They're Back!

Test scores are back ...100% of my students met or exceeded standards in math! Whoo-hoo! This year I was able to spend more time working with individuals and small groups. I could direct students to specific videos to review concepts when necessary.  My students worked cooperatively with each other and learned from each other.  They even had fun working in partner groups on games designed to strengthen their math skills. All things considered, I would definitely say my first year flipping was a success! (Insert smiley face)

Some of my students put together a video (completely made and edited by them) about their thoughts on our flipped class. You can watch it here.

Finding Gems



The Hope Diamond

While reading literature in our class, we are always on the lookout for GEMS: sentences that catch our attention, sentences we would love to imitate in our own writing. Basically we are looking for great examples of writing.  I started doing this in my class after reading Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson.

Well, just recently I have found another GEM, something worthy of imitation, The Teaching Channel.  Here you can find actual videos of classroom teachers who are masters at their craft.  You can find videos by subject, grade level, or topic.  If you are confused about the Common Core, there are videos to help you sort through that as well. 

Someone once said:  "The best teachers are made by the teacher next door".  When I first started teaching more than 30 years ago, that teacher for me was right across the hall, JoEllen French.  Whatever she did in her class, I did in mine.  She was a GEM! 

Now we can find GEMS who are literally thousands of miles away. If you haven't already visited The Teaching Channel, I encourage you to spend some time there.  You never know what GEMS you will find!

The Unknown

 

 photo by wingedwolf

Tomorrow my students will take their end-of-the-year state test for math. This is our first year implementing Common Core Standards and this is my first year flipping. Everything boils down to this one test.  Are they prepared? I think so. Will they be successful?  I hope so!



Time will tell.

Edmodo and Washington, DC

Q:  How many rooms are in the White House?
A: 132 rooms

Q: How much does a panda eat in a day?
A:  A Lot!

 This was the third year we have taken a group of fifth graders to Washington, DC for Spring Break.  The trip was wonderful, as usual.  We visited monuments and memorials for just about everything we have learned about in social studies this year:  Vietnam Memorial, WWII, Iwo Jima, Holocaust Museum, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorial, Pentagon Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and more.  We also managed to spend a little time at the zoo, visit the Nation's Capitol and still had an entire day to explore the Smithsonian Museums. You name it, it's there. 

However, this year was a little different.  This year we had Edmodo.  I posted photographs throughout our trip along with trivia questions for the students to answer.  Not only could the students on the trip respond but students that did not travel with us were able to "see" some of the sites we visited.

As usual, it was a great trip.  I'm already looking forward to next year's trip!  I just found out there is an African American Civil War Memorial.  Maybe we can see that next year.  One thing's for sure, I will definitely take Edmodo along!

Inside the Capitol

"Freedom is not Free"~ The Korean Memorial

The Vietnam Memorial

Arlington Cemetery

Thurgood Marshall ~ Civil Right's Leader, Supreme Court Justice

Iwo Jima Memorial

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Let it Flow, Let it Flow, Let it Flow!

Have you heard about Flocabulary?  If you grew up singing along to School House Rock then you will love Flocabulary and your kids will too!  It's a great site that uses Hip Hop beats to teach everything from grammar to science to math.  They even have A week in Review, a weekly current events sung to Hip Hop.  My kids can't get enough of the grammar songs and videos. I know, right! Right now you can get a free subscription for the rest of this school year for your entire school.  Your students will also get their own personal user name and password so they can listen to the songs "till their heart's content.  I promise, I am not getting paid to say this.  I just think it is a great way to reinforce those skills. I wish I had told you about this sooner.  But think of it as a great way to review before those End-of-the-Year Tests roll around. I guess what they say is true: "Better late than never"! Check it out!

It's a "Cell-ebration"

  



Thomas diagramed his cell using his tablet.

  



Plant Cell



Today we made incredible, edible cells.  I found a great video on School Tube, "The Cell is Like a City", which compares cell organelles and their functions to the different parts of a city.  The students watched the video at home while completing their graphic organizer for cells.  While making our cells we listened to "Parts of the Cell Rap".  After making their edible cells in class, they drew a diagram and labeled the different organelles.  In the words of Rachael Ray, "Yum-o"!




Animal Cell       



Diagramming Cells the old fashion way

       

Tests and More Tests

I don't know if you feel this way, but sometimes I think we spend way too much time (and money) testing students.  I get that it is important to know where our students are academically and what our next instructional steps should be.  But sometimes it is just too much.

We had just taken our formative math test and because of schedules there was really not much time to review concepts before it was time to take the summative test.  I clearly knew some of my students were not ready. Guess what?  They knew it too.  As I was passing out the tests one of my students said, "I am not ready to take this test!  Do I have to take it today?"  Well. . . I thought to myself.  What would be the purpose in that?

So what did I do? I passed out the test to the students who had made 80 or above on the formative so they could begin.  Then I had a discussion with the students who felt they were not ready.  We talked about what would they do between now and a couple of days from now.  Some said they wanted to watch some of the videos again.  Off they went.  I reviewed some more with the others.  We talked about their plan to review some more over the weekend.  I also posted a "review video" on Edmodo for them to watch.  Will it make a difference?  Only time will tell.