3rd year

It's been a while since I've last posted. I'm starting my 3rd year of teaching and the first 3 days of school were great! 

My new 5th graders are my 4th grade math and science students from last year. So I know all but the two new students.  I haven't met my 4th graders for this year yet! Some things I am working on this year: patience, embracing my students, being more organized. It'll be difficult but I know I can do it. 

My classroom theme this year is minions. 

I designed the big ones and my students colored and cut out the smaller ones. 

In the first 3 days, we sorted supplies,played ice breakers, went over rules and procedures. The overall dynamic of the class has been great and I really hope I can keep the excitement this year.  

Oh! And Cross Country started on Friday! I get to go run 4 days a week! Awesome! 

Airserver

The school I am at uses alot of technology. 3 of the classrooms have smartboards, the others have apple tvs. My classroom has a smartboard, and I am still trying to get the most out of it! Teachers and middle school students will be getting ipad soon... 

I've been trying to figure out a way to stream my ipad to the smart board, so that I could do power points and such without being cabled to my computer. 

After alot of research I downloaded the trial version of Airserver at home and gave it a shot. The great news is, it works with both MAC and PC computers. The better news is, it is only about $15 per computer that it is downloaded on... not per device. 

I tried it at home and could easily turn my mac/pc into an airport and stream my ipad or iphone to my computer, then to a projector. 

Airserver.com 

Within minutes of downloading, I was mirroring my ipad to my desktop!!! 

A really neat feature of this program is the ablilty to have more than one device mirriored at the same time! 

Here, I have both my ipad and iphone mirrored to my desktop. 

I tried this in my classroom, and easily mirrored 4 devices to the projector. 

"As each new device connects, AirServer will automatically split the screen to accommodate for each new device.

Please note, the number of iOS devices that you can simultaneously stream to a computer would depend on the strength and speed of your network and computer. There is no exact way to measure the needed bandwidth to support multiple connections, as it would vary depending on the content being streamed from the iOS devices. Many classrooms have reported between 16 and 20 devices being able to simultaneously connect."

http://support.airserver.com/customer/portal/articles/1470607-connecting-multiple-ios-devices-to-your-computer

I see great benefits to using this program. Having students collaberate and display their work/presentations easily. I will use it for Keynote presentations for my science classes :)

Wrap ups

Wrap ups are a hit among my 4th and 5th graders! There are many types including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fraction, decimals, algebra, music, language, geography... so on and so forth. 

I purchased the multiplication and divison for my students. Amazon or Ebay are the cheapest! 

The way it works is you have random numbers down the left side (ie 3 4 8 2...), a number in the middle (x8) and the answers on the right. The student wraps from left to right. (ie 3x8=24) and goes to the next number on the left. When complete, the wrap up should match the groves in the back showing if the student answered correctly or not. 

I use these as a tool when students are done with their seat work. They get one wrap up, sit and complete it, and replace it in the cup for another. 

I cant wait until I get my pre algebra ones in the mail, and purchase geography. 

Science 1 pagers

We are learning about habitat and survival in 4th grade science. I learned this one pager method from my awesome mentor teacher. Basically it is 3 sections to a page, each having a paragraph and picture. Students were graded on: paragraph being one main ideas, and more than 3 sentences, picture having details and color, and content being one animal, three different ideas about habitat/survival. The kids did great and had fun! 

Behaior Management

One thing I struggled with last year was behavior managment. We used the card pulling system which I didnt really like. There wasnt a good way to keep track of why the student pulled a card... other than look at all 10 cards they may have pulled last quarter. 

I thought today of doing some type of chart for the week that the student writes their own right or wrong behavior, and the parent signs it weekly. 

I have 5th grade this year, so this would be good for the students to reflect on their own behavior. 

I got this idea from Joy in 6th Grade... Cant take the credit for myself :)

I really like this system because it uses both student and teacher responces. 

http://joyin6th.blogspot.com/2013/08/18-best-behavior-management-system-ive.html

My Teacher Pinterest Board

Check out some teaching ideas I like on Pinterest Follow Bree'Ana's board Teacher Ideas on Pinterest.

Overview of the past year, 5 lessons I learned

In just under a month, I will begin my second year of teaching. This past year has been full of fun, emotion, and stress. Here are a few things that I learned this past year. 

* Each child has their own story, they each have their own likes, dislikes and passions. You cant lump them all into one group. But you have to find a way to love something about each one. Even the most challenging of kids have unique bright talents and it's up to you to figure them out. For example, one student was always goofing off in class, rather than getting annoyed at every incident, I learned to allow times for goofing off, but also tamed it when it was not time. Some kids liked the dance breaks, silly songs, and talent shows we had, others didn't. But by allowing these fun special times, I let the kids who enjoyed it time to express themselves. Time time to get to know each child's likes and dislikes. Use this knowledge to your advantage. 

* Don't (always) sweat the small stuff

The kid who taps his pencil, the one who giggles at everything... the ones who want to sing the lyrics to disney movies every time you say "let it go".... LET THEM! Don't be so uptight about everything because your kids wont feel comfortable in expressing themselves. There is a time and place fore everything.... and occasional Frozen karaoke parties are okay, Let it go!! Join in the fun and sing along. They'll think your the greatest if you do. 

* Be patient, be consistent, but always find room for grace. 

This is a must! Students may kick and scream every time they have a card pulled, begging you to give them mercy. Be consistent, that behavior is not allowed and until it's controlled, there will be consequences. By being patient and consistent (and also keeping parents informed) the child will learn that you mean business and will stop the tantrums. They will pull the card as instructed and take the consequences. When that occurs, you can find room for grace when you deem appropriate. They will respect and appreciate you. 

* Talk to other teachers

You're not alone in this journey of teaching. Don't bury yourself in your work that you don't form a relationship with your coworkers. Visit other teachers when time allows, stop in and say hi, get to know them. When you need help, or they need help, there will be a (hopefully) mutual bond. 

* Pray for your students, and their parents

I spent a lot of time praying for my students, their situations, their attitudes... It helps change your perspective and your attitude toward the situation or student. God will give you wisdom to deal with every situation, no matter how big. :)