Student learning is no accident!
If teaching fifth and sixth graders has taught me anything, it’s that fractions and decimals can be ABSTRACT and TRICKY… and that kids have to be developmentally ready to perform operations on them. The good news is- the standards aren’t encouraging us to get kids to add, subtract, multiply and divide 5/32 and 16/71! We make equivalent fractions as a… Read More
Class Discussion Norms (In my class, these become our Community Norms and replace any “rules”) Equity of Voice: Monitor your airtime. As a group member you are responsible to be a speaker AND a listener. You are also responsible to invite others to speak. Equal(ish) airtime is the goal. Our community values all voices. Active Listening : Eye contact, nodding, being… Read More
Current Events. It’s been done to death. And I get that. What I’m going to share with you is not really about current events. The context just happens to be Current Events- but it could be anything… (so insert your own context!) It’s about academic discussions- conversation. Do kids really know what that is these days? Chances are they do… Read More
Using Sentence Stems and Explicit Instruction for Classroom Discussions Teaching discussion skills can be daunting! You know you want productive, positive discussions… but how do you get there? Here’s some of what works for me! Body Language & Politeness Matter Eye Contact: looking directly at the speaker lets them know they have your attention Inviting Posture: Facing your body toward… Read More
I used to cringe watching students stuff papers into their folders to be lost in the locker abyss… after I had spent so much time thoughtfully providing feedback on their work!! I spend so much time writing thoughtful questions about their math thinking and comments aimed at pushing their scientific curiosity… It was killing me to know that none of… Read More
We have moved on to subtraction with renaming (2.NBT.7). You might call this regrouping… but really- if we think literally about what’s happening- we’re also giving the values new names! 50+10 is a different name for 60. So, renaming, regrouping… you know what we’re doing! What’s Working I’ve been doing a lot of this work with students in small groups…. Read More
This is brilliant. I have had SO many students whose families just couldn’t manage laundry. They weren’t going to learn that skill at home. I would have LOVED to give them the gift of those life skills...💔
High school adds laundry room to help struggling students, combat absences
www.fox5vegas.com
After an Arizona principal found out his students were skipping school because they didn't have clean clothes, he decided to tackle the problem by adding a laundry room.😔
Smartphones, tablets causing mental health issues in kids as young as two
www.nzherald.co.nz
Smartphones and tablets are causing issues for kids as young as two years old.What a beautiful story❤️
Boy invites entire kindergarten class to his adoption hearing — and it’s adorable
www.nydailynews.com
A Michigan kindergartner brought his entire class to witness his adoption hearing Thursday in an adorable courtroom scene marking Kent County’s 23rd annual Adoption Day. The county’s official Facebook page posted a photo of the young boy, identified only as Michael, sitting next to his foster pa...How inclusive and welcoming is your school to families?
schoolleadersnow.weareteachers.com
Getting the community together can be a great way to develop positive school culture, but let's try to have more inclusive school events.The BEST part of parent conferences tonight was this:
A fifth grader brought her mom into my intervention room to show her around.
She and mom agreed fractions have been hard this year and mom said she feels guilty for not doing more to practice at home.
😍My student picked one anchor chart to explain to mom. It was how to make equivalent fractions. Then she went right up to the white board to demonstrate... like a PRO!🥳
🎲♟Then she showed mom the fraction games we’ve been playing. I explained to mom that there’s no need to work on anything but fraction sense at home. And ONLY if it’s low stress. She LOVED ❤️❤️❤️ the games and thought they would have fun playing them as a family.
They left with a deck of fraction cards with visuals and directions for all three of these games.
The positive energy and confidence coming from this little girl tonight made my heart sing🥰.
Link in comments for games!
