TEACH SMARTER NOT HARDER Part 3

 It's about time, teachers, to teach smarter not harder.

When I was in Reading Recovery™ training, one concept that was ingrained in me was to teach with a sense of urgency.  That has carried over into all of my teaching and has prompted me to try to maximize both my teaching activities and the learning of my students.  In other words, I try to teach smarter, not harder.

To that end, I created One Dollar Words Challenges. Using these with my 3rd - 5th grade enrichment students proved to be smart teaching that incorporated computation with vocabulary development, grammar with research, and editing with Higher Order Thinking Skills.

The challenge is to find words that have a value of exactly $1 when the letters are added together using these values:

Just blindly striking out to discover a $1 Word couldn't be more frustrating to students.  So, I created clues to lead them.

Give each student a clue, a table of values, and a calculator.  Then send them off to find their words.  A thesaurus is an enormous aid to this pursuit and can be used in print or digital form.  [Be aware that digital thesauri can, on occasion, produce objectionable words for children.] 

Before long, students will discover the value of base words, prefixes, suffixes, plurals, participles, ... The skills honed include:

• addition computation
• vocabulary development
• parts of speech
• base words
• prefixes & suffixes
• participles
• singular & plural
• compound words
• spelling & proof-reading
• dictionary & thesaurus
• calculator
• internet research
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• cooperative learning

Teaching just can't get much smarter!

This file is FREE so you can try them before you buy them.

You can find 6 more units here. Additionally, they have been combined into several bundles which will save you money!

Come back soon for more ideas about WORKING SMARTER NOT HARDER.

The Great $1 Word Challenge

This is one of the best teaching challenges I have ever used!  Year after year my students beg to do this and they have a voracious appetite for it.  Such enthusiasm warms my teacher's heart!

So, what is The Great $1 Word Challenge?  The simple answer is it's a quest for words that equal exactly $1 when the letters are valued like this:

Most $1 Word Challenges ask the students to discover words with no parameters; no clues.  How daunting is that?  So, I created clues that will lead students to such words.  Along the way, they practice computation, calculator skills, dictionary & thesaurus skills, parts of speech, vocabulary development, prefixes, suffixes, verb tenses, plurals, spelling, editing, proof-reading, critical thinking, and problem solving.  Talk about BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!  

I'm a visual learner, so I created a series of visuals to explain these awesome challenges.

If your kiddos enjoy them as much as mine do, you will be grabbing more clues as fast as you can.  You may be relieved to know that these clues are available in money saving bundles.

Did you notice that my images failed to include $1 Words 1.0?  That's because I saved the best for last!  The first unit is FREE!

You can try $1 Words before you buy them.

You don't have to take my word for how fun this project is.  Read what your comrades have said:

Head here to find all of the $1 Word products.

Spring Fling Sale! & $1 Words FREEBIE

Hurry over to my TpT Store or my TN Shop and enjoy 20% off of EVERYTHING!

Did you try the $1 Word clues I posted yesterday?  If so, here are the answers:

                   1. cookout          2. chimpanzee          3. violins & autoharp

You will get a lot of bang for your buck when you introduce $1 Words to your students.  The skills they will hone include:

·        Addition computation

·        Calculator

·        Vocabulary

·        Parts of speech

·        Base words

·        Prefixes & suffixes

·        Participles

·        Singular & plural

·        Compound words

·        Spelling & proof-reading

·        Dictionary & thesaurus skills

·        Study skills

·        Internet skills

·        Critical thinking

·        Problem solving

·        Cooperative learning

This is a seriously integrated unit.  Your students will learn to pay close attention to verb tenses and singular/plural nouns. Before too long, they will realize that prefixes and suffixes can impact their calculations.  Encourage them to make an anchor chart of common affixes' values.  

If you make your $1 Words a competition, I have created rules to make it demanding and fair.  In the spirit of teamwork, I require every student to have someone on his/her team verify their answer before giving it to me.  The "verifier" has 2 important jobs:  check the addition & the spelling.  If a clue is turned into me with a wrong answer, the team not only does not score a point, they LOSE A POINT!  If the spelling is wrong, even though the word is correct, the team LOSES A POINT! Your students will instantly become meticulous editors when they see their team lose a point.  Be prepared for some bad sportsmanship and quash it immediately. 

My students write their answers on the back of their "dollar bills."  Both the solver and the "verifier" must sign the dollar. Then I post them outside my classroom under the name of their teacher.  I post correct and incorrect answers so that students may check and challenge MY calculations.  Believe me, they will!!  If an answer is incorrect, I write "-1" in red marker across the face of the dollar.  This saves me lots of explaining.  Similarly, if a student submits a "bonus buck" (one with 2 correct answers), I write "+2" on the face of the bill.  I keep a running tally posted next to the teacher's name.  

If you are wondering why I penalize teams with a lost point for an incorrect answer, the reason is simple.  I have had students who "couldn't find the answer" turn in any old solution in order to get another clue; hopefully an easier one.  If you allow this, you will have expended a lot of wasted effort and paper in preparing the clues.  But perhaps more importantly, you will have allowed your students to evade a challenge.  All of the clues are solvable.  Perseverance is a good thing, as well as a trait of G/T students  If everything you give them is easy, you're not really meeting their needs. 

Over the course of the competition (2 - 3 weeks), my students go through clues at lightning speed.  Thus, I have created more than 400 clues to meet their demand.  You can get more of my clues through my series of $1 Word products, available on both TpT and TN.  (I have not posted ALL of my clues yet.  But more will be coming as soon as I format them. Patience is a virtue!)  You may be interested in:

You can find all of these products at my TpT Store or in my TN Shop.  Of course you will want to start with the $1 Words FREEBIE!

FREEBIE

Remember, EVERYTHING is 20% off through Sunday!

$1 Words FREEBIE

Do you ever shop at the Dollar Store?  I have to say that I rarely do so, but my sister shops there a lot and gets some of the most amazing bargains.  Recently she picked up some lovely gift bags, greeting cards, and even some baby socks for my soon-to-arrive grandson.  Hmmm, I may have to schedule a trip soon.  

In the meantime, her shopping foray made me think about $1 Words.  If you teach intermediate students and/or G/T students, you HAVE to do these with your students!  What??? You don't know what $1 Words are!!!!!

Settle in while I educate you, because it's about time you teach it.  

A $1 Word is any word that has a value of exactly $1 when its letters are added together using the following chart of values:

There is a book by Marilyn Burns about $1 words available on Amazon for $11.92.  It has gone out of print from time to time, so if you are interested, there are currently 8 available.

As the title indicates, it is a riddle book that leads children to $1 words through pictures and riddles.  I love that because too often teachers assign their students to find $1 words without any hints.  Please don't do that to your students.  It completely overwhelms them and makes them frustrated.  How exactly would YOU approach an assignment like that?

Ahh, but I have a solution to offer.  I have composed over 400 clues that can be copied and distributed to your students.  

Try to solve these:

Undoubtedly, you reached for a calculator.  Did you use a thesaurus or dictionary?  Perhaps not; it is the 21st century, after all.  But, those are options you will want to offer your students.  It's a great way to get them to learn about a thesaurus!

In the spirit of the 21st century, however, you can introduce them to thesauri on the computer.  My personal favorite resource is a Reverse Dictionary.  It allows the students to type their clue and then receive a list of words that satisfy that clue.   [Please be aware that the Reverse Dictionary is a dynamic site.  You will get different lists each time you try it with the same clue.  My warning is that, as a dynamic site, it will, rarely, give an inappropriate word.  I have not yet found a way to prevent this.  So, you may wish to preview the list before you set your student free to peruse it.]  

Try the Reverse Dictionary yourself here.  Now, arm your students with a calculator (excellent practice) and their list of possible words.  Then sit back and watch.  It is soooo very rewarding when the 1st $1 word is found!  The successful detective is bound to spring up shouting, "I found one!  I found one!"  Now all the other students will be doubly determined to find one for themselves.

These clues would make a great math center.  They could also be given out as a sponge activity.  In my school, however, I use them as a grade level challenge.  (I'm the enrichment teacher who runs a pull-out program.)  My 3rd graders can hardly wait for the annual challenge to begin!  I think it may be the highlight of their year.  :o)

Pitting each class of 3rd grade enrichment students against the others brings out a flurry of activity that makes the entire rest of the school stand back in awe.  Enrichment students  beg their classroom teacher to allow them to come to me to get another clue as soon as they solve one.  This is spurred on, of course, by my public display of each team's score on a daily basis.  

You are probably curious about the Bonus Buck above.  Quite simply, that clue has 2 possible answers.  I reward the students with 2 points if s/he can find both answers.  Check back tomorrow for the answers to the clues.

In the meantime, if you are intrigued by $1 words, you may wish to check out my $1 Word products.  Begin with the freebie:

You can find it at my TpT Store or in my TN Shop.  It will give you a much more complete understanding of the competition I run and 45 FREE clues!

Before I close, I found the following linky parties that you may be interested in checking out:

Donna at Math Coach's Corner is having a math linky party.  She has it divided into grade levels for your convenience.










Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a K - 2 linky party.  Check it out, too!