I keep putting off blogging, which is not going to do myself any favors in the long run! The perfectionist part of me wants to wait until I have something noteworthy to say, or a product to share...but the idea behind this blog is about my growth so I need to remember to post along the way. Formative assessment for myself, in a way ;)
I am so very inspired by the other teacher bloggers out there. Sometimes I get home from student teaching and barely have enough energy to move...yet here are all of these fabulous teachers making products and curriculum on top of everything else! So, I know it's possible...and I think once I have more of my own routine it will be probable for me.
I have started taking over the math and science parts of the curriculum, and within the next few weeks I will start on reading and writing as well. I have so so many ideas for reading and writing...what I really should do is write them here so I don't forget!
I want to make their independent reading more purposeful, and work on more comprehension mini lessons. I'd like to be more purposeful about the workshop format for reading, writing, and math.
I've been using many ideas I find online and adapting them for my own content, such as Scoot and I Have, Who Has? I'm trying to always remember that kids need to be moving and interacting, so this using small groups and rotating even when doing workbook-type math.
Of course, it's a work in progress. It always will be, won't it? Lessons could always be better, more engaging, more authentic.
My mantra for the upcoming weeks needs to be:
"Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are". (Theodore Roosevelt)
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Monday Musings
Click here to find the free game on TPT (created by All Things Teachery):
This was the first time any of them have played I Have, Who Has? and they LOVED it!
It made me want to create game sets for all of the content areas. I think it's a great review because it involves the whole class and everyone must be paying attention in order for it to work! I used a stopwatch while we played and wrote the time it took us from start to end on the board...we are going to try and beat our score next time!
Whiteboards might be the way to go for multiplication review tomorrow. They love any chance they have to use them!
I've got math and holidays on the brain...thinking about how I can incorporate content areas with art to create some nice hallway displays :)
We have angles and polygons in October, division in November, and fractions and decimals in December.
So far I have a geometry zombie (and maybe some spider web angles?) set for this month...but I'm still searching for other festive things to do!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
October Currently
Doesn't it seem like it was just September?
I'm linking up to Farley for October Currently
P.S. Oops, I just realized I was supposed to leave a treat, not just share one that I have been enjoying ;) so much for telling my students to read the directions!
On pinterest I came across this site for creating your own posters. I have yet to use this in the classroom, but I love the idea...either for classroom decor/motivation or student projects!
On pinterest I came across this site for creating your own posters. I have yet to use this in the classroom, but I love the idea...either for classroom decor/motivation or student projects!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Art & End of the Day
Four weeks in, and I'm still shocked at how fast the days fly by! With a late start tomorrow and then music class, I know the day will be over before I know it. I'm learning that 1) everything takes longer than planned...and 2) flexibility is absolutely essential. As important as it is to have a plan, I can see how it's necessary to "plan" that things will go differently.
Art.
On Friday, we had an artist come in to give a presentation about some of her sculptural work in a local competition. The students were enthralled, which showed me:
1) How awesome guest speakers can be for expanding knowledge (who could come in for math? science? social studies? writing? authors? etc etc etc...my mind is spinning)
2) How important it is for students to see themselves as artists too, and all of the connections between art and their content-area subjects. Some students thrive in art...this should be celebrated!
End of the Day.
I'd like to learn more about how teachers make the most of this "empty" space at the end of the day. I am so blessed to work with the CT I have...however I still like to dream about how I would do things in a classroom of "my own". There are usually a good 15-20 minutes at the end of the day that the students spend talking or wandering once their jobs (picking up the floor, cleaning up) are completed...I envision this differently in my own classroom!
Some ideas I have:
Art.
On Friday, we had an artist come in to give a presentation about some of her sculptural work in a local competition. The students were enthralled, which showed me:
1) How awesome guest speakers can be for expanding knowledge (who could come in for math? science? social studies? writing? authors? etc etc etc...my mind is spinning)
2) How important it is for students to see themselves as artists too, and all of the connections between art and their content-area subjects. Some students thrive in art...this should be celebrated!
End of the Day.
I'd like to learn more about how teachers make the most of this "empty" space at the end of the day. I am so blessed to work with the CT I have...however I still like to dream about how I would do things in a classroom of "my own". There are usually a good 15-20 minutes at the end of the day that the students spend talking or wandering once their jobs (picking up the floor, cleaning up) are completed...I envision this differently in my own classroom!
Some ideas I have:
- Boggle (or I have seen "Noggle" for numbers!)
- I Have, Who Has games
- Educational clips (School-House Rock, Youtube)
- Hangman with vocabulary or word study words
- Sparkle with math multiples
The tricky part is this...school ends at 3:40. At 3:25 bus buddies and safeties are dismissed. At 3:30 "sibling pick up" is dismissed. The rest can leave around 3:35. So, I'd just like to plan something a little more structured with the students who stay until nearly the end. I'm still pondering...maybe just having them stay in their seats and free-writing or reading would be enough. Oh the possibilities.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
bits of this week
Each day, at the bottom of my planner, I've jotted down a few things I want to write about. Here we go!
1) On Monday, I was given an apple from a student. I think that officially makes me a real teacher ;)
2) The students LOVE this prime number rap:
What is even funnier is some of the dance moves I've seen while they listen to it...who knew 5th graders could "raise the roof" so well? But really, it's been so great because not only are they singing it all the time, but also referring to it in math lessons! When I ask them how they know a number is prime, they'll tell me the lyric "the only factors are one and me"...and it's a great way to remember that 2 is a prime number.
3) I'm learning some neat tricks for learning vocabulary. I'm sure there are entire books about vocab activities...but a few we've done this week that could be adapted for any content area are speed sorts and vocabulary quilts.
4) On September 17th, (Constitution Day!), we watched the School House Rock preamble video. Again, they loved it. It was so cute to hear them sing along.
5) Another thing they love? Whiteboards. At the end of the math lesson today, I put up some quick problems on the board (such as prime numbers, factors, square number) and had them write their answers on their individual whiteboards. When I said "okay, this is the last problem" I heard I collective "awww" from the group. Looks like we'll be doing that again tomorrow! Plus, it was a great formative assessment for me to quickly see who got it or who needed some extra guidance.
1) On Monday, I was given an apple from a student. I think that officially makes me a real teacher ;)
2) The students LOVE this prime number rap:
What is even funnier is some of the dance moves I've seen while they listen to it...who knew 5th graders could "raise the roof" so well? But really, it's been so great because not only are they singing it all the time, but also referring to it in math lessons! When I ask them how they know a number is prime, they'll tell me the lyric "the only factors are one and me"...and it's a great way to remember that 2 is a prime number.
3) I'm learning some neat tricks for learning vocabulary. I'm sure there are entire books about vocab activities...but a few we've done this week that could be adapted for any content area are speed sorts and vocabulary quilts.
4) On September 17th, (Constitution Day!), we watched the School House Rock preamble video. Again, they loved it. It was so cute to hear them sing along.
5) Another thing they love? Whiteboards. At the end of the math lesson today, I put up some quick problems on the board (such as prime numbers, factors, square number) and had them write their answers on their individual whiteboards. When I said "okay, this is the last problem" I heard I collective "awww" from the group. Looks like we'll be doing that again tomorrow! Plus, it was a great formative assessment for me to quickly see who got it or who needed some extra guidance.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Stars and Wishes
(I am a big fan of student self-assessment, and formative assessment in general...so this post today is going to be in the form of three stars and a wish) :)
Three stars...
* My favorite part of this week is when we did the classroom library sort. I love nothing more than to see a student get excited about a book. I couldn't even get frustrated when I saw a student stop with the sorting because their nose was in a book. That is joy.
* A hug from a student at the end of the day? Nothing better. Okay so these "star" posts are getting a little sappy :)
* Fifth graders know a lot more than I think they do. This is both scary and cracks me up at the same time. When creating an "All About Me" page with their reading buddies (this one was formatted like a Facebook page) I saw a 5th grader write his status as : #single #LOL #OMG
...I had a good inner laugh at the that one.
* Fifth graders know a lot more than I think they do. This is both scary and cracks me up at the same time. When creating an "All About Me" page with their reading buddies (this one was formatted like a Facebook page) I saw a 5th grader write his status as : #single #LOL #OMG
...I had a good inner laugh at the that one.
And a wish...
* I've been teaching the math lessons this week (a lot of responsibility, but such good experience!) while my CT does assessments down the hall. I have an hour to myself for math...and I can't believe how fast it flies by! But one wish of mine is to improve with differentiating. The Everyday Math program is set up for more of a whole group, but I think that small groups and workshop-style lessons are the way to go. I don't think I can overhaul the math program ;) but I'd like to incorporate more small-group, rotating activities as I gain more responsibility of the classroom.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
First Time for...Exit Slips
After much pinterest-ing (that's a verb, right?) over the summer, I knew I wanted to make an exit slip board for the classroom I'm student teaching in.
Today I taught my first math lesson (Everyday Math Unit 1.3...Factors) and also used the board I created!
I liked the idea of framing the board in a positive way by calling it "Show What You Know", so I wrote that at the top.
At the end of the factor lesson I had each student write their class number on a sticky note. They then needed to list the factor pairs and whole number factors. Not only did they think this was "cool" (something about the sticky notes...) and were able to move around, but it was SO helpful for me to do a quick check to make sure the lesson stuck. Stuck, sticky note...get it? Ha.
I was able to see that a couple students missed a factor pair, or didn't quite understand how to list the whole number factors...so this is something I'll address tomorrow. Quick formative assessment for the win!
SO, in conclusion...I loved using my exit slip board today. I have made my own board, but have some major exit slip envy over some of the beauties I've linked to.
Now, this is something I'm learning from teaching: not everything can be perfect. There is not enough time in the day to be "finished" with all the work that needs to be done. These little details (like perfectly symmetrical exit slip boards) can wait, and must wait. But for now, I have a nice little collection of links for when I do decide to redo mine ;)
Today I taught my first math lesson (Everyday Math Unit 1.3...Factors) and also used the board I created!
I liked the idea of framing the board in a positive way by calling it "Show What You Know", so I wrote that at the top.
At the end of the factor lesson I had each student write their class number on a sticky note. They then needed to list the factor pairs and whole number factors. Not only did they think this was "cool" (something about the sticky notes...) and were able to move around, but it was SO helpful for me to do a quick check to make sure the lesson stuck. Stuck, sticky note...get it? Ha.
I was able to see that a couple students missed a factor pair, or didn't quite understand how to list the whole number factors...so this is something I'll address tomorrow. Quick formative assessment for the win!
I realized I need to take a picture of my board when not filled with post its!
And now for some exit board eye-candy (yes, there is such a thing)
I got my original design idea from Teach A Roo (links to printable TpT page)
And now for some exit board eye-candy (yes, there is such a thing)
I got my original design idea from Teach A Roo (links to printable TpT page)
I loved the bright green against the black!
And now, I just found this one...which I think is so cute I'm tempted to redo mine immediately (though it took me a silly amount of time to find the perfect numbers, laminate, and cut out the size of sticky notes)
Does anyone know where this picture is from? I found it on Pinterest and the link was broken. I wish I could give credit because it is adorable! Love the use of scrapbook paper.
And THEN...I found this one. I'm in love with the use of pockets, bright colors, and the "show me your bright ideas!" header.
And THEN...I realized that thanks to Jessica at Heeren's Happenings, all of the number/sizing/font work has been done for you! There is an awesome google doc (free on her blog) that you can just print and go.
And THEN...I realized that thanks to Jessica at Heeren's Happenings, all of the number/sizing/font work has been done for you! There is an awesome google doc (free on her blog) that you can just print and go.
SO, in conclusion...I loved using my exit slip board today. I have made my own board, but have some major exit slip envy over some of the beauties I've linked to.
Now, this is something I'm learning from teaching: not everything can be perfect. There is not enough time in the day to be "finished" with all the work that needs to be done. These little details (like perfectly symmetrical exit slip boards) can wait, and must wait. But for now, I have a nice little collection of links for when I do decide to redo mine ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)