Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the girls at Create to Educate! We hope you have a fun and safe night!! Come back tomorrow for 5 for Friday!

Competition in the Classroom

It's Amy and I'm sharing a little bit about how I motivate my students.  As we all know, multiplication is an essential skill necessary for math from third grade forward.  It's is my job to present multiplication to students using a variety of strategies such as arrays, number lines, groups of, and skip counting.  I am a firm believer that multiplication is a skill that should be DRILLED!!  Yes, all of these strategies are excellent to help students understand the concept of multiplication, but they MUST know the facts.
I teach two math segments each day.  My students take home a multiplication log and are asked to log multiplication practice minutes.  I check the log each Monday.  We graph the results for each class on a bar graph displayed on the inside of the classroom door.  The student in each class who practices the most minutes is rewarded with a certificate (not pictured).  The certificates are displayed for a week on the door.  The next week the certificate is given to the student and the new multiplication leader's certificate is displayed.  As you can see from the graph below, these students mean business.  They are neck and neck with minutes practiced.  It's awesome on Monday when the students are eager to find out how many minutes practiced they are adding to the graph. 

The students are also given multiplication practice pass-off sheets every few days.  At the end of each math lesson, when time allows, I give the students a quick one-minute drill.  The drill is based on each student's pace.  I keep a log as students pass of any set of facts.  The log is not pictured due to privacy.  Once a student passes off a set of facts their name is added to the "I CAN" posters.  Each class is represented using a different color.  As the students master facts from 0-12, they enter the "Home run Club" and are given a nice certificate and prize.  The first class to get all members in the Home run Club earns a pizza party.

Each class looks for their "class color!"  It's really cool to hear, "Look there is more blue!" or "Oh no!  They are catching up to us!"

 I keep the pass-off quizzes in this file box.  It takes me a matter of minutes to call students names out to come get their practice quiz.  They really get excited about these drills.

I use competition within the classroom in many different ways.  This is just one way to share.  I've challenged class for class, student for student, gender for gender, and table for table.  Students are more motivated to learn and become very competitive when a challenge is presented.  I am very cautious to only display the necessary information and not to criticize or point out any student "pulling" down class averages or in this case practicing fewer minutes than others.  What are some of your motivational techniques?

Tried it Tuesday - Managing Homework

Hello again!  It's Kim and I am linking up to "Tried It Tuesday" with Fourth Grade Flipper.  I am bringing you an idea about how to manage homework in your classroom.  Several years ago, I stumbled on an educational idea called learning contracts.  Basically, the teacher designs a document that lists most (if not all) of the assignments that a student will be doing within the unit.  Each assignment is awarded a certain number of points based on its length or complexity.  Students pick various activities to accumulate the desired number of points.  This idea works particularly well in high school, where students have the ability to be more self-directed and motivated.  I created several learning contracts in my Honors Geometry classes that included required assignments, such as taking notes and doing warm-up problems, along with homework, daily assignments, and mini-projects.  Early on, I realized that several of the activities actually required enough student effort to be a stand-alone grade in the grade book instead of just a single item within the learning contract.  So...

I decided to turn the idea of a learning contract into a homework contract and save the bigger assignments for separate grades.  Here is one of the many homework contracts I have created: 

I include the unit's topics, standards, and essential questions.  I also include how to access the online textbook.  I star the items that are required, which for me is the warm-up problems and notes in class.  I then list the homework assignments for the unit.  We just adopted new Common Core standards, so our homework assignments are not firmly set before we begin the unit.  So for now, I leave a blank space for the students to fill in their homework assignment when it is given.  

The day that an individual homework assignment is due, I walk around the room with a stamp while students are completing warm-ups.  Any student who has their homework completed as requested (with work shown, etc) gets a stamp.  That stamp is worth 10 points on the homework contract.  Students that don't have the homework on time can complete the assignment with us as we go over it in class.  If they turn in the homework late (without the stamp) in the learning contract at the end of the unit, they will earn 5 points for that assignment.  I never record homework.  Students are responsible for keeping up with the contract page, which is usually printed on colored paper.  While students are testing, or during test conferencing/test correction days, I call students up to count up the points they have earned on the learning contract.  It is a good time to talk about organization and why they are not completing homework during this time too.  I then count the homework contract as two daily grades in the computer.  My high school students loved knowing exactly what was expected of them for the unit!  

Of course, this format can be totally customized to what works in your classroom.  I have adjusted the points for warm-ups and notes throughout the years.  Currently in 6th grade math, I have warm-ups and notes counting 15 points each.  I strive for 7 homework assignments a unit, which makes the total points add up to 100.  I find that I rarely get to 7 homeworks in a unit with 6th graders though! 

The homework contract gives students a vision and direction for the unit.  Along with a student agenda, it helps students know where to look for any math homework.  It takes much of the homework record keeping away from me and in turn gives more responsibility to the students.  Please feel free to respond in the comments below with any questions you may have about implementing homework/learning contracts in your class!

Kim

Monday Made It - Wheel of Answers

 and   

Hello everyone!  We are linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It and Math Monday at A Burst of First.  With the help of my 6th grade math team, I have been incorporating station teaching for the last 2 years.  We typically have 3 stations in the room:  independent, small group with the teacher, and technology.  We use small group teaching time to introduce complex topics (like problem solving).  We find any type of websites or apps for students to use in the technology station.  The independent group may be individual, but it may also be partner work.  In either case, the idea behind the "independent" group is that they need little interaction from the teacher.  The best way to keep the independent group working without teacher intervention is to have an activity that allows the students to self-check their work.  Here is one option that we have used:

I found a similar idea on Pinterest where students identified parts of speech to a given sentence around the wheel.  I decided to change it a bit and place math answers around a wheel.  Students then solve problems and clothespin the problem to the correct answer.  It is a simple idea of matching, but with a fun twist.  The students loved using the clothespins!  The best part for me is that the independent group knows if they get an answer that is not on the wheel, they should go back and check their work.  I sometimes include "perfect problems" (as called by my 6th grade teammates) that show students exactly how to solve the problems, again without my intervention.  We have a saying around class, "do a few, check a few."  Students learn to do a few problems before going to check the perfect problems.  

It is amazing how easy it can be to make a simple concept of matching a problem to an answer more engaging for students.  The wheel idea above can be altered to meet almost any content for any grade level.  Enjoy!

Kim

Freebie Sunday

Hello! This is Robyn and I am just dropping by to share a Halloween Freebie for all you Pre-K or Kindergarten teachers!  I plan on using these to settle the kiddos on Halloween morning and the morning after.  We all know how WILD they can be on those days!!

 

Click on any picture to take you to my TPT store for this FREEBIE! Enjoy!

Welcome: Meet Amy

 

Welcome to our blog!  I fall right in the middle as a third grade teacher.  I am currently in my fifth year of teaching.  Education is my second career.  I obtained my B.S. degree in Exercise Science and worked as an Exercise Specialist at a local nursing home.  After 3 years into my career, I decided I wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of being a teacher.  It was then I pursued a Master's Degree with Initial Certification in Early Childhood Education.  I was hired 1 month shy of graduating.  I was one of three new hires in my entire county!  I knew this was God's plan when I landed my first teaching job.  I taught second grade for 3 years and was then asked to loop to third grade.  I took on the challenge, faced the transition to Common Core, and embarked on the journey to earn my Specialist degree in Teacher Leadership.  After teaching third grade one year, I was asked to remain a third grade teacher.  

As of today, I currently teach math and science to an amazing group of third graders, serve as third grade's lead teacher, and I am a member of the leadership team for my school.  Also, I have recently been asked to be the county-wide representative for third grade math.  I love my job and my students.  It's my ultimate goal to make a difference in EVERY child's life that enters my classroom.  I have an amazing husband, a three year old son, a baby boy on the way, and a fur baby.  I look forward to this adventure into blogging with two of my very best friends! 

Click HERE to view my TPT store!

Five for Friday

This Robyn and I want to welcome any new readers!! We are so excited about our new blog!  We are linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!  This has been a really fun week in Kindergarten! We have been learning all about the letter Ii!

Now on to the Five!

1) I am cheating a little and going back a few weeks to Columbus Day! We have so much fun learning all about this mysterious explorer.  They had never heard of him and were bright eyed and so interested when I was telling of his adventures. I used my Christopher Columbus TPT mini unit.  Their favorite part was creating their own ship.

2) This week we decide to set some specific goals for each subject.  We talked about them as a group and choose them together.  I loved how serious they got!  Reading: Say ALL sight words. Writing: Build out writing stamina to 20 mins. Math: Write to 50 and Science/S.S.- Be curious learners.  The reward is a popcorn party!  These are just written with a dry erase marker on laminated card stock.

3)  We ended the letter Ii week by eating ice cream sandwiches! YUM!  We rolled the edges in black and orange sprinkles.  They are the colors for our high school football team! They were a HUGE hit!

4)  We made really cute igloos with tissue paper, but we didn't finish.   I will have to post a picture later.  They are looking so cute!!

5)  My son is 4 and in Pre-K.  He is working really hard on his name every night.  He also had homework to match numbers 1-5 to dot cards.  He played the game over and over!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Welcome! All About Kim

Hello everyone and welcome to our new blogging adventure!  As Robyn mentioned, we are always talking about school and sharing our experiences with each other.  Why not extend our discussions to the digital world as well?  I have spent a total of 11 years in education, serving both as a teacher and a Curriculum Coordinator.  I taught high school math for 6 years, mostly focusing on Algebra 1 and Geometry courses.  I found that although I did not like Geometry while I was in high school, it became one of my favorite courses to teach.  I also served as the Department chair for 5 years, where I focused on professional development within the department, equipment inventory and scheduling courses.  I was honored as my high school's teacher-of-the-year and also the district's teacher-of-the-year in 2007-2008.  It is quite humbling to be recognized by your peers!

While I was teaching high school, I also went back to school to earn a Master's in Administration and Supervision.  After receiving my degree, I moved into a Curriculum Coordinator position.  In that position, I organized and planned all state and local testing.  I also worked within administration requests and policies to create the master schedule for the high school.  One of my favorite roles was mentoring first and second year teachers as they worked to begin their teaching careers.  Since I am very much math-minded, I loved the organization required in scheduling testing and creating master schedules.  I became best friends with Microsoft Excel!

After my husband and I had our first child, I decided to find a job closer to home.  I have been back in the classroom teaching 6th grade math for the past 3 years.  I have really relied on all of my elementary school friends for help in merging my knowledge of high schoolers with some elementary ideas to develop my middle school instructional strategies.  I hope that you enjoy the variety of ideas we will share on this blog!

Welcome! All About Robyn

I want to welcome everyone to our new adventure in blogging!  We are a group of educators that just happen to be best friends! We are always talking about our adventures in the classroom. We have some really GOOD stories and many creative ideas to share.  So why not share them with the blogging world!? We all get so many great ideas from you guys already. I hope you can gain something from us as well!!
And now to the introductions…

My name is Robyn and I am a kindergarten teacher!  I am in my 9th year as an educator.  I have not always been a kindergarten teacher.  I taught Special Education for 3 years and 5th grade Math and Science for 5 years.  I then got a WILD hair and decided that teaching the youngest would be the best fit for me.  I am LOVING my new adventures as a Kindergarten teacher! I feel like my passion for teaching has been revived.  The year has been great so far! I hope you join me in my new adventures!!
By the way...I also have a personal blog that you can visit here.  My TPT store can be found here.

Stay tuned to the other Create to Educate Girls!