I am linking up with Sweet Sweet Primary for a book study of Explore Like a Pirate by Michael Matera. Join us each week as we share all of our takeaways from this book, that is all about engaging, enriching, and elevating your learners with gamification and game-inspired course design. If you missed my previous posts you can find them here:
The Call of the Explorer: Discover the Adventure That Awaits
Are you ready to set sail and explore the idea of gamification or game based learning? Or are you just wondering what exactly is game based learning? Either way, you will love this book!
In this first chapter, Matera gives a brief explanation of gamification and highlights the possibilities that are available to teachers and students when used in the classroom.
What is gamification?
Gamification is delivering your lessons and content with elements of game playing.
Why Should I Use Game Based Learning in My Classroom?
When Matera first started using game based learning in his classroom, he wasn't sure what the experience was going to be like, and he was uncertain if it would be successful. But, he remembered back to when he was a student that even if the subjects were interesting, he wasn't very motivated. College seemed to be too far off and the threat of receiving a lower grade didn't seem to phase him. He knew his students were feeling the same way.
As he began using game based learning he discovered that "the power of play in the classroom activates the human spirit and leads to greater content acquisition and self-motivation."
I know I have students who are also unmotivated - so I am definitely interested in finding out more!
I have used game based learning in my class, and I definitely see huge gains when I do use these elements.
My students LOVE learning their math facts, because we use my Kicking It Math System and they earn karate type belts as they progress through the levels.
I have also used games to review concepts we have already learned, like this fishbowl review game and Pie Face.
Even though I have already incorporated some forms of game based learning in my classroom, I am excited to learn even more ways to implement it into my classroom!
Are you interested in learning more as well? Be sure to follow along with this book study! In the meantime, I found a few articles about game based learning and gamification that you might want to check out.
Game-Based Learning - Why Does It Work? According to this article, people learn from games and they will learn MORE from games than other forms of learning. The author lists all of the reasons why it works, and I have to admit that I definitely agree with all of them!
One of my favorite things about summer vacation is the opportunity to plow through my reading list. I am linking up with Molly from Lucky To Be In First to share my Summer Reading List for Teachers. Read on for some recommendations of books that I loved and think you should definitely read as well as a list of books that I am looking forward to reading this summer.
Let's start with the books that I have already read:
The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers by Jennifer Serravallo. Whether you use readers workshop, Daily 5, Guided Reading, text book, or any other approach, this book will complement and extend your teaching. The book provides 300 strategies that support 13 main goals including everything from fluency to literacy analysis. No matter what level readers you have in your class, this book will give you a strategy to help them move forward. Each strategy is cross linked to skills, genres, and Fountas & Pinnell reading levels, so that you can find the right lessons your students need.
You can check out this video about this book if you would like to know more.
Unlike a traditional book, this is more like a recipe book where you look for specific strategies and needs. However, I do recommend reading it through so that you can orientate yourself to what is included and how the book it set up. I tabbed my sections to make them easier to find and prepared some mini-anchor charts based on the lessons. I will be sharing how I did this in a future blog post!
I am sure that my school is not the only one to be a bit data collection crazy, but what do you do with all of that data once you collect it? This book gives you step by step directions on both collecting data and how to use it once you have collected. This book has been gold in my literacy instruction! I teach 4th grade, so I read this book, but she also has a K-2 version if you teach lower grades. You can view a video of Jen teaching a strategy group here.
As you can probably tell, I am a bit of a Jennifer Serravallo fan! I have read all of her books and regularly follow her blog. She also has a podcast called Teachers Ask Jen Serravallo. I can not recommend her resources enough! She is AMAZING!
This book is based on the author's popular Teach Like a PIRATE seminars and offers inspiration, techniques, and ideas for increasing student engagement. If you have not had the opportunity to hear Dave Burgess speak, you will definitely want to check out this Ted Talk with him. He is so inspiring!
Collaboration and student-led classrooms are key buzzwords in education right now, but how exactly do you implement it without complete and total anarchy? This book will tell you how! Using the acronym PIRATE - Solarz leads you through a variety of methods and strategies for designing classroom experiences that encourage students to be risk takers who explore learning in a motivation, supportive environment where improvement, rather than grades is the focus.
Peer Collaboration Improvement Focused Learning Responsibility Active Learning Twenty-First Century Skills Empowerment
And just so you know, I am not a total teaching nerd who only reads PD books (although I really am), I am also recommending the Game of Thrones book set by George R.R. Martin. I am super addicted to the show, so my son bought me this set for Christmas two years ago. I devoured the whole set over my Christmas Break and am waiting not so patiently for the next one to come out.
Who's Doing the Work? How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris. I am about half-way through this and am LOVING it! It has been a slow read only because I have to stop to take notes every other paragraph of ideas that I want to implement next year. It is definitely a must read! The authors talk about how teachers always ask them how they can do more to help students become better readers, but they believe that teachers need to do LESS so students can do more. They suggest small but powerful adjustments that teachers can make in their instruction that will allow students to be more accountable for their own learning.
This book is all about making your own visual teaching tools and using them in the best way possible. It's also about helping kids to think strategically using these tools so that they too can be DIY learners. I love this quote from the Amazon listing:
"We have never seen teachers work harder than we do now. These tools inspire kids to work as hard as we are."
We have been using the Writing Units from Lucy Calkins, and my students have definitely become better writers, but many still lack those important details and elaboration. Whenever I ask them to add more details, they often write longer pieces, but they are not necessarily better. I am excited to see the suggestions Roz Linder has!
And last... my non-teacher-nerd book pick! Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir by Wednesday Martin PhD This is Wednesday Martin's memoir of life as a mother in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The author has an anthropological background and applies that to her experience. She had a difficult time fitting in with the glamorous, rich mommies around her, but begins to analyze her new "tribe" and their behaviors and eventually learns to fit in and enjoy her new life. A friend of mine recommended this and I can't wait to try it during those times I need a break from my more academic reads.
What's on your summer reading list?
I am always on the hunt for more books to read! Leave a comment below or link up with Lucky to be in First. Don't forget to check out the other blog posts for even more great reads to add to your own list!
Before you go though, make sure you check out my giveaways page to enter our current giveaway!
This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.
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STEM activities are a great way to keep students engaged and focused on learning activities even when they think they don't want to learn. When I participated in the Summer Countdown Blog Hop I bumped into this great post by One Room School House and I KNEW we had to try this one out.
I provided students with a variety of items to choose from including: shopping bags, paper napkins, and gallon sized baggies. Each team was allowed to choose 2 items from the table and 1 piece of yarn.
Students worked in teams of three. I gave them 5 minutes to discuss and develop a plan. Then I let them "shop" for their supplies. To make it easier, and less chaotic, each team delegated one member to grab their supplies.
Once all of the teams had their supplies, I gave them 15 minutes to construct their parachutes.
Some of the groups even decided to test out their parachutes with some trial runs.
Then came the fun part! We took our parachutes to the slide on the playground to launch them. I gave each team 3 drops to allow everyone to have a chance to test out their design. As each student dropped their parachute, we timed it to see how long it took for the parachute to hit the ground.
When we came back to the classroom, we put the data to work with a quick little math lesson on averages. So much fun and a great way to front-load some content for next year!
Speaking of fun, wouldn't it be fun to win a $25 Teachers Pay Teachers gift card to have a little spending spree?
I will be having weekly $25 TpT gift card giveaways thanks to some of my awesome blogging friends! You can enter to win this week's giveaway by completing the Rafflecoptor below:
Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to
enter daily. Giveaway ends 5/28/16 and is open worldwide. Winner will be
notified via email. Sorry you missed this giveaway, but you have another chance! Our current giveaway is here.
Are you a TpT seller or teacher blogger who wants to
participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog? Click
here to find out how you can join a totally awesome
group of bloggers!
It is so difficult to keep your students focused and engaged those last few weeks of school when they are already dreaming of summer and being outdoors. If you are looking for a fun end-of-the-school-year activity, you will want to check this out!
This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.
We have been working on elapsed time in our class, and it has been very tricky for some of my kiddos, so I decided to use this activity to give them a little more practice. First, I had each student create their own elapsed time problem on an index card.
I checked their work and gave them a number on their card that corresponded to the answer key that I made with one of the sheets.
Then I had the students take their card and NEATLY write their question using sidewalk chalk on a section of the sidewalk.
After everyone wrote down their question, it was time to solve the problems SCOOT style. Each child moved from question to question answering them on their recording sheet.
There is nothing that strikes panic and fear in teachers more than the principal handing you a packet of year-end procedures as you look at your already overflowing calendar and wonder how you are going to get everything done! Well, take a deep breath, grab your beverage of choice, and join us for a summer countdown blog hop filled with tips and freebies to help you have a smooth ending to the school year!
My tip and freebie for saving your sanity is to plan out your last few weeks of school with the goal of getting it all done without staying at school until the wee hours of the night! If you are really ambitious, you might be ready in advance! Wouldn't that be nice?
Step 1: Create a list of any and all task you know you need to do in the next few weeks. I have listed a few possible tasks below to help you get started. If you can think of anything I might have forgotten, feel free to leave a comment below (your comments will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway!)
Step 2: Grab a calendar and start plugging in deadlines and due dates for all of the items you came up with in Step 1.
Step 3:Break down tasks by the weeks you have left. Plan smart so that you won't have to stay late, but you'll also be able to get everything done in time. You might want to schedule several sessions for tasks that are particularly tedious like grading, report cards, or student gifts.
Step 4: Hold yourself accountable to getting the things on your list done, and reward yourself if you do accomplish them. (My favorite reward this time of year is an iced latte from Starbucks).
You can find the checklists pictured above along with a few others in my freebie for you!
Would you like to win a Teachers pay Teachers gift card?
This Giveaway is Over! Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current Teachers pay Teachers gift card giveaway. Sign up HERE to be alerted about all of our future giveaways!
It is time again for my monthly giveaway to win a $75 TpT gift card! Thanks to all of my blogging friends who have contributed to this month's giveaway!
