Updates and I Can Bulletin Board

 Hey guys! So life has been CRAZY!!! After 6 years in 4th grade I found out this summer that I was moving to 5th grade math. I am very excited about this new adventure, but it has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I had to learn new curriculum and move classrooms, in what felt like a very short amount of time! I just finished my room and will do a blog "show and tell" of my new accommodations. Here is a preview...

Since I had to move classrooms, it has given me an opportunity to try some things I haven't had a chance to yet. For example, I have wanted to make an I Can Bulletin Board for my I Can statements and standards for 2 years. I found a super cute one on pinterest from 3rd Grade Pad that I loved and had to try it! I only teach math, so I just used a small bulletin board, but here is how it turned out!

I have also spent some time this summer updating some of my teachers pay teachers products. Here are the ones I've had a chance to work on...

 

    Area War

 Fraction War

 

 Decimal War

Our first day of school is Friday!  This is going to be a fun new adventure and I can't wait to share some ideas! 

Review of Preptoon

Hey guys! Today, I have the opportunity to review a new math program called Preptoon! I am very excited to share this website with you! Next week, we will be doing a giveaway for 1 FREE year subscription to Preptoon, so make sure you come back to enter! Let's get started...

Preptoon is an online math resource for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. The website uses engaging videos to help students better understand math concepts. Below you will find some of the features that I really enjoyed!

• Everything is very organized. You can easily find a video that goes with what you are teaching. You can search by grade and by topic, for example, 5th grade Measurement. You can even search for a specific standard under the Common Core Standards tab. Being organized is highly important to me! I don't want to spend a ton of time trying to find one video to use with my students. Preptoon quickly allows me to find a video that is relevant to what I am currently teaching. 

 

 In this picture you can see tabs at the top, which allows for easy searching. 

This is a video I found after searching 5th grade measurement. I love that the standard is clear! 

 

• The videos are animated and I think my students would enjoy them. My only complaint is I wish the narrator had a little more inflection in her voice. This is very nit picky coming from an overly animated reader! (I tend to have 20 different voices and all kinds of hand motions while reading.) The videos are based on real life situations. This is great for helping students to understand how they will use math in the real world!

 

Here is the beginning of a video, you can see the standard is easily visible again!  

• The video pauses every so often to ask questions. Sometimes these questions will be multiple choice and sometimes they will be fill in the blank. It then gives students instant feedback as to what the correct answer is!  I love that it asks both kinds of questions and I love that it gives instant feedback! I think feedback is vital to students making and correcting mistakes!

 

Here is an example of a question the video's would ask. 

• After a video is completed they can be asked additional questions to help make the math concept more concrete in their mind! 

 

Over all I was highly pleased with the program. You could use this whole class and discuss the questions together, or you can create individual student accounts and have them do the videos independently. If you create student accounts you can see student responses to questions! This program is interactive with students, engaging to watch, and is highly aligned to common core standards. I can't wait to use this in my classroom this year! 

For more information you can watch this quick 2 minute video! 

 

I hope you have enjoyed! Don't forget to check back next week because we will be giving away 1 free year membership to Preptoon!

So You've Lost Your Voice and You're A Teacher... Now What?

Hey guys! I don't know about you, but recently I have been watching Hack My Life on TruTV. If you weren't aware I am a major nerd and love education/informational TV. (Not to mention my Doctor Who and Sherlock obsession!) On Hack My Life they do a segment called "Now What" where they give different scenarios of hacks. So today I ask you.. So you've lost your voice and you're a teacher, NOW WHAT?

When your a teacher, your voice is one of the most important tools. When it's gone, it can be very difficult to instruct, question, and to maintain good behavior management. I know I can't just take 5 days off to "rest my voice" like my doctor always seems to recommend. Adapting is the name of the game and here are a few things I do differently when I've lost my voice.


Getting Their Attention:
On a normal day I love a call and response attention getter such as the famous "Class, Class..Yes,Yes". When I've lost my voice this seems nearly impossible! In this case, I love to use a service bell. I ding my bell twice as a replacement of my normal "class, class". This works well because it's loud enough that they can hear it.

You could also use preemptive measures by not using a call and response attention getter. You could implement the clap call and response, where the teacher claps and the students echo the clapping pattern. If this was already in place, the teacher wouldn't need to change anything. I personally just prefer a vocal call and response!

We try to make quick transitions between one activity to another. Our goal is to be at our new destination and ready in 7 counts, but we have to 10 counts before we get in trouble. (See The Essential 55 by Ron Clark) I usually count out loud the numbers, but I have been known to just count using my hand. I use American Sign Language to count to 10 because it only requires 1 hand. The kids love it, and I don't have to strain my voice to count!

Behavior Management:
Class Dojo is a great behavior management tool that works whether you have a voice or not! Some things I love particularly when I don't have a voice are;
                           It gives a noise when you give or take away a point which reminds the kids about 
                           their behavior.
                      
                           I can display it on the ActivBoard so students can monitor how they are doing.
                      
                           I can give or take points on my ipad and it shows up on the active board.
                      
                           One thing I love, whether I have a voice or not, is that when I'm teaching, Class 
                           Dojo is not up on my board, but will still make a noise when I give or take points
                           Students  have no idea who I am giving or taking points from, but they automatically
                           begin self monitoring their behavior!


Teaching:
When you don't have a voice it's a great time to use peer tutors. I love using peer tutors often anyway, but it comes in handy to let them help me "teach" their neighbor the concepts!


These are just a few ways that might be able to help you! Don't forget to drink lots of hot tea! Do you have any hacks that help you get through a few days with no voice?

Teachers Are Heroes Sale!

My whole store will be an additional 20% off the teacherspayteachers sale! Just use key word "HEROES"!

Christmas Bookmark Freebie

Hey guys! As the holiday season draws near I wanted to share with you a free Christmas bookmark you can use in your classroom. I hope you enjoy! 

                                                   Click Here for the Free Bookmark!

Idea for Pulling Sticks

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you something new I am going to try this year. In years past, I have used popsicle sticks to randomly call on students to answer questions. I use them a lot when I am doing review, specifically in Science and Social Studies. I love pulling sticks because the students never know who I'm going to call on, which causes them to pay closer attention. The only downfall I have is that I don't want to continually pull the same stick and have the same student answer multiple answer, or miss a stick and a student not have a turn. So I started laying the stick to the side once a student got an answer correct. This lead to another problem... Once the student answered a question correctly they quit paying attention because they knew I wouldn't be pulling their stick again. Sigh... This ruins the whole purpose of the review in the first place! However, I believe I have found the solution!

I have added colored dots on both ends of the popsicle stick using a sharpie: one blue, one red. (I choose these colors because it's the color scheme of my room. I'm a bit OCD about matchy matchy!) I'll begin by having all sticks having the same color sticking out. Once a student answers a question correctly I will turn their stick over so that the second color is showing. This way I know who has answered a question and who has not. It also causes students to continue paying attention after they have answered a question, since their stick is still in the cup and could still be pulled.

Here is my "sticks cup." I have two cups because I have two classes since we departmentalize. My homeroom has McDonald on the cup and the other class has their homeroom teacher's name on the cup. 

This is one of the sticks. I just used a blue and red sharpie for the dots. Easy and cheaper than buying actual dots to stick on it. 

I have seen an idea where a toilet paper role has been used hidden inside the cup. Once a student answers a question the stick goes into the toilet paper role, which keeps the pulled sticks and unpulled sticks separate.

If you use a different strategy for pulling sticks, I would love to hear about them in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed!

5 Things I Want to Try in My Classroom This Year!

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you the 5 things I want to try in my classroom this year.  Last year we went full common core in math and reading. After a year of getting my feet wet, I'm now ready to dive in and see how it goes. Here are the 5 things I'm wanting to try during my "diving in" process! 

Number 1: Number Talks 

During a recent math conference this book was brought to my attention as a great way to work on fluency and math strategies with students. This book has common core connections and is for grades K-5.  I have talked my school into purchasing the book and am waiting very impatiently to get my hands on it! 

Number 2: A Carpet 

This one may seem strange but hear me out! In my school only K-3 grades have a carpet in their classrooms. It was always thought to be "too young" for 4-5 grade. To better implement number talks from above I need a "meeting place". Thus I would really like to get a carpet this year. I have read many blogs about intermediate grades using carpets successfully. Of course when I go searching for them again, I can't find them. ::sigh:: Once I have implemented the carpet and number talks I promise to come back and report how it is working! 

Number 3: Desk Organization 

I found a blog that had a really neat idea on how to keep desks organized when students switch classrooms. I am really hoping to try this this year to help keep the desks from becoming black holes. This idea can be found here: http://www.ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Number 4: Fractions 

During a recent math conference, this book was recommended to me for teaching fractions. In 4th grade CCSS fractions are a major focus. I really want to make sure I am teaching it in a way that my students will understand and comprehend, not just know how to find an answer. 

Number 5: I Can... Bulletin Board 

I am really wanting to turn my small bulletin board into an I Can.. CCSS Bulletin Board. I have been posting my standards on my white board, but now that summer is here, I am ready to tackle the bulletin boards. There are MANY cute ideas on how to decorate or organize an I Can bulletin Board. I'm juggling ideas around in my mind and have decided that I will decided on July 1 (when I am allowed to go to the teacher store and purchase items for the new school year) what route I want to go. 

What are some ideas that you are hoping to try this school year?

I hope you enjoyed!