Math Journals Linky

Well, today I'm excited to link up with Adventures in Guided Math to talk about math journals. I have thoroughly enjoyed their series on Guided Math in Action, so if you haven't seen their site yet, I recommend you check it out.

In my class, students use composition books that have a spot for a picture on the top, and wide-rule lines on the bottom of the paper. I really like these, and our school supplies them for us. Above is our first math journal entry for the year!
One resource that I used last year was 2nd Grade Math Journals from K-5 Math Teaching Resources (and this year, in my example journal prompt). They are set up so that you can print them on labels, but I just print on regular paper and have the students glue them in. Depending on the prompt, I often change the numbers manually (the prompts aren't editable) to differentiate among my students. They are organized by standard too, which I find to be helpful. They are now offered on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I bought them from their website at http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/math-journals.html They have lots of great free as well as paid resources on their website. Check it out!

I sometimes make up my own problem based on a skill or strategy that we are focusing on. I just type it into Word, then copy so that multiple problems fit on one page, then cut apart to give to students.

Sometimes I give my students sorts to glue in their journals.

Here's a quadrilateral/not a quadrilateral sort that we did last year. I have my students write a sentence or two about it after they complete the sort.
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Quadrilateral-Not-a-Quadrilateral-Sort-1415628

Thank you for visiting!

The End of a Beautiful Summer (Sigh)

Well, it is true that summer is at its end. Here's a picture I took on my last summer walk at one of the fabulous parks near me. I walked right up on this heron before I even saw him. Isn't he great?!

 But as I said, summer is ending. In fact, I already had planning days Tuesday - Friday of this week, and the kiddos return this Tuesday! So while I'm of course sad to see summer go, I am also excited about getting this school year started. I met my new students briefly at the end of last school year, and then saw most of them at Open House this week, and I think I will have an awesome class : )

Now that school is starting back, it's time for me to actually purchase some of the items I have on my wishlist. I plan to do this August 4 and 5, when it's the Teachers Pay Teachers Back to School Sale. Lots of sellers will be having sales, and if you enter BTS14, you'll get an additional percentage off! Yippee!

Have a great start to your school year!