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Fantastic resources here for the classroom during the Easter months

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I start this by playing a song and video about the equal sign. Check it out here. In this song, students are able to see the equal sign and hear that it means the same. I think this is the most important part of introducing the equal sign. We want students to remember that equal means the same just like we talked about back when we were talking about more, less and equal.

I then give two students papers with dots on them that look similar to the dots on a domino. I have them stand in the front of the room. I hand another student a paper with a plus sign and place that student in between the others.

Remember this is a plus sign. It is the symbol that we use to show that we are adding. We read this as 6 plus 2. (I have the students turn their dot papers over to show a number) This is kind of like a sentence that we use in reading, but it is a sentence with numbers. A number sentence is called an equation. Just like a sentence in reading, the parts needs to be in the correct place for it to make sense. We need to keep the plus sign between the two numbers that we are adding. We put the answer to the right. In addition we call the answer the sum. Between the two numbers that we are adding and the answer to the problem is where we put the equal sign. That tells us that those two numbers added together is the same as this number.

When we are finished, I tell students that they are going to be practicing using an equal sign on an Introducing the Equal Sign Worksheet. I use the procedures outlined here on the Paper Procedures.

Count the pictures. Write the numbers and equal sign to complete each equation.

The first thing the directions tell you to do is count the pictures and write the number to complete each equation. You also need to write the equal sign. For the first few questions, the equal sign is there and you just need to trace it.

We work through this paper together. On the last questions the students need to write in the plus sign and the equal sign. I model this for the students and point out how important it is that these symbols are in the correct place since they mean different things. I walk around and make sure that students are correctly counting and writing their equations. When students are finished with their paper, they can put it in the basket and get their center.

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I start this by playing a song and video about the equal sign. Check it out here. In this song, students are able to see the equal sign and hear that it means the same. I think this is the most important part of introducing the equal sign.

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I start this lesson by hanging a piece of chart paper on the front board. I attach a large number 1 to the top of the chart.
What number is this? We are going to look at some other ways to represent the number 1 besides the numeral. Can anyone think of a way that we can represent the number 1?
I call on students to tell ideas for how to represent 1. I add the ideas to our chart. I have a variety of pictures available, but I also draw any additional ideas that students come up with. Some ideas include dots in a ten frame, dots on a domino, bears, tally marks, and cubes. I will repeat this same activity for each number. Why is it important to collect this information in a number of ways? Because this is how a young child develops understanding of quantities. I want my students to recognize that the symbol "1" is a quantity, and I want them to know that they can use a variety of models to represent that quantity. Creating these charts also gives you a nice visual to display in the classroom for the students to reference later.
Now we are going to look at another way that you can represent numbers. You can use addition number sentences that are equal to the number.

I use cubes to show how to come up with different number sentences that are equal to 1. I add these to the chart. Since this goes by pretty quickly with the number one and since I am modeling. I repeat the activity for the number 2.

When we are finished, I tell students that they are going to be practicing decomposing the number 1 on a Ways to Make 1 and 2 worksheet.
We are going to work on this paper together. When you get to your seat, do not touch your cup of counters. You need to get out a pencil and put your name on your paper. When your name is on your paper hold your pencil in the air, that will let me know that you are ready to start.
I use the procedures outlined here on the Paper Procedures. Prior to this lesson, I placed a plastic cup at each students' place containing two counting bears.

Count the bears. Write the numbers to complete each equation.

The first thing the directions tell you to do is count the bears and write the number to complete each equation. You may use your counters if needed. You will notice that the last question does not have pictures for you to count. For this question, you will need to use the bear counters to come up with your own way to make 2.

We work through the first 5 questions together. For the last question, I show one way to do it on the SMARTBoard. I then allow the students to come up with their own way. I walk around and make sure that students are correctly counting writing their equations. When students are finished with their paper, they can put it in the basket and get their center.

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I start this lesson by hanging a piece of chart paper on the front board. I attach a large number 1 to the top of the chart. What number is this? We are going to look at some other ways to represent the number 1 besides the numeral.

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Sesame Street: Cookie Monster Helps Prairie Dawn Get Equal

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Award winning educational materials like worksheets, games, lesson plans and activities designed to help kids succeed. Start for free now!

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Play the Game: Itsy Bitsy May I? | Activity | Education.com

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Like "Mother, May I?", this following directions tag game focuses on gross motor skills, but to the theme Itsy Bitsy Spider. Fun indoors or outside!

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Wednesday's guest post about why kids need to move from pediatric occupational therapist Loren Shlaes was so popular that I decided to follow it up with a list of Brain Breaks you can use with your students. These are great to use anytime your students are feeling restless and are struggling to pay attention. Most of these will only take a few minutes, and then you can get back to the lesson with your students ready to focus on the lesson at hand.

1. 5-4-3-2-1 In this simple game, students stand up and the teacher (or leader) has them do five different movements in descending order. For example the teacher would say: "Do five jumping jacks, spin around four times, hop on one foot three times, walk all the way around the classroom two times, give your neighbor one high-five (pausing in between each task for students to do it).

2. Trading Places Have students stand behind their pushed-in chairs. Call out a trait, and everyone who has that trait must change places with someone else (students who do not have the trait stay where they are). Examples: "Everyone with curly hair." "Everyone who ate cereal for breakfast." "Everyone who is wearing stripes."

3. Six Spots Number six spots around your room from 1-6. Have students each go to a spot of their choice. Choose a student to roll a die (if you can make a big one out of foam, it adds to the fun). All the students at the number rolled must go back to their seats. Students that are left go to a new spot, and the die is rolled again. Continue until only a few students are left.

4. Mingle, Mingle, Group! In this game students mill about the classroom saying, "mingle, mingle, mingle" in soft voices until the teacher says, "Groups of 5," at which point the students must quickly group themselves into groups with the correct number of people. Students who are left over must do three jumping jacks before the next round starts. The teacher can call out any number for the group size. You can also add rules such as: as soon as a group is complete, all members must sit down in a line.

5. Dance Party! Put on some rockin' music and dance! If you can make the room semi-dark and have a black light or other special effect, your kids will love it!

6. Freeze Dance! Similar to Dance Party, except that every so often the music stops, and students must freeze and hold the position they are in until the music begins again.

7. Name Moves Students stand behind their chairs. In turn, each student says his or her name accompanied by a special movement. For example a student might say, "Kayla!" while dramatically dropping to one knee and doing Jazz Hands. After the student does his or her move, the rest of the class says the student's name in unison and imitates the move. Then it is the next student's turn.

8. Keep It Up Students must keep a beach ball from hitting the ground. Add two or three balls to make it even more fun.

9. Simon Says An oldie but a goody!

10. Movement Songs Sing a song with whole-body movements, such as, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," "Father Abraham," "Toe-Knee Chest-Nut," "Shake Your Sillies Out (Raffie)," "Grand Old Duke of York," "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean," etc.

11. Recorded Movement Songs Older students might enjoy a simple Zumba routine, YMCA, or the Macarena. Littler ones will love Sesame Street's A Very Simple Dance to Do.

12. Animal Pretend Younger children will enjoy pretending to be various animals (or even objects such as lawn mowers or airplanes). Call out a few in sequence.

13. Would You Rather Ask a "would you rather" question and have students show their choice by moving to one end of the room or the other. Have a few kids share why. Here are 20 free "Would You Rather" Questions to get you started.

14. Find It Fast Call out a color or other trait (e.g. something round, something made of wood), and students must find an object in the room that fits the trait and get to it quickly.

15. Physical Challenges Challenge students to do something physically difficult, such as standing on one foot with arms extended, or this one: Grab your nose with left hand, and grab your left earlobe with your right hand, and then quickly switch so that your right hand is on your nose and your left hand is grabbing your right earlobe. Yoga poses could also be a good variation.

16. Plates Give each student a paper plate. Students must walk around the room balancing the plates on their heads. If a student drops his or her plate, the student must freeze until another student picks it up and places it back on the student's head (while keeping his or her own plate in place, of course).

17. Line Up! Have students line up using a specific criteria, such as age (use day and month, not just year), height, alphabetically by middle name, hair length, etc.

18. Limbo All you need is a long stick and a pair of kids to hold it. Music is nice, too.

19. Human Knot Divide students into groups of about eight students. Have students each grab right hands with someone who is not directly next to them. Then do the same with left hands. The challenge is to untangle and become a circle without releasing hands.

20. Jump Skip Counting Have students count by twos, fives, tens etc. while jumping with each count. You could also practice spelling words this way.

Please note that I did not come up with all of these out of my own head. Here are some of the sources I used:

Here is a nine-minute video about how to manage Brain Breaks in your classroom. It has good ideas on how to quickly transition and group students. Try searching Brain Breaks on YouTube for ideas and dance routines you can use with your students.

Looking for more Brain Breaks? You can get 60 of them in a convenient card format right here!
What works in your classroom? Please comment with your ideas!

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20 Three-Minute Brain Breaks - Minds in Bloom

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Wednesday's guest post about why kids need to move from pediatric occupational therapist Loren Shlaes was so popular that I decided to follow it up with a list of Brain Breaks you can use with your students. These are great to use anytime your students are feeling restless and are struggling to pay attention.

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Using 100 chart, children use maths language to find your mystery number.