Math and Literacy Stations!

Okay, so we didn't quite get to spend as much time actually doing stations as I would have liked, but that's okay. The first day is always a bit slow-ish because so much teacher-talk and instruction is required. And there are a LOT of questions from the kids about how these all work: do we all get a turn at each station? Yes. What happens if we are assigned to a station we've already been to? You do it again, they're designed to be open ended that way.  What if I'm finished my station before the 12 minutes are up? You tidy up the station and return to your seat and read.  So many good questions and between those, the instructions, the set-ups and the what-ifs, it takes time! 

We got through just one rotation and that's a-okay. We'll try stations again soon and this time, I'm sure we'll be able to increase the number of rounds because all the hard work has been done.  

Work stations are such an effective way for students to practice their academic and collaborative skills.  Working together with others on a task is what good learning communities are all about.  Some of the stations are old school (e.g. let's practice our spelling skills or read to each other) and some are off the charts, we couldn't have imagined this when we were kids ourselves (e.g. let's be guest tweeters for Mrs. M).  

Have a look at the photos below and you'll see what I mean. Everyone is on task and yet everyone is working on something different and purposeful. Stations are a great way to review and consolidate learning all while building a warm and enriching classroom environment. 

Easy come, easy go!

This is a blog re-post from November of 2014. It might help the boys and girls with their Practice Page on Thursday night. The page focuses on bullet points. We actually just finished the comparison activity I talk about here on Monday! 

If you scroll through the post, you'll see some helpful information and and LOL moment right here: ↓  

So yesterday it was, "Are you a teenager?" from a Kindergarten student, and today a Grade One child asked, "Why do you have some hairs that are white?" 
Sigh. 
Well, it was fun while it lasted. 

A few days ago, the boys and girls completed a character analysis(using a Venn Diagram) from the story This is NOT a Halloween Story. When I wrote the story, I was sure to include some distinctive similarities and differences in the characters for this activity. It was fun to see how students picked up on these little details! 

Today they worked with their elbow partners to create a larger version of only their best and most interesting facts about the characters.  We reviewed the expectations for working collaboratively and also the importance of making sure our words are spelled correctly. This was also an opportunity for students to practice using bullet points as we've been reviewing features of non-fictions texts in our Morning Messages.  

Here's what students have learned about bullet points: 

• they emphasize important points
• they can be written in full sentences or phrases
• bullet points must be consistent (so if you start by writing sentences, they must all be sentences)
• we can use numbered lists instead of bullet points
• a bullet pointed list is preceded by a sentence that ends with a colon (:) 

In Math we looked at number lines. It's really important that students understand the halfway point between 10 and 20 is 15, between 20 and 30 is 25, etc.  This will help them when they are asked to estimate by drawing a number on a blank number line. 

We also reviewed our rounding skills as our introductory/warm-up activity in Math. It's essential that we constantly go back and revisit concepts in order for students to not only see the connection between Mathematical concepts, but also to master their skills. 

  

Week 9

With Halloween behind us, it's time to re-focus and get back to our routine. We're progressing well and given that we started the school year a week later than in 2014, we're on track in terms of where we need to be curriculum-wise.

The big focus right now is on using teacher feedback to improve our work. So that means develop really effective listening skills and understanding that those conversations with teachers about "What I do well, and where I need to improve" are just that...feedback.  

I want my students to understand that feedback doesn't always come in the form of a comment on their work and that reminders to print neater or use capitals at the beginning of sentences are also forms of feedback.  

Speaking of feedback, we're working on a set of short-term goals as a class and I'll post the list later this week so that you can have a conversation about them with your child at home.  

In the meantime, here are my own goals for the week!

 

On Sunday, I posted two Math strategies videos for parents and students.  If you haven't had a chance to watch them, I'm re-posting them here for your convenience.  

Happy Halloween!

We had a terrific time on Friday at the Boogie-A-Thon! Actually, the whole day was just so much fun. The kids were adorable in their costumes and so full of energy and happiness, they could turn anyone's frown upside-down.  

We watch Full House every Friday at lunch in my room and on Pizza Days, former students are welcome back to join us for the show. Last Friday, I think we had close to 50 kids in the room, all munching away on their pizza lunch and enjoying the show and I have to say, it was really cute.  

As you can see by the photos, it was clearly one of the best Fun Fridays so far...not to mention the spookiest! 

We had a big crowd for Full House! 

My desk was quite a fright itself come lunch time!