Happy St. Patty's Day!

I felt a little last minute when preparing for St. Patrick's Day.  However, everything went great.  The kids were able to practice their graphing skills and they were engaged!

I started the lesson by giving groups of students St. Patrick themed erasers.  They were told to demonstrate an easy way to compare the erasers.  In other words, they graphed the erasers.

St. Patrick's Day Erasers (Party city, $4 a pack)

Next, the students graphed Lucky Charms!  Yummy =P

Recording Sheet from http://www.kidscount1234.com/

Math Teacher Resources

These books deserve a post.  They are developmentally appropriate and child friendly.  I do not like worksheets that you have to explain.  These are great for assessments.  I am sure this company makes more.

This is my favorite.  I like it because it has a lot of cut and paste graphs.  Since we focus on graphing at the beginning of the year, it lets them practice their fine motor skills.

This books helps with number sense and place value.

What a Delicious Graph!

Smarties Graph
I created this recording sheet.

The following is a great website for graphing...

www.kidscount1234.com

Floor Graph

My mom made me a floor graph grid.  She used plastic (like the material a shower curtain in made out of) and blue tape to make the grid. She hot glued each end to a wooden spool, so it would not get wrinkled and for easy storage.

This is great for graphing objects according to shape, color etc.  The students love being able to physically put something on the graph.

I have seen something similar at School Aids. 

Bulletin Board Graph

This is my graph template that I use for Calendar Math.  I put cloth on the wall to make a makeshift bulletin board and then use masking tape to make the grid.  This is a quick and easy way to turn any bulletin board into a large graph.  I usually take a picture of the graph.  At the end of the year, it is fun to see the variety of graphs we’ve made.  

One day when I have a magnetic board, I will turn that into a large graph by adding colored tape for the grid.