Ozobots are a great way to integrate STEM challenges into your classroom.  They are easy to program and have four different levels for different programming skills.  They are definitely a favorite in my classroom.  This is part two of my ozobot blog series to show you a few different ways that you can integrate ozobots into your classroom.  Here is how I used ozobots in my math lesson to help my students learn and review quadrants and coordinates.

My students were learning about x and y coordinates and the four quadrants.  I decided to have them complete an ozobot challenge centered around that.  I gave the students a piece of grid paper and a checklist.  The students had to find the point of origin and then label the x and y coordinates.  

As part of the challenge, they had to determine the starting part or where their ozobot would start.  Then we used ozoblockly to program our ozobot to complete "tricks" inside of the grid.  The challenge was to make sure that our ozobot stayed inside the grid.  It was a challenge but a fun one!

Do you want to have your students complete this ozobot challenge using quadrants and coordinates?  You can grab this freebie HERE.  I included several different grid paper sizes for easy differentiation and also an easy to follow checklist.  I hope this helps you implement the coordinates challenge into your classroom.

I hope that you were able to find some useful tips and tricks on how to integrate ozobots into your math classroom. Make sure you check out the next blog post in this series. Feel free to leave any questions that you have in the comments below.

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Stephanie

Have you seen these tiny little robots that have been all over Facebook and Instagram?  I have shared about them a few times and I have had a ton of questions about them.  Well...these tiny robots are called ozobots and they are a great way to get your kids excited about coding.

I've been asked ... "How do you incorporate ozobots into your classroom schedule?"  I have found that ozobots are a great way to incorporate STEM challenges during my lessons.  I decided to start a blog series to show you a few different ways that you can integrate ozobots into your classroom.

Here is how I used ozobots in my math lesson to help my students learn and review different angles and measurement.

Ozobots can be programmed using markers and also by using ozoblockly, which is a block based coding language that is similar to that used in Scratch.

Since my students had never used ozobots before, I decided to start by giving them time to explore with them.  I shared how to calibrate them using the black dot and I also shared how to use the markers to draw a track for them.  I partnered the kids up and gave them a piece of white poster board (cut in 1/2) for them to draw a track on.  Then I let them go explore!

Some of my kids drew a track and some decided to create an ozobot race.  It was so much fun to see all of the different things that they created for the ozobots.  During the exploring time, I walked around and talked to the students to see what they were able to create.  It was very helpful to have time for them to explore on their own too.

After the exploration time and my math lesson on angles, I gave my students the rules for our STEM challenge.  I wrote down the rules on an anchor chart for them to refer back to.

I gave each table a big piece of white paper, markers, a protractor, and an ozobot to program. I encouraged my students to plan out their track first by using pencil and then to trace it with the markers. It worked really well. The students were able to create their angles and then they were able to connect the angles to make their track. Their favorite part was adding the color codes to make their track a little more interesting. Turbo and backwalk were their favorites!

This was a great lesson to help my kids review angles and also to program those angles for their ozobot to follow.  It also helped build teamwork, problem solving, and persistence.  My kids had a blast too.

I hope that you were able to find some useful tips and tricks on how to integrate ozobots into your math classroom. Make sure you check out the next blog post in this series. Feel free to leave any questions that you have in the comments below.

Also, I would love for you to join my all new Learning Chambers Code Club. I will be sending out emails about how I integrate both unplugged coding challenges and both block and written code in my classroom. I'll also be sharing tips, tricks, freebies, and much more! No worries, I promise to not spam your inbox :). I'm so super excited to have you join the new LC Code Club. You can join below.

Come Be a Part of the LC Code Club!

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Stephanie

Hey y'all!  This year I decided to start a new adventure and start a paperless classroom.  Do you have a paperless classroom?  Are you nervous to get started?  Well don't worry because I will start this new adventure with you!

I decided to make a quick video to show you how I am starting my new paperless journey.  I hope you will follow along with me.

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Stephanie

Word problems...as a teacher you love to hate them but you also know that they are a necessary part of your math classroom.  In second grade, we are consistently working on word problems all year long.  I love watching my students become problem solvers!  I wanted to share a few simple tips and strategies with you guys that have worked in my classroom.

1)  Use sentence frames to help your students think through word problems...

As a former Dual Language teacher, I totally understand the benefits of using sentence frames.  Yes, even in second grade!

I used two different sentence frames each time we solved a word problem together...

"I know _____________."  and  "I need to know _____________."

When we discussed what we know, we talked about what the word problem tells us.  We circled this and wrote out the sentence frame.

When we discussed what we need to know, we talked about what we need to solve the question the word problem is asking us.  We also circled the question and wrote out the sentence frame.

Both of these sentence frames really helped my students make a plan to help solve the word problem.  After awhile, my students are able to do this independently.  I leave the sentence frame cards up on our math wall as a reminder.

2)  Have your students write their own word problems...

I really love moving up Bloom's Taxonomy while we are working on word problems.  One thing that I do every year with my second graders is to have them write their own word problems.  Of course, we consume lots and lots of examples of word problems before we do this.  My students and I look at the different parts of word problems and we discuss what each word problem needs to have.  After we have consumed tons of word problems, my students are ready to write their own.

In order to write our own word problems, I give each partner pair 4 index cards.  On one index card, they write a name (you can tell that my class last year was OBSESSED with all things soccer), then they write a thing (we stuck with toys but you can have them write anything, and then they write a number on the two remaining index cards.

The students stick their cards in the corresponding paper bag and then we are ready to write our word problems.  The kids draw one name, two numbers, and one toy with their partner.  Then, they write their word problem in their journal.  After we have finished writing our word problem, the students switch with their opposite table partners and they solve each others' word problems.  They LOVE it.  We also keep these and move them into a math center after we have practiced whole group several times.

3) Practice, Practice, Practice...

The best way to work on word problems is to have multiple word problems available for your students to solve and practice.  I put these word problem cards in one of our math centers and my students work on them daily.  I have them record their work in their math station journal.  The cards are seasonal, so I have different cards to last for the whole year.  It's a super easy to prep station!

Click HERE to see these word problem card sets in my TpT Store.

Let me know in the comments your best tip for working on word problems!

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Stephanie

Hey y'all!  I'm here today to share with you a super simple daily activity that I use to help my students practice telling time.  I love having my students practice telling time consistently to build fluency.  It does take practice and also a little motivation.  Here is what I use to help my students practice telling time...

Each day, I have a time written on the board in both analog and digital forms.  I make sure that I pick a time that we are in the classroom.  The first student to "politely" tell me that it's the magic time, gets a small reward.  We have stamps in our school, so that is what I use with my students.  Sometimes, the students miss the magic time and that is ok.  I just keep the same magic time on the board, until someone correctly identifies the magic time.  The kids LOVE it and I love that they are getting authentic practice telling time.

What to try out magic time in your classroom?  You can grab this free printable here.

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Stephanie

Today I wanted to share a few of my go-to simple math stations for my second graders.  They can be easily differentiated for your students and the best part is that they are low prep.  That's right!  I said, "low-prep" isn't that the best word for all of us tired teachers!

#1 - Velcro Number Line
I don't know what it is about number lines, but my students always seem to struggle with ordering numbers on an open number line.  I wanted to create an easy to use, giant, number line for my students to work with.  One day when I picked up my kiddos from music class, I noticed that the music teacher had a giant music staff on her carpet.  I totally had to ask how she did it!  To my surprise, she had just used two strips of sticky back velcro and stuck both of the strips together.

Then, she velcroed the clingy part to the carpet.  It sticks to the carpet perfectly y'all ... and it's easily moved to another spot in the room!  No sticky residue left behind either!  Genius!!

Then, I wrote numbers on index cards and placed a small strip of velcro to the back of each card.  The kids take the cards and order them as part of a station.  I also have cards with question marks to have them identify the missing numbers on an open number line.  To differentiate, I have a variety of numbers for the students to choose from.  They can work with 1-digit, 2-digit, or 3-digit numbers.

#2 - UNO Cards for Greater Than and Less Than

I love using sentence strip stations because they are easily differentiated.  My students can choose to also use 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by building them with the Uno Cards.  They play with a partner and one partner draws the first card and then the second partner draws the second card.  They record their work in their math workstation journal and I do random quick checks through the week, to make sure they are completing their work.  I also have sentence strips with just the > and < symbols.

#3 - Roll and Show Place Value Game

Roll and Show is another math partner game that can be easily differentiated.  I also have another dice in the station, so that the kids can build 3-digit numbers.  The kids roll the dice and then build the number using the base ten blocks.  They record the number in their journal in standard form, word form, and expanded form.  Super simple but great practice for a hard math concept.


I hope you enjoyed these 3 super simple easy prep math stations!  I would love to hear how they work in your class.

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Stephanie