About Squarehead Teachers

Well, I’m a travel loving, cookie eating, bright color obsessed teacher who just can’t get enough of blogging or Photoshop. I’ve taught various grades from Kindergarten to Undergraduate courses in both in the United States and in China, teaching everything from dance and PE to English and math. I come from a family of educators, and believe that all teachers (public, private, charter and home school) are grossly under appreciated and deserve a little extra help. I started my Squarehead Teachers blog in August 2012 with the hope that I can be that extra little help that makes teachers feel a little more loved!

What You Need to Know About April Fool’s Day

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

April Fools

It wasn’t until I taught in China that I even had to think about why we do April Fools’ Day. My Chinese students thought this was a pretty funny idea, and were amazed that so many people “celebrated” it! So here ya go… a free worksheet all about April Fools’ Day! Comprehension questions at the bottom.

Click here for the free printable worksheet: April Fools Day

Ask 3 Before Me!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Teachers answer questions all day long… and it’s exhausting! I saw this phrase up on a classroom and just HAD to share it! The teacher’s rule is that students must ask 3 other students their question before coming to the teacher with the question. Chances are one of those 3 other students will know the answer and the teacher can keep his/her sanity a little bit longer!

EASY Place Value Game… Around the World (with a twist!)

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

So you’ve probably heard about the classroom game, Around the World (IN A NUT SHELL: The teacher shows 2 students a math flash card. The first one to blurt out the answer moves to stand next to a new student’s seat and faces off with them using a new flash card. The winner gets to advance to a new student and the kids try to move as many seats as possible.) Here’s a fun twist on the classic game.

TEACHER PREP:

Write any multi-digit number on a note card (for older grades, add decimal points)
Underline 1 digit in the number
Repeat until you have a stack of cards
OPTIONAL: label the back of each card so you know what place value is underlined on the front (tens, hundreds, thousands…)

PLAY: Instead of telling you the answer to a math fact (like in regular Around the World), the student must name the place value underlined on the card to win the face-off.

Submitted by a 2nd grade teacher in AZ. Thanks!

Click here for more free math stuff!

Spring Time Math Facts Dice Game

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I love playing math games… and what student can’t benefit from some basic math facts practice. So here’s a game for you.

Print 1 copy of the worksheet for each player.
Roll the die (let’s say you roll a 5)
Color in the section of the picture that equals the number you rolled (for example, you could color in the section labeled “4+1=”). Make sure you write the answer in the section so it becomes a complete number sentence (“4+1=5”).
Take turns rolling, and coloring (any color you want)
First player to color in the entire page wins!

Make sure you choose the operation you want: basic addition, basic subtraction, basic multiplication or basic division. Happy Spring!

EPSON MFP image

Click here for more free math stuff!

Make Your Own Calendars… helpful website!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I just found this website that provides downloadable calendar blank templates for Microsoft Word and Excel. You can choose from weekly, monthly calendars and yearly calendars for specific years. To quote the website, “Why spend millions developing what Microsoft has already spent Billions developing?”

Spring Story Starters (free!)

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

More story starters (can you tell I’ve enjoyed having these in my classroom?)! What’s not to love about easy, self-explanatory writing projects?! I often add extra requirements to the story (use spelling/vocab words, figurative languages, underline adjectives, etc.) to make it even more educational. Right click on the page, choose “save image as” and save it to your computer so you can print it later. Yay for writing!

Marble Painting

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s a fun art idea I did this past week. It’s extra cool because pretty much any age artist will have a good time. The older artists will have better control of the marbles, but regardless, it turns out neat. (CAUTION: potentially messy, as with most painting projects!)

Supplies:

paint (we used washable, since we were doing this with kinders)
marbles
cookie sheet, cake pan, box lid (should have used something with a taller edge since we had younger artists)
paper (any size, color)
paint containers
plastic spoons

Steps:

Pour paint colors into small containers and place a plastic spoon in each.
Place paper in box lid (or whatever you’re using)
Place marbles in paint containers (we used 3 in each color).
Spoon out marbles and place on paper
Gently tip the box lid so the marbles roll around on the paper.
Put marbles back in their paint container.
Repeat with more marbles, colors until you’re satisfied… or you’re too messy!

Awesome Coloring Pages for Older Kids!

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

6th graders tell me they don’t like to color… until I show them these geometric coloring pages. At the Charter school I’m currently working with, I don’t seem to be able to copy enough to keep up with the demand! (Everyone likes them… kindergarten through high school). There are lots of websites that have these for free, so just do a search for “geometric coloring pages” and you’ll find gobs.

Here’s one of my favorite websites to get geometric coloring pages!