STEM At the Beach

Yesterday I wrote a little bit about our day trip to the beautiful Donner Lake.

What I didn't mention was the impromptu STEM lesson that happened while we were there.  I guess you can't really turn the teaching brain off even when you are relaxing!

While we were there, a group of boys started digging something.  Then they would grab a bucket of water and run down the line with it splashing it out as they went.  My boys curiosity was peaked!

"What are they doing?"

"What are they making?'

Finally one of them figured it out.  

"They are trying to make a river or stream to the lake."

Then they become doubtful.

"It's not going to work the way they are doing it."

That's when teacher mom arrived on the scene.

"What would you do differently to make it work better?"

"What structural changes would you suggest they make."

The ideas poured out like crazy!

"Maybe they need to make it higher than the lake."

"Maybe they should pour the water in one spot at a time so it has less time to evaporate."

Then I suggested, "Why don't you help them engineer it?"

That has a much better ring to it than "Why don't you go ask them if you can play?"

Have you and your kids been learning this summer?

, Five for Friday - June 27, 2014

  Time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

I am full swing into summer now (I can't believe it has been almost a whole month!), but I am definitely keeping busy working on things for next year.  I went into my classroom this weekend, but it wasn't quite ready for me yet.

The tables and everything else are pushed against the wall ready for the janitors to clean the carpets.  I did manage to pull out my laminator and got some laminating done.  Luke also kept busy with math manipulatives.  He put his uniform on to go to school today (he cracks me up)!  

He is going to be in my class this year and I am both excited and nervous about that.  Have you ever had your own child in your class? Any tips or advice?

Tyler has also been doing his share of out of school work reading up a storm.  It makes me chuckle because I asked him last week what he was reading and he said, "Nothing, reading is boring!'  I told him that he just hadn't found the right book yet, but reading is exciting, and when he finds the right book he will love it too. I truly believe every person is a reader waiting to find the right book to hook them.  Anyway, we went to Barnes and Noble for me and he saw a poster of a baseball book on the windows as we made our way in.  We looked for it and found it and he has been reading ever since.  Point made!

Speaking of baseball, my husband took our two baseball fans, Tyler and Luke to the A's game with Luke's baseball coach.  They had a blast!

Tyler and Luke

Luke with his Coach

Bet you can't tell he's a fan, can you?

Tyler was ready to catch any foul balls.

Yesterday we spent a relaxing day at Donner Lake.  This was my view for most of the day.

We rented paddle boats for part of the morning.

Hubby and the boys out on the lake.  Paddle boats are quite the workout let me tell you!

But, we had a blast and the views were amazing!

Luke even found a friend - a little frog.  He asked if he could keep him, but I told him "NO!"

I am such a mean mom!

While we were at the lake I got a bit of reading in as well getting ready for my next book study on The Together Teacher.  If you haven't entered to win a copy yet, head over here.  

Have a great weekend!

The Together Teacher Giveaway and Book Study Announcement

When people meet me and find out that not only am I a teacher, but I am a mom of 6 boys, a city council member, a blogger, a Teachers Pay Teachers product creator, and a drama teacher, they always ask me the same question.  Where do you find the time?

The ugly truth is that I didn't always "find the time" and more often than I would like to admit, I dropped a ball or two as I tried to juggle this crazy thing we call life!  

Luckily, I found this amazing book, The Together Teacher that really helped me to get my life in order (and feel like I still have one despite my hectic schedule).  And although I have read the book several times (my book is embarrassing to look at!), I am going to go through it again this summer.  As I do, I want to host an informal, yet structured Together Teacher Book Club on the blog, and I would love for you to join me!

Interested, if so, here is my proposal:

Using the book, we will focus together on organizing the following areas of our teacher lives:

o Weekly Worksheets
o Email Management
o Paper Management
o Daily and Weekly Routines
o Meeting Notes

There will be some suggested pre-reading questions to think about as you read. We will focus on one chapter per week and will have several giveaways of products to help you get and stay organized!  If you have a blog, you can post on each chapter and link up, or you can just read and learn.  You can learn more about the author and the book here.

I’m also looking for co-hosts for the duration of the book study.  Being a co-host is simple… you sign up to host a chapter, post your thoughts, provide a linky for the giveaway and for others to add their posts. You don’t have to donate a prize, but you are more than welcome to if you would like.

The book study starts on July 23rd.. so you've got plenty of time to grab a copy of the book and get reading!  Even better, you can win a copy of the book by entering the Rafflecoptor below.  I'm also offereing a choice of any product from my TpT store to the winner as well.

“The Together Teacher” Series 

Make you you are following me on Bloglovin' to follow all the updates!  This series will help you get organized (enough) to be a more effective teacher.  You will find clear advice, and step-by-step actions for building habits, finding tools that work for you, and creating space to become a "Together Teacher". We will explore the key routines of Together Teachers - how they plan ahead, organize both work and their classrooms, and how they spend their free time.  We'll explore real teacher to-do lists, calendars, classroom photos, and more!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

100 Minutes Book Study - Chapter 9 - Building In New Literacies

This is the last chapter for our book study on 100 Minutes by Lisa Donohue.  Even though it is the last chapter, I will definitely be going back and re-reading it as I make my plans for next year.  This is also one of those books that you will find yourself going back through each year.

 If you missed my previous posts you can find them below:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Today I am linking up with Tina from Croft's Classroom for Chapter 9.



My thoughts on Chapter 9:

This last chapter is all about integrating digital technology and media literacy.  Lisa Donohue opens the chapter with the statement that "technology in the classroom should not be considered an add-on."  Instead, she says, it should "support and expand students' learning and directly connect to the content and skills that are being taught during other instructional times." (p.139).

As I read this chapter I have reflected on my own use of technology in the classroom.  Although I am the only teacher in my grade level without individual ipads or laptops, I have managed to add some technology to many of my lessons.

 
  We have used our Smart Board to brainstorm.

We have made predictions using our Smart Board.

We have used our Smart Board for writing prompts

But one thing that my colleagues and I have not always agreed upon (at both my current and former school) is the fact that I allow my students to use their own ipods or cellphones in class (if it is related to the task).

My students are usually very responsible about using them wisely, and if they don't they lose them until the end of the day.  I was glad to see that Lisa talked about the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) movement, because for many of us, we do not have the luxury of 1:1 devices in our own classroom, and this helps even the playing field.  I also agree with her points about teaching students to use digital tools responsibly.

She also talked about "Working With What You've Got".  Since we don't all live in a dream world where 30 devices per classroom is the norm, we have to make do with the few devices we may have.  I have two student computers along with my own computer in the classroom.  I also have two ipods and my own personal ipad that I share with my students.  Lisa talks about setting aside a tech block during your independent time so that students can have a meaningful amount of time to accomplish a task while using the technology.  

She reminds us that regardless of how technology is integrated within your classroom, it should always be intentionally connected to the learning that is happening in other areas, not as a means of busy-work or student entertainment.

• I would like to be more thoughtful in the time that I have students using the computers.  I have usually used them for research or typing papers, but I would love to develop some projects that center around our curriculum units.
• I will definitely continue to use students' own devices in order to increase our resources available.
• I am thinking about having boards that are similar to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so we can talk about how those resources can be used and how they can be used safely.

I want to think more about how tech time will fit into my literacy block.

How do you use technology in your classroom?

Two For Tuesday Week 4

Tuesdays are fast becoming my favorite day of the week this summer with Two for Tuesday with The Teaching Tribune. I have gotten some great deals and added a few things to my wish list each week!  The two products that I have chosen to mark down to 50% off are my Kicking It Math Subtraction and Kicking It Math Division Products.  

You can read the full post about how I implement this in my class here.

Happy students wearing the "belts" they have won!

Yes, belts, as in karate belts.  The program involves a karate theme and the students pass levels to earn different belts.  They LOVE this!

We start by practicing our math facts orally.  Each student has their own key ring with "belts" that have the math facts on them - problems only on one side and problems and answers on the other.  One student says all of the problems and answers while the other student coaches, then they switch.  This takes about 2-3 minutes.



Here is a close-up of the cards.

Then we complete a 1 minute timed test.  The students have folders with their current level in a sheet protector.  They answer using a dry erase marker.  I only make copies at the beginning of the year!  Yeah!

If they finish before the time is up, they raise their folder above their head, I collect them, grade them, and change the sheet out if they are all correct.

Their name is also changed on our level board.