First Day of School, Take Two!

Last week, I received some (un)happy news- I was asked to take over an 8th grade math class. I say (un)happy because it is a bittersweet move. On the one hand, I worked extremely hard to prepare for the fifth grade this year, including painting and decorating my classroom to create a space that both my students and I could enjoy. Most of all, I am sad to say goodbye to my wonderful students. On the other hand, teaching 8th grade will be exciting and challenging. The math will be much more interesting, and I am looking forward to using online tools to explore the concepts of Algebra and Geometry.

Tomorrow, I will be introducing myself and my teaching style to my students. I couldn't make a new video- that would be way too time consuming right now. Instead, I made a Prezi to share with my students.

Ms. Dennison's Timeline

Then, I will introduce my discussion rules and practice using them as we go over homework.

Eight graders are going to be a new challenge, and I have a great support system at school to help me out. A huge thank you to all of the teachers who have offered to help me paint my new room. It's happening soon! I'm thinking a darker green, perhaps olive? Send suggestions my way!

Back to School Video

Instead of sending home a letter from our team, I wanted to try making a video. My friend Chris works for CMT and helped with filming, editing, and production. He even wrote all of the music!

On a side note, the original version passed through final production with a misspelled word. Principal was spelled Princible (not even the correct spelling of principle.) That's what late-night editing sessions get you. I watched it countless times and didn't even notice! I had all of the DVDs ready to hand out, and my boyfriend pointed out the spelling mistake. I was almost going to throw them all away and ask Chris to copy another thirty.

When I asked one of my wonderful assistant principals about it, he suggested making it into a game- a hunt for the spelling error! I ended up printing up labels that said, "Can you find the spelling mistake? Watch closely- if you find it, you will receive a treat!" The students were eager to find it, and I think there was even more interest in watching it because I only passed out thirty at a time. Students who watched it would bring it back the next day and secretly tell me the word. Students who hadn't seen it yet couldn't wait to take it home and find the mistake themselves.

The treat? A pack of gummy snacks. In the end, it was a happy mistake.

First Days of School Activities

School has been back in session for almost a week now, and I know it has been a while since I last posted. I am sorry about that- I've been busy trying to get all of my ducks in a row. Now that they are, I am going to fill you in on all of the back to school happenings. Today, it is my favorite community building and get-to-know-you games for 5th and 6th grade.

Community and Respect Chain

I started doing this last year as a way to help give the students a visual representation of our classroom community. I am a strong believer that students who feel a part of the classroom environment will misbehave less and help each other more. That way, I have much less work to do later in the year because they take on a big part of keeping the classroom running smoothly. When we get new students,  the other kids show them around and help them learn our routine. When there is a substitute, they help each other stay on task and follow directions. I'm sure I picked this up from my childhood, where growing up with four sisters meant that we all chipped in to take care of the younger ones. My mother made sure we understood that family was the most important, and I want my students to feel like we are a family in our classroom.

(picture to come)

On the first full day, we talked about my three rules. Afterwards, we had a discussion about what respect and community means. Each classroom gives slightly different answers, and it is always encouraging to hear the different perspectives that 5th graders bring to the table. After we talk about it, each child receives a strip of construction paper that has been cut to about 2 inches wide. (Thank you, thank you Frankie Hill for donating your old paper cutter. I keep it in my cabinet and use it almost daily!)

I put sentence starters on the board that say "Respect means..." and "community means..." They choose one to write in their strips. Then, I go around the room with a stapler and each student reads their statement. I add each strip to the paper chain throughout the day. I make a point when we are done to tell the class that the chain is a symbol of our community, and by adding their statement to the chain, they are making a promise that they will be a positive part of our community. For older students, I would probably let them staple the ring themselves, but 5th graders' operation of a stapler is not a quick endeavor and I didn't want this to take all day.

The finished chain is now hanging on the wall above the rules. It is bright, colorful, and a nice reminder that we all belong in math class.

The Name Game

Now, I know that The Name Game could really mean just about anything, but the particular game I am describing involves a ball (any type, but a beach ball or soft little kid's playground ball work the best) and the kids standing in a circle.  The teacher starts off by saying, "I am Ms. ____ and I am going to throw to ____." That students says, "Thank you, Ms. ____. I am going to throw to _____." The students continue to thank whoever threw them the ball and say who they will throw to. The last student throws back to the teacher. I do this once a day or every other day for the first two weeks, and then throughout the year when we have a few minutes left in a class period. (We almost never have a few minutes left, but sometimes it happens.)

Variations:
I like to have them go around once at first without being times,  which usually takes a while the first time as they learn the names. Then I will start to time them. They have to throw to the same person each time. Other kids help people remember names or who they threw to, so it encourages helping each other. I challenge each class to get the fastest time.

Kids put their hand in front of them before they get the ball and put them behind their backs afterwards to help them keep track of who had the ball already.

After they get good, I will have them go around in reverse or start with a different student. They still have to throw in the same order, or reverse order. This makes it very challenging.

Truth, truth, fib:

For this activity, each student receives an index card. They are given directions to write two things about themselves that are true and one that is made-up. The goal is to trick the class so that they can not tell who wrote which card. They will want to pick true facts that people might not know about them. The made-up statement should also be hard to guess.

After they are done, the teacher collects the cards and shuffles them. Then, the teacher reads each card and has the class try to guess who wrote it. (I usually take an informal count without going through a well-counted vote; it's more a general consensus type of vote.) Then, after the class has figured out who wrote it, they vote again on which one was the fake fact.

I usually go through a few cards a day for the first week or so instead of trying to read them all in one day.

Fact Family Cups

One of my particular missions when teaching 5th/6th grade math is to get every child (unrealistic but I set my aim high!) to know his or her multiplication facts through 12. When I was in elementary school, we had to do this, but I have a feeling that most lower grades teachers are not focusing on memorization of math facts because about 10% of my students know their facts when I get them. Now, some might question the importance of memorizing math facts in today's calculator age, and perhaps they are right. However, I am less concerned with rote memorization than I am with overall number sense, and the facts can be taught in multiple ways. The old-fashioned method is good ole "memorize this" with a lot of repetition, and that is what fact family cups are designed for. However, the progressive method is to teach patterns and shortcuts (such as x3 is the same as doubles plus one. Ex: 3x8 = 2x8+8). Studies (or I guess I should say study because I only read one on this particular topic) show that a combination of both methods is most effective. Thus, I have stumbled across a way of modernizing flash cards and turning practicing the facts into a competitive game.

The bottom of the cup gets the multiplication fact. The inside of the cup gets the answer. (I had written it on the bottom, but you could see through a little bit.) I just used those little rinse-your-mouth-out cups. They are flimsy, and I worry about their durability. I am field testing two sets first, and if they get worn out too quickly I will make some more using sturdier plastic cups.




I decided I wanted to differentiate between fact families so that kids could pull the ones they needed to work on quickly and easily. So, I used more of my fancy paper to cover the cups.

Materials: scissors, paper, cups, Xacto knife, tape, markers, and glue

Make a stencil out of one of the cups. I stacked 3 sheets of paper and cut. Be sure to cut out a little extra on one end so that it overlaps slightly when you tape.

After I cut out the paper, I applied glue to it. I wrapped it around and finish it off by taping up the seam. I didn't feel like glue alone would hold it, but I bet if I had used tacky glue and not a regular glue stick the tape wouldn't have been necessary.

How to Play:
There are two ways to play, and probably more that the kids will come up with.
Single Player: Choose the facts you need to practice. Mix the cups and place them face down. As you pick up each cup, say the fact out loud along with the answer (multi-modal practice is more effective, which is why the student reads the fact AND says it out loud.) Check the answer. If you were correct, you start building a pyramid. Keep going, but only add the ones you got correct to the pyramid. Try to make the tallest pyramid you can!
Two Player: Take turns reading and answering you cups. The player with the tallest pyramid wins.

Depending on the number of cups, you could start stacking them top/bottom and then bottom/top. You could also try to make the longest wall, or any other structure. I hope the kids like this!








And, for storage, I will be keeping each set in a tennis ball canister. (Last year, I got enough tennis balls to cover the legs of all of my tables and chairs through the awesome website donorschoose.org. This left me with 100+ empty cans that I couldn't throw away. I have found a lot of uses for them so far, and I will create a separate post with these ideas at some point in the future.)


I saw this online with sight words as well (I guess you put a picture inside so that the kids could self-check?) I am thinking you could also make some of these for definitions, or any other time you make flash cards. Little cups are cheaper than index cards, and I have a feeling the novelty will make them more user-friendly.

Bulletin Boards

The last mini-project I have going is is fixing all of my wall hangings and bulletin boards. I went to Joann Fabrics the other day, and lo and behold, they were also having a huge sale! Most of the fabric was 50% or even 75% off. I don't know how it is that I have now hit Michael's when I needed paper, and there was a 60% off paper sale, and then Joann's when I needed fabric, and there was a huge fabric sale. Plus, both stores offer a teacher discount. Michael's accepted my pocket teaching license, but Joann's requested an actual school-issued teacher ID. Since mine was at school, I downloaded their Android ap and still got 15% off because of the current electronic coupon.

Anyhow, I covered each board in black fabric and hung one of my framed pictures on a board using T-pins. I simply drew a line with a pencil along the bottom edge of the frame. Then, I pushed the pins in every 2-3 inches. I rested the frame on top of this row of T-pins and pushed more pins along the side and top. I turned the pins so the the T part was perpendicular to the frame, keeping to flat against the bulletin board.

I will write my "I can" statements on the whiteboard to the right of the frame. I will also put the unit objectives (which I didn't post last year and which caused my to get a 4 instead of a 5 on one of my evaluation categories) to the left of this frame. The bottom half of the board will have an area to post sentence stems.

The T-pins are silver, which means you don't really notice them until you get up close.

I used heavy-duty Velcro to attach the other frames to the board and walls. I have found that the Velcro is great because we have cinder block walls, so you can't use nails, and if you apply the Velcro correctly, it will hold very heavy objects up. (Correct application means you have to stick the Velcro to the wall and the object and leave them unattached for at least 24 hours before you hang it.) Here are my homework and daily schedules of my whiteboard. (Sorry about the bad lighting.)

I have been thinking and thinking about how to line my boards, and nothing has been working out. To maintain my black and silver theme, I thought that buying 2"-3" wide silver ribbon would be perfect. Cheap, easy, and with a nice, shiny look. What's the problem? I can't find any suitable silver ribbon at any store I have been in (Target, Wal-Mart, JoAnn's, Michael's, etc.) Every other color has plenty of options, but the silver is all either covered in glitter, sequins, or sheer. I need solid silver ribbon 2 inches wide- not happening.

Which lead me to a google search and this website:

http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/classmanagement/bb/borders.htm

This teacher has lots of great ideas. I had previously settled on painting my old borders silver. However, with all of the painting I've been doing lately, I was reluctant. Funnily enough, I have actually decided on another idea that will require painting, but the effect is going to be super neat so I am actually excited about it.

I am going to go buy some old puzzles at thrift stores, get some of my old border (the ones that a teacher gave me once that I never use because they are animal patterns from the 80s), and glue puzzle pieces at random to cover it. Then, I will spray it all silver. (Still painting, but with a much cooler end result than plain silver paper border.) I am still considering two other options I read about, and perhaps I will try all three and pick my favorite.

Option 2: When I trim the black and silver fabric that I purchased for covering my bookshelves, I should have some strips that are about two inches wide. The above teacher mentioned laminating the fabric strips, and this could turn out to look really neat.

Option 3: Use aluminum foil. I am not quite sure about the logistics of this one because foil tears easily, and it might just look a little trashy. Like I had too many leftovers at school and just stuck the foil up on the board. However, it might look really awesome. The good news about this option is foil is inexpensive, so I can try it out and if I hate it, I can just take it down. (And wrap up any leftovers in the general vicinity.)

Glass Magnets

I have also been working hard on a few side projects for the room.

Glass Gem Magnets
These are floating around on the Internet, and I decided to make some to use on my whiteboards and various other magnetic surfaces. I found last year that magnets were great for everything, from displaying student work or no-name papers to posting center directions or word problems around the room. If I had more money at my disposal, I would probably paint every possible surface with magnetic paint and just us magnets for everything. Kids can't use magnets (well, not these magnets, anyway) as weapons as easily as they can pushpins and staples. Plus, magnets don't put holes in your documents.

How to Make Fancy Magnets:

I bought some black circle magnets (about $2.50 for a pack of eight) and a bag of those clear glass gems that you often see on the bottom of vases or some fish tanks. Then, I used my Xacto blade to cut out circles from my fancy paper. If I had one of those hole punchers I have seen, this project would have been much faster and looked a little better, but I'm still happy with how they turned out. After I cut out my paper, I put a dab of tacky glue on the magnets, laid on the paper, but one more little dab of tacky glue, and smushed on the glass gems. I tried to use the larger, more circular ones. I let them dry overnight, and now they will go one the board. (I am fortunate to have a magnetic whiteboard instead of the cheap imitation "shower board" they sell at Home Depot. Cheep shower board is great, however, if you want to make a class set of little whiteboards. It's about $8 for a large sheet and I even got them to cut it down for me for free!)

I'm done painting! (my walls)

This post comes a few days late, but this past Tuesday I finally completed the painting of the walls! It was some furious throwing on of the paint towards the end because I had a 2:30 deadline (we were to leave for Atlanta at 4:00 and I needed to shower and pack.) I didn't get started until a little after 10:00 on Tuesday, and I needed to finish taping the two purple walls as well as scrape hot glue (I'm not going to get started on the hot glue right now, but suffice it to say that it is one of my all-time biggest pet peeves and I pretty much despise having to scrape the indestructible and often times un-attachable globs off of the walls.)

These two walls also presented a unique challenge because of the floor-to-almost-ceiling cabinets. I ended up climbing on a chair to a desk to the top of my filing cabinet in order to reach the foot and half of wall behind the giant cabinets. I also had to clean the tops of those guys, which were absolutely covered in dust and grime. Due to the dusty/dirty nature of the typical middle school classroom, I was not surprised. Objects get coated in dust in a week's time, and no doubt these hadn't been cleaned in years. Actually, they might have been cleaned a month ago and I don't think it would have mattered. This school seems to spew dust out of every possible crack and crevice, not to mention the AC units, where they change the filters ONCE A YEAR. That's it- we get clean air for a few weeks once a year.

So, even though you can't see it, the cabinet tops are now sparkling like new! (As sparkling as unfinished wood is going to get with Windex and paper towels.) The school is not open today or over the weekend, which means I will be going up early Monday morning to pull off the blue tape and finally see the room in all of its purple and green glory. Then, it is time to get the shelves and extra desks painted. After that, I can finally start unpacking and organized the room! Until then, here are a few before and after shots.  

 There is the yellow paint scraper I borrowed from Dr. Fuller- Thanks!

One coat down... second coat to go!

Check out the right side of the picture- that is the filing cabinet I had to perch on top of to reach the wall above the cabinets.