Happy New School Year!

The room has been decorated, parents have been greeted, and we're all ready to start the first day of school on Monday in my district. Every year I see an opportunity to grow and develop a focus I'd like to carry throughout the year. For 2017-18 I am choosing growth mindsets.

Though they seem like the latest buzz word/trend, I know the data is there over the past decade to support growth mindsets. I often find myself getting excited or congratulatory even to students able to correctly answer questions. But answering questions correctly is just part of the learning process. If I'm not celebrating the process and mistakes it takes to understand the concept, I'm doing a disservice to the young minds I have.

To start out the year, I'll be giving a quick introduction to growth mindsets to my students as well as giving out small positive message cards daily to those I see exhibiting these behaviors. Though I'm against external motivations, the cards serve a bigger purpose as a reminder of potential and are not a treat.

I hope you're all ready for your first day! Good luck and to those already in session, try to keep balance.

Task cards-Sub plans in a box

Wrapping up my 6th year of teaching in a few weeks and I find that I'm always learning in this field. An amazing special education teacher who co-taught with me this year introduced me to task cards. She came from the elementary level where these little colorful cards are all the rage. My first thought was, 'will this really keep my scholars engaged? Isn't this the same as a worksheet just cut into pieces?' I would learn this year that no, these are so much more than a colorful worksheet, and yes, the kids love them!

I started with a set of cards my co-teacher brought with her as a review one day. I explained how we would rotate around to each card which my co-teacher referred to as "scoot." My scholars began their journey and I fell in love with this learning aid.

These cards are incredibly versatile. Review, kwl, vocabulary, extra practice, early finishers, remediation and slow pace learners, gifted and fast pace learners, these cards help to close gaps and make differentiation easy. Your only limitations are your imagination.  I've found that having multiple sets for each objective allows me to be more flexible in how often I can use them. 

The best surprise I found with task cards, is the instant no prep sub plans.  I leave the key and some recording sheets with the substitute.  The students work on these and have the opportunity to talk with each other while being focused (hardest part for subs).  Overall, I've gotten sub reports back that show more of my students were engaged and less behavior issues arose.  There are no copies to make if you have some premade recording sheets on hand.  I have students make their own recording sheets sometimes by folding blank computer paper or notebook paper.

How do you use task cards?

End of the year fun! **freebie**

Somewhere between field trips, class picnics, end of year celebrations, and the winding down of testing season, I find myself asking, what now? What's left? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy soaking up the last few week/days with my kiddos, but why let learning stop there? Unfortunately with state testing being almost a month before the end of the school year, it's not just a few days of lull before the year is at an end. In science we don't have 6th grade state tests so the learning continues and new curriculum is covered until the end of the year. For math I'm always left wondering do I move on and teach the next year's first unit? Do I review this year's material?

I've found a combination of both actually works quite nicely.  With my sped group, they really benefit from reviewing the units we struggled on from the state test data. Front loading the most important unit from the next year is also crucial for that group as they get more exposure and it becomes less intimidating.  My advanced kiddos are ready for next year's curriculum as well, but also closing up learning gaps is appropriate for them since their pace is much faster.

This year my kids really struggled with mean as a balance point and fraction division models. I also know that equations are one of the big units for next year so focusing on models for one step (6th grade standard) is a good place to refresh and even build ahead. Here's the task cards I'm using https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/One-Step-Equations-Task-Cards-including-Models-3179365

Finally, I'm looking forward to more labs with my science classes as well as a few stem projects to drive that math-science connection. Almost there teachers!

Welcome to Owl about STEM!

As a math and science middle school teacher I am always trying to find new and innovative ways to capture the imagination and attention of eager minds. I'm very blessed to be able to work with young scholars each year who teach me what learning is all about. This blog is all about sharing experiences, breakthroughs, and the day-to-day ups and occasional downs as I navigate the school year. I will have a link to my store available as well as freebies along the way.

Thank you for joining me,