Back to School Bonanza

I am so excited to be teaming up with a great group of middle school bloggers for a "Back to School Bonanza" blog hop.

By visiting each of our blogs we will be providing you with some back to school tips, tricks, and of course FREEBIES! Just a little gift from us to you, to help make the back to school transition a little easier.

Once you have checked out all our blogs and collected all your freebies, don't forget to enter our giveaway! You could be the lucky winner of our "Back to School Survival Pack"!

Happy Hopping!

I find the first few days of school the hardest. Here you are standing in front of a group of teenagers, they don't know you, you don't know them, but somehow by the end of the year you are going to have made a memorable connection with each one of them (hopefully).

My number one goal for the first day(s) is to get to know a bit about each student as quickly as I can, names are a great place to start, but I want to get to know them as individuals. This can be a challenge when I teach 3 different classes, with approximately 25 students in each. Here's how I do it...

When my students walk into my room, I say good morning, do a quick attendance check (first attempt to learn names), and then I inform them that in order to be the best teacher I can be I need to know a bit about them as students. Now unfortunately, I can't sit down with each student the first day and have a nice chat, so the next best thing is for them to write me a letter, telling me about themselves.

I then place a letter to my students on the overhead that tells them a bit about me. Since I expect them to tell me about them, they deserve to know a little about me. (They act like they could care less about my life...but you know they are curious)

I am always amazed at how quiet the room is once they start writing, after all what teenager doesn't like to talk about him/herself?

As they write, I walk around the room doing a 2nd attempt to learn names. Usually this activity takes the whole class.

By the end of the day I now know a little bit about each one of my students in terms of their family, interests, but most importantly I have my first informal assessment of their abilities. Now I may be a math teacher, but seeing a student's writing abilities, still tells me a lot in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.

Now that I know my students a little better, I can really start to plan out my year.

Now onto the FREEBIE!

My number two goal for the first day(s) is to get the students interacting with each other in a fun and positive way. In order to get them to put down those invisible barriers they like to put up, I put them into groups and provide them with a challenge.

Each group is given a paper bag filled with random supplies (basically whatever I could find lying around in the cupboards or recycling bins). Using only the supplies provided they are to construct the tallest free standing structure. There is a set amount of time, so students have little option but to start interacting with one another and putting their problem solving skills to work.

If you are interested in doing this challenge with your students, you can dowload the full set of instructions here.

Enjoy getting to know your students!

Kim

Special thanks to Kristy at 2 Peas and a Dog for organizing this event.

Want More Back to School Goodies?

Enter our AMAZING back to school giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School Giveaway!

No matter how much we love our jobs, it is always bitter sweet to see the end of another summer and the beginning of another school year. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I am just as nervous as the kids on those first few days of school. It's always like walking into the unknown, you don't know them, they don't know you...

 

Of course, once you get into a routine, and learn all their names it feels as if you never left!

Fortunately, I have a couple of weeks left to bask in the glory that is summer vacation, but I know some of my fellow teachers are already full swing into a new school year and I wish you all the best this year!

To celebrate a brand new school year, with all its new challenges, surprises, and rewarding moments, I joined up with a great group of talented teacher bloggers for a fantastic giveaway that Krystal, at Lessons From The Middle, is hosting to celebrate Back to School.

 There are over $400 worth of prizes to be won including:

~ Multiple TPT shopping sprees in sellers' stores to help you get all stocked up for a new school year

~ $10 Starbucks gift certificate to get the year started on the right foot

~ $75 gift certificate at WiseDecor to make your classroom even more inviting for your students with beautiful wall decals

~$25 gift certificate at Black Rafter Soap Works to pamper yourself a little bit after the first big week back

~Cool Duo Binders to get you organized easily

~An awesome tote from Thirty-One - who doesn't love a new bag?

There are FOUR Prize Packages to be won! Make sure to enter to win each of the prize packages - they're all fantastic and you don't want to miss out!

 

This giveaway runs August 10th-14th.

 

Good luck!

Prize Package #1 a Rafflecopter giveaway Prize Package #2 a Rafflecopter giveaway Prize Package #3 a Rafflecopter giveaway Prize Package #4 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Math is Real Life - August Edition

When are we EVER going to use THIS?!” This statement… this one little statement has caused fear and panic to run through MANY a math teacher’s veins! It’s not like you won’t use math in the real world… but sometimes as soon as that question is uttered we have a mind-melting-moment and cannot come up with just the right words to say. Many times, I have thought of something perfect to respond with, but hours after the class has left the room.

So to help give you some real world examples, I am excited to join in on this terrific linky hosted by Miss Math Dork, 4mulafun, Fourth Grade Studio, and Teaching to Inspire in 5th!

So, once a month, I will be picking one way that I have used math to help me solve a particular problem. Here we go...

The Problem:
We recently built our dream home (or at least the one we could afford). In order for us to build our house we first needed to acquire a piece of land. We waited 4 long years until the perfect piece of land came up for sale. My husband's criteria - it need to be at least 2 acres and have a lot of trees. Well we got just that, 4 acres of land with about 85% of it treed. Needless to say, I barely saw my husband last summer because he was in his glory using a chainsaw to clear enough trees to build our house.

Fast forward to this summer, we are all settled into our new house in the country and loving it, but we have very quickly discovered that the to do list of a new house never ends!

So, what did my husband do with all the trees he chopped down, you ask. Well, currently they are stacked in our back bush, which is not an ideal location with winter coming in a few months and our plan to install a wood stove in the living room. So....he decided to build a woodshed close to the house where we can store the wood to dry once it is all chopped (did I mention I got him an axe for Father's day).

Now, building a woodshed, that wouldn't require any kind of Math would it? Why yes, yes it does!

The Solution:
Now technically, I am not the one performing any real manual labour here, but I did oversee the construction, much to my husband's chagrin.

So before beginning anything, we needed a plan. Thank you Pinterest!

Now, I am very fortunate to have a husband that is very handy, so he simply used this as a starting point, and altered it to fit our needs.

So where does the math come in? Well there was quite a lot involved, but the most predominant was the measuring required. One must always remember, "measure twice, cut once". There were quite a few basic straight cuts (I did a few of those), but it was when he was constructing the roof that we needed to put our thinking caps on. We needed to use Trigonometry! Now, I will openly admit, neither myself, nor my husband use trig on a regular basis, so we needed a little refresher! But once all the calculations were done, and despite our 2 year old son wanting to help, we ended up with something I think resembles a pretty decent woodshed. All thanks to a little MATH!

Get your students thinking about math in real life. Have students complete a journal entry like the ones below. I promise these will get them thinking.

More journal starters can be found here.

Keep it real,

Kim

The end is near...time for a little reflection

12 more school days, and I can officially say, "SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!"

Congrats to all of you that have already made it! I hope you are enjoying every moment because you've worked hard all year and you deserve the chance to relax!

12 days...I can make it right? It seems like it is still so far away, but I think it is all the work that needs to get done before summer that is stressing me out a bit. So much to do, so little time. Where did the year go? I know I probably say this every year, but this year seemed to fly by.

Within the next two and a half weeks I need to finish up my math program, guide my students through our yearend project (we do this in place of exams), go on at least 3 field trips, write report cards (this one is stressing me out the most), and keep my students engaged, when all they want to do is play outside in the warm weather (and I kind of want to join them out there!).

This week I will be finishing up my math program, and I am always interested to see how my students' perceptions of math have changed over the course of the year. I am so proud of my students, as a good number of them have made great progress this year and have become more confidant math students. Each year, my main goal is not necessarily for all my students to achieve full marks, but simply for them to gain confidance when it comes to their math skills.

I love the challenge of the students who enter my class at the beginning of the year, and they already dislike me simply because I'm the MATH teacher! These are the students who make my job worthwhile. They are the ones I strive to engage, and get excited about math on a daily basis. They are the ones I design my activities and lessons around. So I am always interested to see how they "feel" about math at the end of the year. I'm dying to know if I made even the slightest impact!

This week I had my students fill out an "End of Year Math Reflection".

It gives me an idea of how they feel they did this year and how they have changed as math learners since the beginning of the year. Not only does the reflection provide me with a lot of feedback about my students, myself, and my math program, but I also find it incredibly helpful to have on hand when I get down to writing those report card comments.

So...without further delay, let's see what they had to say...


These were some of my students who really came a long way. I am so glad they think so too!

These ones made me smile...

 

...and, since you can't win them all...

  

If you are interested in using this reflection in your math class, you can download it by clicking on the image!

For those of you still working hard...hang in there...the end is near. You can make it!

I wish you all an amazing summer holiday!


Kim

17 Secondary Teachers to follow on Pinterest

If you are like me, you have already discovered the amazingness that is Pinterest.  Every time I log on, I find myself overwhelmed by the multitude of awesome ideas, and often catch myself thinking, “That is so cool, why didn’t I think of that?”  If you are new to Pinterest, I will warn you it is addictive, but so worth it!  Whether you are a veteran pinner, or a newbie, here is a list of 17 secondary pinners you need to check out!  Happy pinning!

Why 17?  Because it's a prime number!   This particular group of teachers are some of the most helpful and creative people out there.  We've got all the major areas covered...from English Language Arts and Foreign Language, all the way to Math and Art!  We follow each other on Pinterest and thought you might like to too.  I see amazing ideas from this group.  Let me introduce you to some of them!

Bio:  Hi!  I'm Adrianne from The Tutor House.  I love tutoring and creating engaging lessons for math in reading for grades 3-8!  If you've ever thought about starting your own tutoring business, you should come on over to The Tutor House!

Follow Adrianne of The Tutor House on Pinterest.

Bio: Welcome! I am Connie from Teach it Write. I am a retired English teacher and I’m thrilled to now write curriculum full time that I love to share on my site http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com. My book, The House of Comprehension, shows how the elements of literature form the structure of any fiction or non-fiction text. Check it out on my blog site or on www.teachitwrite.com.

Follow Connie of Teach it Write on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi Everyone! It's Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog. I am a Canadian middle school teacher who loves to pin and blog about things related to Grades 6 and up.

Follow Kristy of 2 Peas and a Dog on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hiya there!  I'm Jamie but you may know me as MissMathDork! I am a lover of all things mathematical!  Patterns, sequences, geometric shapes, if it's mathematical, I'll find a way to make it fun!  Want to see some of my ideas? Check out my ideas and pictures at www.missmathdork.com!  You won't be disappointed!

Follow Jaime of Miss Math Dork on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, there. I’m Charlene Tess from Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. Grammar is my specialty. I have always loved taking sentences apart and putting them back together, and I successfully taught my students using the simple steps method for over three decades. Visit my blog to get helpful tips on grammar, usage, and writing.

Follow Charlene of Simple Steps to Sentence Sense on Pinterest.

Tammy Manor!

Bio:  Hi my name is Tammy and I've been teaching high school English for 13 years now. I know that teaching can be very stressful. My school is constantly changing the book list and I've taught every grade 6-12 as well. As a result I have unit plans for a large variety of novels, plays and memoirs. Come check out my store on TpT for a variety of ELA materials. Follow my blog for teaching related posts.

Follow Tammy on Pinterest.  

Bio:  Meet Sabrina, author of A Space to Create.  Find teaching resources for art teachers and classroom teachers alike. My art lessons teach students the creative process enabling them to build confidence and have amazing results.  Come visit my blog A Space to Create! (K-12)

Follow Sabrina of A Space to Create on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi there!  I'm Gina from All Things Algebra.  I have taught Algebra and Pre-Algebra for seven years and have a passion for creating activites and games that engage my students.  If you are interested in finding ways to have more fun in math class, head on over and check out my blog!

Follow Gina of All Things Algebra on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi there!  My name is Amy Brown and I write a blog called "Science Stuff."  I am a 29-year teaching veteran of biology, chemistry and AP biology.  I love science and I love kids, so I have the best job in the world!  Hopefully, I have passed my love of nature and the environment on to many students.  My blog has tips and tricks for teaching science as well as a lot of free science teaching materials.  I hope to see you there!

Follow Amy of Science Stuff on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi! I’m Krystina from Numbers Rule My World. I love incorporating hands-on activities and technology into the classroom for Math: grades 7-9. If you’re looking for great ideas about math then you should come on over and check it out at Numbers Rule My World!

Follow Krystina of Numbers Rule My World on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, my name is Jennifer Smith-Sloane. I am a Middle School Math and Special Education teacher. I have a strong passion for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of each learner in and out of my classroom. I love seeing the light in a student's eyes when something finally clicks and I do everything that I can to make that happen as often as it can.  Visit my blog 4mulaFun!

Follow Jennifer of 4mulaFun on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hey! I am Ann Marie from Innovative Connections. I enjoy blogging about various topics: Projects and lessons going on in my classroom, ideas I've learned or ideas I've thought of at the most random of moments (At 2 a.m. when I can't sleep, I can come up with some stellar ideas), teaching resources I find beneficial to fellow teachers and/or bloggers. Due to the wide range of grades I've had the pleasure of teaching, Innovative Connections caters mostly to language arts but loves to share and collaborate with teachers/bloggers of various grade levels.

Follow Ann Marie of Innovative Connections on Pinterest.



Bio:  This is Madame Aiello, author of Teaching FSL. Although I've taught other subjects as well, French as a Second Language has always been my passion. My focus is the higher grades, since I taught high school originally but teach grade 7 & 8 since six years ago. I share lots of resources, blog about second language teacher specific topics as well as those that apply to all teachers.

Follow Madame Aiello of Teaching FSL on Pinterest.

Bio:  Bonjour! Hola! I'm Liz from Liz's Lessons. Languages are one of my passions, and I love teaching with technology. I create fun lessons for teaching secondary French, and Spanish. I also make formative assessments and technology activities in English, that can be used in any secondary classroom. If you are looking for some engaging activities for your classes, be sure to stop by Liz's Lessons!

Follow Liz of Liz's Lessons on Pinterest.

Bio: I'm Andrea Kerr from For the Love of Teaching Math. It is my mission to change traditional math classrooms one game and activity at a time. If you like to incorporate hands-on, group activities and games into your classroom, check out For the Love of Teaching Math!

Follow Andrea of For the Love of Teaching Math on Pinterest.

Bio:
 I'm a middle / high-school teacher and I love to create ELA, Social Studies and Geography related resources.  I blog at Addie Education - Teacher Talk... come on by and see some of the fun things I do with my students.

Follow Addie Education on Pinterest.

Bio:  I'm a high school English teacher in a 1:1 school who loves books and fostering creativity. My blogs are Mrs. Orman's Classroom and Hunger Games Lessons. I share my teaching resources on TeachersPayTeachers.

Follow Tracee Orman on Pinterest.

Let's make it an even 18! Just in case you weren't already following me...

Bio:  Hi! I'm Kim from Teaching Math by Hart. I am forever planning and thinking of new and innovative ways to teach math to my students. Why, you ask? Believe it or not, I think learning Math should be FUN and it should be REAL! If you are looking for some ideas to engage your students in math class, come check out Teaching Math by Hart - in the middle years classroom!

Follow Kim of Teaching Math by Hart on Pinterest.

Are you also a secondary teacher pinner? Feel free to leave your Pinterest link in the comments so I can follow you!

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