Homemade Presents!

My Auntie Terese said, "You and Jason work so well together.  You think of things and he makes them!"  It is kinda true.  So this past Christmas, I was stumped at what to get my Dad and Stepmom.  So here we are, 3 days before and it finally hits me, a growth chart!  Why was this the perfect gift?  Well, they have been measuring my nieces on the wall, behind the coats and if they ever move, this will be lost forever!

So Jason and I went out to Owl Lumber in Lombard.  We (really him) picked out some great wood.  We bought a total of 3 pieces of wood to his mom and my aunt could also get one, eventually.  We had no idea how this was going to go so we went to work in the basement.  Jason made the board flat and square with his joiner and plainer.

It was not time to test out how we would make the marks so it looks like a giant ruler.  Really funny that this is like using a scale factor!  Each inch was going to look like 1 foot on the wood.  Jason got out the router and we picked some different size bits out and tested.  We decided that the 1 foot marks should be the longest (2.5 inches) , then the half foot (2 inches) , quarter foot (1.5 inches) and each inch (1 inch) would be the shortest.   We had found success!

So now it was time to mark the board and go for it!  We had to set up a straight edge that I held while Jason used the router.  It was quite the process but it worked!

Now that the router part was finished, we could clean it and put a clear coat on it. For the numbers, I went to Home Depot and bought 4" address numbers.  It looks so good!

Best Christmas present ever!  Now the kids can be measured forever and ever.  I can't wait till my nieces are measuring their kids on this growth chart!

Minute to Win It: Winter Celebration!

The day before winter break always gets me.  It appears tradition in the school is to rotate from each room and do something different in each.  Year 1, made snowflakes for Sandy Hook.  Year 2, made cards for family/friends/teachers.  Year 3, totally stepped it up a notch!

Searching around my favorite Pinterest, I found inspiration!  Minute to Win It was conceived!  I narrowed it down to 6 games we would play
1. Do you want to Build a Snowman!
2. Stack 'em Up
3. M&M Movers
4. Holiday Card Scoot
5. Marshmallow Toss
6. Face the Cookie

So I set up the classroom with a spotlight table where each team had their place then in an arc, there were two tables where the teams could sit together. When students walked into the room, I simply assigned them a team and that is where they sat!  It was actually easier than I had expected.

First game, building a snowman.  The object was to stack 3 mini marshmallows, the team that had the most still standing at the end of 1 minute wins!  Biggest problem, the snowmen would fall over.  It took a special technique to get them to stick!

Second game, cup stacking.  The previous week, we had done an unplugged coding activity with cups so I had plenty of cups that are usable for drinking. The students were given a stack of cups and they had to make a perfect pyramid and back to the stack using only 1 hand.  If any cups fell over, they had to start again. So fun!

Third game, M&M movers.  The object of the game, pick up M&M's using only a straw and put them in a cup (had a different size left over cup from our week of coding) This may have been my favorite game because it was fun to watch! The most in the cup at the end of 1 minute was 35 I believe.  WOW!

Fourth game, getting the holiday card to hand off the end.  This was way harder then I had expected!  They were given a stack of 4 cards and they had to blow through a straw and get the card to hand off the edge without it falling off the table.  I had collected holiday cards from home and other teachers for this.  When I was done with the cards, I gave them to NJHS to repurpose. 

Fifth game, marshmallow toss.  The object was for 1 player to toss a marshmallow through a hoop (aka a piece of foil shaped like a circle) into a bucket.  This required a little bit of skill and a whole lot of communication between the partners.  It was pretty interesting to see who really excelled at this, the one you least expected!

Last but not least, the facing the cookie!  The object was to start with a cookie on their forehead and shimmy it down to their mouth.  What a hoot!    I ended up having the entire team up to the table and do a relay out of it.  There was one student who did it in no more than 4 seconds... AMAZING!

Hope this has inspired you to step up your winter party!  Middle schoolers loved it!

SBG Explanation for Students

As with any educator, Pinterest is the holy land of all ideas.  I was on a short brain break during a late night planning session and I came across the blog, Everybody is a Genius by Sarah.  This blog has been great a great resource for ideas and what other secondary math teachers are doing, lots of pictures too!

When I saw the poster, "What does my grade mean?", I fell IN LOVE!  I have a student friendly rubric  that I use but this is very relatable for middle school students and pretty too!

My 'pInspiration'

So I give all credit to Sarah and her wonderful blog!  I took out the difference between 4/3.5/3 because I don't do half points and also changed the numbers to reflect 10-5 with my district has adopted. 

And just because I am putting off grading papers, I also made an inspiration poster-esk one as well. I will probably end up editing the color to make them softer but not bad so far. 

So once again, I am in love with this wording, explanation and easy to understand visualness.  Thank you SO much Sarah!

Ever Wonder what the Pencil Sharpener Thinks?

I was sitting at the front table during class and I happened to be next to the pencil sharpener.  As I was there, I witnessed many students walk up to the sharpen their pencil and JAM it in the hole.  Oh boy I thought.  Most students don't know that there is a technique so they default to brut strength to get the job done.    Boy of boy do they have a lot to learn but that's a whole different topic for another day.

My prized pencil sharpener and great poster ;)

As it had been a long day, I started to think like a pencil sharpener and these are some things that I think it would like to say.

"Wow, you really do sharpen your pencil a lot.  Get back to work!"
"Ouch ouch that hurts!  You need to be gentle with me"
"Could somebody please clean me, it's dirty in here!"
"Ohhh, you must use a Ticonderoga pencil.  Best in the world!"

Then again, pencil sharpeners don't talk.  Probably better off that way! Have a great day!

Class Dojo and my Classroom

This year I have started using Class Dojo with my classes.  I explain Class Dojo as a way to communicate, track and recognize non-academic behaviors in the classroom.  It is a FREE user friendly program that is web based.   I loaded all my classes on the computer but I primarily use the app on my iPad because it is even easier to use!  The premise behind what they call "Awards" is that positive awards give points, and needs work awards take away points.

I use Class Dojo to communicate with parents.  There is a messaging feature built into the program that will allow you to send whole class broadcasts or messages to individual students parents.   I use class broadcasts to keep parents informed about things in the classroom and other team reminders such as field trips, report cards, announcements, etc...  I also will message individual parents from time to time.   I send good notes home, when they happen, like a text message and same thing with student improvement concerns.   I have also heard from parents that they like using the Dojo because it less formal than an email and comfortable like a text message.

I use Class Dojo to track student homework completion, readiness to learn, behaviors that I value in students and many other things.  For example, at the beginning of class I go around and select the students who completed their homework and then 'Give Award' to those students.  It is also really helpful during group work.  I can look around and track which students are on task and off task.

 I give more positive awards than 'Needs Work' awards because I want the students to be recognized for good things.  With that being said, I have also identified 8 point take away behaviors.  When parents see negative behaviors awarded they ask questions and want to help correct the problem.  

I use Class Dojo to recognize students and reward them.  I have created a Class Dojo point cash out system.  Every 2 to 3 weeks, I record their cumulative point total and let them choose what they want to do with their points.  They can buy raffle tickets (currently for a Rubik's cube) , pencils/erasers or a free lunch period with their Dojo Points OR they can turn their points into PBIS Awards.  PBIS Awards can be used at the monthly school store for cool little things or out of uniform passes.   Along with 'cashing' each student out, I recognize the student in each class with the most points and the class with the highest average point total per student.  These students get a free raffle ticket for working hard!

Why do you love you Class Dojo? 

Color Cycle Year TWO!

So it finally happened today, Color Cycle is back!  Once again, Color Cycle is a volunteer organization for students.  I don't get paid to do it,  I do it because I believe in it!  If you remember, last year we collected 44 pounds of markers that we sent off to Crayola to be recycled.  That doesn't seem like a lot but it is 44 pounds that didn't end up in a landfill.

Today after school, 7 dedicated students (6 really and the other had to be there) helped out.  I had some students walking around the school recording room numbers/teachers names where bins would go, the boys chose to clean the bins and the rest were assembling the signs that go on the bin.  After the bins were clean and their signs was affixed, we went off and put bins in 20 classrooms with 6 more that still need them.

I am excited to get this off the ground and start doing a small part to help the environment.  My goal this year is to incorporate some of the SBL into math/homeroom classroom and expand the program!

Math Chat lead by Students!

Over the past three years, I have learned that getting students to discuss math is sometimes more important than anything else.  I always encourage students in my classroom to talk to each other about WHAT they are thinking and WHY.  Today, in my last math class of the day, it happened and it was a dream come true!

The warm-up on the board was a question about Mr Rey's bank account.  He had a balance of -26.00 and deposited some money and ended up with a balance of 23.00.  I pulled this question from our fall benchmark test and thought I would see how they did.  They had 4 options to choose from.  A. $3 B. $23 C. $43 D. $49.  I instructed the students to justify/prove their answer.  Students talked talking to each other at the table clusters then before I knew it, students were talking to each other across the room!  I made a quick decision, pulled some tables together and made one large 'conference' table as the kids called it.

The things that I noticed that students were doing...
- Speaking up for kids that were too shy to share
- Silent leaders surfacing
- Little to no off task behaviors
- A sense of group and ownership
- Explanations beyond the, "I picked C" solutions
- Students asking other students to explain
- Modeling of real life problems/discussions/solutions

When I felt that they were at a point where they had come to a general consensus, I stepped in and summarized the behaviors I listed above.  Then we went on to present our findings.  This group of 13 kids had 5 different ways to solve this one multiple choice problem!  I was so proud of them and what they had accomplished without even knowing it.   Needless to say, GEMA had to wait but this was too good of a teachable moment to pass up!

Ever have something like this happen?  Till another day!

Katie

Happy Halloween

From my pumpkins to yours!

It always amazes/inspires me when teachers make the most of the seasons like this one that used pumpkins to teach estimating of height and weight and teach circumference!  Way to go!

Katie

Positive Attitudes Win!

I had the pleasure this fall to coach a 7th and 8th grade girls Intramural basketball team.  I always find girls sports more enjoyable because middle school girls just love to talk and so do I!

So it was our second game of the season and we were playing a team that had some not so nice girls that had some bad attitudes.  Along with bad attitudes, they were pretty physical too.  This really got to my team and all they could focus on was the negatives of the game.  After we lost that game 10-0, we vowed the next time we played them, we would have a better attitude.

Believe it or not, the next time we faced them we won.  Not because we had more talent but because we didn't let their actions get to us.   After we won that game, we did not lose a single game after that and went on to be intramural champs!  I am so proud of my 'Green Lanterns'

Bringing Integers to Life!

When I was in my first year of teaching, I had stumped upon this activity somewhere.  I wish I tracked everything during that time but lets be serious, I was barely keeping my head above water.

The concept behind this integer activity is to get kids out of their seat moving while seeing if they make any connections from adding integers to subtracting integers.  

Directions: 

1. Start on the first number in the problem

2. Face the negative numbers for subtraction and the positive numbers for addition. 

3. Walk forwards for positive number and backwards for negative numbers. 

Check out this short clip.   Kids love this activity!  It isn't perfect so I haven't posted it on TPT yet.  If you would like it, leave a comment and I will send it to you!

This year kids cheered when I rolled out the GIANT number lines.  It really has nothing to do with anything but it sure felt good that they were excited!

Katie 

The Little Things in Life

There are times as a teacher that you tired, have more grading than imaginable, way behind in your class, students are acting up amongst other things then one little thing cheers up your day.  When I came back to my desk after the passing period, this instantly made my day better.  

Say hello to a piece of gum left on my grade book by a student after the previous class.  

We've hit Integer Season!

An important topic in 7th grade is integer operations.  This is the first time that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing integers are formally introduced.  I went about it differently this year than 2 years ago.  CMP3 suggested using chips to introduce addition, so that's what I tried!

I really liked it.  I felt that students really grasped the idea of adding integers.  They could see when adding a positive and negative number which had more and that determined the sign of the sum.

I also found that this concept really helped those struggling students.  This is a picture I snapped while helping a student one on one build her confidence in solving. 

After the introduction, I set students on a journey with a partner to answer questions from our online book.  This is where I saw students helping students the most.  They were explaining it in terms that made sense to them.  

The journey through integers is not always easy but I highly suggest using chips.  After using chips, I also taught students how to use the number line to add integers.  I left it up to the students which way of reasoning worked for them and never actually taught a formal way to add integers.  I would say 93% of students are confident in their integer abilities.  The other 7% I am working with daily.  

What are some methods of teaching integers you have tried?  Even if they didn't work, we can always learn from mistakes!

Katie 

Control Center of the Classroom

Any teacher knows that a paper management system (also balled being organized) will make the world of different.  Here is my 'control center'

There are a few key components that keep my life going.

1.  Make Up Quizzes

So I used to play the game of 'track the student' to make up grades and I was horrible at it!  I realized after I implemented SBG that it is not MY responsibility to track them down but it is the students.  I give a quiz each Thursday so the students know that if they are absent on a Thursday, their make up quiz will be push pined onto the board waiting for them.  How do I remember to do this?  When I pass out the quiz, I see who is missing and immediately write their name on a quiz and tack it up there.  Easy peasy!

2.  Hand in Papers Here!

What you can't see is that each bin is marked by period so students know where to place their papers.  This is where anything/everything goes into, I take nothing on my desk or in my hands.  

3.  Papers to be Passed Back

This is for me.  Once I grade/check-in any papers, I put them directly into the corresponding slot.  I find that this has helped me keep the clutter off my desk and motivates me to finish everything.  As an added bonus, I also have found that when kids see papers in there, they will offer to pass them back!  Double bonus!

4.  No Name Papers

I still don't understand how middle schoolers fail to put their names on papers but it happens!  So when I find one, I grade it and hang it up.  From there, it is up to the student to claim the paper and hand it in again, with their name this time. 

5.  Crate in the Middle 

You know when a student is absent and they come back and go "What did I miss?" This takes care of that!  When I hand out something in class, I immediately put it in the corresponding file folder.  My advanced math has its own section and the other class periods have their own section.  I made a file folder for each day of the week.  The new papers I put in standing up and the old papers are then turned sideways into the file folder.  This part of the control center is the hardest for me to remember to everyday but it makes my life SO much easier!

Of course there are some math cartoons that are funny and spruce it up a little bit.  What does your control center look like?  I would love to hear more ideas/suggestions!

Katie 

    

Sharing the Love, My Newest Goal!

So as I am still awake (way past my bedtime) I decided that I need to put more of the things I create out there for others.  Here are a few reasons why:

• I know that it will make someones day a whole lot easier
• I spend a lot of time on things and it should be shared, not hidden
• I think it would be really cool to have my things in other peoples classrooms
• How cool would it be to be TpT famous? 
• What teacher can't use the extra money...

With that being said, visit my store!  I will be posting more (I have SO many things I have created the past two years)

Here is a preview of the activity I made tonight...for tomorrow!  It is a constructing triangle stations set that has students draw conclusion and write about what they see.  

As you can see at the very bottom of the preview, I am still working on those mathematical practices.  It was one of my goals and truthfully, it really isn't that hard!

Hope to see you at my store soon!  If you have any requests for anything related to 7th or 8th grade math, feel free to post a comment here, I am CONFIDENT I have made it!

Balancing Frustration and Perseverance

So today was the first day that students came around to their different classes.  So, today was the first day I had to mold these find students into what I would like!

I have talked about 'Get it Together' activities in previous posts and today made me even more of a firm believer that these activities are AMAZING!  Students came into the classroom, sat anywhere they would like to and I started with 4 ground rules. 

• Work with your group
• If a group has a question, all group members hands must be raised
• Don't give up
• Respect the materials

They did awesome today.  1 group throughout the day had some issues but other than that, everyone worked together, was excited about solving each puzzle, couldn't wait to get to the next one, communicated well and DIDN'T GIVE UP!

I encourage you to try it out!  Order the book on amazon and prepare to be amazed!

Connected Mathematics 3

My district this year adopted the Connected Mathematics 3 curriculum.  We had our official 'get to know you' session with the curriculum and a representative Monday after the students left for the day. Let's talk about overload!

So here are a few things that I found to be interesting and terrifying all at the same time. 

• Every lesson has a Launch, Explore and Summarize
• Scaffolding thought about
• You can assign students lessons
• The student can 'write' and save work in their digital book
• You can comment and message students
• Concepts are throughout the curriculum, not just seen once

I have not had much time since Monday to explore more but I am excited about implementing this curriculum this year.  It won't be easy but, if it were easy, everybody would be doing it!

Anybody have any tips or tricks to using CMP3?  All and everything is greatly appreciated. 

And it has begun... 1st day of school 2014!

The day that I feared and looked forward to the most happened.  The 1st day of school! This year, I will be teaching 7th grade again.  At our middle school we loop with students from 7th to 8th grade.  So after being spoiled with wonderful students (most of them ;)) and bonding over 2 years, I get a fresh batch to mold.

I decided to spend the days (6 to be exact) at the lake relaxing before madness started.  I set up some of my room before I left.  I always take a picture of the room and title it, "The Calm Before the Storm".

Calm Before the Storm 3

I did not do that much other than put new fabric on the bulletin boards, put up the things I know I want students to see everyday, arrange the tables and organize my desk area.  I figured out last year that putting up math posters at the beginning of the year really does no good.  They blend into the walls and become a backdrop instead of helpful hints and teaching aides.  What I did last year was as we came to a topic, I could create the posters myself, use them as a teaching aide then after find a permanent home of the wall for them.  This worked really well and allowed me to make them as we go and personalize them to students needs.  I will post more pictures as I add things to my room.

On a separate note, the night before school started, I was of course procrastinating doing things that I should be doing, so I made this flower pot for my classroom.   I had found some old glass beads and cool shapes in my college things (yes I graduated in 2007 and just got to going through things, don't judge) and grabbed a planter from the garage.  I spray painted the plastic pot black and hot glued the glass on it, purchased some wheat grass from the grocery store and ta-daaaa!   It wasn't until after I did some research that I realized that wheat grass has a shelf life of 2 weeks so as of now, it looks great.  Moral of the story, I have another week or so to figure out my next game plan!

Looking forward to getting in the swing of things this year.  Does anyone have an alternative to wheat grass that will last for months with minimal attention?  Suggestions are always welcome.

Cordobas and Dollars

I just got back from a trip to Nicaragua (which was AMAZING!) but what stuck out the most to be was that I used math EVERYDAY!

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Isla de Ometepe, Volcan Conception

The currency in Nicaragua is Cordobas (which I will call 'cords' for short).  The exchange rate was 26 to 1, that is 26 cords to 1 US$.  Most the most common rate used was 25 cords to 1US$.  

My collection of 'cords' on the last day of my trip!
Holy money bags ;)  

If you exchanged ALL of your dollars to cords right away, well you were fine but to put the dollars you brought with you to good use, you could pay with dollars and receive cords as change.  Also, you could pay partially in dollars and the other in cords.   Confusing at times but completely justifiable using math.  

So why was math so important on my trip?  Well, it was my basic skills that I used the most.   Although I would like to say that I trusted the math of the locals, I didn't at all.  Many times their trusty calculator was incorrect and if it wasn't for doing the math in my head, I may have never realized it!

If anything, I have yet another reason to back up the importance of basic skills AND not relying on a calculator to give you the 'answer'.  Students always ask 'When are we going to use this?' and state 'I will always have a calculator with me'.  This is why in my classroom that I continue to stress the importance of basic skills and numerical reasoning.  What do you stress in your classroom? 

SBG PD Follow Up!

So I was extremely happy with how the PD went!  Attendees were very eager and open to getting started on their journey!  Below is some of the feedback I sent to my principal that came up during the 3 hour session. 

1. When implementing, learning targets should be consistent across grade levels.  At my middle school, I teach 5 sections of math, my curriculum buddy teaches 5 sections of math and the special education teacher teaches 1 or 2 sections of self contained math.  These are all the same grade level and if it wasn't for the massive amount of collaboration time we put it,  we would never be on the same page.  It was brought up that the ELA classes do not work together as much BUT if the learning targets were come up with ahead of time than each teacher could teach how they like but all students would be measured on the same scale.  

2. Educating staff about SBG best practices and presented workable/relatable research based evidence.  I hate to say it but in order for SBG to be successful, it needs to be done right with constant reflection and altering.  Providing a good foundation and creating an atmosphere where conversation is fostered is key in school wide implementation.  (Disclaimer:  I am not an expert, I just call it as I see it!)

3. Provide ample time for collaboration with grade level partners.  My curriculum buddy and I worked together daily this year but unfortunately not everyone can or will do that.  Designating more than 45 minutes per week will foster a healthy relationship and benefit the students the most!

So as a classroom teacher, how are you supposed to ensure that SBG will be successful?  Well part of the recipe for success if your attitude, dedication and advocacy for your needs. The other part of the recipe is to get your administration on board.  I have been very fortunate to have a principal that encourages teachers to try new things and gives the freedom to do so.  Although I do have this freedom, I also do lots of research and send my principal many emails and have meetings to advocate for SBG and keep him informed of things.  

The saying, "If it were easy, everyone would do it" comes to mind because it hasn't been easy all the time but in the end, students have benefited from the hard work and responded to a different grading system.  What issues have you run into during your journey with SBG?  What successes have you had and would like to share?  The more we as educators talk about SBG the better things will be for teachers, administrators and students!!!!

A math joke for your enjoyment!

Standards Based Grading PD

So tomorrow I am leading my first PD by myself!  I am very nervous but at the same time excited!  So my plan for tomorrow is to overview a little bit about what exactly is Standards Based Grading, what it means for students/parents, where exactly does/should one start and lots of time to start the process and ask questions.  I want to emphasize the ask questions and work with others because sometimes just having focused time on a topic works!  I am by no means an expert on this topic but I try my best to read proven research and adapt to my classroom/personality.

Below is a link to my presentation.  I will update tomorrow with how things went.

SBG PD Presentation

Let me know what you think of the presentation and any ideas/comments you have about SBG.  I would also love you hear your experiences and success stories to improve my out SBG practices. 

Ahhh Summer Vacation!

It is currently day 6 of summer vacation, it's raining and I am running out of things to do!

So far, I have booked a wedding venue, volunteered for a 5K, read a book at the pool, hosted a wedding shower, cut the grass, edged, replanted various plants, cooked (yep!), watched 7 episodes of Orange is the New Black on Netflix (I highly recommend it), completely tore apart and organized my room upstairs, booked a 2 week trip to Nicaragua for July and done exactly 2 loads of laundry.  What am I supposed to do now?

I really wish it wasn't raining is the moral of this whole story!  Till another day here is a really cool dude!


Scott Flansberg is so good at math that Regis Philbin gave him the nickname “The Human Calculator!” His expertise is not limited to a couple types of functions either; he can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and even do square and cube roots - all with lightning-fast speed and precision. Scott holds a Guinness World Record for his ability because he was able to add the same number to itself more times within a period of 15 seconds than a person could do with a calculator. He claims that he would be even faster but for the fact that he cannot articulate the answers as quickly as he can calculate them in his head! 

Watch Scott beat the pants off a group of college math professors in this video: 

Color Cycle Wrap Up!

It has been a successful year of collecting markers, expos, highlighters and sharpies at the middle school!  What started as a commercial I saw on television ended up saving a total of 44 POUNDS of garbage from going into a landfill!  Instead it was turned into clean burning fuel!  Visit Crayola to learn more about the program.

Here were the collection numbers by quarter..
Quarter 1:   8 pounds
Quarter 2:   8.5 pounds
Quarter 3: 11.5 pounds
Quarter 4: 16 pounds

Next year, I think that Color Cycle will 'turn it up' and expand our efforts!  What will you do at your school to help the environment?

Is this the End or just the Beginning?

 My 8th graders graduated on Tuesday night and I miss them greatly already.  I have spent the past 2 days scheduling the current 6th graders and can't help but think ahead to next year.  I have found my mind wandering, focused on how can I make my lessons better!

I have to remind myself that it is still 3 months away and that I need to take time some for myself but then I think, HOLY COW 3 months to prepare!  Never the less, to settle my battle, I have started to come up with goals.

Goal 1:  Incorporate STEM.  I know it seems like a buzzy term right now but what I want to incorporate are the ideas and the exposure to my students.  The idea that math is related to other subjects often times stumps my students.  How could it be?  Well dudes and dudettes, it is related to other things!  The other part of STEM that I like is that my students would be exposed to math in real life.  I know that math is everywhere and slowly everyday I have attempted to share this with kids but if I can make the solid connections with engaging and high interest activities that focus on the process standards for science, align with the CCSS for math and the SAMR model, it's a win win for all!

Goal 2:  Tweak my SBG practices.   As this was the first year I followed the SBG model changes need to be made.  There are some things that I really liked such as students could show progression and I knew exactly where every student's strengthens and weaknesses were at a glance but there were things I didn't like either.  I need to figure out a better way to show that I care about homework but to emphasis that it is practice and get the kids to be intrinsically motivated to do it as opposed to extrinsically motivated by rewards.  This is a big one!

Goal 3: Let students help in the classroom.   I can admit that I have a hard time letting kids to things in the classroom because I may be slightly a perfectionist.  Slowly over the past two years, I had a group of students that knew this about me that helped me out and did a fantastic job.  Now that those beloved 8th graders will be replaced by unsuspecting 7th graders, this makes me panic! So, I promise to myself to create 'Classroom Jobs' so that students can take ownership of the classroom.  I also promise to not redo a job at the end of the day because students won't benefit from that!

Goal 4: Learn to really do the Rubik's cube.  I can do it about halfway but I would really like to dazzle the new kids by completing it without aides.  In addition to the 'cool' factor associated with this(yep, kids still think it's cool!), it sparks interest in transformations which relates back to incorporating real like mathematics into the classroom!  Double Bonus.

I will update my goals as I continue on into the summer.  Do you have any goals for next year?  I would love to hear about them.  Thanks for reading!

Bloom's Taxonomy

While planning a recent lesson, I once again started thinking about the SAMR model and how I can incorporate this more into my math classroom.  While doing a quick google search, I came across this picture and it intrigued me.  Thanks Neil!

Bloom's Taxonomy has also intrigued me more and more throughout my second year of teaching.  Teaching in a district that is 1:1 and constantly looking for better ways to teach, this absolutely intrigues me.  A few questions I have about the above are as follows.  Feel free to answer and of them in the comments!

- How can I use a wordle with concepts such as solving systems of equations? 

- Should I be using google sketchup (something I have always wanted to do) but where to I find the time to teach the basics of it to all students? 

-How can I use wikipedia for students to research a math concept without the language being too technical? 

How can I get these kids to go from 'Pete and Repeat' in math to actually living, breathing and loving math?  It's not easy but somehow I am making way.   

On a separate note, today when going through solving systems of equations with substitution, I told the students that ALL great mathematicians talk to themselves.  I got many looks of 'Yep, Ms. Wicklander has officially gone crazy.'  I challenged students to talk to themselves while solving.  Challenged them to question their every move AND answer themselves too!  It was tough for many but at the end of class, it was louder but not because they were talking to their table buddy but because they were talking to themselves!!!!!  Amazing I tell yah.  Days like today put a smile on my face and make all those 'non smile' days worth it.  

Building Great Math Lessons!

As a middle school math teacher, I am constantly trying to engage my students in real life problems that will captivate students.  It is much easier said than done.

Being a 'young' educator I constantly put pressure on myself to produce lessons that are above and beyond.  Sometimes I fail but I also succeed.

In the past year and a half of educating I have realized a few things
1. It is ok to go to bed without completely figuring things out for the next day
2. It is ok to take some time for yourself on a week night
3. It is ok to rely on the professionals for ideas of lessons
4. It is ok to fail because through these failures, you grow.

In addition to the 'it's ok' list I have learned a few things it's not ok to do.
1. It is NOT ok to not be prepared.
2. It is NOT ok to wing it on a daily basis
3.  It is NOT ok to constantly rely on others for YOUR teaching
4.  It is NOT ok to allow mistakes to become habits (a lesson my principal taught me)

So what makes me think of this over spring break?   Procrastination of planning my next unit? Ignoring the gaping holes in the 'kitchen' walls during a complete remodel?  Knowing I have to tutor in a little over an hour?  Having yearbook to design when only the front cover is done?  Well, yes to all the previous questions and some more.

This year, I stumbled upon Robert Kaplinsky's website and my life(and teaching) have been transformed ever since. The things he comes up with are amazing resources for a teachers and are amazing activities for students. It addition to Robert's lessons he also has some pretty great 'blog friends' as I call them.  The blogs that he follows are just as great as his.  If I had never found this resource, my list of does and don't probably would have never come about.   I highly recommend that any middle school educator checks out Robert and his friends.

Funny for the Day!

So ISAT testing is upon us and as I am sitting here watching the kids test and grading, I came across this gem on one of their quizzes...

To this I say...  Yes please!  Happy Monday!

Katie Wicklander's Video Resume

This is my first go at a Video Resume!



Let me know what you think and any ways I can improve it.

Get it Together!

The lastest thing that I am raving about are these activites from the book "Get It Together"

My curriculum partner has been using 'Get it Together' activities for years and let me tell you, they are AMAZING!  They are a series of clues that students must work together to come up with a solution.  They range from building models with blocks/sticks, arranging the order of people to figuring out how many things each person has.  

Students may not always be excited about these activities at first but within seconds of diving into problems, they are 100% engaged and working their hardest.  The groups of students that are usually 'too cool' for group activities are usually the most enthralled by these.  The activities range in difficulty and could be used for high school students also.  Amazing resource that I think all should try.  

A Teachers Dream!

Since implementing Standards Based Grading in August,  I have been looking forward to the day that my green marker runs dry.  It finally happened!  One of the numerous green markers I use to grade has run out!   Not only do that  mean that students are excelling but it also meant that I got to contribute to the ColorCycle initiative that some students and I started at he middle school this year.  Double win for me today!

I guess I should explain now the significance of the green marker.  Annie (my fabulous curriculum partner) came up wing he idea to grade quizzes in three different colors.  Red, Yellow and. Green, like a stop light.  If a problem has a green check/mark next to it, that means that the student did a great job on the problem and showed understanding of the concept.  If a student started the problem correctly but could not complete the problem, they get an orange mark (yellow did not show up, so orange was substituted)  with some hints written in orange.  Orange signals that understanding is developing.  If a student showed no work, wrote an erroneous answer or left a problem blank, they receive a red mark of some sort.  So when a student receives a quiz back, there is no score on top of the paper, just a color coded guide to their understanding.  The poster below hangs in the classrooms to help students track their progress.

Before I enter grades,  I look at the questions that address each learning target.  I decide what level of understanding is demonstrated based on which questions students have answered correctly.  When I go to enter grades for the learning targets in my grade book,  I use the color codes as my guide and can quickly assign/record grades.

It has been interesting to see the progression of students thoughts as they receive quizzes back.  It started off as students counting the total number of green marks verse orange/red marks and figuring out their "percentage".  Now I can say that students look at the green but concentrate on the orange and what they did wrong and how they can fix their mistakes.

I am quite happy with this system.  At first, it was a little tedious to grade papers with three different colors but now it is much easier.  With anything, change takes a little time getting used to it.

Color Cycle, A student lead recycling program.

A few months ago, I was watching TV one night and saw a commercial for a marker recycling program sponsored by Crayola.  Recycling has always been something I have been interested in and decided to check it out.  Turns out it was really easy to sign-up and start the program at school.  I gathered a few of my most motivated 8th graders, cleaned out the local Deal$ store of small garbage cans and placed bins in EVERY classroom at my middle school with the sign below attached to it.

This past month, we sent our first box of markers to Crayola to be recycled!  We have collected 16.8 pounds of markers, highlighters and expo markers so far this year!

 The kids were really excited about having a box of old markers that didn't work!

 We taped the box up, printed off the FREE shipping label and scheduled the pickup at our school.  Off they go to become clean burning fuel and NOT to a landfill.