Thursday, April 29, 2010

Web Quests ???

Even though I've heard about Web Quests, I've never actually used one in the classroom or assigned one for enrichment ..... SO, I was wondering how many (if any) of my SURN-mates have used Web Quests. If so, any recommendations on how to use this tool in the classroom. I'm actually building one now in a class to earn recertification points. The process of putting it together is quite structured, layered, and at times, complicated.
Does anyone regularly use "BrainPop"? I find that it is a great lesson opener as well as a quick way to check previous understanding. My students are just starting solving equations with inequalities and the BrainPop video was a super introduction and the quiz let me know the prior knowledge that my students were coming to me with.

Foldables

To teach students to solve equations I had them create a foldable. They took a regular 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper and folded into a brochure. Holding it horizontally the front in the first step: simplify by combining like terms to one side using inverse operations. The students open the first flap where they will write step 2: undo addition or subtraction then they fully open the foldable where step 3 will be: undo multiplication or division. They are required to bring it to class everyday and they use it as they solve various equations. It has worked really well for many students.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Website- www.learningupgrade.com

Our grade level, in math, recently received a grant in which membership to a website was purchased. The website is www.learningupgrade.com, and they have a free 7 day trial for those interested.
The kids love the website. It starts with basics as a review and moves up to the more complicated objectives. They use fun songs, tutorials, and then practice on this interactive site.
We just started a remediation process each afternoon with each student using self paced lessons. The format keeps the students engaged and even the most hard to keep focused students are focusing. The company uses graphics and themes that appeal to middle school aged kids, yet the explanations are simple enough to grasp.
Give it a try if you can find the time.

Friday, April 23, 2010

www.Quia.com

Check this site out. Your technology person should have a free login and password (otherwise $55/yr). I am trying to spend some time concentrating on vocabulary. With this site you can create a hangman, concentration or matching game just by entering the information once. With this site I enter in a definition and have the students play hangman to solve for the term. The students enjoy this and don't really realize that they are practing or reviewing vocabulary.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Crunch Time

It is April and spring break is over. It is now time to make sure everything you taught your students is still there and ready to be used on the SOL's or EOC's. But wait a minute, the adults in your professional life also want more attention. What do you do to make sure your students are ready and keep the powers that be happy? How do you decide which group is more important? I try to find a happy medium where everyone can get some of what they need. I will be happy when the only group that matters is the student group. By the way, I do know the adult group have the children in mind. I just think they are unaware of the time that is taken away from planning for the students when another report is requested.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Great Circle Hunt

Sixth Graders need to be able to calculate circumference and area of a circle when given either the radius, diameter or circumference. I do a "circle hunt" activity to help them calculate these. I have taken about 30 "circles" (paper plates) and labeled them with either a diameter, a radius, or a circumference. I also have placed a number on the back of each circle. The students all receive a circle hunt paper with different plates that they have to locate. Their papers have radii, diameters and circumferences listed on them. The object is for a student to find a circle and calculate the two measures that are not given. For example, a radius plate would need the diameter and circumference calculated and a circumference plate would need the radius and diameter calculated. Therefore, the students can't just pick up a plate and find a match, they have to actually apply the formulas and show their work. Each student has to make 10 matches. Typically, they have to check and calculate more than just 10 out of 30, so it gives them a lot of practice.

Our school has an enclosed courtyard, so when it's nice outside, I scatter the plates across the courtyard for an added element of difficulty. The kids really like it and they seem to get a lot from it.

I have two different circle hunt activities one for circumference, radius and diameter, and then another one for area. I also have several different versions of each sheet, so the students aren't all looking for the exact same 10 plates. If you're interested in this activity, I can email you the activity sheets. You're on your own with the plates though!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Student Teacher

I currently have a student teacher in my room (which is a great blessing and she has been wonderful!). It is amazing though how funny our students are when it comes to something new in their environment or any type of change. It was interesting to watch how slowly they were willing to accept her into their lives. They were very skeptical at first – they were rebellious and rude at times. They asked me several times “why can’t you teach us anymore” when she officially took over the classes. I worked with her to create opportunities to earn trust which helped, and they eventually came around and now love her (most of them J).

It made me think about how over whelming that was for them, and that when we experience similar bouts of rebelliousness or rudeness in other parts of our teaching, that maybe we should consider some of the possible things that cause those behaviors that have absolutely nothing to do with us. Middle Schoolers (the only ones I have experience with) have lots going on in their bodies, brains, and lives outside of school. It just made me open my eyes to the fact that we may not always give them credit for all of those things when we must deal with these behaviors.

Area of Polygons

We recently had a half day of school which dramatically decreased our class time. As a good review before their exam, students were given a polygon and asked to measure it, and to construct a poster including the area formula and showing all the work of how they "plugged" in their measurements into the formula. Extra credit was given to those students who decided to also compute the perimater. All materials were supplied by the teacher.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Character Education

My school started a "Character Counts Initiative" about a month ago. To encourage students to appreciate and be respectful to one another, I began to use a strategy from Mr. Ron Nash (he was the speaker from the beginning of school this year) during test day. This is his suggestion: Pick 4 students to pass out paper; have students go to them and feed an appropriate compliment to get paper. Compliment: Start with whatever they want, then ask them to complement the 4 students on something that they do well.

Writing About Math

Students struggle with math. Students struggle with writing. It would follow then that students would struggle to write about math. A program out of Chicago, called COUNTDOWN, has helped my students to begin writing about math. A simple problem for middle school, such as finding common multiples is proposed in a Venn Diagram setting. Students sort the multiples into the separate sections of the circles - an easy enough task. Students then have to write a paragraph explaining what they did and why. Most students have a very hard time verbally explaining, let alone writing down why they made the decisions they did. I found that I had to start my seventh graders off with sentence prompts so they understood what I meant when I said "explain" why you did what you did. I have always been a proponent of math talk, but math writing has become my new world to conquer. It really helps the students' metacognition.

Friday, April 9, 2010

MOTIVATING STUDENTS

Sunday, April 4, 2010
MOTIVATING STUDENTS
Last school year I had some students who did not care about completing classwork, homework or any type of work to achieve a grade. I observed that I had quite a few students who didn't care about learning, more over to get work done. When I gave them homework, most of them did not turn it in. I realized that if these students continued with this attitude, they would be in for big trouble when it was time for the SOL exams. Even though I gave them incentives and praises when they did well or answered questions correctly, I knew that they needed more than that. I realized that they needed motivation, love, and attention as most of them said that they were going to fail anyway.I started encouraging my worse behaving students to attend afterschool remediation and gave them special incentives for attending as this was the time that I could give them more individual attention. I told them that they can achieve anything they want achieve in life if they just stay in school and work hard. I constantly told them how smart they were and that they will get a higher grade on their next test. These were the students who told me that other adults said, "You will not become anything in life and will drop out of school eventually". These students actually believed that they did not have a chance in society because they were dumb. Well I turned that around and almost all those students passed their 2009 SOL test and have moved on to the next grade. Everytime I see them, I continue to encourage them to do their best.So if any of you have students who think that they will not make it, just continue to encourage and praise them in class. Place them the spotlight when they do well or answer a question correctly. Remind them of how smart they are and how they can achieve anything they want to achieve if they believe in themselves.
Posted by Almarie at 3:46 PM
Labels: Almarie Ferguson

SCAVENGER HUNT GAME

Sunday, March 28, 2010
SCAVENGER HUNT GAME
Sometimes I allow my students to complete activities that allow them to move around the classroom. Occasionally when a unit is completed I give them the opportunity play a game. An activity sheet is done while playing a scavenger hunt game. Posters are placed all around the classroom, and each student works with a partner (preferably a stronger student) to solve the problems on each poster. Each paper is folded with a letter written on the front. The letter on the paper will be recorded at number 1 on their activity sheet, and then they solve the problem under the flap of the paper. After solving that problem, the answer will be recorded, after which both students then move around the room and look for the answer at the bottom of the other posters in the room. When the answer is found, they record the letter on that poster at number 2 on their activity sheet, and then solve the problem. This is repeated until all the problems around the room are solved. Each group is randomly called to solve their problems on the chalkboard.
Posted by Almarie at 10:07 AM
Labels: Almarie Ferguson

STRATEGIES FOR SOL

Saturday, March 27, 2010
STRATEGIES FOR SOL
As the SOL exams draw closer, my team and I plan to zoom in on some strategies that can be used to help our students succeed on their math exam. We plan to compile practice questions from each SOL objective together with SOL test questions. When we begin our review, after each objective is reviewed, the students will get an assessment with questions that relate to that objective to see how ready they are for the test.These questions will also be aligned with the SOL language. After all these objectives are reviewed and tested, we will have enough data to know where we stand and what needs additional remediation. I believe this is a good strategy because we used it at our school last year and we made it in math. Our students also practiced on Jefferson Lab (Virginia SOL practice tests).
Posted by Almarie at 2:44 PM

DIFFERENTIATION

Saturday, March 27, 2010

DIFFERENTIATION
At a recent workshop we look at how to effectively differentiate for students operating at various levels in our classroom. My team came up with the following: We broke up our students in three groups, 1. Pre-requisite – students operating from 0-49, 2. Target – students operating from 50-69 and 3. Advanced - students operating from 70-100.SOL 6.5 – Integers6.5 A – Need to know: model real life situations by identifying/choosing the best integer for the situation.6.5 B – Need to know: compare and order integers using a number line and symbols (>, <, =)PRE-REQUISITE:Focus Question: How can you determine if a scenario represents a negative or positive integer?ACTIVITY 1: Students are given negative and positive scenarios and they differentiate what “pile” they go into.Example:1.) 10 feet below sea level/the ground2.) a kite ascended 12 ft in the air3.) Abby took the elevator from the ground floor of the hotel to the penthouse (5th floor)4.) Almarie withdraws $30 from her savings account.TARGET:Draw a number line and place the (pre-requisite) situations on the number line to correctly order them. Then, compare two negative and positive situations and answer the focus question: “How can you determine if a scenario represents a negative or positive integer?”ENHANCED:Focus Question: “Draw a number line to represent how each integer changes to determine the solution.”Students are given situations with change. They will determine the outcome of the change and note the changes of the integers.Example:Sam has $100 in his bank account. He withdraws $30 on Tuesday and $50 on Wednesday. He deposited $100 on Thursday and paid a utility bill of $60 that day. On Friday his car broke down and the mechanic charged $70. Does he have enough money in his account to pay the bill?
Posted by Almarie at 2:00 PM
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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Math Sort Cards

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop offered by Dan Mulligan. He has created Math Sort cards for grades K-6 and they are available for FREE. All we have to do is download and print!! I do not know how long they will be there, but they can currently be found at www.vaascd.org Just scroll down the page until you see
Practical Strategies for Maximizing Student Achievement in Mathwith Dan Mulligan.