The Maths Box Review

My class and I have been having a great time using The Maths Box 4 from RIC Publications in the last few weeks! We were super excited to receive* this and it's been a great tool to use during Math rotations. 

The Maths Box contains a Teacher guide, 2 sets of 75 activity cards that match the Australian Curriculum and 75 answer cards.

Each box has colour-coded activities focused on 10 areas (covering the 3 sub-strands of Mathematics- Number & Algebra; Measurement and Geometry; and Statistics & Probability):

1. Number and Place Value; 
2. Fractions and Decimals; 
3. Money; 
4. Patterns and Algebra;
5. Using areas of Measurement;
6. Shape;
7. Location and Transformation;
8. Geometric Reasoning;
9. Chance; and
10. Data Representation and Interpretation.

The cards themselves are durable and easy to use. My class were able to complete the activities independently after a short how-to lesson. 

The questions are easy to understand and there are a mix of multiple choice and written answers. The cards also have extension activities listed at the end that can be completed independently or in pairs.

Inside the Teacher Guide is a recording sheet that is very easy to use. As my school has a photocopying budget, I have opted for my kids to record the answers in their Math books. Either option is great and my kids have been able to answer the questions just as well this way but photocopying the sheets into a Math Book would be great if you were able to.

One of my favourite parts of the Math Box has to be the answer cards. My class are able to independently complete the activities on the card and then correct their answers themselves or by swapping with a buddy. This saves me time and puts the responsibility back on the students. Any chance they have of getting out a red pen to correct and they are there!

The Teaching Guide also contains:

• Explanations about the cards;
• Recording & Tracking sheets;
• Sample card & answers;
• Mini-Posters (love);
• Resource sheets.

The colour posters are a particular favourite and will be great to copy and display. 

The resource pages are clear and easy to use, providing great activities for student Math books or whole class activities.

We are throughly enjoying this resource, if you would like a chance to review a sample pack visit RIC here and fill out the form.

*I have been asked to review this resource by RIC and all opinions are my own.

Bec

Five for Friday: End of May!

What a week! I am completely jealous of all the teachers in the Northern Hemisphere about to start Summer break. We are slowly trudging toward our mid-year holidays, while it is getting lovely and cold outside. I'm blogging to distract myself from writing reports {oops} so without further ado here is what we have been up to this week! 

Btw- Linking up with Kasey over at Doodlebugs for 5 for Friday.

~ One ~
We broke out the oil pastels to create these Owls using directed drawing. I love how all my kiddos pieces turn out completely differently even though we follow the same instructions.

~ Two ~
The kiddos (and staff) had a blast listening to Jonas and his "Ghana Beat My Drum" performance this week. It is an incursion definitely worth checking out if you are an Australian teacher. He was super funny and had the kids up dancing, as well as learning about Ghana and the different types of music.

~ Three ~
We have been surviving road works outside our school for the last few weeks. The arrival of the cement truck caused huge excitement this week! I think the tradies will be glad when they've moved on to  a place where they don't get asked so many questions :)

~ Four ~
I received the new Maths Box from RIC publications this week and holy coconuts it is awesome! A review is to come soon but we have already put it to good use during our Math groups.

~ Five ~
Coldplay here we come! I scooped up tix for when Coldplay are in Melbourne in December. Bring it on!

And now I guess I have to get back to report writing! Make sure you check out the other fantastic posts in the link-up here (and get summer break envy like I have).

Happy weekend!

Lion directed drawing

My kiddos have been loving directed drawing activities this year! This week we made these Lions inspired by this post from Kasey at Doodlebugs.  We used chalk pastel to create the drawings on black A3 cardboard.

Kasey didn't have instructions on her original post so I whipped up these to help me break down the steps for my class. Click on the picture to download as a pdf.

I modelled each step on the board using white pastel on the black paper so it was easier to see. It was easier for the kids to draw the outline in white too then they went back over their white lines with black.

Great teachers

Last week a conversation with two of my kiddos made me both laugh and appreciate that my kids take in a lot more than I sometimes think. Love those moments!

The conversation went like this:

Poppet, "So when were you born Mrs P?"

Me, "Well I'm 31 so what year was I born?"

Poppet {with big groan}, "Teachers turn EVERY question into a learning moment!"

And that's what makes us great!

Five for Friday: May 6th

Well hello folks! I'm back! It's been awhile between posts, apologies but we have had a bit going on at home so the blogging has taken a bit of a back seat but I'm vowing to get back on track. Since I'm back on 'schedule' I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodlebugs for a 5 for Friday to celebrate :)

1. We have been busy making Mother's Day presents and have loved these tile magnets from Cleverpatch. I already had the porcelain markers so it was an easy and cheap craft.

2. Still on the Mother's Day gifts we packaged them up all pretty!

3. We have been learning about fractions and creating fraction walls.

4. The kiddos took home these bookmarks for Star Wars day.

5. We have also been learning about time and have been using this Time Bump freebie to reinforce matching analogue and digital times.

Stop by the link-up for more posts!

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Bec

R.I.C. Mathematics Resources Review

I have been finally gotten back to review the Year 3 & 4 Mathematics  resources I received from R.I.C. Publications! Term 1 has been a killer peeps! My review of the English resources is in a blog post. Please note that all the opinions I am about to share are my own :)

First up I have the Year 4 Australian Curriculum: Number and Algebra Teacher resource ($39.95).

I have to say out of all the resources I received, this one is my favourite. To the point where I could say... weird teacher confession coming... that I am a little bit in L-O-V-E with these. You know what I mean!

The teacher resource is clearly set out, has good sized and easy to understand explanations. The BLM's are ones I will actually use in my classroom and link clearly with the curriculum.

This book covers the sub-strands of Numbers & Place Value, Fractions & Decimals, Money and Algebra. Each sub-strand contains:
-Assessment pages (ok, I really love these, they are really clear, set-out well and give the information that matches the descriptor for the sub-strand)

-Teacher Information & a list of possible Hands-On activities (um, how great is this! I really feel like the hands-on stuff is missing from resource books a lot of the time)

-Links to other curriculum areas

-Resource sheets/BLMs
-Checklists to match the sub-strand (triple love!)

The New Wave Number & Algebra Student Workbook links very well with the first resource (covers the same sub-strands) and also has the content descriptor written on each page. Plus, the student workbook is one I would actually use! Even with my dislike of coloured workbooks. 

This one is set out well and is easy to read. The pages mostly have a white background with a coloured border so the pages are very clear and the print stands out. Love! As I mentioned in my previous post, unfortunately there is not enough money in my classroom budget to purchase individual workbooks but this is the first one I have seen that has tempted me to buy.

The last book I was sent to review was the Number and Algebra: Fractions and Decimals Book 2- Years 3-4 Teacher resource ($39.95).

This book contains lots of Assessment pages, BLMs and worksheets that link to the Fractions and Decimals sub-strand. Each worksheet also contains the content descriptor the worksheet is aiming to practise.

I am always on the look out for good fractions & decimals resources as this is a topic I am not greatly fond of teaching. This resource contains some fantastic, clear worksheets. 

This book also contains checklists for each sub-strand.

A big thank you to R.I.C. Publications for the opportunity to review these great products. Make sure you check out their other resources (like the K-3 Class Ideas Magazine which I am a huge fan of).

Hoppy Valentine's Day Freebie

I cannot believe it is almost Valentine's Day! This month is going crazy fast. I made these cute little bookmarks to celebrate the love with my class. 

If you'd like to download click here.