SCAN-We're Critical to Thinking: Can All Kids Learn to Think Critically?

SCAN-We're Critical to Thinking: Can All Kids Learn to Think Critically?: There is no doubt in my mind that there is a special place for all teachers who adapt class activities so that their students can achieve an...

Well it looks like I did it again! I set a goal to make a reflection/blog spot every day but then get too busy. Blogging always seems to get to the bottom of the list. Realizing that I could go in and edit my posts so that evidence of my negligence never existed (although we all know in the digital age, everything is permanent.)  Obviously, I didn't delete it and the reason being so you could see that nobody is perfect and we all have very busy lives. I am thinking of changing the name of this blog to be the 'Real Math For Real Teachers' or something like that.  Seriously! LOL We do what we can, don't beat ourselves up too much when we don't, and do our best to jump on that band wagon.

The trick is making it a part of your every day routine because just taking 10 minutes to make a quick reflection about the day can be a great insight for where you need to go next. The silly thing is that I actually feel like it is the most important part of the day.  That 10 minutes can be so helpful as you look at the lesson plans you thought you would do and analyze how they actually went and more importantly how the students responded to it.  Knowing its' importance, I still will not embarrass myself again by promising to do it every day (or even once a week) but will instead put it in my daily routine and hope for the best. :)

In my defense, I have been working my professional hinny off with my math and science Island students trying to close the gaps. Happy to report that I have been giving my students the mid year assessment on Discovery Education (a very difficult series of assessments, highly recommended) and my students have been doing awesome! They are making huge gains and I am so relieved to know that all of my hard work is paying off!!! This is my first year teaching math kindergarten through sixth grade and while I know that I am putting in 100% it is just very reassuring to see that it is indeed working!

It all goes back to constructivism! I tried to find and create as many different hands on activities as I could as well as effective IPad and Internet activities and assessments and just had it it. I will hopefully get all of that updated on here very soon and I am changing my afternoon routine to include blogging BEFORE I go home!

Island School teacher picks up technology ball and runs with it

Island School teacher picks up technology ball and runs with it

Launching of Math Daily Five K-5 11/26-11/30

You can get more information for the Math Daily Five at  The 2 Sisters. 

This week I will be launching a new hands on, problem based learning approach and using my blog as a two for one kind of deal. I always find myself getting behind on my blog because there are always so many other things that need to get done and lesson plans take a big part of that. So, I thought that if I used my blog as a way to document my weekly lesson plans, I would also be able to maintain it and reflect upon how it was working in my classroom. See, Two For One! :)

Because I live in Florida and we are a state that has adopted that Common Core Standards (Yay!) but we are still weaning grades 3-5 from the FL S.S.S, I will be listing both standards. You can easily adjust it to your own state standards if you aren't adopting the Common Core Standards which, by the way, is a shame. I really think it is about time that the United States share common teaching objectives. 

See below for standards and lesson plans.

11/26 Monday Reflection:
True to my word, I am going to try to respond each day (or at least once a week) to reflect on my plans for the week, what worked out well, what didn't work out, and just to let you know if I made it through all that I had planned to. As we know in the world of teaching, the week doesn't always go as we plan them to!

Today, I can honestly say it went just as I planned it would! In Kindergarten we came up with the rules for the Math Daily Five and practiced two games today.

These are the rules they came up with:
Be nice to each other. Always show respect.
Be on task.
Don't hit each other.
Always listen to the teacher :)
Clean up all of your materials and put them away.

Both games we played came from the book,
Teaching Student Centered mathematics by John A Van De Walle & LouAnn H. Lovin
& I am lovin' it! This book rocks! They have three of these books total that go up to 8th grade too!!

The first game we played was a great success. It is called Same, More, and Less and the students absolutely loved it. So simple to set up and yet loved by all! All you do in make sets of 3 cards (Same, Less, and Different) for each student. Pull out a number card or dot card and the students use the counters show numbers that are as the cards say. Such an easy but great idea! This book is full of ideas just like this!

Plus it is very simple to teach and the students catch on quickly.

We started with number 0 through 12 and extended in to 30 in no time. Although it was quickly getting out of hand after that. That is just too many counting cubes to go that high (I did let them go up to 30 once and they were cracking up! Totally worth it.) When I do it again with them, we will use counters now that they grasp the concept. I do think the counting cubes are needed to start them out but be forewarned after 20. LOL

The Second game we played was Real Counting On. This game was great too and the students loves it. The idea is that you put some beans in a cup (counting them), mark it on a chart, add beans to the side, and tell how many in all. The idea is to get the students to understand that they have already counted the beans in the cup so they can just count on. Of course, there is more too it but you will have to get the book. It will be more than worth your money! Try to suggest you need it for professional development or check your school or local library.

First and Second Grade:

We also had a very successful day with the Cheetah class! ...

Kindergarten:

Number Concepts Through 30

The Complete Number 14

MACC.K.OA.1.1 Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds, acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions or equation.

MACC.K.OA.1.3 Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way. 

MACC.K.OA.1.5 Fluently add and subtract within 5.

Launching the Math Daily Five is very basic and simple. The goal is to get them to be engaged and on task the whole time. It takes a while for them to build this up to it so you have to practice it each day. 

We have been working on stations so this will be an easy. My first step is to have the students set the rules of the stations. Post them in each area and continue to enforce it. The students need to have limits on them or they will get off task and loud. 

Next, we are going to try some of the Daily Five/Student Centered Mathematics Choices.

I am going to split my students up in two groups. I will teach a new activity each day and we will continue to practice them.  

Student Centered Mathematics

Activity 2.1

Make Sets of More/Less/Same

Activity 2.7 

Real Counting On

Activity 2.6

Counting On With Counters

Figure 2.4 

Spatial Relationships:

Patterned Set Recognition

First and Second Grades:

We can begin launching the math workstations a bit faster than than we did with kindergarten. 

Whole class, we will come up with the guidelines for when they are in workstations.

I will teach them a new math game each day and will give them time to explore it to construct their own meaning of it. 

MACC.1.NBT.1.1 Count to 120, starting at any number less that 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.

MACC.1.NBT.2.2 Understand that the two digit number represents amount of tens and ones. 

MACC.2.NBT.2.5 Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and the relationship between addition and subtraction

MACC.2.NBT.2.6 Add up to four two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.  

Student Centered Mathematics

Activity 5.2 

Groups of 10 & Number Words

Math Daily Five 

Number Roll Game

Math Daily Five

Problem of the Day

Student Centered Mathematics

Activity 5.5 p. 133

Three Other Ways

Student Centered Mathematics

Activity 5.6 p.134

Base-Ten Riddles

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades

MACC.3.OA.3.7

Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

MACC.4.OA.1.2

Multiply or divide to solve word problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative comparison from additive comparison.

MACC.4.OA.1.3

Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

MACC.5.OA.1.1

Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols.

MACC.5.OA.1.2

Write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them. For example, express the calculation “add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2” as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum or product.

Launching the Math Daily Five full force with the older students. We have also been working in workstations for about a month now so this will also be an easy transition to for my students.

Student Centered Mathematics

Invented Strategies for Division p.138

Patterns and Nines Facts- p.114-115

Another way to think of nines

p.114

Doubles and Double Again

p.115

Double and one more set 

p.115

Activity 5.20

Nice-Number Skip Counts

p.144

Setting Up Your Classroom For Hands On, 21st Century Digitized Teaching!

Are you setting up your classroom for the beginning of the year? Are you restructuring your classroom because what you have been doing so far doesn't seem effective? Are you just trying to make your classroom a little more hands on and engaging? Well, no matter what the question may be, you have come to the right place! In this blog, I am going to show you how I have set up my classroom to make it hands on, engaging, inspiring, digitized and my idea of what it means to truly be a 21st kind of classroom!

I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, living in the "Information Age" can be amazing and VERY OVERWHELMING! Thanks to the internet we now have a wealth of resources at our fingertips not to mention so many great books and other amazing tools! Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed, I find myself losing track of my objectives and instead getting caught up in the abyss realizing I had wasted hours and still have nothing accomplished.

Where to begin??

And these are just SOME of the resources that I have available at my school or from the library! Like I said, it can all be VERY OVERWHELMING!

This is where my blog comes in handy for you! I do not, by any means, declare myself an expert but I can say that I am a great teacher. I know that I am a great teacher because: 1.) I care about ALL of the students and always build a trusting, respectful relationship with each of them. 2.) I am a pretty good judge of body language (which is HUGE when you are trying to be an effective teacher and 3.) Living in the 21st Century is very busy so if it doesn't work, I don't have time to mess with it. I want my students challenged, engaged, and enthusiastic at all, well almost, 100% of the time!

So, out of all those books above plus numerous others, these (so far) are my favorites and ones that have become my sidekicks! They are amazing and have really helped me make the most of my time, including planning time, to effectively teach math in the 21st Century.

Crosser Cares Best Sidekicks:

Books~ 

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics

by John A. Van de Walle & LouAnn H. Lovin

Crosswalk Coach for the Common Core State Standards

by Triumph Learning 

Getting Smarter Every Day 

by Dale Seymour

And I tie it all together with:

Math Daily 5 Website

It does require a member fee but it is only $39 for three months or $69 for a year. In my opinion, a three month pass is more than enough unless you want it for reading too (it has AMAZING Daily Five & Daily Cafe that are transforming!) 

*You will notice that I don't have textbooks listed in the 

Crosser Cares Best Picks. Textbooks are useful for building the teacher's background knowledge and independent math practice for the students but they should NOT be your guide.  I have tried this in the past and even started doing it again this year when teaching math K-5. Trust me, it ends up making life harder because children aren't constructing their own knowledge.  

Understanding Math Structure

Blogging Rocks!

Blogging is something that I start with my students right from the beginning of the year. It is a great way to ease students (even beginners) into technology! Students, parents, teachers, and administrators alike ask what blogging exactly blogging is. Simply put, blogging is basically like writing a journal only you are writing this journal digitally for the whole wide world to see.  I have created this blog as a way to share my unique experience teaching math for kindergarteners through fifth graders in a mixed grade level environment digitized 21st century math!

Teaching math to students ranging in abilities from preschool to middle school was quite an undertaking. Reality set in when I sat down and really started thinking about how this all would work out. This created a bit of a conundrum at first as everything that I had to do to prepare to teach one grade now had to be multiplied by six.  I realized this would require organization, planning, and major preparation on my part. The two words that came immediately to mind were effective and efficient! My planning had to be effective for every student involved and my preparation had to be efficient with as little time wasted as possible (you all know how good teachers can be at wasting time!)

Efficient!

Let's start with efficient; reading all the latest research about cognitive development, I knew that my lessons had to built around my students that were engaging, interactive, and inspiring on all levels. This is the format that I came up with to set the pace for most of my lessons and not necessarily in this order.

Before I get started, you may be asking where do I find the resources for this...that is the beauty of living in the information age!! Everything is available to you free or extremely inexpensively. If I recommend a website on this blog or on my website www.crossercares.com, you can have my assurance that it is either free or extremely CHEAP because I, like you, am broke because I teach! :)

Note! Throughout this whole structure you will see that all of the sections are short and too the point. Effective teaching doesn't drag on but instead gets right to the point and drives it home.

21st Century Learning: Students need to learn the lesson objectives through games (digital and "old school board"), short video clips, hands on activities, interactive whiteboard activities, et.

I literally search the internet for anything that I can find that is free and that is something that will attract the students attention while engaging them as they learn a new lesson or concept. I also look for any games that we have close, can be created easily and inexpensively, and even the ones that come with the textbooks or other educational books. My goal throughout the search is that it is something that is fun, non-threatening, and short.

To see some of the great links that I have found and used religiously over the years, check out www.crossercares.com  and to see all of my current endeavors click on my Island School Math and Science Website! 

NOW, you may ask, how DO I set up my classroom and what does a 21st Century math class look like? Well, check out my newest blog- Setting Up a Classroom for Hands on, 21st Century, Digitized Success!

Welcome to the Island School 21st Century Math Blogger! I have created this blog as a way to document my year as the K-5 math teacher!  The Island School's students are grouped multi-grade groups of K, 1-2, and 3-5. This will be such an amazing year and I hope you will stay tuned to my blog and make comments and ask questions along the way! I am looking forward to the journey ahead!!!

My first week of school at the Island School as the K-5 21st Century Math Teacher!

The whole week was very successful with breaking the ice of being back in school and Each group talked about rules and we came up with our own rules.

The 3-5 math group decided that rules were unfair and so they would like to not have any rules. We discussed possible outcomes of this decision but they agreed it would be better. So, as a way to show them that rules and directions are a good thing.

Lego Build! So we had a little hands on practice. The students were able to look at the picture of their finished project but wouldn’t allow them to look at the directions (because rules and directions are unfair.) They proceeded to build these creations without directions and I would like to note that it took 20 minutes one day and then 10 minutes the next and most still did not have them built and only a couple of them had them actually moving. Hmmm…shocking- NOT!

Proud of my cunning planning, I offered a challenge to continue my glee! Since they had now gained the background knowledge and practice, they would only get 5 minutes to rebuild their creation with the directions. Not surprising at all, almost every one of them had them put together and working properly!

The students all learned a priceless lesson about rules and directions that day and it is now an activity that I will plan to do EVERY school year from here on out! My only regret is that I didn’t have the video camera out to document the whole experience. It was definitely an effective and engaging lesson and it really excited and sparked the students about being back in school after a long summer off!