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.

Being a fantastic Auntie!

So although I do not have children, my sisters (in-law) DO have children so I get to do so many fun things with them!  This past weekend I got to make Valentine's with them for their schools.  I have been seeing the melted crayon hearts all over Pinterest and I have been dying to make them.  I committed to making them this year and then got my nieces on board!

So I started the night before by putting hot tap water in a bowl with the crayons to take the wrappers off.  Good thing I did because it would have been a real bore with three year olds!

Now came to the breaking part.  The girls were really good at this!  They had a blast doing it also.  I was worried there might have been tears for broken crayons but luckily they have grown out of that stage!

So after all crayons were broken, they took quick work to filling up the silicone lip molds I found at Michael's where I live.  My brother tried to teach his daughter how to put the crayons in correctly but she seemed to ignore his instructions and do how she felt was right.  In all truth, there was no wrong way!  I did let them fill them by themselves and before I put them in the oven, I evened them out a little bit.

After baking them at 230 degrees for about 15 minutes, I took them out, stuck them outside for 5 minutes (due to the 'Polar Vortex' we have been experiencing, cooling time was extra short!) and they were done!  I wish I snapped a picture of their faces when they saw them for the first time.  They could not believe that THEY made those!

The girls finished them off by putting in a clear little bag, a note and signing their names (which ended up being first initials only) and I tied them up with a ribbon.  Great time had by all participants!  I can't wait till they are in elementary school to do it all over again with them.

A Math Problem is Born!

It has been a crazy winter this year and with all the craziness came a few extra days off of school.  Sure it was wonderful not to have to set an alarm clock on a Monday OR Tuesday but being home bound for an additional two days was starting to make me crazy in the head!   After it warmed up a few degrees(like 20 or so) I ventured out into the single digit temps to get some fresh air.  It was being outside and seeing the shadows that were being casted by the houses, fences, garages, myself and everything else, it came to me.  A math problem would be born.   At that time, we had been studying the Pythagorean Theorem in class and this was the perfect opportunity so bring a problem to life.  I trucked it out to the ally and dug wood poles out of the garbage can.  These wood poles were previously a decorative detail in our stairway which resembled jail bars to me.  They looked much better stuck in the snow!

So once they were in,  I grabbed the tape measure, measured and ran inside to write the measurements down.  I ended up measure two lengths in inches and the other in feet because it was easier to remember.  This added a little extra thinking to the problem which ended up being a good thing.  As you can see below,  this is what students walked in and saw on the board the next day.

I added a little extra drama to the introduction which students seemed to appreciate.  The biggest question they had was, "Is that your garage?" To which I replied...."Of course not!  Do you think I would  actually take a picture of my own backyard and show everyone?"  They believed me but really,  would I actually go through the trouble of doing this in someone else's backyard?  Silly kids,  just another reason why I love middle schoolers...

Technology in the classroom

Just recently at our "make up" institute day, we were educated about the SAMR model.  This model states that there are enhancements that can be done with technology and then there is transforming education with technology.

Image created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, Ph.D. http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/

This has me thinking how I use the 1:1 technology in my classroom.  Many of the activities I do enhance learning but how can i get to the coveted "transforming" level?  

This past week, I stepped into transformation for I believe the first time.  It was scary, it was frightening BUT i think that it worked.  We have been studying the Pythagorean Theorem and my goal was to increase students awareness of angles around us.  I created a pages file that each student downloaded.  I find that making a template for them works best for me so everyones work is organized!  

Below is a students work submission.  

This student loves sports so it was appropriate that he chose a goal post.  We talked about his picture because it wasn't square in the picture but he stated that he knew without a doubt that indeed, a goal post was a right angle.  As you can see, I had the student complete their work on a wipe board in class, take a photo using photo booth and insert it into the document.  

The second part of the assignment was the transformation part I was talking about.  I had each student post on eChalk their findings and then they had to leave constructive feedback for 4 other students work.  Looking at the responses,  the students really did well!  

If I had to do it again, I would think about the questions more and make them more meaningful.  I would also possibly make sentence starters for their responses to foster deeper reflection.   Overall, a good day math class!