The Tooth Tally ProjectAll participants should have received their invitation to join the Wiki. Please make sure you've joined the wiki and posted your classroom introduction on your group page.
Instead of trying to squeeze this project into an already-packed teaching day, why not integrate it into your regular curriculum? Here are some ways you can use the Tooth Tally Project to teach your regular curriculum objectives. Many of these ideas have come from previous Tooth Tally Teachers! If you've got a lesson to add to this page, please email me!
Math:
1. Adapt these worksheets for your classroom. Thanks to Paul White from a previous year's project for submitting them.
Graph Sheet ~ Tally Sheet2. After you've received the total number of teeth lost by the other classes in your group, students can create their own "paper and pencil" graphs or use a software program like Graph Club.
Use these graphs to answer questions like:
Which first grade class lost the most teeth last month?
How many more teeth did Mrs. Smith's class lose than Ms. Clark's?
How many teeth in all did Ms. Lewis' class lose this month?
Which class lost fewer teeth than Mrs. Campbell's class this week?
How many teeth did Ms. Edward's class and Mrs. Brown's class lose altogether?3. Distribute a set of "tooth" counters to each student to use as manipulatives as they work word problems read by the teacher. Here are some sample word problems:
a. John lost 6 six last year. Sarah lost 8 teeth. How many more teeth did John lose than Sarah?
b. How many teeth did John and Sarah lose altogether?
c. Last month the tooth fairy came 12 times to Mrs. Campbells' first graders. This month the tooth fairy came 5 fewer times. How many times did the tooth fairy come this month?
d. The Johnson children have really been losing teeth this month! James lost 2 teeth. Jan lost 3 teeth and Sue lost 1 tooth. How many teeth did they lose in all? If the tooth fairy gives $1.00 per tooth, how much money will she leave at the Johnson house this month?4. For homework, have each student write down the type of toothpaste they use at home. At school the next day, graph the results! Or have students survey 10 family members and friends to gather data. Then graph the results. Here's a form you can use!
5. Teach ordinal numbers and capitalization by having students write these sentences in a class journal or on chart paper:
Kelly lost our first tooth on February first.
Taylor lost our second tooth on February fifth.
Arthur lost our third tooth on February ninth.
Spence lost our fourth tooth on February eleventh.
Cori lost our fifth tooth on February seventeenth.
Ben lost our sixth tooth on February twenty-first.
Spencer lost our seventh tooth on February twenty-third.
Language Arts
1. Students design their own Tooth Fairies on paper or with a program like Kid Pix. Then students can create a web with Kidspiration to describe what their tooth fairy looks like. Last, students can write about their creations.
2. Print out all the emails you receive from your group during the project. Bind them together into a Tooth Tally book. Share the book in class and allow students to read it during free time. Students can also make a book about what the Tooth Fairy does with all the teeth she collects.
3. Sentence Scramble! Print out this worksheet. (requires Acrobat Reader) Students should cut the sentences apart on the lines. Put each sentence in an envelope or baggie. Students read the words and make a sentence out of them. Great vocabulary activity!
4. Books to read:
The Tooth Witch by Nurit Karlin,
Throw Your Tooth on the Roof - Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby Beeler5. Read The Tooth Book by Theo LeSieg. That's Theo Geisel spelled backwards (otherwise known as Dr. Seuss). Have a backwards day and spell your own name backwards!
6. Story Starters:
The tooth fairy quietly slipped into Reggie's room. She reached under his pillow for his tooth. Hmmm...that didn't feel like a tooth! When she pulled the object out, she was surprised to find...7. Make a list of all the things the tooth fairy might make out of the teeth she collects.
8. Use this project as a springboard into a mini-lesson on plurals:
One tooth, two teeth.
One mouse, two mice.
One goose, two geese.9. Practice rhyming words:
tooth - booth
lost - cost
fairy - hairy
loose - goose
wiggle - giggle
brush - crush
