alnbctnetwork: Breakout Sessions 2013

I'm so excited to have the opportunity to present with my friend Cara (Teaching...My Calling) Saturday at the Alabama NBCT Conference. Hope to see you there!

alnbctnetwork: Breakout Sessions 2013: Here they are...the Breakout Sessions for our 2013 Alabama NBCT Network Conference on January 26th at Spain Park High School.  This conferen...

Kindle Fires on the Way!

I'm so excited! Yesterday morning I walked in to the office and was greeted with the news that my class will be receiving 18 Kindle Fire HDs! Since I'm fortunate to have a small class size this year, that means our classroom is now 1:1!  My mind's been going ninety to nothing since I got the news, planning how to implement them as much as possible and thinking of all the great things we can do now that each kiddo will have a tablet in his/her hands. It's also made me think of a LOT of questions:

• What are the best educational apps (free and paid)?
• How do you manage a class set of tablets? Are there unique issues when dealing with so many?
• Can I purchase ebooks from Scholastic, or only from Amazon? 
• How well do Google and Google docs work on them?

These are just a few questions I have. Please help! I'd love to hear any advice or tips you can offer. 

On The Fence

Just a quick post to share a great activity we did today during our history lesson. I used this idea (that I "borrowed" from an EdCamp Birmingham class) as an introduction to our lesson on women's suffrage. I wanted to get my kids moving and discussing before we ever got into the specifics of how women got the right to vote.

On the Fence: The teacher poses an idea (some hot-topic item), and the children decide what their opinions are about the idea. Everyone stands in the middle of the room as they listen to the idea. Next, they can move to the "yes" side, the "no" side, or stay on the fence if unsure of their opinions. Each group talks about reasons to support their choice, then they have a chance to convince the children in the other groups to move to their side. 

My four statements were:

• Pizza should be one of the choices at lunch every day (my class was about 1/2 yes and 1/2 no).
• It should be illegal for small children to play games rated "M" (I had more no's on this one).
• Our school should have a uniform policy (3/4-no, 1/4 yes)
• Children should be allowed to vote (1/2-yes, 1/2-no)

What was really interesting was listening to the reasons presented by each side. Some of them came up with really great reasons that I hadn't even thought about. This activity also provided the opportunity to discuss the phrase "On the fence" and exactly what that means. It was a great lead in to our lesson, because I was able to talk to the children about how everyone was able to express their opinions and cast a vote, but women weren't always allowed that opportunity. 

This strategy was a HUGE hit with my kiddos...and an eye-opener to me. I need to teach them more about speaking and listening skills, as well as what types of reasons actually support an opinion. I'll definitely be doing this more often!

Books I Want to Read Reading Roundup Linky

It's no secret that I am a major book lover. I come from a long line of readers, and read constantly...blogs, e-magazines, twitter feeds, professional articles, and of course, books! So when I saw that Mary, over at Pinter's Potpourri started this awesome reading linky, I knew I had to get on board! What a great way to share books and get some ideas.

Here's my To-Read list:

Professional Book:

Teaching Grammar: What Really Works

I love to teach grammar, and I loved learning it as a child, but I get so frustrated when my students will "learn" a concept in grammar, but not apply it in their writing. I just don't get it. I hold them accountable and that seems to help, but this year only ONE child could come up with anything when I asked them what they knew about nouns (see my post about that here). I'm hoping this book will help.

Pleasure Reading:

A Memory of Light

The last book in my favorite fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, is coming out in just two days! I love to read fantasies, especially the really far-out ones. They're just about the only stories that I can lose myself in. Reading a fantasy is one of the few times when "school" is turned off in my brain. I've read through this series about 4 times and am still not tired of it. The plot and characters are so complex that rereading is a pleasure!

Book to Teach a Skill:

The Loathsome Dragon

I've never read this particular book, but I adore David Wiesner's work. Its so imaginative and interesting! I imagine using this book to review the common themes and traits of fairy tales. I'm sure it will also lend itself well to making predictions and drawing conclusions. His books usually do.

I can't wait to dive into these books and see what others will be reading. So, what's on your list? 

Science AND History? A Necessary Decision...

Call me "old school" if you want, but I've always felt strongly about trying to teach both content areas each day. I just feel like 1). By 4th grade, the kiddos need to be exposed to both, especially since they'll have them both in 5th grade. 2). For some kids science or social studies is the highlight of their day. Back and forth I've gone, trying to decide if its best to teach both subjects each day or simply rotate every few weeks. I've even blogged about it before here.

However...

Our new math program takes about an hour and a half. I have to find another time to do my own reading and math intervention groups. We have 45 minutes of PE and 30 minutes of computer lab everyday (for which I'm very grateful). Language arts encompasses so many skills and strategies that we could literally spend all day doing it. Something had to give!

So, I decided to try swinging to the side of some colleagues and teaching only science OR social studies each day. My coworker and I decided to do a chapter of one, then do a chapter of another, and flip-flop. Although I've agonized over this, after only two days I've found that there are some really great advantages to this set up:

• Focus: This one is for me and the kiddos! I can do a much better job planning and teaching for just one, and I think the kiddos can absorb more this way. 
• Quality: This sort of goes with focus, but now I have more time to plan more engaging lessons.
• Less Pressure: Teaching one subject at a time frees the students and myself from yet another "thing" to cover each day. 

I think I'm really going to like this new set-up, but I'd love to hear what's working for you and your class. Have you been in my position? What do you do in your room? 

Contractions and QR Codes (Freebie)

I had such a great time creating my first QR code activity, that I've made two more and decided to share one with my bloggy buddies! This one is a monster themed contraction practice activity in which students write contractions from two given words. To check themselves, they scan the QR code.

Click here for the Freebie!

I hope you and your students enjoy these! 

My First Crack at QR Codes

I've finally done it! One of my goals this school year is to integrate more technology into my math instruction, and I think I made a small step today. This morning I woke up and said to myself, "I want to create something that has to do with QR codes and renaming fractions in lowest terms. Here's the result:

Use your device to try out one of the codes!

The idea is that students rename each fraction using lowest terms, then scan the QR code to check their answers. If you're interested, you can check it out in my TN store.

So, how did I do it? It was so simple! First I designed my task cards and added everything except for the QR codes. Then I used two tools:

To make the code:
QR Stuff is a free, simple site to use for making codes. Since I started small, I decided to use my QR codes to give a text answer. On the site, simply choose the button beside 'plain text' and type the text that you want to appear in the content box. The QR code is generated automatically. You can change the color if you'd like or leave it black and white. Download it and insert it as an image.

To scan the code:

i-nigma is my favorite QR code scanner. It's free, and super fast. You can download it on your Apple device here, or from the Google Play store here. This is a screen shot of me using it just now. Sorry its a little tilted.  I literally had to snap it in less than a second because it read the code so quickly!

And that is it! I can't wait to try this game out on the kiddos in January. It will be my first use of QR codes in my fourth grade class. Hopefully, this has given you some ideas for getting started with QR codes as well. I'd love to hear your ideas for getting started, or how you're already using QR codes. 

You can also see this post on Technology Tailgate:

Teaching My Calling: Extending Your Reach Using Social Media

Teaching My Calling: Extending Your Reach Using Social Media: On January 26, 2013, Farrah Kilgo ( Think*Share*Teach ) and I have the opportunity to present at the Alabama NBCT Network Conference .  T...

Student Gifts: Classroom Coupons

Do you have a particular gift that you like to get for your students each year? My coworkers and I have tried lots of gift ideas in the past, but the last four years we've really struck gold. We were tired of the little trinkets and toys that fall apart easily, or get left behind after the Christmas party, so I started making classroom coupon books for the children. They've been a huge hit! My kids love using them, and it's a gift that's fairly easy to put together...just print, cut, and secure with a ribbon. If you'd like a set, you can snag yours in my TN shop. I've created four different styles, including one without so much color to save those ink cartridges.

How about you? Are you allowed to have a party? Do you give gifts to your students? What do you usually give them? I'd love to hear from you and will give a free set of coupons of your choice to the first two people who comment!