My students did so exceedingly fantastic on their vocab quiz today that I wanted everyone who reads my blog to know about it!! Each month they have twenty vocabulary words to learn. They learn the spelling, meaning, antonyms, synonyms, part of speech, and placement of the accent mark. It's alot! And the words aren't easy....we're talking about inimitable, controversial, entrepreneur, firebrand, vengeance, adjacent and many others. Today the kids had a quiz over this unit's first ten words. I gave the definitions and they had to give the correct word. Not only that, they had to spell them accurately. For bonus points, students could list the part of speech for each word. Most students got an A+, but all of the grades were above average and absolutely acceptable. Let it be known that I am so proud of my students and thank God for their hard work in preparing for this quiz.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
What Happened?
It's 5:11 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. I'm still at school, and that's ok because I don't have anything I have to do later. I love these long evenings at school when I can relax and enjoy doing all those teachery things I usually have to rush through. So what did my day look like, you ask? And why am I still here after 5? Here's what happened....
7:30 arrive and prep for the day
8:00 meet students; collect homework, say pledges, pray
8:15 5th/6th off to morning classes,; 4th in for math
9:21 late for 2nd grade math cause I ran eggs from Hyinks out to my car; made kids sit in the hallway so Ashleigh and I could have a potty break
10:20 5th/6h Class B arrives for math, my signal to dismiss 2nd grade
11:10 Class B successfully through math test 12 and on their way to Social Studies, Class A in for math
11:47 Class A finished with math test and we're late for lunch cause I was working on my best bulletin board yet
12:25 in from a lovely recess out in the gorgeous sunshine (I could even smell the lake on the breeze! benefits of being so close to the water)
1:05 just finished two chapters in our read-aloud book, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle
1:40 5th/6th off to typing after a great intro to our new vocab unit, they already can use some of the words in sentences!
2:28 finished up a meeting with PNB about youth group stuff and back to meet 5th/6th graders
3:06 wrapped up our Samson lesson with a fun crossword puzzle review (they've really enjoyed our study of the book of Judges!)
3:13 still coaxing students out the door..."I love you, but you need to go home now!" (besides, I needed another potty stop!=)
3:21 back to work on the new bulletin board; this one is super cool but it's taking enough work to justify leaving it up the rest of the year; pictures possibly to follow
5:00 had to stop with the bulletin board - hoping some time away will help me think of the last perfect detail I need to make it complete.
5:10 done grading Class A's math tests and vocab assignments; checking email; writing on blog
I'm sure there were a few more potty breaks in there, but pretty much that's it. I LOVE being a teacher and can't imagine doing anything else!
7:30 arrive and prep for the day
8:00 meet students; collect homework, say pledges, pray
8:15 5th/6th off to morning classes,; 4th in for math
9:21 late for 2nd grade math cause I ran eggs from Hyinks out to my car; made kids sit in the hallway so Ashleigh and I could have a potty break
10:20 5th/6h Class B arrives for math, my signal to dismiss 2nd grade
11:10 Class B successfully through math test 12 and on their way to Social Studies, Class A in for math
11:47 Class A finished with math test and we're late for lunch cause I was working on my best bulletin board yet
12:25 in from a lovely recess out in the gorgeous sunshine (I could even smell the lake on the breeze! benefits of being so close to the water)
1:05 just finished two chapters in our read-aloud book, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle
1:40 5th/6th off to typing after a great intro to our new vocab unit, they already can use some of the words in sentences!
2:28 finished up a meeting with PNB about youth group stuff and back to meet 5th/6th graders
3:06 wrapped up our Samson lesson with a fun crossword puzzle review (they've really enjoyed our study of the book of Judges!)
3:13 still coaxing students out the door..."I love you, but you need to go home now!" (besides, I needed another potty stop!=)
3:21 back to work on the new bulletin board; this one is super cool but it's taking enough work to justify leaving it up the rest of the year; pictures possibly to follow
5:00 had to stop with the bulletin board - hoping some time away will help me think of the last perfect detail I need to make it complete.
5:10 done grading Class A's math tests and vocab assignments; checking email; writing on blog
I'm sure there were a few more potty breaks in there, but pretty much that's it. I LOVE being a teacher and can't imagine doing anything else!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Tongue
"You did not know what you were saying because your tongue is out of control. It is always walking away on its own and leaving your head behind."
from The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the image of God...my brethren, these things ought not to be so." from James chapter 3, the Holy Bible
from The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the image of God...my brethren, these things ought not to be so." from James chapter 3, the Holy Bible
Friday, January 14, 2011
Multiplication Week, Days 3, 4, 5
Ok so I got a little behind. Teaching is a busy profession! And mentally exhausting. But it's worth it. I would not ever want to do anything else. Anyway, let's get caught up with the events of the rest of our multiplication week.
Day 3 - We wrote some more facts and found some fun places to recite them. We went in a "secret" hallway in the building that is one of those places that kids just love because you don't really know it's there and there's this huge gorgeous window. Anyway, the kids were in awe! Next we did a fun worksheet called a Multiplication Mosaic (Google that and you'll see the book I use). The bottom half of the worksheet has multiplication facts with one factor missing; beside each fact is the name of a color in parentheses. For example: 8 x ___ = 72 (purple). The top half of the page is a blank coordinate plane. After filling in the missing factors at the bottom, students use the two factors as coordinates, and instead of plotting a point on the grid they color the corresponding square with the color listed beside the fact. When they are finished plotting and coloring in the squares they see a special design. Our design for the day was a beautiful blue, black, and purple butterfly. The kids asked to do more! This activity is great because it gives a little different multiplication practice than the usual, plus they get practice with the coordinate plane which is something they will be using all through high school even.
Day 4 - More writing and reciting facts. We said the tens and elevens times tables to Mrs. Norman, our church secretary. Our big game was "King/Queen of the Class." I made a super fun crown for the current King or Queen to wear. Each time they beat someone the current King or Queen received a point to represent one year of their reign. No points were given for winning the crown from someone; they had to win it then beat another person to get their first "year". The kids loved this method! It added to the imagination of the game, rather than just keeping "points." Points are boring. To say that "Kara won because she reigned for seven years!" is so much more fun. =)
Day 5 - We reviewed our tricks and reminders; fun to see the progress even from Monday. Worked on one multiplication table worksheet. They spent the last half of the class doing a scavenger hunt. They were all over the building with the rules to walk, whisper, and work together. They did it great. To figure out each clue they had to answer multiplication facts then match the answer to a letter on a list I had made. The last one was to find me, where I had a new pencil for each of them as a reward for all their hard work this week. Difficult, tedious work can be made funner than fun, you just have to know how!
Day 3 - We wrote some more facts and found some fun places to recite them. We went in a "secret" hallway in the building that is one of those places that kids just love because you don't really know it's there and there's this huge gorgeous window. Anyway, the kids were in awe! Next we did a fun worksheet called a Multiplication Mosaic (Google that and you'll see the book I use). The bottom half of the worksheet has multiplication facts with one factor missing; beside each fact is the name of a color in parentheses. For example: 8 x ___ = 72 (purple). The top half of the page is a blank coordinate plane. After filling in the missing factors at the bottom, students use the two factors as coordinates, and instead of plotting a point on the grid they color the corresponding square with the color listed beside the fact. When they are finished plotting and coloring in the squares they see a special design. Our design for the day was a beautiful blue, black, and purple butterfly. The kids asked to do more! This activity is great because it gives a little different multiplication practice than the usual, plus they get practice with the coordinate plane which is something they will be using all through high school even.
Day 4 - More writing and reciting facts. We said the tens and elevens times tables to Mrs. Norman, our church secretary. Our big game was "King/Queen of the Class." I made a super fun crown for the current King or Queen to wear. Each time they beat someone the current King or Queen received a point to represent one year of their reign. No points were given for winning the crown from someone; they had to win it then beat another person to get their first "year". The kids loved this method! It added to the imagination of the game, rather than just keeping "points." Points are boring. To say that "Kara won because she reigned for seven years!" is so much more fun. =)
Day 5 - We reviewed our tricks and reminders; fun to see the progress even from Monday. Worked on one multiplication table worksheet. They spent the last half of the class doing a scavenger hunt. They were all over the building with the rules to walk, whisper, and work together. They did it great. To figure out each clue they had to answer multiplication facts then match the answer to a letter on a list I had made. The last one was to find me, where I had a new pencil for each of them as a reward for all their hard work this week. Difficult, tedious work can be made funner than fun, you just have to know how!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
2nd Grade Quote of the Day
"If I win it, I'll be the Queen of Cute!"
When the second grade math class heard about the super fun game the fourth grade math class got to play, they begged to play it too. It's a simple "King/Queen of the Class" game. I made a crown out of some colorful, glittery paper I had; the winner got to keep the crown. One student wears the crown and sits on the "throne" (the stool I sit on to teach sometimes). I show a math flashcard - for second grade we did subtraction - and whoever says it first gets the crown. There's no points for winning the crown away from someone, but every time a student wins once they have the crown they get a point to represent one year of reigning as King or Queen. That point system I just thought of on the fly this morning and the kids liked it. My second graders thought if they won the crown the could be the boss of me too, so I had to remind them I was still in charge. I told them they could be King or Queen, but I was the High Supreme Ruler of the World. Can't beat that! Youngsters love to imagine, so why not incorporate it into things that can be terribly mundane...like math class?! Imagination makes everything much more fun and we're still accomplishing our goal. True, such activities are a bit more time consuming so we can't do them every day. Whenever we can, though, it's totally worth the time and effort. Seeing the kids' gigantic smiles and hearing their laughter during math class is the best thing ever!
When the second grade math class heard about the super fun game the fourth grade math class got to play, they begged to play it too. It's a simple "King/Queen of the Class" game. I made a crown out of some colorful, glittery paper I had; the winner got to keep the crown. One student wears the crown and sits on the "throne" (the stool I sit on to teach sometimes). I show a math flashcard - for second grade we did subtraction - and whoever says it first gets the crown. There's no points for winning the crown away from someone, but every time a student wins once they have the crown they get a point to represent one year of reigning as King or Queen. That point system I just thought of on the fly this morning and the kids liked it. My second graders thought if they won the crown the could be the boss of me too, so I had to remind them I was still in charge. I told them they could be King or Queen, but I was the High Supreme Ruler of the World. Can't beat that! Youngsters love to imagine, so why not incorporate it into things that can be terribly mundane...like math class?! Imagination makes everything much more fun and we're still accomplishing our goal. True, such activities are a bit more time consuming so we can't do them every day. Whenever we can, though, it's totally worth the time and effort. Seeing the kids' gigantic smiles and hearing their laughter during math class is the best thing ever!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Multiplication Week, Day 2
Today for 4th grade multiplication week we wrote and recited our 6-9 times tables. First we wrote out the 9's then stood to recite them. We did the same, then, for the next three sets, facing a different direction each time we stood to recite. To liven things up we clapped twice after each of the 7's facts and stomped twice after each 6 fact. The last half of the class we played Go Fish, my own homemade version. A match consisted of a multiplication fact and an answer. For instance, if a student had a card that said "4x5 and 5x4" that student would ask for "20" on his or her turn. It was a super great game! The kids seemed to enjoy it. I let the winner choose out of my small-item goody box.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Multiplication Week, Day #1
Since my fourth grade math class is struggling with multiplication facts, I decided to dedicate an entire week to just that. Each day we will practice saying and writing facts, as well as doing many fun activities. Today was our first day. To start with we worked on some tricks and reminders. Here are a few: "5,6,7,8.....56 is 7x8!" and "5x5 is 25, I just saw a big bee hive; 6x6 is 36, let's go stir the cookie mix; 7x7 is 49, don't sit on a porcupine" (the kids got to create the rhymes for those doubles facts). We also use "nines hands", a cool strategy for figuring out the 9 times table with your fingers. (Yes, it's ok to use fingers!) After going over the tricks and reminders students wrote out their own flashcards to add to the ones we made last week. On one side they put the fact and its twin (4x5 and 5x4) and on the other side they wrote the answer. Finally, I called out multiplication facts and students wrote the answers with dry-erase markers on a large, round, clear plastic table protector. We did this sitting in the middle of the church foyer, simply for a change of scenery (something simple as that can make an activity a hundred times more fun!)
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