Last Minute Checklist

Mr.Hughes has posted another linky for Share the Wealth Saturday.  His posts and others keep me inspired to create and share materials.  The other day on Pinterest (where else?) I saw a pin with a "one minute countdown checklist" created by Kelly on her blog Kelly's Knack.  I loved the idea, so I went to her blog to see if there was a download.  She did not have one so I decided to modify her idea to meet my own classroom needs, and make a poster version in PDF which I could share.

I plan to print this out before school starts, mount it on poster board, add some glitter (of course!), laminate it and mount it near the door (or the clock...Which do grade 6's look at more in the day?).  I am hoping that I can just POINT at the list at the end of the day, rather than asking each of the questions (and often running out of time or forgetting!)

If you would like to have your own FREE copy of this, you can find it at my TPT store HERE  for FREE (everything I have made has been free so far).  Be sure to check out Kelly's blog and Mr.Hughes' too while you are at it.  There is so much great stuff to see and share!

Educational Time Fillers

Over at 3-6 Free Resources I was reading about Ms. Fultz's educational time fillers.  We all have minutes in the day when we are finished a lesson quickly, or an assembly finishes early or we just want a change of pace.  A few years ago I discovered that having the game Mindtrap in my classroom is a lifesaver!   This game consists of over 500 classic puzzles, murder mysteries, conundrums and trick questions that will challenge the way your students think!

Here's how I use it in my classroom:
I assign the students to two (or more) relatively even teams.  (I use the old "Popsicle stick method" to do this quickly).  I allow the students to use dry erase boards (I bought at the local dollarama for $1 each!) to record information and questions they want to ask.  The questions can ONLY be answered with a YES OR NO. I read aloud the question and the students (in teams) must solve it.  I give them a few minutes in their teams to come up with ONLY questions first.  They may NOT try to solve the mystery until I decide they have explored the questioning enough.  You will be the judge of how much is "enough".

The students will encounter questions that look so easy, they will jump at the answer.  I don't let them just blurt it out!  They have to question! What they think is a clue is sometimes  really a trap. Sometimes they will confront the type of "head scratcher" that appears impossible to solve. It seems there just isn't enough information to go on -- until they hear the answer. Then they will realize they overlooked the obvious and it was easy after all. 

Students find much of the fun is watching the other team struggle with a question while they think they know the painfully obvious answer.  Each team asks questions that can be answered "yes" or "no," clearly narrowing in on the solution, until suddenly they are hit with the "aha!" as it clicks into place. 

At this point I have the team give ONE answer...they cannot shout out multiple answers.  They must come to consensus prior to answering.
Sometimes we get through a few questions in 10-15 minutes other times, we have to come back to the mystery later. 

THE KIDS LOVE IT!

My only caveat is to choose questions that are appropriate for your grade level.  I teach grade 6 gifted and I choose questions based on what I know my students would find interesting.  I think this game would be best for middle and high school students.  I have seen other versions for younger students in a "card deck" format. 

Sample Question: If a daddy bull weighs 1,200 pounds and eats twelve bales of hay each day, and a baby bull, who weighs 300 pounds eats three bales of hay each day, how much hay then should a mommy bull eat if she weighs 800 pounds? ANSWER: There's no such thing as a mommy bull.

Adventuresin6thgrade Giveaway

Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher is having a great giveaway to celebrate having 700 (now more) followers!  I cannot imagine getting to that point.  I really like this blog and she has linked up with lots of other great blogs and bloggers to create the ultimate giveaway.  Why don't you hop on over and enter the giveaway yourself!



JOIN the PARTY

I was doing my regular blog crawl...via Pinterst and Twitter...and I found the picture above and thought "Aha! There are other Canadian teacher bloggers out there.  I had come across a few like Jen from Runde's room but had not found many others.  If you click on the link above you will go to a great blog called "Madly Learning".  There you can join the linky party for Canadian Teacher Bloggers.  Come join the party!

Welcome Back to School Letter to Families

Yes, I am thinking about "Back to School" already.  In fact, I start thinking about it before the end of school each year.  I have found the more prepared I am ahead of time, the less panicked I feel as the date approaches.  One of the things I like to do each year is get a class list at the end of June and get my school secretary (who is a goddess in my eyes) to print me out mailing labels.  I decided to do this after writing out names and addresses on 30 envelopes!  It just didn't seem like a good use of my time (and I have tendinitis in my writing arm). 

I started out my teaching career (can it really be over 22 years ago?) by sending home a postcard to each student in my upcoming class.  At that time, I really just wanted to say "hi" and I didn't have the year planned out yet.  At this point in my life, I know what we are going to do, and I know what I want to share with the students and families early in the year.  I started writing a Welcome Back to School letter to my students and their families several years ago.  I am loathe to admit that it seems to get longer each year!

This is what my current letter looks like.  I know that 6 pages is long, but I like to use larger font and lots of graphics.  I print it DOUBLE SIDED at school before the end of June so I am not trying to do it at home (too many years of this have used up too much paper and toner!)

In the letter I include:

• an introduction
• a brief outline of what we curriculum topics we will be covering in class this year
• a visual list of "suggested" school supplies (students in my district do not have to purchase items but I have found that most students bring things anyhow, so they might as well have my suggestions)
• an overview of my "mission for the class"
• my behaviour policy
• my district's homework policy and my views on homework
• a closing wishing a great rest of the summer to the students and their families
• a link to my classroom website

I have received really positive feedback from students and parents over the years.  They are often surprised to receive something from me personally and they like the visual layout of the back to school supply list. I try to write something individual to each student on the printed letter.  This might be a comment from their teacher last year "I hear that you are an awesome artist" or it might be something like "I am looking forward to our first field trip to...".  The personal touch I think is nice.
I have found over the years that this letter sets the tone for my interactions with the students and families for the year.  They know a little about me (they can read my bio on my classroom website) and they know we are going to have fun and work hard!
If you would like to download an EDITABLE copy of my letter for this year please visit me at  Welcome Back to School Letter on TPT.
All I have to do now is stuff the pre-addressed envelopes and buy some stamps.  I usually send home this letter the last week of August.  I keep extra copies at school the first week for new students or students who have moved during the summer months!
I hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer, and that my letter might inspire you to try something new this year too!

Daily Math Routine

I do not want to bore my students (or take a lot of time out my math program as I find there are not enough hours in the day to cover the HUNDREDS of expectations in the Ontario curriculum). One day while browsing at the local Chapters bookstore, I found a book called "Daily Math" and had a quick scan through it. The book is made up of practice sheets and each day of the week is devoted to a different strand from the curriculum. Each day (except Friday) has 5 questions. I thought to myself..."Well for less than $15.00 what do I have to lose?"

I don't know about you but my students are also "dawdlers" in the morning. They have nothing to motivate them to get to their desks and get working while waiting for announcements and O'Canada to play. In my school there is usually a lag of about 10 minutes before morning exercises. I really cannot afford to lose the time, nor can I stand trying to corral almost 30 pre-teens every morning.

This lead me to using Daily Math as a morning motivator! Each evening, a student has the job to put out the next days "Daily Math" on the top of each student desk UPSIDE DOWN. They do this only after all the other students have left the room. I usually find that I choose a mathematically strong, motivated student who wants to hand out the papers and I keep an eye open to see if he/she looks at the question...so far none have!

When students arrive in the morning they need to "hustle" to get their "Daily Math" done. They only have until the announcements and O'Canada come on to complete the 5 questions. They may not work with a partner, but I do let them use calculators or manipulatives.

Once they have finished the 5 questions, the students line up in front of my "stool" (really a perch for me during lessons etc.)  I have a clipboard with the answer sheets and a recording sheet on it.  I mark the student work until I have 5 student markers (these are students who scored a perfect mark and have shown their work).  

Each student who becomes a marker gets to take a mini pylon cone from my little stash, and a RED PEN.  (OH YES, they LOVE those red pens let me tell you!)  These students place the cone on their desk and then as the students finish they go to a marker to have their work checked.   Once their work is marked, students hand in their Daily Math and prepare for the day ahead.

This process allows me to finish taking "silent attendance" and to record (on a class list on my clipboard) the marks of the students who have finished. I collect the questions from each student and review each student's work in detail. I make note of students who are struggling, and those who are making common errors.  Sometimes this leads me to an immediate "mini lesson" if the whole class or a large percentage of the students seem to be struggling with a question or concept. Other times, I can teach a small group lesson at my desk to a few students who have the same issues, or I can work with an individual one on one.

Student papers are kept clipped together in another bin behind my desk. Each Friday there are two extra questions for the students to complete. These are called "Brain Stretch" and they are often problem based. I sometimes give the students an extra few minutes to complete the work on Friday.  As part of our Friday routine, the students also get all the work from the week back and they do a self reflection on a sheet I have created for them. They record their mark each day out of /5 at the top of the page, then total the mark out of /25 for the week ( I don't count the brain stretch on Friday as part of the total). I have also taught the students how to convert the mark out of 25 to a percentage.  Below these calculations, they write a reflection on what they did well that week, what they found challenging, and how they are going to address any areas of difficulty.  I ask them to be very SPECIFIC about their plans for improvement (e.g. I am going to use flashcards to practice my multiplication tables, I am going to use the Math Frog website to practice the concept, I am going to use Geometer's Sketchpad to review my geometry concepts, etc.)

This process helps the students set goals for the following week and to reflect back on areas or concepts they are finding challenging.  I also have a"Parent Signature Requested" rubber stamp which I stamp on the reflection sheet. The students must have their parents review their work and return it to me on Monday signed by a parent.

Each student who returns their signed work on Monday gets a ticket for a weekly draw. The draw prizes are classroom privileges such as "swap your desk", "listen to your tunes", "super supplies bin".  I still expect all the students to return their work...but only those who return it on Monday morning get a ticket for the draw.  By the end of the year I had 100% of my class returning their work on Monday morning...I don't think it was because of the draw though...I think they just didn't want to hear me comment about it not being in on time.  I also track everything the students do, and I follow up with both students and parents, so I think that most in my class realized it was just better to have the work in on time.