Curriculum Archives - Mrs. Russell's Room

Teaching Area in Third Grade

Tamara — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 14:49:00 +0000

This week, my students and I are exploring area in our whole group math instruction! Area is a ton of fun to teach! This year, I tried something new! I introduced the basics of area and perimeter at the same time. Now, in previous years, I have not taught these two skills together. Mostly because...

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Multiples of Ten for Thirds

Tamara — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:05:00 +0000

Happy January to you all! Teaching multiples of ten is one of my favorite units! We do lots of base ten work for students who need that hands on piece, but then we use different break apart strategies to multiply later on. This activity is one that I have used for years to check if...

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Beyond the Dream: 8 Revolutionary Quotes from Dr. King

Tamara — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 02:38:34 +0000

Martin Luther King Jr was not just a man with a dream. He was a man of great purpose and passion. He spoke often about his frustration with white ambivalence to change, hyper-militarization and poverty. As a third grade teacher, I have a responsibility to teach truth to my students, even in the face of...

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How to Teach the 50 States

Tamara — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 13:18:00 +0000

Here in Florida one of the state requirements for third grade social studies is teaching the 50 states within their 5 regions. It’s one of my favorite things to teach! One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to work on giving students more autonomy and choice. I’ve found that organizing my thinking...

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The Power of Making Student Connections Through Reading

Tamara — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 20:16:22 +0000

I’m so grateful that on my journey as a teacher my path connected with Maurice! Maurice was my assistant principal not too long ago and I grew so much through his leadership. I will be forever grateful. When he shared this reflection with me, I told him how honored I would be to share it...

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September Morning Work for First

Tamara — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 02:38:10 +0000

Setting up procedures at the beginning of the year is tough. There’s lots of different schools of thought on what to do. For me personally, I find that morning work is a great way to squeeze in some review and set up the classroom for learning from bell to bell. I created these for my...

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Using Poetry for Fluency

Tamara — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 02:21:28 +0000

I love using poetry reading to increase student fluency and expression. We use choral reading, echo reading, partner reading, etc to practice during our journal time. I take about 10-15 minutes at the end of the day to go over the poem of the week before we leave for the day. Each day, we mark...

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Using a Freytag’s Model with Students

Tamara — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 03:15:42 +0000

I’m increasingly cognizant of what types of strategies I am using to help students monitor their comprehension and analyze fiction text. Each year, I get a different group of students that require something slightly different than the last group and this year was no different. I’ve been using a Freytag model with students for years...

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Memorial Day Activities for Thirds

Tamara — Mon, 17 May 2021 02:40:43 +0000

Memorial Day is meant to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country. It’s a time to talk about struggle and sacrifice. It’s a time to remember who we have lost. On Memorial Day, I like to read a few stories to the students to help them to understand the gravity of...

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Line Plots for Third Graders

Tamara — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 02:33:34 +0000

Introducing line plots to third graders can be fun for the teacher and a bit overwhelming for a child. I mean…think about all the different skills that go into the understanding of how line plots work as a strategy to collect data. Kids have to measure to the nearest quarter inch accurately. They have to...

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Introducing Fractions in Third

Tamara — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 04:39:47 +0000

One of the toughest concepts to teach in third grade is fractional parts. Although students are exposed to fractions for the first time in first grade, and they are fairly aware of the concept of equal shares, the concept can still be very difficult for students to talk about and then demonstrate mastery of. Although...

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Developing a Mathematician’s Identity in Learners

Tamara — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 01:39:03 +0000

Social media has connected me to the most innovative educators over the years and I will forever be grateful for the collaboration and joy that sharing and receiving gives me. In December, I presented on hands on math for Flux Teacher institute. What a great space! This was a pedagogy based conference based in a...

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New Teacher’s Reading List

Tamara — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 21:07:58 +0000

So much of teaching today seems to be dominated by the optics of what is engagement for the purpose of having students living in poverty and or BIPOC kids learn. Yet, I feel that lost in the discussion of what engagement is the voice of scholarly authors who have spent a lifetime considering how BIPOC...

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Teach It Up: Integrating Math and Art

Tamara — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 03:52:07 +0000

I love teaching math! I also love integrating math concepts with literacy and art! I had just done a unit on fractions that included measurement and line plots. The students did a fantastic job on their understanding of fractional equivalence and comparison, but I didn’t really spend very much time on line plots in a...

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Math Morning Work

Tamara — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 04:14:50 +0000

I really love teaching math! Honestly, like really, LOVE it. One of the ways that I have found to best support my instruction in the classroom is a spiral review. Last year, I started writing the problems on the board and having the students fold their papers and write the answers on paper. That worked...

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