Bright Ideas Round-up

Welcome to the November edition of the Bright Ideas Link- Up! This one is a special one! Over the past 10 months, we have shared thousands of great ideas through our monthly Bright Ideas event. This month, we're recapping all of those great ideas, just in case you missed any! 

Below you will find some of my bright ideas from the past several months: 

I love using Number chips to add a visual and kinesthetic component to a math lesson. 
Find out how easy these are to make and use here.

I always establishing a math routine in my classroom right from the beginning of the year. It really helps with those transition times, and makes the most out of your class time. Read about my routine here.

Back in March, I wrote about how I set up my student-led conferences, which you can read 
all about here.

If you want to take a look at all my bright ideas, just click here.

I hope that you've enjoyed these bright ideas, and that you have found an idea that you can use in your own classroom. Be sure to check out the link up below for tons more bright ideas from my blogging friends! 

Thanks for visiting! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Idea - Showing off Student Notebooks

I am excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers, once again, to bring you the "Bright Ideas Link Up". This link up was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. Enjoy!

Have you held your conferences yet this year? Have you started planning what they might look like?

Do you hold student-led conferences? If not, but you want to learn more, check out my earlier Bright Ideas post here.

For me, student-led conferences are all about the students celebrating their learning with their parents, by showing/demonstrating things that they have learned.

My Math Scrapbooks are a huge part of my math program and the students take a lot of pride in them. Seeing that they rarely go home, I want the students to have an opportunity to show them off to their parents.

The idea - Have students tab 2 (or more) activities to demonstrate to their parent(s) from their notebooks during conferences.

A few days before conferences I spend quite a bit of time prepping my students on what will be expected of them when they come in with their parents.

During conferences, my students travel around through different stations with their parents to demonstrate different skills they have learned over the course of the term.

One station is dedicated to their Math Scrapbooks. Before conferences, students are asked to tab 2 activities with post-its. They are allowed to choose any activities they wish, however they need to feel confidant enough to be able to fully explain the activities to their parents.

I find tabbing the activities before hand cuts down on wasted time searching for the right page. It also helps the students feel more prepared, when they know ahead of time what they will be showing their parents.

If you have some time before hand, have students partner up and pretend to be each other's parents in a mock conference. This will give them that extra boost in confidence when presenting to their parents, and also help reinforce those math skills one more time. It's a win-win!

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook for more great ideas!

For even more bright ideas, please browse through the link-up below, and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Idea #5 - Establishing a Math Routine

I am excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers, once again, to bring you the "Bright Ideas Link Up". This link up was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. 

Enjoy!

Are you thinking about next year already? I bet you are!
Just because we are on holidays doesn't mean we ever stop planning. As teachers, I feel that we are always reflecting, and thinking of ways to make this next year bigger and better.

This month, I decided to go into a little more detail with last month's post, and talk about establishing a routine. Seeing that I LOVE Math, I am going to tell you how I go about setting up a Math routine in my classroom.

Establishing routines and expectations is so important, especially at the beginning of the year. Once students understand the expectations, they become more willing participants because they know what to anticipate.

The idea - Setting up a Math routine

Whether it's math class, or any other subject, students need to be able to walk into your room and know what they need to do! Here's what my routine looks like in my Math classroom...

Monday - Mental Math Mania - Get your students to master their basic facts. I like to switch it up by using different mental math activities each week. Variety helps those students who dread mental math.

Tuesday - Tricky Brain Teasers - Challenge your students and get them using their problem solving skills. This ranges from projecting optical illusions, solving riddles, puzzles, and challenges, anything to get the students thinking and engaged.

Wednesday - Wacky Number Warm-ups - Help your students strengthen their number sense. These activities range from "Number of the Day", "Mystery Numbers", "Spot the Imposter", etc. Any activity that gets your students "playing" with numbers and using math vocabulary.

Thursday - Thinking Math Thoughts - Get your students to write openly about their feeling and thoughts about all things related to math. Get them thinking by providing them with a journal starter, and have a possible class discussion afterwards.

Friday - Fun & Fast Games - Let your students have some fun with math, as a celebration to the end of the week. This is usually used as an incentive to behave through the class, as the game is played in the last 10 minutes.

Each of these daily activities is intended to take only 5 - 10 minutes, but it gets your students engaged and in the right frame of mind to start your math class.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook for more great ideas!

For even more bright ideas, please browse through the link-up below, and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Idea #4 - To Do Lists

I am excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers, once again, to bring you the "Bright Ideas Link Up". This link up was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. 

Enjoy!

Seeing that most of you are already on summer vacation, or very close to it, I wanted to give you a simple idea that is so easy to implement in your class next year.

This idea is so ridiculously easy, yet, when used consistently,can make a huge difference in classroom management.

The idea - Using To Do Lists in the Classroom

I find the hardest parts of the day are the transition times between classes. I don't know about you, but if my students came in, sat in their seats and waited quietly for me to tell them what I have planned for the class I would probably fall over in disbelief! This doesn't typically happen in a middle school classroom, so I have a suggestion on how you can make those transitions a little easier.

I write a "To Do" list on the board at the beginning of every class. It consists of a point form list of what needs to be accomplished within the class period. 

I find that the simple act of writing a to do list, helps keep you, the teacher, and the students on task and really helps with time management.

After using to do lists consistently, I found that my students eyes automatically go to the list on the board once they walk in my room. It became a habit for myself, as well as the students. They know what we are doing, and they are actually ready to learn! I suggest that the first point on the list be an individual activity that students can start on their own during the time it takes for everyone to get settled.

The funny thing is, that students began to point out if I did something that wasn't on the list, or got upset if we didn't accomplish the whole list. Maybe I need a disclaimer at the bottom stating that the list is subject the change if the teacher sees fit!

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook for more great ideas!

For even more bright ideas, please browse through the link-up below, and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Idea #3 - Number Chips

I am excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers, once again, to bring you the "Bright Ideas Link Up". This link up was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. 

Enjoy!

In previous posts, I have talked about filling your classroom with math visuals and manipulatives for little, to no money. This month I thought I would share another idea I use in the classroom with you - using number chips. I hope you find it useful!

To make a set of number chips , get your hands on some bingo chips. (your local dollar store will likely have some). Using a permanent marker, label sets of 10 chips with the digits 0 - 9.

To use the number chips, provide each student with a set of 10 chips, and have them manipulate the chips to create different numbers based on concepts being taught.

Here is an example of some questions I give my students to answer using the number chips.

         
         For easy storage, I keep each set of number chips in an old film canister. I get the canisters from my local photo-lab for Free, as they just throw them away. I was very surprised at how many people still use film, as they gave me a whole shopping bag full!

I hope number chips are something you can use in your classroom!

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook for more great ideas!

For even more bright ideas, please browse through the link-up below, and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Ideas Blog Hop #2

I am excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers, once again, to bring you the "Bright Ideas Blog Hop". This blog hop was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. 

Happy Hopping!

My "Bright Idea"

This month wraps up another term for me at work, so soon enough we will be in full student-led conference mode. Quite a bit of time will be set aside over the next couple of weeks to get the students "ready" to celebrate their learning with their parents!

This year marks my 9th year of teaching, and conferences have changed substantially over those 9 years. Gone are the days of sitting awkwardly across from a parent (usually without the student present) trying to fill the designated 15 minutes with conversation about his/her child. Gone are the "paper" portfolios, which contained work samples most parents had already seen at home. Now students are taught to celebrate their learning by actually "showing" their parents what they have been learning!

Here are some tips on how I go about setting up my student led conferences.

Make the students responsible

At least a week prior to conferences I start prepping my students. I inform them that there will be stations set up around the room, for them to take their parents to demonstrate different things they have learned this term. I provide simple instructions on the wall, but inform students that they are responsible for leading their parents through the room, and answering any questions they might have about the things we have done in class.

One thing I highly recommend doing is a run-through. The day before, or day of, I have the students do a mock-conference. They pair up (one student acting as student, and the other acting as parent) and act out a conference scenario. One thing they must do, is introduce their parent(s) to me, and introduce me to their parents (first and last names - just in case they are different than the student's).

To make sure everything runs smoothly and that the students remember their responsibilities, I create a checklist for them to fill in as they lead their parents through the conference.

Make a checklist

When the students enter the room, the first thing they do is grab a pencil and a checklist. The checklist is meant to be a helpful reminder to the students, as to what they are responsible for showing their parents. Since I work on a team of teachers, we create a checklist that covers all the main subject areas. Recently we added the last point, as most of the specialty teachers have a very slow (and long) night at conferences, this way we encourage the kids to head to these areas, even if it is just to introduce their parents.

I find adding the checklist to our evening, helps hold the students responsible

Make it interactive

Let's face it, not all parents are enthused about coming to conferences, especially in the middle years, so I want to at least engage them while they are in the room.

Here are some things my team and I have done in the past:

• recreate a scene from a book they read as a class, and have students walk through the scene with their parents while describing the book.
• set up an experiment for the students to demonstrate to their parents. Have a set of questions off to the side that students can ask their parents as they complete the experiment.
• set up a competition between parent and child. I often use this in my math stations. I might set up a math center the students have done in class that involves a math game (war, concentration, etc). We've also had students compete against their parents on a 5 minute multiplication frenzy (we do these school-wide to strengthen mental math skills). This is one of the only times I see students eager to complete a frenzy...and most end up beating their parents! A huge boost to their confidence!

These are just a few ideas that are easy to set up, and make the evening a little more meaningful.

Make it meaningful

Once the students have completed their checklists, we usually enter them into a draw for a prize. Gives them a little more incentive to check off everything on the list. Hopefully all the work you have put in at this point has made for a very meaningful evening, for both parent and student. Before the parents leave, we ask for their opinion on the evening with a brief evaluation. These also get entered into a draw for a prize (usually a Starbucks gift card). I find that parents always feel more involved, when they feel that their opinions are being taken into consideration. These evaluations are great for helping plan for next conferences.

One more little idea I just came across on Pinterest from Teach n' Tex was this one:

I think this is a cute way to show your appreciation to the parents who attend. I will definitely put this out for next conferences.

I hope you enjoyed my "bright idea". I would love to hear about any ideas you have found to be successful during your own student-led conferences! 

If you’re looking for more great ideas, here is a great post by Lisa at Growing Firsties on partner reading tips. She shares some great tips that you will definitely want to check out!

Looking for something specific, browse the bright ideas below:

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Make sure to check in next month for another batch of "bright ideas"!

Bright Ideas Blog Hop

I am so excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of teacher bloggers to bring you the first official "Bright Ideas Blog Hop". This blog hop was created to bring you practical classroom ideas from a variety of teachers, from different grades and subject areas. I hope you find some great ideas that you can easily implement in your own classroom. 

Happy Hopping!

My "Bright Idea"

This month, I will stick with my current theme of filling your room with Math manipulatives on a budget.

Are you ready for my bright idea?

GET YOUR STUDENTS INVOLVED! 

Crazy concept, right?

By getting your students involved not only can you fill your room with manipulatives for FREE, but you can quickly collect enough items to keep you busy throughout the whole year.

I start collecting math "junk" right at the beginning of the year, by sending my students on a scavenger hunt in their own houses.

In order to collect items that I will incorporate within my math lessons, I challenge my students to scavenge their houses. In order to encourage enthusiasm and participation, I make it into a game in which students can earn points for “junk” collected. I would hold the scavenger hunt for a week or two, tallying points as students bring stuff in.

**On a side note, the first year I did this, I let it go for a month, by the end I had enough “junk” to last me 3 years and not enough room to store it all! It will all depend on how enthusiastic your students are about collecting, and bringing the items into school. Just make sure you have room in your classroom to store the stuff you will not need right away.**

I also used the items collected in my science class as well, for dioramas, models, experiments, etc.

Of course, you do not need to collect all these items at once, especially if you have a lack of storage. You could also send home short notes, asking for specific items right before you will be using them in your class.

Remember: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Here's a sample letter I send home. Of course, the items you request will depend on the concepts you teach throughout the year.

Here are some examples of "junk" in use.

There are so many ways to make junk into something useful for your classroom. If you are creative enough, you can think of another use for just about anything. I would love to hear any ideas you have tried! I hope you enjoyed my "bright idea".

If you’re looking for more great ideas, here is a great post by Kate at EduKate and Inspire on how she utilizes a Super Improver Wall in her classroom (whole brain teaching). She shares some great tips that you will definitely want to check out!

Looking for something specific, browse the bright ideas below:

Make sure to check in next month for another batch of "bright ideas"!