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

Systematic.

Hello bloggers! 



When I was home sick two weeks ago, I was doing some research on how to make a list. I know right? Isn't it obvious? But I wanted to make a list of meals that I would make for the whole month. I mean that's 28-30 dinners, 28-30 lunches and maybe breakfast on the weekends (besides cereal and toast). I read some other blogs for some guidance and ran across some fantastic grocery lists and a calendar of meals for a whole month! I was like, I can do that! Side note: I found this quote by a Greek oral poet: 

It is best to do things systematically since
we are only human, and disorder is
our worst enemy.

Interesting.... The last week I have known exactly what I'm making for dinner and I feel like I actually save time at night because I already have things out and prepared for that nights meal!

Soooooo, you will find listed below, 28 dinners and links to the recipes. AND THEN next week you will find a grocery list that has all the ingredients for each dinner all laid out for you. Let's be real, I couldn't tackle the list of the dinners AND the grocery list in one week. A lot of these I have made so you can check my previous blogs for my reviews;)

Week 1:
Carne Asada Tacos
Prosciutto & Pesto Panini
Mongolian Chicken
Crockpot Honey Mustard Brisket
Grilled Shrimp, Mango & Avocado Salsa
Quiche
Lasagna



Week 2:
Green Chili & Cheese Chicken
Corn & Crab Bisque
Baked Beef Empenadas
Grilled Hot Dogs/Brats
Pizza NIGHT! Frozen, take out, home-ade, whatever you prefer!
Beef Stroganof
Lime Fish Tacos

Week 3:
Potato Soup
Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Philly Cheese steak sandwiches
Tater Tot casserole 
Quesadilla Burgers 
Quinoa Salad w/ Charred Corn & Avocado 
Bacon & Egg Crescent Squares

Week 4:
Spaghetti- noodles, spaghetti sauce and maybe meatballs..no recipe needed.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes w/ Bacon
BLT Chopped Salad 
Tuna Melts
Grilled Salmon w/ Avocado Salsa
Taco Bake
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup! 



I'm going to start attending a book study with area educators on Sunday's and we are going to dive into the book Minds on Mathematics- Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8.  I'm really looking forward to learning more about conceptual learning. I'll update my bloggers every Sunday evening while its fresh in my mind:) 

Listed above was Carne Asada Tacos~ I def. tried this recipe last night and it was DELICIOUS. I love this pic above that shows the marinated meat cookin' in the skillet!

My kindergarten and fourth grade kiddos did a little review with their measurement skills for President's Day. The original idea of the Abraham Lincoln life size poster that I made came from Doodle Bugs Teaching, a first grade blog.
I had my kiddos stand up next to Lincoln and we taped a top hat to the wall where they measured up. After that we discussed converting feet and inches (higher order thinking for my kiddos). Just because they are in Title math doesn't mean they can't begin to understand harder concepts;) Anyway, after we talked about the measurements we compared the tallest 4th grader and the tallest kindergartner and then found the difference between the two. We did the same with the shortest and then compared the shortest and tallest to Lincoln!  Until next time ~ Stephanie

Antenna Mishaps...

Good evening bloggers! 



I hope you all had a FAB-U-LOUS weekend and a great Monday back to work! My little Sophia is crawling! We are super excited:) Funny story....Andy and I decided to get rid of our dish and get cable through our local utility company and on Sunday night..right before the super bowl..the antenna didn't pick up channel 44...yes, we had large amounts of buffalo chicken dip, meatballs, soup, salsa and gauc. w/ chips but we didn't have football! Andy went out and tried to fix the antenna and finally at 5:35, FOX came back on. Not like we missed anything... YIKES. 



Anyway! I wanted to share my new favorite math word: subitizing! AHHH!! Subitizing is the way of instantly counting or immediately knowing the cardinal number of a set without going through the ordinal numbers counting each item's position. There are two types of subitizing.. perceptual is recognizing a number pattern without using any math strategies and conceptual subitizing is the recognition of number patterns as composite of parts and whole. Conceptual subitizing can be spatial, temporal, kinesthetic and rhythmic. I gave my kindergarten kiddos a subitizing assessment to see if they were perceptual or conceptual subitizers. With the results I am able to change how I teach them and each day I do a little subitizing mini lesson at the end of the class. Conceptual subitizers are able to use those strategies to do further math such as add and subtract. I'm a nerd.. but I love this!



OK...... so on to my recipe for the week: ham and corn chowder:) YUMMMMMY!

Ingredients: 
2 potatoes, chopped
can of corn
one medium white onion, chopped
8 slices bacon
package of diced ham
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules 
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

In a large pot cook bacon and then take out and set aside for later. In the same pot, saute the onion and then add the flour. After that, add the milk, water and chicken bouillon granules. Let that come to a boil and then add the potatoes, corn and ham. Turn temp. down and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. At the end stir in the cheese and serve with bacon on top. *I mixed my bacon in with the soup. It.was.delicious. I made for the super bowl and it was YUMMY.



SO for Christmas my parents got Andy and I an vintage green hutch with red handles. I absolutely love it! I put all of my baking supplies, potatoes, onions and spices in the hutch and here are the pics!

 

One last thing: My second grade title kiddos were working on adding and subtracting money and so I made a little 'grocery store'! (This lesson is available on my TpT store) I made three different 'grocery lists' (differentiated for low, medium and high skill levels). I assigned the lists to the kiddos and then they looked up the items on a separate poster board. Next to the items was the price and the students had to add and subtract the items from the dollar amount they started with. My kiddos loved this engaging activity! 

HAVE a great week!!!!!!!
Thank you for reading my blog:)
~Stephanie

Advocate.

BRRRRRRR>>>> it is chilly! I have been enjoying my day by doing absolutely nothing. Mostly, my mind needs a break. I wanted to share a super fun activity that I did with my first graders this week. I put together 8 centers of different objects I had around the classroom (links, straws, crayons, etc.). My students had to count the objects and then record the number on the recording sheet. I had students break the number up into tens and ones to practice place value skills.

 I've been struggling with the concept of advocating for students all week. Really, it's not even a concept. It shouldn't be. It should come naturally...right? I think we get so caught up in lesson planning, tracking data and other drama that we forget to advocate for our students. For some of those kids, school is the safest place for them. It's the only place where they feel cared for. Someone needs to stand up for them and make sure they get what they deserve: a positive learning environment, a caring and nurturing teacher and tools they need to succeed. Next week, my goal is to remember why I became a teacher and support my students needs... Advocate for my students.

OKKKKKKK... On to other things... Andy mentioned that he would like for me to make Quesadilla burgers... like the Deliciously DELICIOUS burgers from Applebees?!? So.. I took on the challenge and I made them!
 
Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger, unthawed
red pepper flakes
cumin seeds
garlic salt
Lawry's seasoned salt
parsley flakes
sriracha sauce
four flour tortillas
2 tomatoes 
1 white onion
olive oil
1 avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

First thing you do: mix hamburger with all spices and 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce. I didn't measure out the spices, I shook each of them a few times. (I know...lots of help, right?!) After you mix the hamburger and spices, make four patties and cook them how you desire. Grill or cook them on top of the stove, that's what I did. While those are cooking, dice up the tomatoes and onion, put it all in a bowl and add a little olive oil, garlic salt and parsley flakes. Set that aside. In a separate bowl, mash up the avocado and stir in the sour cream.  Set that aside. When the burgers are done, put a little olive oil in a different pan and put in the tortilla. Spread some shredded cheese on the tortilla. When the cheese melts, place a burger on one side of the tortilla and then flip the other side of the tortilla over on the burger. Hold it in place with a spoon.  When the cheese is melted against the burger, take it all of the stove and put it on a plate. Spread the avocado mix on top of the burger and then put a few spoonfuls of the tomato mix on top. ENJOY! This was by far the best flavored burger that I have ever made!

Have a great SATURDAY night!
~Stephanie