Review: A New Approach

Matt Braa sent me this link to a blog post that talks about a different way of reviewing. It is called "The Mistake Game." Students work in groups on a problem to find the correct solution. Then the group has to re-work the problem and make one mistake on purpose. The fake solution is presented to the class, and the other groups have to find the mistake. I thought this was a really clever way to approach review. It incorporates higher level thinking. It is easy to watch someone give the correct solution to a problem; it requires more attentive thinking to know how to do the problem correctly AND recognize the error. I think this would work especially well for my honors classes who "get it" right away. I am excited to try it out for our first review day!

http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/the-mistake-game/

Nerdy Tech Ideas!!!

Okay, I know some of you that know me will laugh when you see the title of my post here but I just came up with this amazing idea that I can't wait to try! It's nothing new to the tech world but new to us here in Shakopee, I think.

So my 7th grade students all have science (with a class set of iPads) and have set up gmail accounts through the schools google account (@shakopeeschools.org). First, I want their emails in TIES so we can send mass emails to them just like we do with parents. It would be nice if they could use those accounts to sign in to Schoolview as well.

I embed a google calendar on my website with due dates and test dates. Using those gmail accounts, we can have students add due dates and such to their google calendar by going to their teacher's website and simply clicking on any events that they need to know.

The biggest test is... will 7th graders actually use those gmail accounts?

All that being said, if you have any ideas that you'd love to share in this thread, go for it!

Mr. Chatty

I am trying to find new and creative ways to deal with an extremely chatty kid.  He is super nice and is a great contributor to the classroom discussion but he is overbearing and no one else seems to havea  chance to talk.  Any thoughts to try to contain his energy and allow other students to feel they can contribute to the discussion as well?

Seventh Hour

Last week, I have to admit I totally spaced on the blog (sorry!) . My mind was already in over drive trying to figure out what to do with my seventh hour. They are a rowdy group. I am dealing with a lot of side conversation and random shot outs. I can't even get them to write silently for two minutes. I have tried having them lay down on the floor with pillows and low lighting to calm them down, but that only works for a while. I want to try brain breaks, but I am worried that will get them more anxious. Last week, we did try a dancing brain break, but then they were high energy the rest of the hour. Does anyone have any ideas for what they do to help students stay focused even when it is seventh hour?

PLCs and Special Education

Providing special services for students K-5, I am working hard with my special education colleagues here at Eagle Creek to identify our "best fit" within the PLC model. I was fortunate to join our building's PLC team at the Summit this summer and feel that I have a strong grasp on the procedural and learning focused outcomes for the model. However, key barriers/topics to address for us as special education teachers include:

-Time restraints of attending two PLCs, attending both a general education and special education community (IEP and Eval. meetings make our morning availability tight). Should we participate in only one? How do we prevent a dichotimous relationship between Sped. and Gen. Ed.?

-Creating SMART goals for students we impact across grade-levels and abilities.

-Devoting our time as a "special education resource" to the achievement of students without IEPs (this barrier was raised as our services/funding comes through special education) and how do we be a part of a team/commit time towards general education student goals when we are also responsible for student IEP goals/needs/objectives.

-Creating formative assessments/common data sets across our disparate caseloads of students.

Thoughts to chew on as we move towards this way of doing to affect all student learning :). The goal, really, is that all of the students are all of our students, as we move towards inclusion. Thank you for any reflection you may have!

Where does homework fit in?

As I'm easing back into the groove of teaching I find myself taking a critical look at grading. More specifically with homework. It seems that more and more emphasis is being put on test scores as opposed to homework. Now that we are using standards based grading I find myself in a bit of a grey area when it comes to using homework as merely formative assessment which is ungraded, versus actual assessment of the given standard. Penny for all your thoughts?

Welcome Back!

What is one new thing you are planning to try this year?