Saturday, July 26, 2014

Math Journal Prompt Notebooks

Today I am getting all my journals ready for my kiddos that are coming to me in two weeks!?!?!  I found this pretty impressive product for 4th grade math prompts last year and never ended up using it.  Well this year I'm going to give it a shot!

http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/

It's pretty great!  This product comes with 90 different math prompts that cover the different standards for the Common Core, a table of contents so you know which standard is covered in which standard, a rubric, ideas for ways to incorporate these into your class and much more!  Totally worth $9.95!  And no, I was in no way paid or asked to review this product, I'm just that excited about it ;o)
Thanks to my hubby who cut these composition notebooks in half with his table saw, I was able to get these perfect sized notebooks to use!  This product comes with two different rubrics and both rubrics are given in a one page format (to put in a journal) and large enough to put as posters on your wall.  Neither really worked for my half composition notebooks so I just retyped it into a smaller format.


I printed both the rubric and the journal cover that I created on a Post-It Full Label Sheet.  You can easily print this on normal paper and have your students, or yourself, tape it into the journal.  The truth is, I ran out of Scotch tape and have loads of the full label sheets, lol.  They are pretty cheap at our local office supplies store with my teacher discount.  All I have to do is cut, peel, and stick and they are ready for my students!


I placed the rubric on the inside cover so that students can always go back and refer to everything they need to get the best possible score.

 

Finally, place the covers on and TA-DA!  All done!  Once I meet with my team and we discuss lesson plans, I will print out the prompts/labels based on which standards we are teaching.


One of the things I am most looking forward to with these journals is that not only do my students get a chance to show how THEY like to solve the problem but they also have to EXPLAIN how they solved the problem.

8 comments:

  1. These look great! I love that you are really emphasizing the explanation part. So many students can "do the math" but don't really understand the concept. Great thinking on the full sheet label! I may do that with my Interactive Notbeook rubrics too.
    Have a great weekend!
    Michele
    Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans

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  2. What a great idea - and I LOVE the idea of sticking the rubric and cover on with full-sheet post its! No more messy glue or tape falling off. I'm off to purchase a pack... or two :)

    Thanks for sharing!

    ~Jessica
    Joy in the Journey

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  3. Love these!!!!!! I especially love the idea of printing of full sheet post its. Thanks for sharing!

    Katie
    Dirty Hands & Lesson Plans

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  4. I had this product for use with my second and third grade math classes. I love the idea but there was always so much wasted space in their notebooks. I have been reading a lot online trying to figure out how to cut notebooks in half. I have been cutting spirals in half with scissors. Can you believe it? However I love composition notebooks so much more; does your husband use a special blade to cut a composition notebooks and have? A lot of people have commented online that the saw blade chews up the pages. Any tips with you appreciated. Thank you! ~Amanda teachingbiliteracywithmrsestevez.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Probably you have figured this out by now, but Lowes/Home Depot will often cut them for you

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  5. Love the idea of sticking the rubric right to the inside cover! Thanks for sharing!

    Leigh
    The Applicious Teacher

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  6. Can you give more information about this resource? Who is the publisher? I can't find it on Amazon!

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  7. I used this last year and loved them. I am going to try having my students email their responses this year to switch it up every once in a while!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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