Chanting and Songs

The rhythmic nature of changing and songs helps skip counting stick. Here are some songs you can use with your class to help them practice skip counting. My kids always loved having music and movement incorporated into math. These songs are perfect for introducing skip counting to your kids. They also would as educational background music while students do independent math work if your kids like to have some sound ongoing while they work.

Teaching Skip Counting by 2s

Are your kids crazy about rockets and space? If so, they’ll be excited by this skip counting by 2s video from Scratch Garden. I only like to use one video from Scratch Garden for skip counting because they all have similar tunes, which can make it harder for our kids to keep the different ways of skip counting separate. Despite that, this song is fun. It would be a great way to introduce the idea of counting by 2s.

Teaching Skip Counting by 5s

If you aren’t already familiar with Jack Hartman, you’re in for a treat. He creates great educational songs for kids. I love this skip counting song because it incorporates movement that crosses the midline. It’s a great motor activity and allows for kids to be involved in the movement even if they aren’t ready for the skip counting aspect in your class. I know from experience lots of kids in self-contained special education classrooms are at different levels.

Teaching Skip Counting by 10s

Another one by our friend Jack is his workout count by 10 video. Getting your kids up, moving, and active is fun and helps get out the wiggles in a constructive way. Your kids will love pretending to climb a mountain with this video. You could even have your kids create a skip counting mountain as part of your room decor.

Arranging Cards in Order

My kids enjoy making chains of skip counting cards. It’s easy to do. All you really need are note cards with the skip counting numbers on them. I mix them up and put each set in it’s own zipper bag. Then I let students work individually or in groups to put the cards in the right order for skip counting. Kids love to get to spread this activity out on the floor.

Hopscotch and Number Line Walks

I love having hopscotch and number lines on the floor in my class.

Skip Counting Hopscotch How To

1. Get a big sheet of butcher paper in a color that works for your classroom.
2. Use colorful chalk or a chalk pens to draw your hopscotch board onto the butcher paper. It’s OK if it isn’t perfect! Hopscotch can be messy. Don’t fuss over this too long, you have other things to do.
3. Laminate the hopscotch board.
4. Optional: Cut out the hopscotch board.
5. Attach board to the floor with sticky tack or velcro dots.
6. Have students use beanbags to cover up the numbers they need to skip while playing hopscotch skip count.

Skip Counting Number Line How To

1. 1. Get painters tape (affiliate)
   2. Use a yard stick to measure out your number spacing evenly
   3. Place velcro dots (affiliate) or vinyl dots on your evenly measured intervals
   4. Write numbers on your dots
   5. Have students hop or skip by 2s, or 3s. For higher numbers have them brainstorm creative ways to land on the right numbers without touching the numbers they need to skip, a bit like The Floor is Lava.

My Resources

For assessment or extra practice, check out my resources for skip counting. I have a set for skip counting by 2, 5, and 10, and another set for 3, 6, and 9. Not only do these skills help with lower grade standards for skip counting, they can prepare students to be able to multiply with ease in the later elementary grades.

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You can get a free copy of a two minute guided meditation I made. It’s short, sweet, and specific. It’s perfect for even elementary age students. I hope it brings calm to your classroom.

1. Dim the Lights for Guided Meditation

Changing the lighting in the room changes the whole mood of the room. When I would do meditation with my students, I would turn off the overhead lights. I would then put a meditation video on the smart board. I encourage students to close their eyes, but I also don’t make a big deal about them closing their eyes. Some kids who have had trauma in their lives may not feel comfortable closing their eyes for a meditation. In that case, encourage them to let their eyes go soft, looking in one place without focusing.

2. Get It On The Schedule

I like to schedule meditation time for times of the day when I know my kids can use some simmering down. Meditation becomes easier and easier when it’s done regularly. Some of the best times are the very beginning of the day as part of your morning routine, after lunch and recess, and after specials. One of my favorite memories of elementary school was when my 3rd grade teacher would have us rest with our heads down after recess as part of our routine. It helped all of us wind down. After a few minutes of rest, she would read aloud to us. It still gives me the warm and fuzzies to this day.

3. Chart it Out

When beginning a meditation practice in your classroom, it can be helpful to go over the expectations just like you do with beginning of the year rules. First, demonstrate to the class what meditation is. Then foster a discussion about what meditation looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Then talk about what it does not look, sound, and feel like. Create a visual chart in your classroom with both words and illustrations on how to meditate. You can even have students sign the page before you post it on the wall. It gets buy in from the students, and gives you a visual you can silently point to if a student is off task during the meditation.

4. Make Meditation Part of Your Calming Station

Whether you call it a Cool Down Spot, Antarctica, or something else, give students the option to meditate in this area of your classroom. Including guided meditation for students on a CD player or even a tablet can help kids practice self-regulation with the structure of a guide. Do make sure you review any and all meditation practices that you allow in your classroom. Don’t just go on YouTube and let them find meditation videos. You could get into trouble easily that way.

5. Keep Practicing Meditation In Your Class

Meditation is a practice, and one I work on daily. Meditation doesn’t have to be perfect to be helpful. Your kids likely will laugh a bit at first. I had a wonderful principal who had the staff meditate as a demonstration, and even the adults were giggling. Meditation takes time to establish. Let go of the idea of perfection with meditation. There is no such thing. Just today I accidentally fell asleep during my meditation. Oops! I must have gotten a little too relaxed. But it’s OK. Meditation isn’t a competition. It doesn’t matter if Ms. So-and-So down the hall has students who do fancy yoga poses while they do meditation. Implement what you feel comfortable with committing to, and no more. You are free to choose the way meditation looks in your classroom.

Social Emotional Learning Through Guided Meditation

Short Guided Meditation for Students is a quick way to impart important lessons to your students. It’s great for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) on how to self-regulate. It helps kids learn to calm down their minds and bodies on their own. The words in the guided meditations they use can become scripts they remember to calm themselves down without a guide. Researchers have known for a long time that  guided meditation is an intervention that helps with behavior in students with disabilities, according to a review of literature from 1985. I found this article using Google Scholar which is my favorite fast way to research interventions. Otherwise I use my library’s data base to journal articles. The update to IDEA law in 2004 states we are charged with,”the use of scientifically based instructional practices.” Use guided meditation with confidence in your classroom. It’s backed by years of research. It’s time more classrooms use it.

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History is better when it comes alive. And if a picture is worth 1,000 words, video is even better. Before you read about Martin Luther King, Jr., if your school allows, consider letting them watch some of his famous I Have a Dream speech. The one I’m linking to below has subtitles which is handy, especially if you have any students who are deaf who you need to accommodate. Unfortunately, a few of the words are cut off, but I couldn’t find anything better. Still, I think it is better than no subtitles.

The books listed contain affiliate links which does not add any extra cost to you. It does help me keep this site up for you to enjoy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Books for Elementary Students

Guided Reading Level H

Let’s Read about…Martin Luther King, Jr. by Courtney Baker

Guided Reading Level K

Martin Luther King Day by Lisa M. Harrington

Guided Reading Level L

Martin’s Dream by Jane Kurtz

Guided Reading Level M

Let’s Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. by Peter Roop

Guided Reading Level Q

If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine

I Have a Dream by Margaret Davidson

Guided Reading Level T

I am Martin Luther King Jr by Grace Norwich

Including the Standards

Sometimes it’s hard to fit in social studies lessons into our day because tested subjects take our priority. Thankfully, we can use ELA TEKS to incorporate lessons about Martin Luther King Jr. Keep reading for ideas below on how to incorporate these books into your ELA lessons using the Texas TEKS.

Texas TEKS and/Or Common Core Grade 3

Texas TEKS Grade 3

For the Texas TEKS Sandard 9 states, “Students are expected to explain the different in point of view between a biography and autobiography (Note: This did not quote the entire standard).” Discuss with your class if Martin Luther King wrote the book you read or if somebody else did. It’s a great place to also discuss first versus third person. You could contrast it by reading aloud Rosa Park’s autobiography (Guided Reading Level U).

Common Core Grade 3

The Common Core standard relevant is CCSS: ELA-Literacy.RI3.10, which includes reading history and social studies texts in the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band.You can go to page 8 of the link for further information. According to that resource, the 2nd to 3rd text complexity band is from 450-790 Lexile. That means you’re looking to end up with books around a Guided Reading Level N for independent reading. However, keep in mind, it’s only January, not the end of the school year.

Texas TEKS Grade 4

Standard 7 for ELA in 4th states,”Students are expected to identify similarities and differences between the events and character’s experiences in a fictional work and the actual events and experiences described in an author’s biography or autobiography (Note: this is not the entire standard).” I’ve tried searching for some books that would have a fictional account of Martin Luther King Jr., but I’ve been having trouble finding something geared for children instead of adults. If you have a suggestion, leave it in the comments.

Common Core Grade 4

There are many standards you can choose for Grade 4. I think choosing CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL4.2 would make for a powerful lesson. Have students discuss the theme of Martin Luther King’s Jr. biography. This will get them really thinking about his legacy and how he wanted the world to change.

Texas TEKS Grade 5

Standard 7 for ELA in 5th says, “Students are expected to identify the literary language and devices used in biographies and autobiographies, including how authors present major events in a person’s life.” Have students find text evidence in the book you read with them. For advanced students, they might enjoy finding literary language in Martin Luther King speeches, too.

Common Core Grade 5

Standard CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4 lends itself nicely to learning about Martin Luther King. Students are expected to determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in text, including figurative language like metaphors and similes. Present students with the text of a Martin Luther King speech and have them identify figurative language in the text. You could even have students write their own speeches including figurative language to present to the class.

Connect with Other Teachers

Do you have a lesson your students love about Martin Luther King, Jr.? Drop us a comment below or share the idea with others on our Facebook group. That way students all over the country can benefit from your great idea.

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Technology is where the future is going and truthfully, where we are already today. But many of our classrooms don’t yet reflect this. Without making technology a natural, daily part of classroom instruction, our students will be ill prepared to compete in the international marketplace.

90s classroom technology

When I was in school in the ’90s, we had some technology. My elementary school had a computer lab where we would learn to type, and if we finished early we could play Math Blaster or KidPix. By the time I was in middle school, I had a typing class, but we mostly were expected to type text book material. It was an after thought. In high school I had another keyboarding class plus one pretty useless technology class that taught me macros that I’ve never needed to use, and Excel which at least was somewhat useful.

By the time I was a senior, I still typed very slowly. The way I learned to type quickly didn’t have anything to do with school. Instead I learned to type using AOL Instant Messenger and I was motivated to type faster so I could say more of what I wanted in a shorter amount of time to my friends. I was otherwise practically computer illiterate. This impacted my choice of major. Even though I graduated valedictorian and took really challenging classes like AP Physics, I wanted to stay far away from anything where I’d need to use technology. I had zero confidence with computers.

I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve learned how to build websites and write some HTML. But mainly, it’s experience and time on computers that got me comfortable to the point where they feel natural.

Using Technology in Your Classroom

Your students need to feel like using computers and technology is natural. In almost every career they will be well served by being fluent in technology. Reading, writing, and math are not enough to get by in today’s world.

Younger Grades

For younger kids, set expectations up from the get go. Have simple computer rules posted along with a list of the sites you want them to visit. My students really loved Starfall and ABCMouse is also really popular. These sites let your young students practice the phonics skills that they are learning.

Use our computer website list you can post along with our computer rules. No prep and will work in color or black and white.

Early Learner Classroom Display Sign

Computer Rules

Older Grades

Older students should be learning online research skills. More content is being published every day to the internet, and not all of it is true. Students need to be taught how to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable sources. They should be taught to get more than one source to prove a point.

They can use their findings to create presentations about the things they learned. Incorporating technology into assignments is especially useful in incorporating the upper tiers of Bloom’s Taxonomy like evaluate and create. Older students can use Adobe Spark to easily make video presentations. It’s free.

Talk to Us

Owl Quest is in the middle of designing technology for teachers to use with their students that works with the standards and Bloom’s Taxonomy. While we build it, we want to hear from you. What would help you become a better teacher?

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