Keeping track....

   I have seen colored cups and tickets on desks for how to keep track of students who come and go.  Then I saw on a website and Pinterest that a teacher used magnets on a piece of metal.  She suggested a flat cookie sheet.  LOVED THE IDEA!!!  Students come and go all day.  I am sure it is the same in your room.  I am good at remembering the regularly scheduled places and times.  However, DIBELS testing comes and kids are in and out.  Band lessons rotate every week.  It makes me dizzy! 
   So...I drove right down to the Goodwill (love it for recyclable/reusable items).  Could not find a cookie sheet. :( Did see tv trays.  The ones I bought are smaller than the usual but I thought they were different. Stopped by ACE Hardware to buy spray paint and painters tape.

                                   (Sorry, cannot seem to get it to rotate and stay rotated!)

  Then went to work.  Sketched how I wanted the layout to look.  Taped up the parts I was not going to paint maroon and went to town on spraying.  The maroon did not cover well.  It took several coats but all the others were only one or two coats.  Waiting between coats and between colors is VERY important.  Green was dry to the touch.  However, when the paper was taped down it did not all come back off.

              

   After all four were painted, I used Sharpies to decorate, divide, and label the parts.  Since the main objective is to know where my students are located, I make various sections for them to place their magnet when leaving the room.

                                        

 

 

   The pictures no matter how I try are not coming out well.  I hope you get the idea. I plan to use the Command Velcro wall hangers to put them on my wall. My magnets and glue gun are at school which makes it hard to finish this project.  I will be using flat round glass beads used for the bottom of aquariums or vases to write their numbers.  (Each student is given a number which is used for various organizational areas in the classroom.)  Magnets will be hot glued onto the back.  I will then be able to use the glass beads year after year.  

     When I finish this and put it up, I will add an up date.  Maybe with various pictures of this year's classroom set up.  I am going with an extreme sports theme.  Any ideas?  Seen any on the internet?  Love to see what ideas are out there! 

 

 



Mentoring adds to Differentiation

   
   One of the best intervention days happens on Fridays for my group.  This group is the enrichment and RtI tier one students who need fluency practice.  Two of our fifth grade intervention groups have coupled with our two kindergarten classrooms. 

   During our intervention period, it is the kindergarten Daily 5 period.  Fifth graders go to the kindergarten room with which we are paired.  The students in both classes look forward to this day.  That is natural engagement!  The kindergarteners believe they are special to have the "big" kids come listen to them read.  My students walk down the hall with a skip in their step and smiles on their faces after a mini lesson on how to "teach" or support their reader through questioning.  Wow! Verbalizing questions happens to be a weakness of even my higher students. Fifth graders in the past two weeks had to be able to assist with characterization, summarization, plot, and setting.  This has done more for my students abilities to apply their knowledge than any of the other activities I have developed.

My students who need additional fluency work do not know that they are getting extra practice by partner reading with their kindergarten student.

    This week both classes are working on onomatopoiea.  Since, figurative language is an emphasis before state testing this gave us the perfect oportunity to practice writing simple onomatopoiea sentences.  During our Monday intervention period, the figurative language types were reviewed.  In small group and large groups, we brainstormed onomatopoiea examples that kindergartners would understand.  This was a great challenge/enrichment activity.  It forced those who always think above and beyond to switch brain functions to bring it to a lower level.  Those who are not as strong in writing were given a reprieve from the constant push of fifth grade level writing. Once sentences were checked, okayed by myself,  and typed, the students illustrated them.  I put the parts into a wonderful book.  The classroom received the color copy and each kindergartener had a black and white copy to add to their book boxes. 

    The kindergarden teacher stopped me later to let me know that she shared the color copy with the students later.  All the students had their copies out as well.  She said they LOVED it!  I hope they continue to look at it to increase their fluency as well. 
     The only issue I had was two of my students did not complete their pictures. So, I made a quick black line sketch for their sentence.  Then I let the other teacher know that the last two pages were interactive.  The students can draw in bacon on the pan so it can sizzle and draw cars to zoom around the race track.  Sometimes, I just have to kiss my brain!
           Please, share what brain bursting activities in which you are involving your students.

Dividing, Fractions and Cartwheels...

UPDATE:  I have been very impressed with my students.  I just finished grading a grueling, Saxon, test!  I listened to several students whisper...do a cartwheel...stand up...multiply (X) and flip/reciprocal.    When I looked at the results out of my 20 students (1/3 SPED) only 2 missed the division of fractions.  YES!!! I wanted to do cartwheels...but I might break something... We won't discuss the rest of the assessment!   

 

Good Morning!
    I had to send a comment out about our introduction to division of fractions yesterday.  It always seems the best teaching hits you in the moment.  Well, it does for this teacher.  The resource teacher is in my room for math.  We have a great co-teaching relationship.  We bounce off each other and add to the lesson as it progresses with ease.  I love it!
   Yesterday afternoon, I started with a quick bingo math terms game.  In the last few weeks, the emphasis of warm up has been math vocabulary.  I believe a few terms are starting to sink into their brains.  The lesson set was simply one review problem for adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions.  Excellent! We are making our way through the fast paced 5th grade Saxon math.  After the review problems, I asked the students which opperation were we lacking.  A resounding "division" was offered.  So, I asked if they thought they were ready to give me a "Woowhoo!"  I am sure there were a few voices missing, but most enthusiastically responded. 
    I would like to take a side trip here about the verbal responses. However, I think I should use that for another longer post and keep to the subject at hand, division of fractions.  We use our personal whiteboards to extinction each year.  The students copied the problem presented on the mimio board (similiar to a smartboard).  Then it hit me....cartwheels!  And I have a former cheerleader/cheer coach in the back of my room.  What more did I need?!?!  I called my co-teacher forward and whispered that I needed her to do a cartwheel.  She happily, with a "what are you up to now, Kim?" look, fullfilled my request.  The students LOVED it! It is great to have someone who will be insane with you as these thoughts POP into the brain.
    Luckily, she is an expert mind reader as well! She then explained how to divide fractions.  To do a cartwheel, you start standing tall.  The first fraction stands tall or stays the same. She rewrote the first fraction below the original.  Students do the same on their boards. Asking the students, "What does operation does a cartwheel look like?" demonstrated the changing of the division sign to a multiplication sign. Below the division sign the multiplication sign is placed.  Finally, the question of what does the person performing a cartwheel have to do to be successful was posed.  Thumbs went up right away to explain they have to turn or go upside down. The second fraction does the same.  Again, the "upside down" or reciprocal fraction was written beneath the original. Finally, asked the students if they could successfully complete the problem that was now on their board.  "Yes!"
   As we worked in small groups, I noticed how the vast majority of the students were having no issues with division of fractions.  That is a first!  Usually, it takes a few reteaching lessons for them to completely comprehend the steps.  I just hope they remember it today!
    THOUGHTS:  Not everyone has a cheer coach in the room to demonstrate a cartwheel.  However, we all have access to the internet.  I am sure there are videos of how to do a cartwheel or at least some fun clipart somewhere to use.  Not as engaging as a teaching flipping in front of the room, but it still may help connect braincells.