Bowling Math

Hey, Green Friends! I apologize for being absent for so long at this blog, but I'm here now at least, and I hope you all have been well!

I've seen this green math-tastic idea for awhile now, and wanted to try my hand at it. Students knock down pins that contain some sort of math objective... pins can have numbers they need to add or subtract, math fact problems, or students can try to create a certain number using the numbers on the pins they knock down. We're practicing estimation and rounding, so I customized this game for that purpose.

What I Did:

I drink those DanActiv yogurts in the morning, although I know I've got to stop with all the useless plastic they create. But for now, I've at least transformed them into a fun learning game for my students.

After I washed the bottles and took of their wrappers, I created some labels using Avery.com and labels 5410.

I found the bowling ball at Goodwill, and the find made me so excited, I had to do a happy dance right there in the toy section which I immediately regretted. :P

How to Play:

1) Students take turns trying to knock down the pins.
2) After their roll, they pick up two of the bottles that fell down. They round and add them. Their partner(s) use a calculator to check.
3) If they're correct and made a strike, they earn two points. If they're correct and didn't make a strike, they earn one point. And if they're incorrect, they earn no points.
4) Continue play until center or group time is up. The winner with most points wins.

My students used dry-erase boards for their work, but I've created a recording sheet, also, that you can use for whatever skill your students are practicing with this game. Just click the image for your copy.

Thanks for stopping by, green teachers!

Happy Toilet Tube Turkey Day!

Well, today was America Recycles Day, and since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, my students and I decided to combine the two with some thankful toilet tube turkeys! It was a lot of fun, and they did a great job of writing what they were thankful for on each feather (in Spanish - we're an immersion program).

Green Classroom Giveaway!

Hey, green friends! Since this Thursday is America Recycles Day (November 15th), and The Green Classroom has reached 200 followers, I think it's definitely time for a giveaway!

GRAND PRIZE

One special green teacher will win the following four items:

1) The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle Book
2) Two Bumkins Reusable Snack Bags for your school lunches
3) A Reusable ChicoBag for all your shopping needs (I have this and it's awesome! Can hold up to 40 lbs.!)
4) Paper Recycling Kit - fun activity that involves recycling

RUNNER-UP PRIZES

Five winners will win a Strawberry Reusable Bag. They are probably "made in China," but I always have one in my purse and it's holding up great!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Just enter the Rafflecopter below. You need to 1) share about America Recycles Day and 2) list one way you are going to promote this day in your classroom this week.

The rest is just optional but it will add more points. The contest ends at 12:01 am (est) on November 15th - America Recycles Day!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recycled Animals Project

Hey, Green Teachers!

This week my students and I had fun completing an animal guessing game project that incorporated recycling and technology.

First, students chose a mystery animal and created it out of recycled materials at home. They brought it to school, hidden in a box or bag.

At school, we created power points that contained clues about their animals (habitat, food, class, characteristics, etc.). Then, we made QR codes that opened the PP when scanned.

We finally had a reveal day. Beforehand, students scanned the Qr codes and recorded their guess of what animal the clues were describing. Then, one at a time, students revealed their animals and checked the guesses on their recording sheets.

It was a lot of fun, and I loved the creativity my students showed.

Recycling is a HOOT

So, I'm sure you've noticed, but owls are EVERYWHERE. So I thought, why not make a compilation of lots of cool ways that you can recycle while making those cute little birds that everyone seems to love right now. So, here goes:

It's fall now, so what could be better than toilet tube owls? These are by Apartment Therapy.

How about some egg carton owls by My Owl Barn?

Go to Teachers Notebook for a free owl-themed recycling poster by Lucky Girl.

This paper bag owl pinata is just waiting for a fiesta! Tutorial is by Inspired Mama Musings.

Adorable owl-themed desk organizer by Fave Crafts

Love these TP Christmas Owls by Con M de Mujer.

This just blows me away. I want to try it right now! By Recycle Renew Reuse Mother Earth Projects.

These TP owls by Fun Family Crafts are so wonky and cute!

Go to Find Make Do to see many delightful created by Robyn Stewardson out of kitchen metal scraps.

And here's an owl door sign I made out of various recycled materials that is posted right here at The Green Classroom.

Don't forget - Recycling is a Hoot!

Classroom Recycling Bins Giveaway!

Hey, guys! A classroom recycling center has been such a great experience in my classroom that I wanted to pass that on to another green teacher who really wants to educate his/her students in recycling and making the most of everything we have.

Sooo, if you head on down to the FlapJack blog, you will see that I am giving away one of these 3-bin sets to be used in the classroom as a recycling center. It's really easy to enter, and if you'd like more info. on the bins, just click on the image below.

As you can see, this system has awesome reviews. The winner will have it mailed right to his or her doorstep! And I already have two freebie posters on recycling that you can use to decorate, so the setup will be too easy!

Here's my recycling center. You can click on the image if you'd like to read more about what we recycle, although I think this year we are going to be able to recycle even more - yay!

So, don't forget to enter! It ends Saturday night (the 8th). 

Stay Calm and Recycle On!

Upcycled Bulletin Board - Green Theme Day 7

My partner teacher gave me a bulletin board passed on to her from a teacher who left, and it was just what I needed. However, it was a little Raggedy Andy, so I googled on some ways to redecorate bulletin boards and decided to decorate mine pretty much redneck style.

What I Did:

1) Put masking tape around the inside edges (don't know why because I ended up covering it with fabric)
2) Primed the outside frame
3) Painted it by brush with acrylic paint
4) Sealed it with enamel spray
5) Used some left over fabric. I thankfully had two edges that were pretty straight, so I stapled those edges under the top edge and left-handed side edge.
6) I pulled the rest of the material taut to the other two edges and stapled like crazy.
7) I think you should use a rotary cutter and all that stuff, but I just used a razor to cut the remaining edges, and it worked pretty well!
8) I found some old red ribbon that was long enough to hot glue to three of the edges ad cover the staples. That was good enough for me!
9) Printed out some Avery labels with a cute design and added them to some green caps.
10) I hot-glued different sizes of green caps all around the border.
11) For a cute touch, I glued push pins inside of several green caps. We'll see how long they last!

 At Goodwill, I found a beige, pretty ugly wall basket. I primed and painted it, and I think it made a nice addition to the board.

I also had a double frame that I actually had painted and polka-dotted two years back. I added some decorations that tied in with my theme and will probably use it to display exceptional student work.

As always, stay GREEN my friends!