What Do Frogs and Fractions Have in Common?

The answer is plenty if you are investigating fractions on a line plot.  The students created origami frogs using index cards while watching this video. 

Next, they created a number line by folding a sentence strip to create the fractional portions.

Then the fun began. Students worked with a partner to measure how far their frog could jump in fractional lengths. After 10 jumps, they plotted their data on their line plot and used that data to solve problems involving fractions. This was a excellent activity for practicing those computational skills. Thanks for sharing Lisa!

Student Videos Using Educreations

For a while now I have wanted my students to be able to create their own videos to explain a math concept.  I knew Educreations would be the perfect vehicle for this.  It's simple and easy to use.  There are other programs that may work as well (Screenchomp and Explain Everything) but I likeEducreations, it works for me.  

The problem with implementing this (I thought) was giving the students access to an Educreations account.  I had already set up a class group on Educreations, but wasn't doing much with it. Do I let them use my account and password or do they have to set up their own account?   I even wrote an email to the creators telling them how great it would be if my students could use my account but have their own page to create their videos.

Well, almost immediately after I hit "send" a little birdie said, "read the FAQs".  Guess what I found?  Q: "Can my students record their own videos?" A: "Yes. . ."  I was thrilled to find out that students can be given a link or the code to join our class group (easy). I set up a sample student page so I could see exactly what the students see when they log in. While logged in as a student, I started clicking and eventually clicked on "My Profile".  Low and behold what do you think came up?  A screen to create their own videos! Problem solved. It's the little things that make me happy.

Check out Sarah's video on Fractions.

Why Would I Do That?

Why did I decide to flip other content areas?  Well for me it was an issue of time.  What would be best use of my face-to-face time with my students: watching educational videos in class or actually using class time to complete science labs and social studies projects?  For me that choice was easy.  So I did what made sense. I decided to flip some of those lessons as well.

Fortunately for me, there were some great online resources that I could use to deliver content to my students at home. I recently found out that Discovery Streaming now makes it possible for teachers to enroll their classes in a group.  That means each child will have a unique log in that they can use at home to watch the videos and take quizes.  Wonderopolis is another source that students can use at home.  I simply entered key words in the search bar and found introductory videos and passages that correlated with our Common Core Standards. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosie the Riveter, The Tuskegee Airmen, and The Wright Brothers are a few of the topics I have found to share with my students. 

So . . maybe instead of asking "Why would I want to flip other content areas?" a better question might be "Why would I not?"

What's in a Name?

Parents eagerly anticipating a new addition to their families will spend many hours making preparation for their bundle of joy.  A lot of thought goes into things like picking the perfect crib or the perfect car seat.  Just as much, if not more, time is spent picking the perfect name.  A name which will, in most cases, stay with them forever.  When we picked names for our three boys we picked names that would represent who we wanted them to become.  Names that were distinguished.  Names that had been in our families.  Names that made a statement: Christopher Lloyd Fisher, Brian Howard Fisher, and William Drake Fisher. 

When I picked a name for my blog, I also wanted that name to make a statement.  I wanted it to reflect what this bog was about.  But unlike the names for my children, I could change the name of my blog and I have.  I started with "Flipping Out in Fifth Grade" because when I started flipping, I was flipping out!  I had questions like:  How am I going to do this?  Will this work in my class?  How do I make a video?  What is Edmodo?  What if my kids don't learn? What if it doesn't work? 

Then as time passed and I felt a little more comfortable, I took off the "out", just "Flipping in Fifth Grade".  I think that changed happened around about the same time I actually was able to post a video on Edmodo and the kids didn't send me messages saying they couldn't view it. 

Now there has been another change.  When I started flipping, I only flipped lesson in math.  What I have begun to realize is that I can flip lessons in other subjects as well. I don't have to entirely flip those content areas, just some of the lessons.  Which is what Jon Bergmann advises for teachers who want to begin flipping in Flipping the Elementary Classroom,  "Don't flip a class . . . flip a lesson".  So, to reflect my change, my blog's name has also changed.  I'm still "Flipping in Fifth" but now it's "Flipping in Fifth: mostly math sprinkled lightly with social studies, science, and language arts". Now that's a mouthful.

It Takes Two

In FlipYour Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Everday one of the many suggestion Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams give for making videos your students will love is to "create the video with another teacher".   I will admit that I hadn't actually read "the book" before I began flipping my classroom this year. After my initial introduction to Flipped Learning at the Model Schools Conference 2012, all of my flipping research was done online. The Fizz Institute, The Flipped Learning Network, and Crystal Kirch's website were my "go to" resources for what to do.  

When I first started making my videos (just a few short months ago), I made them all by myself.  Then one day after school I was talking with another fifth grade teacher who was taking steps towards flipping his classroom.  He was saying that he needed to make a video for his class.  The more we talked we decided to make one together.  After we made our video, it was easy to see why Bergmann and Sams say you should make your videos with another teacher.  It seems more natural to have a conversation about the strategy as we are talking to each other.   Mr. Young also adds humor to the videos to keep you laughing as you learn.

One of my students wrote this post on Edmodo after watching a couple of the videos we had made together: "Hey Mrs. Fisher are you going to start having Mr.Young with you when we are doing math? I don't mind."  I guess that says it all.  Two heads are better than one!


What do you think?  Click here to watch one of my solo videos. 

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary




 

December 14th

Normally December 14th is a happy day for me.  You see it's my birthday.  This year I was blessed to be able to spend a quiet evening at home with my husband and my three grown boys enjoying a lovely dinner.  A dinner that had been prepared by the wonderful parents in my classroom. 

But this year was different.  I could not stop thinking about the families whose lives were forever changed.  Families that could not sit down together at the dinner table. There are no words that can adequately express my sympathy for their loss. . . .  My heart goes out to those families, teachers, and the entire community!

For suggestions on ways to help your students cope with this tragedy click here,