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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Let's get Cross-Curricular! {freebie!}

It's Tuesday and I'm back with another Time-Saving, Fit it all in, Get everything done a little easier Tip for you!



We all have a million things to plan and pack into our each and every day.  Shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, whole group math, small group math, math stations, literacy stations, pull out, push in, science, social studies, community building, word work, vocabulary development ... THE LIST NEVER ENDS.  You can, however, make that list feel shorter by combining different content areas.  My students and I absolutely LOVE combining math and reading teaching and one of our favorite ways is by reading about math concepts.  Keep reading to see how I use picture books and my *NEW* Interactive Math Readers to teach math concepts in a cross-curricular way. 


There are TONS of picture books for introducing and practicing math concepts.  If you aren't reading to your kiddos about math -- you are missing a great opportunity.  Not only are many of these stories loaded with FUN pictures and rhyme/rhythm, but they show kids how these math concepts are used in the world. 

I like to take this cross-curricular love a little further in my classroom.  Not only do I like to have the kids listening to books about math -- I like to get their hands ON some of their own books!  Books that they can take home and share with their families! Books they can use to teach their little brothers and sisters these math concepts.  We use Interactive Math Readers in my classroom and, y'all, the kids love them.  Not going to lie -- I love them, too!  Not only are we using math conceptually, but we're working on print concepts, sight words, tracking, and comprehension strategies all the while.  YES, PLEASE!  I spent all year creating little interactive readers as new concepts were introduced and I just bundled them all together into one nice little package.  Check out a few examples below. 




Do yourself a favor this school year.  Save a little time by combining some reading and math.  We read these books whole group, sitting around the edge of the rug so I can watch as students track the words and see everyone's little mouths moving.  Then, we typically move to seats for the interactive math portion, and as they finish up, they read the book again with a partner or independently.  Their favorite part?!  They get to take this little book home!!!  They love reading these books to their family members and building an at home "library".  I have bundled 17 of these little readers together into a pack that will span you for the whole year.  If there's a concept that's not included that you would like to see -- let me know! 


As you prepare for back to school, try this simple FREE Interactive Reader with your kiddos.  It is included in the bundle and focuses on counting and writing the numbers 0-5 using a model.  Click the image below to download! 

Writing Numbers 0-5 Interactive Reader

If you haven't gotten a chance yet, be sure to stop by my store and check out the fundraising bundles available for only til August 10.  I set these up to help raise funds for our daughter, who will be born THIS WEEK (!!!!) with a rare congenital heart defect called HLHS.  My husband and I will also be donating half of the funds raised to The Children's Heart Foundation to support research toward a better future for these babies!

These are GIGANTIC savings... I'm talking like 85% savings on some fabulous resources K-2.  Read All About them Here. And click them images below to check them out on TPT.





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