Parent Communication

One of my goals for myself this year was to improve the communication to parents of students who are in Title math. If you read my last blog, you know our theme this year is Awesome 80's! Each week I choose a student to be the rock star of the week. They have to respect others, persevere through math problems, use academic language and model their thinking. Once I choose a student, I fill out one of the notes below and send it home for the parent!

I have also started sending home Title math bags every other week. These are short activities/games that parents can play with their child. This is by no means homework and is only used as a supplement resource for students. Once the game or activity has been played, the parents fill out this log and students return it to school along with the game and all of the materials. There is a place on the log for parents to fill in if the game was easy, hard or just 'okay' for their child. This is a GREAT way for me to differentiate.
Grab BOTH of these freebies over at my freebies link!

#awesome80's

   

AWESOME 80's is my room theme this year and I.loved.decorating. Oh my goodness. I kept looking at quotes from the Breakfast Club..well I couldn't post any in my room, but I still love them:) The BEST part of my room this year is that I moved into a bigger room >>> much needed. So much room for activities! haha Anyway, check out these pics of my AWESOME 80's Title Math classroom:) The toys in my window were SO much fun to find! I remembered playing with these toys while growing up: a skip-it, beanie babies, play cash register, lite bright, My Little Pony, a microphone (who DIDN'T have one of these?!) and of course my oscar the grouch puppet! I decided to have a 'rockstar of the week' board to recognize students who model their thinking, respect others, persevere while doing math problems and use academic language while explaining their thinking. LOVE interactive notebooks and my students loved them last year! With a bigger room, I have a place to put them instead of throwing them all on a shelf:) And we can't forget the Magic 8 Ball that totally 'told' me whether or not my elementary crush liked me back:) haha Every student will get a Magic 8 Ball made from card stock paper to put their names and it will be hung on the wall! Have a great start to your school year!

#awesome80's
~Stephanie

Summer Lovin!

Summer! Summer! Summer! Bike rides, time spent with family, Soph's first birthday, fresh veggies from my garden and a few DIY projects for home AND my classroom;)



Sophia's birthday party was a bLaSt:) She is one luck little girl to have so many caring people in her life! The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is the book we used to set the theme for the party!

The birthday cake and the smash cake were both made by Andy's cousin, Katie Scott. They were fantastic and PERFECT. The happy birthday banner was super easy to make. I printed off triangular banner letters and then glued them to colored card stock paper and cut them out. I used mini clothespins from Walmart to attach them to the brown twine that we used to hang them from. The fruit plates were easy as well. I made copies of the fruit from the actual book and then glued those onto white card stock paper. I used a paper punch to make the wholes in the fruit and then put a large kabob stick through the paper fruit pieces. The other card stock rectangular/square pieces were used to write the quotes on from the book. 



Two new recipes that I MUST share this week:



Better than Sex Chex Mix: I made this for our trip to Wisconsin and it was heaven.

You can get the recipe here!



Meatball Sub Casserole: So good, Andy even had the leftovers the next day. WHOA. *I used garlic cheese bread instead of french bread*

You can get the recipe here!



Check out the DIY page for a few new projects!
Have a great week:)
~Stephanie

My Summer Bucket List

Happy SUMMER! AHHHH!! I can't even contain my excitement (hence the exclamation marks and words in all caps.) I'm teaching 2 weeks of summer of school then off to Wisconsin for VaCaTiOn! Then a month later: New Orleans!! Now, although I have a couple of vacations planned for the summer, I also have some things I would like to accomplish! 

My Summer Bucket List:

1) Snuggle with Sophia:) I have some fun activities planned for this little girl and I can't WAIT to spend my summer with her:)

2)  Finish reading the book I started 2 months ago: Minds on Mathematics: Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8. Next year 6th grade will be joining the elementary and if I have some students from 6th, I need to be better prepared and this book will help me to do so!



3) Exercise every day: So far, I've biked 3 miles everyday for 8 days in a row. I really need to do more than 3 miles, like 5 or 6, and its attainable, I just need to do it.



4) Make some yummy sauces with my tomatoes, green and red peppers and jalapenos: This is my first year planting a veggie garden and so far, so good! I went out this morning and I have 2 little baby tomatoes on my plant:) Learning more about canning, is a must.



5) Take more time for me: I think 'me time' is extremely important. My bike rides or my DIY projects are a time for me to relax and enjoy my hobbies. 



I've made a few new dishes for dinner in the last couple of weeks. Here are some pics and you can find the recipes on my Pinterest board: Yummy.

 pork sandwiches on a pretzel bun w/ jalapeno cheddar cream cheese

mini Italian sausage & mozzarella calzones

creamy garlic spaghetti squash

I've posted some new projects under my DIY page!
~Stephanie

Understanding

Hello Bloggers! I've neglected my blog a little bit the last month:/ I have some updates to share with you.. some new things I'm doing the classroom (jump over to my teacher link for new stuff!) and a short review of ch.2 from the book Minds on Mathematics: Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8. 
**First I have to share this adorable picture of my little Sophia:)

This is pic shows the look that Soph gave when she looked at the YMCA swimming pool for the first time... **That is A LOT of water...** She loves bath time so swimming was a breeze. She was kicking by the 2nd day and dipped her head under the water! 


OOOOOk...  Ch. 2: Tools. Best quote from ch. 2: We can teach students to think, and we must. Just like in reading, comprehension is the ultimate goal of mathematics. (Maggie Siena) Ch. 2 explained the tools that we need to use to teach students what math comprehension means- what it feels like to really understand math. The three tools this chapter outlines are Common Core mathematical practices, Twenty-First Century skills and thinking strategies. I wanted to touch specifically on the mathematical practices.


Common Core mathematical practices: Students should be exposed to all eight practices. 
1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. This goes back to my earlier post where I talked about how I have trouble just letting my students work and make mistakes. I have to learn to step back and let them try different strategies and learn from their mistakes. ALSO >> I have to teach the strategies for dissecting text, representing problems, and solving them.
2) Reason abstractly and quantitatively. I need to continue to give my math lessons a purpose and model my logic and reasoning. Model how and explain why I got the answer I did.
3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. One of my title groups needed some help with learning how to work TOGETHER in a group. I modeled this by working with a student on a story problem. We asked each other questions and formed our answer together. After I modeled this I had the other students give us one thing we could work on and one thing we did well. I had the pairs of students watch each other work together and critique one another in a positive and respectful way. 
4) Model with mathematics. This standard has been tricky for me as I was taught procedure, procedure, procedure in elementary school. Making 10, making 100, compensation and other mental math models are extremely important when developing those early number concept skills. I've had to teach myself these methods and use explicit instruction with my students. 
5) Use appropriate tools strategically. Offer tasks that invite use of a variety of tools. I do this very often because in title math my students need some sort of manipulative for a concrete model. However, when is it okay to take away those concrete models? I still struggle with this sometimes because students are supposed to go from learning in the most concrete way to the most abstract way where they are writing and solving equations.
6) Attend to precision. Value accuracy over speed. Instead of giving a timed test over all problems, reflect on factors that detract from precision. Strategize around common errors and the means to avoid those.
7) Look for and make use of structure. Model how to find patterns- number patterns. Practice decomposing numbers, equations, and expressions into their composite parts. Decomposing has become one of my favorite topics to teach. There are so many unique and purposeful activities to use while teaching decomposition. You can check out a few of them on my Teachers link!
8) Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. I need to do a better job of offering in depth tasks that invite learners to monitor the reasonableness of their solutions.  Sometimes I ask them, does that make sense and they can read my face and automatically change their answer to something else, but they don't know why. Repeated reasoning can help my learners to solve problems.


~ Have a great rest of the week:)
Stephanie

Spring Fever

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, Andy is mowing the yard so we can put down some grass seed and Soph is taking a mid morning snooze:) That was yesterday. Right now it is 34 degrees and snowing. We already have an inch accumulation. OKAY Mother Nature. Really?!

I have started reading Minds on Mathematics: Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8 and I'm done with chapter 1. Here are some of the high lights from the first chapter. The author Wendy Ward Hoffer gives us an overview of the theory behind minds-on math workshops and how they function.
The author shared a short story of a time she went fishing with her stepfather and she finally got a bite on the end of her line. Her stepfather pushed her fingers aside and reeled in the fish for her, but gave her the credit. She goes on to say that she held high expectations for her students. She let them struggle for a bit, but promptly stepped in to rescue with explanations and answers if she saw their comprehension flagging. She explains that many students continued to struggle on assessments. She sought new strategies, new means to support learners in taking ownership of their mathematical understanding.  Wendy explains that she had to learn to explain less and listen more; to answer fewer questions and ask better ones; to avoid rescuing students from confusion and instead to be patient with their uncertainty.

                  Interesting... This is SOOO hard for me to do. Any other teachers out there that have this problem?! 
 
Minds-on math workshops are an ideal forum for meeting the challenges laid before us by the Common Core Standards. These workshops will give our kiddos time to experience focus, congruence and rigor. 

I have to stop for a second while I try to process all of this for the third time. Yikes. While processing, I realized that I need to TRUST my students. I have to remember that my students are capable of learning and that learning takes time.
There is more than one way...... Wendy explains in chapter 1 that though there is often only one correct answer to a mathematical question, there are a variety of ways to solve the problem, to think and understand its meaning. (Rather than devoting time to memorizing algorithms.)

Minds-on mathematics workshops changes the role of a teacher, to more of a facilitator who engages students with worthy, minds on tasks and important mathematical ideas. 
 
My favorite quote from chapter 1: When we memorize rules for moving symbols around on paper, we may be learning something, but we are not learning mathematics. 
 
I wanted to share a new recipe! It's been a long time:/ 
Shepard's Pie:

1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies
4 medium russet potatoes
1 pound ground turkey or beef
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 10 3/4 oz. can of tomato soup
3 tbsp oregano spice
1/2 cup milk
1 heaping spoonful of sour cream
1/4 cup stick of butter

Skin and dice potatoes. Boil water on the stove, add potatoes. Cook 
until potatoes are soft and can be mashed. Drain potatoes. Mash potatoes and add milk, sour cream and 2 tablepsoons of the stick of butter. Taste the potatoes and add salt and pepper if needed. Brown ground turkey on the stove. Drain. Add mixed veggies in with ground turkey. Add tomato soup. Let simmer for 5 minutes. In a casserole dish, pour the veggie mix in the bottom, add a layer of the 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and then put the mashed
potatoes on top. Put a tablespoon of butter on each side of the potatoes. Cook in the oven on 425
for 8-10 minutes or until the veggie mix bubbles up around the mashed potatoes. Enjoy! I served it with garlic bread~ YUMMY.

   Week 2 Grocery List

- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

- 1 (4 oz) can of diced green peppers, drained

- 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

- fajita seasoning 

- hot dogs

- brats * I prefer Tiefenthaler brand jalapeno & cheese

- margarine

- white onion

- flour

- 6 cloves garlic

- old bay spice

- 2 bay leaves

- red pepper spice

- cajun seasoning spice

- 3 cans cream corn

- heavy whipping cream

- 16 ounces fresh lump crab meat

- anything you need for homeade pizza!

- canola oil

- 1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak

- 10 ounces mushrooms

- 2 cups beef broth

- egg noodles

- 1 lb tilapia fillets (about 4)

- 3 limes

- yellow cornmeal

-1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

-1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from 7-oz can), finely chopped

- shredded cabage

- your favorite salsa

Week 3 coming soon..

Check out my teacher page for some new ideas & activities:)
Have a great night bloggers:)
~Stephanie

Untitled

I wanted to share a very quick activity to use with the book Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong. I'm using this book with my 3rd & 4th grade groups as a review of multiplication and fractions.
 I'm really proud of a few kiddos who have mastered their multiplication facts! I found this activity on TpT for FREE: Multiplication Sweets. Below are some pics of the kiddos posing with their ice cream cones and congratulatory notes! We had an ice cream party at the end when each group mastered their facts. The other pic is the bulletin board where each student 'built' their ice cream cones! For each fact they mastered, they added a piece to the cone.





Grocery List for Week 1:

• Flat Iron Steak
  
• 2 Limes
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Cilantro
  
• 1-2 chilies
  
• Minced Garlic
  
• Sugar
  
• Corainder seed, crushed
  
• Ground cumin
  
• Kiwi
  
• White Onion
  
• 1 10-ounce loaf ciabatta
  
• 1/3 pound Prosciutto
  
• Red Bell Pepper
  
• ¼ pound fontina cheese
  
• baby arugula or basil
  
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  
• minced ginger
  
• soy sauce
  
• brown sugar
  
• 1 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• cornstarch
  
• vegetable oil
  
• 1 2-3 pound brisket
  
• canola oil
  
• beef broth (2 cups)
  
• Worchestire
  
• Honey Mustard Dressing
  
• bag of baby spinach
  
  
• Couscous
  
• 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
  
• 1 large mango
  
• 1 medium avocado
  
• 1 medium tomato
  
• 1 red onion
  
• 1 jalapeno chile
  
• Refrigerated pie crust 
  

• Eggs

• Milk

• Sharp cheddar cheese, grated

• 4-6 strips bacon
  
• 1 lb lean ground beef
  
• 1 28 oz. Jar spaghetti sauce
  
• 1 14-1/2 oz. Can Italian-style diced tomatoes
  
• 1 15 oz. Carton part-skim ricotta cheese
  
• Parmesan cheese
  
• Uncooked lasagna noodles
  
• Shredded part-skim mozzarella
  
  This is the list for week 1! Week 2 coming soon. Have a great week!
  ~Stephanie