SmithScience

Brain Gush I teach fifth grade math in Texas. I am very intent on my students’ success in life. I want them to have a great understanding of math concepts with amazing problem solving skills. Success on their end of the year tests is also important to me. ;) Critical thinking is essential for their success. I created Brain Gush and my students LOVE it! They love the choice, the challenges, and the uniqueness of the work (not the typical worksheets!). HOW I USE IT Brian Gush includes fou

This is a set of 10 math problems. Each one is one page (room for some working). About half are open ended, great for GT learners. They will take some thinking and planning. I did not number them so you could use them in any order you want. I would make a book out of them and only give them to students who needed more of a challenge. I wrote them with fifth grade in mind, but I know there are some advanced fourth graders out there who could do it! These are modern, real-life problems Ki

Kids love a challenge! Brain Gushes develop mathematical reasoning, problem solving skills, and logic. I used Brain Gush as part of my Menu Based Classroom. I am sure you have those bright kids who are waiting for more challenge. If you print two pages front to back, it makes a great folded booklet. One sheet of paper and TONS of thinking! FIVE BOOKLETS -each booklet has FOUR math challenges. -twenty challenges in all

This is my SECOND set of BrainGush challenges. Students who LOVE a challenge will love Brain Gush. Use these in centers or for quick finishers. Your GT students will love these. My students love when I unveil the new, weekly booklet of Brain Gushes. I also use Brain Gush in my SPED class. The higher level math kiddos enjoy a challenge! Make a booklet by printing front to back (4 challenges/booklet) or print off single pages and cut in half (20 separate challenges). I use booklets and all

If you love this.... look for my set of 10 weeks of BRAIN GUSHES. https://tinyurl.com/braingushBrain Gush I teach fifth grade math in Texas. I am very intent on my students’ success in life. I want them to have a great understanding of math concepts with amazing problem solving skills. Success on their end of the year tests is also important to me. ;) Critical thinking is essential for their success. I created Brain Gush and my students LOVE it! They love the choice, the challenges, and t

Everyone loves a road trip! Let your students use their math skills on real-life problems. They will plan their gas mileage, budget for snacks, figure the cost of repairs. There is plenty of work with decimals, mulit-step problems, and all operations. I designed this for my fifth grade class, but it is a great activity for 4-6 grades and would be a great homeschooling packet. -fractions -decimals -perimeter -elapsed time This packet would be great for centers, partner work, or a day when

I created this spiraled homework for my fifth graders. I have used a variety of homework formats, but my students liked this one the best. They like that a week's worth of homework fits on one sheet and the space to do work. I have included ten weeks (I labeled MON-TUE-WED-THUR), but you could white it out if you want to use it differently. I have also used this as a warm up and as a center. KEY INCLUDED. :)

Three weeks of (half page) homework assignments. I combed through the 2017 STAAR test and rewrote questions to give my students practice with STAAR-ish questions. There are 12 assignments in all. I am going to send a half page home each day. You could also print the four assignments on a sheet of paper (front to back) and send one page home on Mondays!

I am using this as my day before STAAR review. My goal is to have these terms fresh in their mind for their test. I know that kiddos are anxious, so I try to keep the day before playful. KIDS LOVE THIS REVIEW GAME EASY!!! Make copies and cut the sheets in fourths so there are game cards. RULES: One student holds the card and tries to get the players to guess the KEY WORD without saying any of the secondary words. Center Activity I used this as an activity where kids rotated during th

I am using these centers the day before STAAR. It would also be great for RE-TEACHING if kiddos do not pass. I am using STAAR diagrams, but they are grouped by concept. I plan on using my very high kiddos to lead small groups!

I have created this for my fifth graders. If you think you would use it, I have ten more bundled together. I have used them for homework, warm-ups, and even as a station of my CENTERS. My kids seem to like the format and I like that I only use one sheet of paper per week.I make a front to back copy.

I like to start out my week (or unit) with a quick pre-assessment. It is easy to quickly make decisions on differentiation. My students who ace the pre-assessment are able to spend time on more challenging, independent work. (applying to projects, more complex). Students who struggle with the concept spend time in small groups where I can reteach. Students spend time practicing more basic concepts. I am including TWO assessments for each concept. Sometimes I like to assess twice. One

Have you ever wanted your students to slow down, draw diagrams, notice details, create a plan, and review their work? Methodical Math includes 10 problems that methodically guides students through multi-step, real-life word problems. The real-life problems include adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. Each problem is ONE PAGE. The goal is for students to use a variety of methods and become aware of the strategies that work best for them. T

I use these MASTERY CHECKS as pre-tests. It helps me target kids who need more small group instruction or target difficult concepts. It also helps me identify students who has mastered the concepts. I let these kids move on to deeper work on these same concepts. In order to differentiate, we need to know what our kiddos know. These check are quick and target specific topics. Each Mastery Check has four questions. They could be used as a pre-test, tutoring curriculum, a post test, or a

Systematic assessment of readiness TEKS. We all know how important the mastery of READINESS TEKS is (65%(ish) of the STAAR TEST). I have found great success with targeting these concepts. I have used these MASTERY CARDS as a way to assess my whole class. I make decisions about reteaching, small groups, mini-lessons, and tutoring. I see no need to hash over a concept that my students have mastered. I like to give one mastery a day (as a warm up), but this could also be used as an assess

Three math booklets that will challenge your kiddos. Each ‘booklet’ is one page printed front to back and folded. Students will use their knowledge of decimals to add and multiply… and PROBLEM SOLVE. Of all the math activities my kids love, they seem to love math that simulates real life math the most. Here are three activities that will keep your kiddos busy with some real life calculations. They will love it. Gift Buying -Kids shop from a page of catalog as they calculate costs Tr

This is a set of TEN MATH MISSIONS.to review fifth grade math. MODELS PRIME/COMPOSITE DATA AREA-PERIMETER-VOLUME XY GRID

If the purpose of homework is to review and reinforce and you know that every student has different needs, your homework needs to have some flexibility. That was the thinking behind my homework this year. TWENTY MIN Homework is a homework system that allows your students to choose the activity from a menu that fits their needs. This could be your year-long homework assignment. I am planning on using it, but I will have to continually update my choices. I am only charging $2.00 because it is

I created this POWERPOINT to give my students an opportunity to analyze graphic organizers. Each slide (there are 13 total) has a graphic organizer and a question. Is a SQUARE a PARALELLoGRAM? You can make YES/NO cards for students to hold up or designate a hand signal. You can quickly assess whether students are able to read the graphic organizer. If you want, you could make it into a quiz and take a grade. I have just used it as a whole class activity with a short discussion. This i

Somehow when kids are solving problems to solve a riddles, it makes the process so much more fun! My students love them because they can check their work. I didn’t make up this method, but I compiled this set of practice problems for my kids to review their decimals. Because they can check their own work, this is great to leave with a substitute or with math centers. DECIMAL OPERATIONS -add/subtract -multiply -divide -word problem -order of operations