Sunday, November 17, 2013

Circles & Stars Multiplication

This activity for teaching multiplication facts has been around for some time! In the original activity, students use dice and pencil and paper. The dice are used to determine the two factors of the multiplication problem. With the first toss, the student draws that number of circles. With the second toss, the student draws that number of stars inside each circle. From their drawing, they write their multiplication sentence.

This computer activity substitutes the dice with an online dice program and the pencil and paper with an online whiteboard. Both of these sites are easy to use and no log in is required!

Classroom Computer Setup


  • Students can pair up with each student on one of the sites on their own computer.
  • Students can pair up and share one computer. Students will switch between sites in the browser.
  • Students can work independently on their own computer. (But I like collaboration, best!)

Activity Procedure

Partner One: 

The student who will be "tossing the dice" will open Dice Roller on Random.org. http://www.random.org/dice/.

They will change the number of dice to "toss" to 1 die.
Once they roll the die, they will tell their partner how many CIRCLES to draw.

Partner Two: 

The student who will be doing the drawing will open A Web Whiteboard on their computer.
http://awwapp.com/

They will be able to choose the width and color of the pen they used to draw the circles and stars with.

Once they complete the circles and stars, they select the Text tool, click on the page and type their multiplication sentence. They could also add their names to the page.
To complete the activity, they can save their drawing as an image file.
Their completed images can then be used to create other projects or simply printed and turned in. 

Monday, November 11, 2013

Postcards Across the Curriculum

Curriculum Connections

Really, is there a curriculum area that cannot be tied to a postcard writing activity? Social Studies, Science, Math, Fine Arts, ESL, Health - If you want your students to write about anything at all, it can go on a postcard!

National Landmarks & Parks Postcards

Information Sources

Students may check out books from your school or classroom library, but if you want them to do an Internet search, you may want to point them to a few specific sites. For my "Old Faithful" lesson, I have links that point directly to Old Faithful facts. You could provide a link to the main page of these sites and let kids search the sites for their landmark or park.


Graphic Organizer

This "Main Idea and Details Chart" from Holt is a fillable .pdf which allows students to take their notes digitally. http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/PDFs/Main_Idea_and_Details_Chart.pdf

On an iPad? Try this free app - "Total Recall." https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/total-recall/id360443748

Photos & Illustrations

For my example, students would save a photo from the Internet (and provide source information), but for other projects they could:

  • illustrate their own postcards
  • use clip art on the computer
  • use original images from a digital camera, or mobile device

Final Product

Here are two options for completing the postcard. 


PowerPoint slides or Google slides
"Print, Cut and Fold" Activities
 http://www.printcutfold.com/activities.html
- one slide is for the photo
- one slide is for the letter body and address; students use text boxes separated by a drawing tool line
- slides are printed 2 to a page and then cut out and pasted back to back


Bill Atkinson PhotoCard App for the iPad
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photocard-by-bill-atkinson/id333208430?mt=8
- free
- use your own photos or choose from a selection of nature photos
- save to camera roll to print on your own
- send them as eCards or printed cards via a service