull students in small groups throughout the week.

More visual? Here's a quick glimpse of the Google slides.

Want to try it in your room? You can get all the materials I used in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Just click the picture below!

Need white boards for your class? You can find some on Amazon that are pretty affordable. This set has a good reviews (this is an affiliate link)

Going Digital with Google: Student Portfolios

The last two years I piloted student portfolios for my district. After some trial and error, what we found to work best for student portfolios in upper elementary school was to use Google Slides.

Our grading period is made up four 9-week periods, so we had our students select a piece of work for each grading period. My district really emphasized that students should have ownership of their portfolio. We talked a lot about how to choose quality work, but at the end of the day the kids had complete freedom to choose something they were proud of.

We created a template for students - you can check it out here. At the end of the 9 weeks the students selected a work sample. Many times this was something digital that they already had saved in Google Drive. If they selected something that was on paper, they took a picture of it. Then they had to reflect on why they chose that piece of work.

The whole process didn't take more than 30 minutes and at the end of the year, they had a collection of 4 meaningful pieces of work. It was great to share at Open House and spring conferences.

Going Digital with Google: Google Slides (plus a link up!)

If you've been following along for a while, then you know my math workshop has been digital for the last 2 years. You also know that I've been using a website called Blendspace to house my math workshop directions. I even did a blog post you can check out.

I thought Blendspace was the greatest thing ever. And it still has some redeeming qualities, but it also had some downfalls. Like some days the site was reeaaaally slow to load. When I included sites to visit within blendspace it was a bit glitchy on the ipads. My class didn't have usernames so they were still recording work other places and both the kids and I were constantly clicking back and forth.

Now let's fast forward to January 2016. I discovered a great group of teacher-authors on Teachers Pay Teachers who introduced me to using Google Slides in place of Blendspace. Now I knew all about Google. My kids were using Google Drive to back things up and we used Google Classroom. That being said, it had never crossed my mind to use Google Slides in a new way!

So here are my top 3 things I love about using Google Slides for math workshop.

stay with me people, there's a link up at the bottom : )

#1

I can house EVERYTHING in one place. My directions are in slides. Any links or videos are in slides. Ask a reflection question? They type their answer right on the slide. Building something with manipulatives? Take a picture and (you guessed it) put it right on the slide. Seeing a theme here? This was a game changer folks. For me and the kids. In fact, when I asked what they liked about Google Slides, the #1 thing was no longer having to click back and forth or keep up with separate papers. 

#2

It works seamlessly with Google Classroom. I love that I can click the magical make a copy for each student button and voi la! Every kid has their own editable copy. Huge time saver! Google Classroom also automatically backs everything up to their Google Drive so it's a built in student portfolio. 

 What in the world is Google Classroom?! Read about it here

#3

I love that using Google Slides is teaching my kids valuable computer skills. These are skills that I think they will carry on for many years. Sometimes I forget that I need to teach them basic skills because they seem so tech savvy. 

Yeah that all sounds great, but what does it really look like?? Here's a sneak peek into my latest Google Slide on Comparing and Ordering numbers.

Congrats! You made it to the end. As promised...here's a fabulous link up hosted by Mrs. Beers, Danielle Knight and The Daring English Teacher for Innovative Classroom Learning Day. Check out the links below to find other blog posts and digital products to check out.

Leave a comment and let me know how you plan on using Google in your classroom this year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Going Digital with Google: Google Forms for Quizzes

One thing I love about Google is that they are constantly updating their apps. They just released an update that makes it even easier to use Google Forms for quizzes.

I made a video tutorial to show you how easy it is to create, score & analyze quizzes using forms.

Click on the video below to learn more!

Going Digital with Google: Google Classroom

This is my 2nd post in my Going Digital with Google series. Check out my first post to find out how I use Google Forms to assess my students.

This post is all about Google Classroom. This is my first year using Google Classroom with my 4th graders. Last year we used Edmodo, which I liked. There are some pros and cons to Google Classroom that I'll share with you below.

If you're brand new to Google Classroom, I'd suggest searching YouTube for some videos that explain what it is and how to set up your classroom and get started. This is a great video to help you get started.

Pro #1:
Classroom works *almost* seamlessly with Google Drive. One of my favorite aspects of Google Classroom is that I can create an item in Google Drive - using docs, slides, or sheets. Then I can create an assignment in Google Classroom and upload that item. There is the option to have Classroom automatically make a copy for each student. Y'all that's amazing. No more having kids mess up your original document. Classroom even names the document with what you titled it and the kid's name. AND it's automatically added to their Google Drive.

Con #1:
This goes along with what I love about Classroom. If your students use iPads, like mine do, they will encounter some glitches. My kids access Classroom through safari, as opposed to the app, per district request. They also have the Drive app and the apps for Docs, Slides & Sheets. Let's say I uploaded a Google Doc for each student to edit, the kids will click on the link for the doc in classroom. Then the ipad inevitably freaks out because it's unsure of whether to open the drive app or the docs app. At first, this made us freak out too! Now the kids - and myself - are used to the fact that they need to be patient and let the ipad do it's thing. If it doesn't do it's thing correctly, they can still find the doc in their docs app. I know this sounds a bit confusing, but if you try it out on the ipad you'll know what I'm talking about.

Pro #2:
When I make an assignment, the kids are able to virtually turn in the assignment. There are some cool features here. I can quickly see who is done & who isn't. I can enter a grade & return the assignment to students. I can view the grades in a Google Sheet. I can also open a Google Drive folder with all of their assignments in it. No more lugging home giant bags filled with papers to grade, I can do it all from my laptop!

Con #2:
When I used Edmodo, I was able to create groups within my classroom. I was also able to assign things to a select group of students. As of right now, that's not an option in Google Classroom. I've been able to work around it a little bit. For example, during my RTI time I have students working on some independent study projects. I created a google doc for the different independent study groups. Then I shared the doc with the students in that group. They went to it straight from Google Drive, instead of going into Classroom. I've heard rumors that this con is on Google's radar, so hopefully an update will be coming soon.

Pro #3:
Sometimes I just need to share a link with my students, but it's not anything they'll need to turn in. Classroom has assignments & announcements. Assignments have a button for students to submit, announcements don't. I use announcements to share links, directions, or anything else that doesn't require students to turn work in digitally.

Pro #4:
When students turn in a Google Doc/Slides/Sheets/etc. they lose the ability to edit it. This means that they are no longer able to make changes to the assignment after they've turned it in. I like this feature. I've also discovered that if they unsubmit, they can go in and make changes and then turn it in again. This comes in handy when they turn it in, then realize they messed something up.

All in all, I've been really pleased with using Classroom. My 4th graders have figured it out very quickly and it's become our 1-stop place for all things in our class. Stay tuned to this series to find out more about how I use Google Docs, Slides & Sheets in my classroom. 

Going Digital with Google: Google Forms for Assessing

Have you caught the Google Bug?? I have! We are using Google in new ways everyday in my 4th grade classroom. This is the 1st post in my Going Digital with Google Series.

Read on to find out how I'm using Google Forms for quick math assessments.

In the past, I've used Google Forms for surveys, but that's pretty much it. Then I discovered Flubaroo - a free Google extension. Flubaroo will automatically grade your Google Forms. 

I like to use Google Forms for quick, formative assessments.You could use them for any type of grading assignment - they work best with multiple choice questions or questions where there is only 1 right answer. I prefer to have the kids answer with a number so I don't have to worry if they spelled it wrong.

I'm going to walk you through how I create a form and use flubaroo to grade it. I made a quick, sample quiz - you can check it out here: http://goo.gl/forms/QOHInO085U

To get started, you need to be logged into Google Drive. You're going to want to create a new Google Form. As of right now, the add-ons are only working in the old version of Google Forms, so you'll want to stay in that.

Once you create the form, you'll be able to add your questions.

Some tips:

• Make sure that your questions are all required so they don't accidentally submit the form before they're done. 
• You can reorder the questions by dragging them around after you're done adding.
• Make sure to have a question for the students to type their name. 

When you're finished, you'll want to share the link with your students. I copy the link into Google Classroom, but you could share it anyway you're already sharing links with students (including QR codes). 

Next, you're going to need to "view live form" and complete the form yourself. This will create the answer key. I always put "Answer Key" for the name question.

Once the form is finished, click on the option to "view responses". This will take you to a spreadsheet.

• It bothers me when the text runs over the boxes - to fix this, select the boxes, then go to format -> text wrapping -> wrap text

Now you're going to add Flubaroo. This next step you'll only have to do the first time. You're going to click on add-ons -> get add-ons

Type Flubaroo in the search box & click free to download. You'll also have to click "allow" on the next screen that pops up. 

Now go back to the spreadsheet, click "add-ons" -> Flubaroo-> Grade assignment

 Flubaroo will walk you through the next steps. You can decide if you want to grade every question and if you want to grade them equally.

Then you'll select which response to use as the answer key. This is where naming it "answer key" comes in handy : )

Once you're done, Flubaroo will create a new page in the spreadsheet for you. Here's an idea of what it looks like (with fake entries). Not only does it show you the grade, but also how the students do on each question & if there are trends. You can even create graphs to go along with your data!

Another option is to have Flubaroo email students their grades - for this you'd have to include a question where students type their email address. I've used this option with kids, and they love being able to get such quick feedback!

I know this seems like a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it, it's very quick - much quicker than grading 40 (or more) papers!