Students at Work

 This is a picture of our I can..Math Journals.I like having  students keep math journals. They can use these throughout the year and It helps when reviewing at the end.


CENTERS:  Once you teach expectations, then centers are wonderful!  Students love them and it is nice to hear so many students communicating about math.  You find out real quick who your student leaders are once the students are put into groups.




It's nice to incorporate a little edible math--It's a must in my classroom.

Computer Time- A few of the programs that my students work on each day is Moby Math, EXTRA Math, and Success Maker. 

On a Positive Note...

I believe in positive behavior motivation.  Do I think it works with everyone, everytime--no. What I have learned is that we all love to be encouraged, liked, cheared, loved, connected to, and so I therefore I believe it works MOST of the time. If we make a personal connection with our students and make them feel that we are on their side then in the end we will see the results that we want to see. 

Here are a few ways ( notice I said few--you have to change your game sometimes to get more student participation especially later in the year) that I encourage positive behaviors in my classroom:



Get caught being good and get your name on the BINGO board
( Found out right away that Bingo excites more than our senior citizens- who knew) 





Clip-Up Chart ( Behavior Management system)  Great way to focus on positive behaviors--moving students up
can motivate others to do the right thing. Would like to eventually make my own chart but based on the same idea.

 



Class Reward Marble Jar!  My students love earning WHOLE- class rewards. 
Filling the jar means "Party Time".

 



Morning Meeting!
My students loved this !  (I wasn't sure at first how this would go
over with my students but was so excited about the results).  Two to three times a week, my students would meet in front of the room and we would go over class rules, formally greet one another ( hand shake) while askng "How Are You'?  Students then had the chance to share any bad news or good news in their lives.  I then asked the question of the day For Example: " What do you want to be when you are grown up"? Finally we would rate ourselves on our meeting behaviors.  Overall, this helped students share something about their life, their emotional state for the day, their fears, their dreams, and most importantly they were able to share something about themselves in a safe environment.

 

2012-2013 School Year

My 2012-2013 school year had an OWL -standing beginning!  Decided on painting the room lemon with one wall dominating the color of lime.  The kids loved it and I thought it gave a gender neutral color scheme to our block walls.  The students were greated with a treat on their desks and a welcoming note from me to begin their year.



Welcomed students with an OWL theme this year.




This area became our Morning Meeting area, which was another big success this year.




Calendar Math rocked this year!  Created a question and answer page for each month
--loved how well my students responded. 




Here is one fine looking group of students !