Made It Monday: Math Review Packet

I don't know about you, but half of my life seems to be going over things that these guys have already learned!  Ok, I know that's all part of teaching mastery...etc.  But it's a little bit disheartening to have to go over a concept you were pretty sure you nailed in last week's lesson.

As a way to relieve a little bit of that stress, I've created a packet that covers most of the Arizona math standards.  Of course, they can be used in any state as math is math.

I use them as warm-ups each morning for my kiddos.  They come in and have a sheet of paper (front and back) with anywhere from 4-10 problems total to complete.  Some are word problems, some are straight computation.  It's all stuff we've done.

After the allotted amount of time, we go through it.  It's a great way for me to measure if they really did master the concept; or if I was not quite as awesome as I thought.  It also lets students see some success which, as we all know, can completely change their outlook on math.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week,  I'll be joining in on the Teachers Pay Teachers sale!  It's only for 2 days, so make sure you get in on that action!

Click here to check it out!

That Time of Year

It's that time of year again.  Everywhere I look teachers are frantically hoping that they've done all they can.  Parents are wondering why their students look like zombies.  Students are wondering why their teacher hates them.  Administrators are wondering if their school will make the cut.

It's time for standardized testing.

Interactive Math Journals

Part of me moving to a new school next year is me being able to teach a new-ish subject!  I say new-ish because technically I've taught math the last four years; this was my first year not teaching it.  This will, however, be my first year teaching it with my new perspective on teaching!  I've always fancied myself a good teacher, but I now think that I have the ability to be a great teacher because of how my ideas have transformed and matured.  I suppose that darn graduate degree WAS good for something!

Made it Monday: My first TpT!

My first Made it Monday post!  Thanks to Tara for hosting.  Since it's a first, I thought I'd celebrate with another first: my first Teachers Pay Teachers item!

Tricks of the Trade - Homework

Linking up with Jessica over at Joy in the Journey to share a little 'Trick of the Trade' about homework!  I know homework can be a touchy subject for a lot of people, so it's nice to see what everyone does and maybe pick up a few new ideas of my own.

A new tool that I've been trying out with my class is called Socrative.  It is a website that allows me to have the students take their assessments online so that I, and they, can have instant feedback.

I love that there are so many different options available to me....and that it's my favorite price: FREE!

Individualizing Practice

I've been trying to figure out all year how I was going to utilize the new assessment my school started using.   Essentially, every few months the students are tested on each of the Common Core standards they are supposed to be learning by the end of the year.

I can then pull up reports letting me know where each student is struggling or where they are right on track.  The kids hate the testing part, but in truth it’s not that bad.

I finally decided that I’m going to be putting together an individualized program for each student based upon which standards they are struggling with.

Every week, each student will be required to turn in a special paper designed with a particular standard they need help with.  Not every student will have the same work. 

It will be a lot of trees and time killed  on my part; but I think it will have a positive impact on their over all learning and achievement.

I will let you know how this goes.