Problems with Problem Solving

After a very relaxing spring break camping trip, it's time to get back into "teacher mode."  I've been working on a few things these weekend, particularly for math.
Problem solving is one of my favorite things to teach, but some of my little ones are having difficulty with the process this year.  Although they can usually arrive at the correct answer, they aren't always able to explain what they have done or use another strategy to solve the problem. I have a few friends who still just want to write an equation and say "I'm done!"  (These are the same students who have been "tutored" to memorize facts without really understanding the operations.  A few can even recall multiplication facts, but have no real understanding of the concepts.) When asked to solve a problem in a different way, they may just show the answer in another format.  I've even had a student just write several other equations that equal the same number as the answer that had no correlation to the problem at all.
When we started doing more complex problems- ones that didn't just ask for simple joining or "take away", many of my friends seemed to have trouble visualizing what the problem was asking. Our Think Math activity (click here to read more) is helping, and we have spent some time working with CGI problem types. This week we will focus on going through the steps of problem solving BEFORE considering the numbers. I'm hoping this will help those students who are stuck on one strategy visualize and approach problems in a different way.
Here's the powerpoint I created to guide us through our lesson on Monday.  I'll be back later in the week to share how it went!

Link to Powerpoint

For more about how I've approached problem solving, check out this post, this post and this one from last year.

"Pin"spired!

I think I might be a little bit addicted to Pinterest!  I have more recipes and craft projects pinned than I will EVER have time to try and so many teaching ideas that I have forgotten what I have on my boards.
This pin is one that I had forgotten:

From Scholastic

But the other day one of my teammates was talking about Think Math-asking students to write a story problem based on an answer.  As she explained what she had done, I remembered this pin.  So I got to work and created my version of Think Math.

My kids are loving it!  They were all upset on Monday because I hadn't put up the new answer yet.  (Hopefully they are enjoying it because they like writing the problems and not just because they can use Post-It notes.  What is it about first graders and sticky notes?)  

After I put up this chart I was inspired to spruce up my whole math wall.

Now I'm headed back to Pinterest for some fresh ideas for my writing wall!

Tried It Tuesday: Kodable

Fourth Grade Flipper

A few weeks ago coding was mentioned at a technology staff development.  I wasn't 100% sure what it was, but I was pretty sure it wasn't for my first graders. But it kept popping up on blogs, twitter feeds- everywhere!- so I decided to look a little closer.  I discovered that it really is something my first graders can do!

Many of the apps and programs I've explored remind me of Logo.  Logo is an educational programming language designed by Seymour Papert and others.  It used a small cursor, called a turtle, that was given commands for drawing and movement to create line drawings.

(When I first moved to Texas in the early 80's, I worked part-time for Texas Instruments.  They had just released their first home computer. With every purchase, the buyer got 4 free lessons on how to use these crazy new machines.  I was hired to teach these lessons.  I knew next to nothing about computers, but they hired me anyway!  The major objective of the kids' lessons was to teach them Logo.)

OK, leaving the 80's behind and back to today!  Once I made the connection with Logo, I knew my firsties could do this.  I downloaded a free app onto our class iPad called Kodable.  The children  help adorable little creatures called Fuzzes explore their new world .  While doing this, they are learning to use logic as they give the computer commands.

I first demonstrated the app yesterday using the Smartboard, and then I put it out as a math station today. The 2 girls who were the first to try it independently were absolutely precious!  They were giggling and giving each other suggestions the whole time. Even when they didn't get the program right the first time, they kept trying and were still having fun. When our math time ended today, the whole class was buzzing about who would be going to that station tomorrow!

Now if I could just get my hands on more iPads!

Edited to add:

I've also linked up with Technology Tailgate for Techie Tuesday.

Transitions

I was doing some purging this week, and I came across some books that, although I hadn't seen them for awhile, still brought back fond memories of the huge impact they had on my teaching.
For the first 5 or 6 years of my teaching career, my idea of a "professional" book was a book of ditto masters purchased at the teacher supply store. (Ah, I miss the smell of a freshly run ditto!)  I read the required texts for my graduate courses and the occasional article handed out during staff development, but that was about it.
Then the whole language craze of the 80's and 90's hit.  (If you don't remember that craze, be glad- it got UGLY folks!)  During one of the many workshops I attended on the subject, I was browsing the book vendor tables and came across this book:

To this day I don't really know what led me to purchase it, but I can honestly say it changed my life as a teacher!  I eagerly read every word Regie wrote, thinking all the while- "Yes, THIS is what teaching reading is supposed to be like!"  I called my friend Elizabeth, and by the time school started we were both ready to revolutionize our teaching.  We were so excited about Regie's work that we  preordered her next book, Invitations.   And that was the beginning of my obsession with professional books!

There have been many books since then that have shaped my teaching. Books by Lucy Calkins, Fountas and Pinnell and my recent passion, math books like Laney Sammons Guided Math currently line my shelves.  Others were interesting at the time but quickly forgotten. But Transitions and Invitations will stay with me forever as they remind me that teaching is a craft, and to perfect your craft, you must constantly study and refine your practices.
What books have had a profound effect on your teaching?

Renewing My Spirit

                              
I am hanging my head in shame right now because I have not blogged since OCTOBER!  I could make all kinds of excuses and bore you with the details of my life, but instead I will just say I am committed to at least blogging once a week until I get my groove back! I've recently started doing daily yoga to renew my spirit -now I'll use blogging to renew my commitment to teaching
For me, this is the time of year when things get a little stale in my classroom.  Posters and anchor charts are looking a little shabby, the kids are kind of bored with some of the materials in work stations and I don't have the energy I had in August.  We are having some big discussions on my campus right now about incorporating new ideas into our instruction so I feel like this is a perfect time to reflect on my teaching practice.  I'm going to use this blog to help me stay accountable as I try to add a spark to the rest of the year.
Step one is going to be some housecleaning.  This is my desk right now!  Thankfully it is kind of hidden behind my file cabinet, but something needs to be done before the Risk Management department declares it a health hazard!

Step 2 will be reorganizing for Daily 5 and guided reading.  My kids have grown so much as readers this year so I need to grow with them and provide some fresh materials for word work and work on writing, as well as more higher level activities for reading groups.
Step 3 is sprucing up guided math.  Our principal has just sent a campus-wide reminder about the importance of guided math, and I hope to be able to share some of my ideas with others.  I'm going to revisit some book studies I've participated in for inspiration.  If you are looking for guided math help, here's the link to discussions of Laney Sammons Guided Math and Building Mathematical Comprehension books.

Link

I look forward to becoming part of the blogging world again!

Reflecting on the Year So Far

I am finally returning to the blogging world after a very long absence.  It's been kind of a rough school year so far. It seems like it has taken much longer than normal to get things going this year.  We've had some changes at school- a new lesson plan system, new curriculum and of course,more paperwork- that have taken some getting used to. In addition to this and  a few behavior problems in my class, I also have a student with special needs (both academic and behavior) who is not yet identified.  Although he's getting some support through RTI, I'm the one who is dealing with him most of the time. And I'm tired!  I've even started to ask myself if it's time to retire. (My husband says it's not!)
So I decided this weekend to stop wallowing in self-pity and focus on what is going right in the classroom and spend some time taking care of ME!  My craft room is covered with school projects, but I put aside my laminator and centers, pulled out my crochet hooks and some thread, and made some Christmas ornaments.

I also took some time to reflect on what is good in my classroom this year.  Reading groups and Daily 5 are finally up and running.  I even added Listen to Reading this year!  I've avoided it for the past few years because I hate dealing with tapes/CDs, headphones and players.  But now I am using my computers- much easier!  We are using Tumblebooks right now and the kids love it!  I'm looking into other sources for online books; please share if you have any to recommend!
I love my math workshop this year!  I finally have a system that allows me to pull guided math groups on a regular basis.  My kids rotate through 10 work stations during a 2 week period, working with a partner.  I pull 2 groups/day, 3 days per week.  Monday is a whole group lesson, usually introducing a new concept or skill, with guided practice.  On Thursdays we usually do a whole group problem solving lesson and worksheet or other activity for assessment.  As with reading, I am finally learning to utilize my 3 classroom computers more efficiently and have them set up as one of the math stations.
Our wonderful PTA purchased a mini iPad for every classroom this year so we have been using it during our guided math groups.  On Friday, we experimented with Educreations to show our work.  Here's one of my friends showing how she solved a subtraction problem.



(I've enjoyed having the iPad so much I wrote a Donors Choose project for 2 more!  Click here to view my project.)

Now I'm off to have fun with bats, spiders and all things Halloween!  Have a great week!

Writer's Block!

My poor blog sure has suffered this past month!  I was away from home for a good part of July, and found it difficult to blog on the road, and then once I returned home, I just wasn't "feeling it."  I don't know if it was writer's block or what, but even though I worked on a lot of things for school, I just couldn't get my thoughts into words to blog.  Hopefully I am back on track now!
School starts in 2 weeks- where has the summer gone? I have been to school a couple of times, and now my room no longer looks like this!

One of my goals this year (and every year!) is to be more organized and consistent with routines.  Last year I really enjoyed doing number talks with my class, but I tended to use the same materials and forget about others.  I used my dot plates a lot, but then I would forget about my Rekenreks and other tools.  So this year I am making some cards to help me remember different number sense activities from the resources I have available.  Here's the first set that goes along with our first unit covering number to 20.  Nothing fancy; just something I can share with my team to help ensure we get our firsties thinking about numbers. I plan on laminating these and putting them on a ring to keep near my teaching area along with all of the supplies.

Click here for a copy.

Here are a few pictures of how I spent my summer:

The county fair with my niece and nephew in my hometown.

Camping in Colorado

Confratute at UConn

It's been a great summer, but now I'm looking forward to getting ready for my new class!