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
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
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
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
Labels: Almarie.
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
Labels: Almarie.
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.
Practical Strategies for Maximizing Student Achievement in Mathwith Dan Mulligan.
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