Multiplication & Division Basics

October 9, 2016October 9, 2016AdminLeave a comment

In the beginning of the school year, I created Place Value Basics. This was meant as a daily review to get students thinking quickly about some of the basics we learn. It was a big hit! My students went from doing it in 40 minutes (I know, but they needed the time) to around 8 minutes. Pretty good, right!?

Well, they had been bugging me to change it up. THIS is a good sign. So I came up with Multiplication and Division Basics. As some were still having a bit of trouble with Prime Factors, I kept in on this version.

Each year I teach this before Winter Break. Then after this, we head into fractions. Fractions take up all of the 2nd Trimester and by the time 3rd Trimester and the State Test roll around, students have forgotten how to multiply and (deep sigh here) divide. The problem is they have a shaky footing on these concepts before hitting fractions. I know, I’m the teacher… I should go with what they know and base lessons around them. Yes, in an ideal world that is happening. However, the pressure to do Benchmark Assessments and my district’s pacing (don’t get me started on that), and prepping them for the next grade are all too much for me – and them I suspect.

I have seen a great success with my students and the Place Value Basics. I am hoping that they can have the same success with this. How long will it take us in the beginning? Ugh, I hope not the 40 minutes! It’ll take us a while the first week or so, but in time they will successfully complete it in 8 minutes or less! Again, I will start off doing this whole class.

Which One Doesn’t Belong

October 5, 2016October 4, 2016AdminLeave a comment

Last year I was introduced to a great website called Which One Doesn’t Belong by my friend, Nancy Minicozzi. The site is full of visuals in which students must decide which of the 4 images doesn’t belong.

Looking at the following, which would you say doesn’t belong?

screen-shot-2016-10-04-at-7-10-38-pm

Based on your perception you may have said the heart because it is the only one that is NOT a polygon. Or perhaps you thought the star for the lack of the red outline. Possibly you were drawn to the green arrow as it is comprised of two different shapes. Or maybe it was the last shape because it lacked a color on the inside. No matter what you thought, you were right.

This is a fantastic, low-risk activity for students to participate in. I have done it a few different ways. I have had students study the image and then move to different parts of the room. While gathered there, they talk about why they chose the image they did. Other times I have used tools like Padlet for them to record their thoughts. No matter what method I use, they enjoy the activity.

This year I have 1 non-English speaker. At first, he was reluctant to participate, but now he regularly raises his hand to explain why he chose the image he did. I also have students moving from table to table because they can see how the different images don’t belong.

In addition to the low-risk appeal, I am able to teach my students how to have conversations. We begin sentences with, “I agree with…. because…”, or “I disagree with… because…”, or even better, “In addition to what … said…” Quality language, thought process, and communication skills that are being utilized daily.

Student ‘Ransomes’

October 4, 2016October 3, 2016AdminLeave a comment

This year I have been giving out a few ‘Ransomes’ each week. I know what you’re thinking, no I did not hijack personal objects from students and offer to return them in exchange for payment of Kit Kat minis (my totes faves!) No, Ransomes are little notes I leave for students like this one:

screen-shot-2016-10-03-at-8-03-17-pm

I do usually put their name on them as well.

I didn’t think much of the habit. I just thought it was cute and a nice way to send a positive message to my students. It wasn’t until Parent-Teacher Conferences last week that I realized how much they mean to the students. Sometimes it’s easy for us to overlook how much a simple gesture means to a child. One of my parents told me that the Ransome I had given her son had made his day. He was so proud of that note, he put it in his room at home. It was something that made his day and the mom’s day, too.

What I Do

Go to Ransomizer and type your message in the box provided. When you’re ready, select the ‘Ransomize’ button. You can customize the font, colors, etc. I then take a screenshot of the Ransome Note and place that in a Google Doc to print. I print 5 per week.

Give it a try. Your kids will love it and it’s a great way to connect with your students.

Create A Link in Docs

October 3, 2016October 3, 2016AdminLeave a comment

Creating a hyperlink in a Google Doc is simple. One reason you would want to create a hyperlink is for cleanliness. Having a large URL (short for Uniform Resource Locator) is messy on a document. Instead, I link a word or phrase to a particular web address. For example, if I am talking about Order of Operations in 5th grade I would link the words ‘Order of Operations in 5th grade’ to a particular web address like so:

This is a great resource for Order of Operations in 5th grade.

That is much nicer to look at than https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zanq7gmXY88

Now, let’s check out how to do this in Google Docs (this also works in Gmail and Slides):

Find the resource you want to link in your document and copy the URL. To copy highlight the URL, go to Edit > Copy. Or you can use the keyboard shortcut (Mac) command + C or (PC) control + C
Now that it’s copied to your clipboard (this is a virtual clipboard) navigate to your Google Doc. Find the word or phrase that will be connected with your site. Highlight the word or phrase. Now go to your menu bar and select Insert > Link
Or highlight the word or phrase then find the chain (or links) in the toolbar.

And there is always the keyboard shortcut. After highlighting the desired text, (PC) control + K or (Mac) command + K
This will bring out a pop-out window which asks what you want the words to link to. Paste in the link. Go to Edit in the toolbar and select ‘Paste’.
Keyboard shortcut – (PC) control + V, (Mac) command + V
And there you have it! A hyperlink in your doc.

Mini BreakoutEDU Games

October 1, 2016Admin1 Comment

This week I wanted a fun review of the objectives that we have learned in Math thus far. So my ‘brilliant’ idea was to create 5 mini BreakoutEDU games for the students to rotate through. I have 5 tables groups, thus the 5 mini games. I went through our math program and copied some challenge problems for the students to solve. I gave them 5 minutes to complete each game.

Yes, one of the breakout boxes is a backpack! This was their first exposure to BreakoutEDU. At first, they thought it was going to be easy. A few decided that they would just ‘mess’ with the locks. They soon figured out, it wasn’t so easy!

So during the first round, only 1 of the 5 groups was successful. The other groups were disappointed that they didn’t succeed. I also think they thought it would be much easier than it was. The next round was a bit more successful: 2 groups succeeded. I even had one group that went 3-2 for games. All in all, 11 of the 25 games were successful. Not bad for our first try.

At one point, one of the groups that hadn’t cracked any locks asked if we were going to do it again on Monday. I was a bit nervous that the lack of success with this group (based on the kids in the group) was proving to be discouraging. However, when I answered no they were disappointed that they WEREN’T doing it again on Monday! They went on to tell me how much fun it was! This will be happening again this year.

Finding Your Learning Style – FTW

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016AdminLeave a comment

This week in Social Studies I have students using a Hyperdoc to research information on the Great Plains Indians (the information is then recorded on a Google My Map). This is the 3rd installment in a 4 part study series. In the first 2, I told the students to only use the information provided. I intentionally incorporated videos as a part of their resources knowing that this learning style suits some of my students better. However, this time, I left off any video resources and added the task of finding at least one of their own resources. They are to record information and the search query used.

Then this happened…

I know what you’re thinking, “Uh, huh. A student found a video and is taking notes. Um, wasn’t that the assignment?” And yes, yes it was. BUT…this is no ordinary student. This is the student that has declared (several times), “I hate reading! Don’t make me read. I’m not reading anything!” This is the student that will play around in order to NOT do work – I suspect much of it is too difficult for Student X. This is the same student that can’t sit still for more than 30 seconds. YET, after Student X stopped freaking out that I didn’t include a video and realized they could look one up, Student X then sat for 40 MINUTES watching the video and taking notes…away from the group…working the entire time.

THIS is what happens when we give students the Freedom to learn in a style that best suits them. Student X knew what style worked best for him/her. Student X researched and learned the necessary material in order to support the group project.

This was a HUGE win!

‘Homework’ Reimagined Update 1

September 17, 2016September 17, 2016AdminLeave a comment

A little over a month ago I shared out my (and my Partner Teacher’s) latest idea of ‘Homework’. Get a copy

Each Friday during Genius Hour I meet with students to review their ‘Homework’. This week I had 4 students that were able to present. Some took a different approach to the homework than I had intended. The results? Amazing!

One student created jewelry from ribbons, beads, and old hair decorations and fastened them with a barrette. This student is thinking of creating more and selling them. Another made a ‘sculpture’ that had a live plant! My students are amazing!

Jewelry

Sculpture

Standing Desk

September 3, 2016September 3, 2016AdminLeave a comment

Recently I submitted a project to Donors Choose for a Standing Desk with a swing bar. It’s not uncommon for any teacher to have fidgety students. I wanted to try one out and gauge its effectiveness to those students. I have heard about many teachers trying it with great success. This week my standing desk arrived.

I also had a matching stool ordered for the desk. This gives students the option to stand or sit. Either option gives the student/students the ability to use the foot swing bar. As I found out, the desk is large enough to have 2 students share it comfortably. Needless to say, the desk has been a big hit with many students testing it out.

This year I have a particularly wiggly student. The student is great, just has LOTS of energy. Wiggly ventured back to the new desk. One afternoon this past week, wiggly student declared that (s)he was going to use it all next week. (S)he has decided (s)he loves it. I silently agreed that the desk was perfect for her/him. At one point the wiggly student was working while (s)he had the swing bar going a mile a minute. The amazing part was that the rest of her/him was content and focused. After being with the student for less than a month, it was the most focused I had ever seen her/him.

I am officially a fan of these types of desks. Will the ‘newness’ wear off with my students? Possibly, but I’m sure that my wiggly student will find success with this desk for the rest of the year. In fact, I’m such a fan I’m going to submit another project for a second Standing Desk with Stool on Donors Choose. So if you are thinking of getting one of these, I say go for it!

Dear Parents: About Your Child’s ID Card

September 1, 2016September 1, 2016AdminLeave a comment

School has started up again or will be in the near future. This leads to many parents posting First Day Photos. We all love them, well, maybe not the older students, but they humor most parents with a small smile before grumbling. And then the new student i.d.’s arrive. Parents are proud of many of the milestones their children are achieving. I have seen photos of some of the i.d. cards. I am a bit shocked…

Dear Parents,

We all love seeing that new i.d. of your child’s. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you have raised a great child and they have reached high school, are in their Senior year, or are in Middle School, or whatever grade. However, I must ask, why are you posting a photo with ALL information of your child online? I know, it’s probably not something you have thought about.

Just think about this for a moment. When you post a photo of that brand new i.d. without blocking information you have just shown the world the following information:

First name
Last name
School name (possibly city where school is located)
Grade (which leads to age)
Teacher’s name (in some cases)
Picture of child
Possible i.d. number (or some variation)
QR Code or Bar Code (with who knows what information)

If you’re still not sure why this is a bad thing, think about a stranger calling you and asking your child’s full name, school, location of school, grade, their teacher’s name, a picture of your child (to send electronically), and any other additional information they may want. Would you give them this information? Probably not. Well, by posting the i.d.’s without blocking some of the information, you just gave (who knows how many) strangers that information. If it’s put on the Internet, it can be found.

So parents, we do want to see those great photos: first day, i.d.’s, special moments, but we want to keep everyone safe. So please, block important information.

Thank you.

Nowa Techie

Lisa M. Nowakowski

Author: Admin