Math Stations/Menu

Sometimes the lightbulb goes off and an idea pops into my head. I have been really focusing on using Daily 5 in reading and love the fact that the kids have a choice as to what they do each day. Well today it occurred to me, after my good friend Anne sent me a Word Work menu she created, why not try that for math too?

SO....I pulled out my math resources, games, manipulatives and got to work. Then I tweaked the menu she had sent me to match the math stations the kids could work on.

Here is what the menu looks like:

When I introduced it today my kids were SO excited! I organized everything into bins and labeled them for easy access & clean-up. I can't wait to post my new pictures. I love all the inspiration from Pinterest from all the amazing teachers out there!

xoxo, Courtney

Daily 5, Whole Brain Teaching, Guided Math...oh my!

It is a new year, at a new school, and I am trying out a lot of NEW things! This year I really wanted to work on making sure I was purposeful in my instruction in all areas. I started Daily 5 last year and I loved it! Here are some **new** things I am working on implementing in my classroom:

Whole Brain Teaching and it has been very cool. (www.wholebrainteaching.com) The kids have been very receptive to it. I like how I have to think about chunking information into smaller, kid friendly, pieces and then giving them the time to share their ideas with their classmates.

Math Notebooks: I have also worked on changing the way I use/the kids use their math journals. I always just used it to take notes and do warm-ups, but it wasn't really a functional tool. So after doing some research I came across the Math Notebooks on http://frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com/2011/08/math-notebooks.html  (who doesn't love Pinterest!!!) and I started them with the kids today. I think these are really going to be a great tool and something the kids will be able to utilize all year. Now time to create all the resources for inside!

Thoughtful Logs: Another great Pinterest find! These will work as our reading journals and will be a place for the kids to save all of their important information regarding all aspects of reading. For more information see: http://lifein4b.blogspot.com/p/thoughtful-logs.html

I think the first few weeks of school are going to be a whirlwind of getting routines set, but it will be worth it in the end (I hope!!).

Classroom Organization

I try my hardest to make sure my classroom is as organized as it can be...or at least I know where to hide stuff! It just makes me a little calmer each day and makes it easier for me to tackle my day. I decided to take some pictures of my room and some things I find helpful. Thanks for checking out my pictures!

I LOVE Binders! I think they are so much easier then file folders. I have broken them down by subject, and then down further based on the units/quarters.

My Front Bulletin Board - AR point chart and Vocabulary (which I change with the content unit we are working on)

My "Teacher" Books - each is filed by subject and labeled. The binders I am using sit behind my desk (maybe I should have straightened them before taking this picture...ha ha).

Writing Anchor Charts we made as a class

My first year of Daily 5 = TONS of Anchor Charts! 

I organize my math groups like reading groups - they rotate through meeting with me, centers (math games), and seat work. The lists are laminated so groups can always change!

Daily 5 Book Boxes...some of them...

The rest! With 28 kids we have lots of book boxes.

Biographies

We have been working hard (in between our state testing) on our Presidential biographies. Before writing, the students read different biographies about famous athletes to learn about the characteristics of a biography. Instead of doing a "normal" written response, I opted to do a Bio-Poem. The kids loved it and they turned out very cool.

Daily 5 Fun!

My teammate Anne introduced me to the Daily 5 and I am hooked! It has made such a huge difference in my reading groups and the interest my kids have in what they are doing. Even with 28 kids in my class, I think they are so on task and engaged that I am so excited to see what the rest of the year brings! The Daily 5 has definitely promoted more responsibility and independence! I am going to attach some of the documents I made and put in their reading binders. Click on the title of the document and it will take you to Google Docs.

 Coaching Sheets - when reading with a partner, students can use this to help each other out

Daily 5 Contract  - I wanted to make sure the students had to think about their effort and how they are doing at each choice so I adapted this contract and after each rotation, the students evaluate their effort. I tied the codes into the learning behaviors on our report cards. Then the sheets go home for the parents to see each week.

Parent Letter - Daily 5  - a letter I sent home explaining what the Daily 5 is

Testing 1-2-3....Testing....

So after seeing so many great blogs on Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at creating my own!