Balanced Math

Ok, I am not very good at writing blog posts regularly. I'm sure no one else is even reading my blog but that's ok because I write it as a reflection of my learning to help me become a better teacher. If it sparks an idea for someone else out there, that's just

bonus!

With that said...

This post is to help me reflect about next year. Previously, I've taught all grades and subjects. For the 2 years before this one, I taught 5th/6th Science and Social Studies. This year I was saddled with got the pleasure of teaching 6th grade Math and Science. Wink. 

It's  been awhile since I've taught math and I wasn't quite sure how to teach Oklahoma standards for 6th grade math.  Plus we are rewriting standards currently because our uneducated legislators decided to move away from common core and left us with seriously out-dated standards.  I found out that I over taught some areas and fell short in others. Therefore, with the help of our building instructional coach, I have decided to get ahead of the game and start researching Balanced Math. (Our district does Balanced Literacy but hasn't started reforming math yet.)

I found many different articles about Balanced Math and found some of them confusing, some helpful, and some wrong with all that is within me as a teacher. LOL. I came at it from the framework of Balanced Literature. There is fluency (fact practice), comprehension (problem-solving), vocabulary, writing (I am going to start with Building Better Math Responses by Runde's Room), and instead of read aloud I will do math out-loud (mental math). 

I created a PowerPoint to show the students at the beginning of next year. Here is one slide of that PowerPoint that kind of sums it all up:

I am also going to add a little bit of gamification to my class. Next year I will not give "grades". I will allow students to earn points towards a goal for each semester. Everything they complete will count as points towards their goal of "graduating 6th grade" to become middle schoolers (our 6th grade is in the Elementary in Tulsa, OK). So instead of "23/25 = 92% A" on an assignment, the student will see +23. Students will have a form in their data folders to see where they stand.

Please leave me a comment if you have a suggestion or a question. Thanks!

Gamification of Education

This year I am teaching myself to think outside the box and make games in order to gamify my class. I have my brother to thank for that. He is an educator in TX and I've been here in OK.

Anyways, I taught the kids how to play "I declare war", the card game. This week, where I had left the regular playing cards for "war", I replaced it with basic multiplication fact flashcards from Dollar Tree. Keep in mind my students are 6th graders, though they don't know their facts well.

I was pleased to hear a group of girls who are particularly low in math who decided to play "war" with the flash cards! So when one got 5x11 and one got 4x12, they figured it out and just kept going.

Virginia

Geography Goodies

Ok so it's most of the way through January and I haven't blogged yet! I feel so far behind. I just read a  blog post which I found on pinterest. It had some great ideas about exploring countries by introducing food from that country. The problem for me was that most of the countries listed were eastern hemisphere. In my 6th grade geography class we study Western hemisphere! So I decided to create a list of my own.

For Canada  I chose SUCRE À LA CRÈME (variation)

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup light whipping cream
2 tbsp. butter

Combine ingredients in a microwave bowl. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes on HIGH. Stir twice while cooking; let stand for 5 minutes. Whip mixture in blender until smooth 3-5 minutes. Pour into buttered Pyrex dish and refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 hour. Cut into small squares.

Canadian Food

USA is all about apple pie! These little apple dumplings look super easy. I can't wait to try them with my class.

I actually went to Mexico with my church youth group when I was 17. I was so young and simple minded. At our first dinner in a restaurant, I wanted something familiar so I ordered tacos. LOL. Mexican tacos and tex-mex tacos are not the same! My favorite Mexican food is probably Mexican wedding cookies.

Guatemala & Cuba have a distinctive latin flair. Click on the country to find the recipes.

I still need recipes for Jamaica, the Bahamas, Panama, & Puerto Rico.

I also need to find more for South American countries. Have any ideas? Just leave a comment!

Tech Savvy Teacher

OK, so it's Winter break. A time I usually spend catching up on lesson plans and grading, etc. This year for the first time in a long time I decided to visit my brother in Texas. He's a teacher and his wife is too. He's working on his doctorate and is super tech savvy. He fixed up my laptop, talked to me about how to use an iPad in the classroom (and now I want one even worse than I did before), and many other educational topics. I've been here a week and my head is spinning from all the great info. Even tho he teaches in a high school and I teach elementary, there are many ideas he has about education that are cutting edge and innovative which I can use. A book he introduced me to is going to be my next professional book to buy and read.

Make Just One Change by Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana

Composting

I've been working on starting a composting club AND I know nothing about composting. LOL. So I invited Sam & James from Green Country Permaculture to share a lesson with my students. A few weeks ago they came and taught the sixth graders about composting from the biology aspect and the chemistry aspect. I think I fell in love at that point! They used vocabulary words and concepts that I had been introducing. It went well and the sixth graders began composting.

Before the guys came back today, I taught a lesson on how to take successful notes to my fifth graders. When the guys came in and taught the composting lesson I watched and tried not to interrupt unless behavior warranted it. My fifth graders are a much more kinesthetic group and I was worried that it wouldn't go as well as the sixth graders. They were AMAZING. They were a little talkative but the notes were fabulous and extensive. The guys even used grade level appropriate vocabulary that was different (or maybe I was listening as a fifth grade teacher instead of a sixth grade teacher this time).

My students learned about why composting is important.

In the chemistry section, they learned about Nitrogen (green) and Carbon (brown) as the two major components of a compost. In the sixth grade class we talked about the ratio of nitrogen to carbon and related it to how many students per teacher in each class.

We talked about things that can not be composted and why those things should not be composted.

Then we talked about the Biology of composting. One of the guys asked my class what living things might be in a compost bin. I was so proud of one of my girls that answered germs. When they asked what she meant by germs she said bacteria! Woohoo! They do pay attention. We talked about decomposers (which happens to be the next lesson in our book) and what they need to live.

We talked about how the decomposers need an acceptable environment which includes shelter, air flow, food, water, and warmth. We talked about the compostable things we listed earlier and what is readily available for us to compost at our school. We have a composting bin (with straw next to it) in our outside classroom/garden area. We talked about the food scraps and how to gather them from the cafeteria.

When it came time to talk about the need for water, we talked about Chloramine being in our tap water now. We talked about it's harmful effects and that we should get water from another source. We decided that we need a system to collect rain water.

We talked about how during the winter the sun is mostly on the South side of the building.  So to keep the decomposers' shelter warm, we decided that the south side of the Garden wall would be the best place.

Overall, the lesson was a great success. We have 5 gallon buckets for our new Composting Club, which were purchased at Home Depot by another teacher helping with the project. The kids are excited and I'm proud. Another lesson success!

Election lessons

I know we are past the election now but I had a fabulous time teaching the election process with my fifth and sixth grade classes this year! So I thought I'd share. I started off by researching several ideas on the internet (candy bars, pop, etc). I even bought a mini unit on Teachers Pay Teachers. I didn't like anything that I found just as it was So… I did what a good teacher does and I adapted other peoples' ideas to fit my needs. I chose to hold a candy bar election.

I started by having each class brainstorm (or add to earlier brainstorms) a list of chocolate candies and then chewy candies. The next day everyone nominated their favorite in each category. I calculated to find the top 3 chocolate candidates and the top 3 chewy candidates.

Next it was time for a lesson on Presidential primary races. We talked about what happened in the spring of 2012 and how Mitt Romney became the republican nomination and why President Obama did not have to run against anyone in a primary this year. Students were asked to make a Voter Registration card which they were responsible for keeping during the ENTIRE process.

Then, during station (center) time, I asked students to research and find our candidates slogans. I asked them if they could create a better slogan. I allowed a few days for this process.

After that, we held our primary elections. Students had to show their registration identification card in order to vote. Now, after many hours of calculating votes, we had our candidates for top candy. For this year it was Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups vs. Gummi Bears.

At this point, the students chose sides and made campaign posters and “buttons” (Avery labels 8293).

Students were asked to make campaign speeches. I chose one from each candidate and asked the student who wrote it to go on the morning announcements to give their speech. It was great to hear “…There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s, so you can't go wrong voting for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.” But my favorite was when the chewy representative stood up and talked about “… Bringing tasty back…” our new slogan for Gummi Bears.

I created a ballot, printed out Vote stickers (labels 8293), and handed out ballots/stickers to the teachers of 3rd and 4th grades. On Election Day, I gave students each one Reese’s and 4 or 5 Gummi Bears. I asked them to consider which candidate best met their needs. Then I made students in 5th and 6th grade show their voter id to get a ballot. When they turned in their ballot they got their vote sticker.

In the end, Reese’s won (I still think we need a recount). I waited a week before asking the students what they learned from the experience. I wanted to see if the excitement was about learning or about the candy. I was happy to find out that many students retained an understanding of how the election process works.