Vacations {Road Trip Freebies}

 Hello, it is Jennifer from Teaching to Inspire in 5th. Summer is the time of vacations for many. Some go on "staycations" to local attractions, some go on road trips, and some even fly to their destinations. Last year, my family and I went to Disney World in Florida. Before leaving, I did some math because I really didn't want to drive all that way with two kids. My husband insisting on driving, saying it was cheaper. Being a teacher, I needed some math to prove that he was right. I mean, 10 hours is a long time to sit in a car, and I wanted to make sure it was really worth it!

So, I gathered my information....

Then I used my information to do some calculations:

And, my husband was right. It was much cheaper to drive, than fly.

While I was writing this post, I thought this would be a great idea to implement into the classroom. So I made a few planning sheets for your students to complete the same task with their own locations and information.  Click on any of the below images to grab your copy from Google Docs.

I completes my information as examples into the planning pages.

And then here are the planning pages for your students to use.

 

Have you planned a trip recently? Did you choose to fly or drive?

Also, let me know if you plan to use the freebie in your classroom, and how you plan to use it?

Top 10 Websites to Review, Practice or Assess the Content

Happy Monday! This is Jennifer from Teaching to Inspire in 5th with my Top Ten Favorite Websites to Review, Practice, and/or Assess the Content! All of these websites are free, and the kids love them! Click on the title of the website or the image to go straight to the website.


1. Edcite

This website is perfect for preparing your students for online assessments. The website has a variety of tests/questions already loaded from other teachers for you to use and assign to your class. But the best part is that interactive questions that you can create that align perfectly with the online assessments. The website offers drag and drop questions, matching questions, extended response options, and much much more! Easy to navigate for students and teachers! The best part to me is that the students can "Save and Pause" their assessment if they need more than one class period to complete it.

2. XtraMath

We all know that students will never fully master the math content in the upper grades if they have not mastered their math facts. This free website allows your students to practice math facts at their own pace. They move through programs assigned by you (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division). There is even an option to differentiate and provide some students extra time to answer the facts. The data tracking available on this site is great for progress monitoring as well.


3. KhanAcademy.org

This easy to navigate website provides a great review opportunity for you students with their easy to understand videos of key math concepts. I must confess that I used this website several times when I wanted to learn different strategies to teach my students key math common core skills. Note: this website primarily only provides the students with one strategy per skill.


4. Kahoot

This highly engaging website allows you to create quizzes to assess your students in a super fun way! Teachers type in the questions and answer choices into the website, which are projected via a Smartboard or similar device. The students then use devices to log in and join the "game" with a device (cellphone, tablet, laptop). Then, the students have a set amount of time (determined by the teacher when creating the question set) to answer the question. The students are ranked as they answer the questions (by correct answer and speed). The students love seeing how they rank! A downloadable excel spreadsheet is available at the end of the game for data tracking.  The only downside to this is that all students must have a device to participate.


5. Plickers

A great alternative to Kahoot (and ideal for classrooms without technology) is a website called Plickers. Similar to Kahoot, the teacher creates the questions and answer choices for the students. These are then projected via a Smartboard or similar device. The students are given QR codes (printed from the website) that they hold up to show their answer. The answer choices (ABCD) are placed on different parts of the code, and the students position the QR code with the correct answer on top. The teacher uses the Plickers app to scan the room, picking up the students' responses. A graph is shown and immediate feedback and data analysis is available. So fun!


6. Front Row (Frontrowed.com)

Front Row is an adaptive Math program that I just discovered! I haven't had a chance to use it with my students yet, but I am very excited to try it out! The program gives the students a pretest when they first log on. Then the students move through the program at their own  level. Click here to read a more detailed review of Front Row from Klein Inspiration.

7. Newsela

This differentiated reading website contains news articles and current events that are age appropriate and engaging for upper elementary. The best part? Each article is available in 4-5 different reading levels, making it perfect to differentiate! Some of the quizzes (marked with an anchor symbol) even have quizzes available for your students to take.

8. Study Jams

Study Jams is one of my favorite websites to review or introduce content. I particularly use this website for science concepts. My students love the science videos (Jams) with the fun dialogue and animated characters. Most of the topics (Science and Math only) have videos and a test yourself option. Great way to review content!
 
9. Free Rice

One of the largest factors that hinders my students' success on academic assignments and tests is vocabulary, or the lack of an extensive vocabulary. This website (which also donates rice to help end hunger for each question correct) is a simple, easy way for your students to practice building their vocabulary. The website keeps the questions leveled in a way. If the student misses a vocabulary word, they get an easier question next. If they get the vocabulary word correct, their next question is harder. Perfect motivation and the students love the giving aspect of it!

10. Typing.com

This website is specifically to help students who are expected to take online tests with constructed responses or extended essays. Unfortunately, these online tests assess much more than content. They assess computer knowledge, as well as the students ability to type. This website offers free practice for the students. Teachers also can keep track of the students' progress through the data the website provides.


Have you used any of these websites in your room with success? I would love to hear about it! Let me know in the comments.

December Memoirs: Christmas in the Classroom

Happy Holidays from Jennifer at Teaching to Inspire in 5th. We have been very busy finishing up some Christmas themed resources this past week. These are some of the highlights from the month.

Every year, we study Christmas and Holidays around the world. We use our research to create holiday books that turn into presents for the students' families. Here are some shots of a few of our books. The students work so hard on this and love it!

Next up was a fun math activity that had the students decorating their tree with ornaments, lights, and other decorations. Then they calculated the total cost and a few other required calculations. These looked so cute hanging in our hall. This activity is a freebie in my store. Click here to grab it.

Finally, we finished up a Persuasive Writing activity that I bought from Teacherspayteachers. This fun writing prompt had the students writing letters to Santa from the point of view of a gingerbread man or woman. the students had fun convincing Santa not to eat them. They created their gingerbread cookies to match their letters...making them look as undesirable as possible. Check out some of them!

This was just a few of our fun activities that we did this past month. I love Christmas time, and I love the variety of activities available that match the curriculum and are engaging!

What are were some of your favorite activities this month? I would love to read about them in the comments!

Jennifer Findley

Teaching to Inspire in 5th