Pinterest drives my instruction: Math games

Some of the newest math games in my classroom. Inspired by this user and this user (and upon further inspection from that nutty and amazing Teacher Tipster.)



I altered a Guess Who? game. I replaced all of the heads with 3 or 4 or 5 digit numbers. The rules are the same, as kiddos are trying to guess their opponent's number. Is it s 3-digit number? Is it greater than ___? Does it have a 5 in it's tens column? Is it an odd number?



I altered a Jenga game with multiplication facts. The tower gets set up (like in normal Jenga), and as kids take out a Jenga block (and it doesn't fall) they have to answer the multiplication fact. If they get it right, they are safe. If not, they have to pull another block.



DOMO. (So the game is really called SNAKE, but I teach French Immersion and our class pet is my stuffed DOMO-kun, so we renamed the game DOMO.) This is a whole-class game. Each kid draws a tableau on some scrap paper with each column a letter in the word you are spelling (DOMO). Round 1 is round D. All students stand up and I roll two dice. Once I roll I ask if they want to stay in the game. If they stay, they write down the total of the dice on their table and I move on. I roll the dice again, and before i tell them the total, I ask if they are in or out. If they are out, they keep all the points that they've accumulated so far. If they stay in, they are facing risky business. You see, if I roll  a 1, they lose all the points. If I roll a double 1 (snake eyes) they lose all points from the current round and any round before. Once I roll a 1, students add all the points from column D and we move on to Round 2:Round O and all kids stand up again. They love it. We also have a (first to 100) bébé DOMO version that kids play in pairs.

**More games to come soon. Also I want to share the crazy-ness that is my triple-grade numeracy block! Until then - try some of these games.

*Note: Pinterest doesn't really drive my instruction. The data (is the roadmap that) drives my instruction and student interests, but there are so many amazing resources for teachers waiting to be pinned. And since I have over 200 pins on my schooled board (that I am actually doing!) I thought I should share them with the world.

mathy valentines.

Today we wrote some math (thomas) valentines. Here are some of my favourites translated. These kids are hilarious.

"Dear Area - You fill my heart with love and make me feel all warm and cozy inside. Love, Rectangle"
"Dear Mode - You are beautiful and smart. You'll always be my favourite. Love, a data set."
"Dear 536 - Things are not working out. We need to break up and go our own ways. I've found someone new. From, Division"
"Dear numbers, I love you in my life. Our love keeps growing and growing. Love, ascending pattern."
"Dear addition - We belong together and will be together forever. You are my match. Love, subtraction."



These valentines were part of some voice trait learning. We've been talking about adding voice to our writing with some quick-write mini lessons. One of the ways we can add voice is to change the point of view of the author.  Above is a picture of my hallway bulletin board devoted to the voice trait. Included with the valentines are some "Show, don't tell" paragraphs and some voice-embedded opinion grocery lists. I also put some self-portrait collages - because if they aren't full of voice, I don't know what is.

Pinterest Drives my Instruction: Twitter Board

Someone somewhere (on Pinterest) made a twitter board. Then someone else copied. Then I thought it was cool - being an "on-and-off" tweeter myself, so I copied too.

It's been up since September. Each kid has a username (mine is @madammie) and I usually write something like "What is your favourite genre of book? Why?" or "What is your opinion about finding the perimeter of polygons?" or "How are you feeling today?" under my name, and throughout the day (or week) students add their tweets. I'm a bit too nerdy for my own good.



You might also recognize the kids flying with the balloons which have their "hopes and dreams" for the year from Pinterest. Come on in... let's learn about things!

Subtraction strategies!

We are working on subtraction strategies. It is very important to realize as a parent (and a teacher!) that the traditional North American algorithm (columns with regrouping) is NOT the only or best or fasted way to solve large-digit subtraction. It may seem that way because for many adults, it was the only strategy that we learned in school.

Some of the other strategies that we'll be exploring at school include: Base 10 blocks, Decomposing, Number Line (why subtract when you can add?), friendly numbers and anything else that students come up with that works every time!

I was taught in school the traditional algorithm (cross out the number, borrow from the next), but after learning so many new strategies, I'm never going back!

Check out this video of a teacher explaining 16 different ways to subtract!


 

 

Read. Read. Read.

The biggest concern of parents of children in a French Immersion classroom is that they [the parents] don’t speak French and don't think they'll be able to help their child with homework. In an attempt to ease that concern and bridge a better connection between home and school, I send home monthly “tips” in my newsletters.

FOSTER A LOVE OF READING!

Read with your children at least once a day (in ANY language) for at least 20 minutes. Have a family reading time - where everyone reads.

Continue reading aloud to your child even if they can read by themselves. Even if they are in grade 4 or 6 or 12.

Explore books together. Ask questions, explore character motivations and themes. Point out new vocabulary or ideas. Make connections to your lives.

Vary the text. Reading does not only have to be chapter books. It can also be with non-fiction texts such as science experiments, instruction manuals, magazines, cookbooks, comic books, movie/music/book/game reviews. menus, song lyrics, catalogues, blogs, food & product labels, brochures and newspapers. Try an audio book! Respect the genre your child chooses (even if you are scared of snakes or cannot stand princesses!)

Tell stories together orally. Talk about your family genealogy, or vacation memories. Record yourselves!

Set up a reading space in your home and make sure everyone uses it. Build a great home library. Keep reading materials in the bathroom, in the car, in bedrooms and near the tv!

Be a good reading role model. Let your children see what you are reading - share interesting things you’ve read about in books, magazines, online or in newspapers. Seeing you read will inspire your children to read and your reaction to reading has a huge influence on your child as a reader.

Visit bookstores and libraries. Get a library card, take advantage of programming and explore new authors and genres together.

Ask your child what he or she is reading, and encourage discussion.

Go places and do things together to build their background knowledge and vocabulary. This will give them a stronger basis for things they read.

Be knowledgable about your child’s progress. Find out what reading skills and strategies they are expected to have at each grade level. Talk to your child's teacher.

Add some Writing!  Provide lots of writing materials (paper, pencils, pens, markers, staplers, hole punches, yarn...) Write grocery lists, thank-you cards, posters, family newsletters, make books....

The Set-Up: What My Classroom Says About Me...

To desk or not to desk?  No teacher desk. I haven't had one in years. I have some shelves with teacher books and curriculum documents, as well as unused science/social studies texts. I have a horseshoe guided reading table to work at (I keep my laptop on it) and a couple of cupboards and drawers behind it to store some of my stuff.  I don't need any more space than that. I felt that when I had a desk I just used it to dump things on and shove stuff in. It wasn't useful and I quickly got rid of it.

Tables or desks: I wish I had tables.  I have desks set up in groups. I rarely teach a lesson with the kiddos at their desks. It makes it seem like I am talking to more kids than there actually art. I like them on the carpet in front of me. I sometimes sit with them on the floor, or stand/sit in a chair. I feel much more confident when I am taller than my students. For most work, students have the opportunity to work wherever they want in the classroom. I have camping chairs, a plethora of stools and ottmen, a bunch of pillows and a couple of carpets. Students are usually at "their desk" for artwork and eating.

What's on your walls?  There isn't much....yet. We create anchor charts together as a class and put them up as we create them. Since I do have 13 of the same kids as last year, I've kept some of the anchor charts - since technically we did create them together so that they can continue to refer to until I "re-teach" it to the entire class. Some teachers still put up motivational quote posters, but I can't stand them. Even if I did like them, you can't find them in French anywhere.

Are you in the room?  Not really. There is a picture of me with silly glasses on the door with the rest of my class. I suppose it would be nice to have a picture of Rob & Eli somewhere, but I don't - just like the students don't have photos of their families on their desks. My writer's notebook has some photos of them plastered on the cover.  I have a class photo from each of the classes that I've taught along the top of my Religion board, and a couple of sculptures (past art projects), my rubber chicken and my stuffed Domo (class pet) on some high shelves.

Which way do your desks face?  I keep my desks in groups. It saves space, my kids are (quiet) hard workers and we do a lot of group work. If they turn their heads one way they see the SMARTboard, and if they look the other way, they see the white boards. But as I mentioned, most mini-lessons happen from the carpet or at the small group table.

Are there places for the students to work that doesn't include their desks?  They can work wherever they feel that they work best and stay on task. They choose.

Can they get what they need?  I keep containers of things (pencil crayons, markers, pencils, erasers, staplers, tape, pens, glue, paper clips, paper) all at the writing shelves. They can grab it if they need it. Unless it gets trashed or abused, they have access.

Where are those rules?  I don't have rules/consequences posted anywhere. The first week of school we practice routines over and over again. We also discuss and internalize our classroom rules (My most important two: Listen to instructions the first time and SPEAK IN FRENCH). We practice and practice. If at anytime throughout the year the expectations are not met, we'll stop and review again - but my kids are pretty great.

Where's the tech?  We have a SMARTboard and 4 classroom computers. We have a class iPad and a FLIP video camera. I often have my camera at school too. The kids become very comfortable with the gadgets quickly. This year we'll be blogging, tweeting, animating, playing math games, listening to audio books, creating photo and video projects and doing a lot of media literacy. I think we'll try skyping with Rob's class too!

guiding questions from: Pernilleripp

One month in

I am back to the land of hilarious grade 3 teeth and crazy eyeball glasses.

My kids are lovely, my classroom has been made over and I have received lots of love from my co-workers.

I’ve organized the science fair, gotten back into the arts scene, taught my kids the writing process and done some mad assessments in the past month (and snuck in a March Break.)

I’m baaaaaack!

I  love teaching. If you read my blog before Eli was born, you’d have noticed that I have a passion for it. My dream job really. My co-workers are awesome. We laugh and laugh and laugh together (and cry and commiserate together too).  I get dressed up and wear make-up and fancy shoes and not have to carry around a diaper bag. I feel really confident and happy. I get to be “Mme” and “Lindsay” for a few hours and let go of “Maman” (although students occasionally slip and call me mom). I’m not crawling around on the floor picking up dropped cheerios, making sure the toilet seat is down and plants are out of reach.  I also get a break from trying to change a dirty diaper in warp speed before Eli squirms away on me. Going back to work has also gotten me out of my lazy rut and I no longer feel like a cleaning lady. I love spending time with my baby, but I truly feel that I am a better mom to Eli when I am being fulfilled in other areas of my life. The best part of my day is coming home to my sweet baby. His face lightens up when he hears my voice and he crawls with all his might to me for a big hug and snuggle all night long. My priorities are different. I don’t spend my evenings planning for school, instead I spend time with my family.

There are some things I really miss about Maternity leave (besides being with my wee boy all day). Waking up before 9am is really hard. Especially with a baby all snuggled up next to you. I really miss my morning (and afternoon) nap. I also really miss my impromptu visits with my best friends and their baked goods.