Favorite Winter Project!

Next week, we are going to be creating one of my FAVORITE art projects of the year.  The one above is not the actual project, but it is similar.  What I do is take the kids outside and snap a picture of them jumping in the air.  Then they cut themselves out of the picture and glue it onto a paper plat where they make a snowy background.  Last year my students made themselves snowboarding, making snowmen, making snow angels, and so on.  Then you buy  fake snow and add a sprinkle to the plate.  Finally, you cover the plate with saran wrap and you have yourself a personal snow globe!  The kids then cut out a base from paper.  It's so cute!

Community Building in the Flipped Classroom

Last week, was our unit three test.  The night before the test, I thought what am I going to have on the video tonight?  I could cram everything they learned in that chapter, as a quick review.  I was confident in their performances during our math centers and felt it was unnecessary to cram a bunch of things they already know.  So instead, I took the time to continue to build our classroom community.  Their task that night was to simply make something for their critical friend to show how thankful they are for them.  This could be a song, a dance, a card, a picture....whatever they wanted.  The results were unbelievable.  The kids all came to school the next day even more excited.  They couldn't wait to GIVE their surprise to their buddy.  We talked about it after and I asked the kids if they were more excited to give or to get.  They all said it was more exciting to give.  We then went into further discussion about this season and how we are all asking others what we want for Christmas, when we should be looking for ways to give.  I have even had students make things randomly now for others.  It was the best movie of the FLIPPED classroom so far.  :)

Math in the classroom....what does it look like now?

The biggest part of the flipped classroom is not the movie...it's what are you going to do with all of your 'spare' time you have now.  Every class is going to look different.  The majority of the time we are doing different centers.  I have five centers so that there are 4 - 5 students at each.  The students are flex grouped by daily assessment.  Some days, we do not need to assess because it was a continuation of the day before.  Below is a list of different centers that I have created.  Something helpful that I have found, is to not change your centers very often.  Repetition, especially in math, is great for memorization. 

Center 1: Megamath.  This is done on the smartboard and it is a website of games provided by our curriculum.  One of my colleagues linked a specific game to each lesson.  We simply click on the game for that day.   While a student is at the board working out a problem, their group members are on the carpet playing a card game a lot like war.  Some days the person with the larger number wins, other days the student with the lower number wins. 

Center 2: Patterns.  I have made cards with different patterns I want them to try.  We mastered AB patterns, so I make them more challenging.  ABBC, AABCC, and so on.  The kids simply use the pattern bears.  They love to make their patterns in different shapes and letters. 

Center 3: Parent.  I have a parent come almost every day during our math centers.  The parents usually work on word problems that the students have created at home from their flipped movie.  I have also had the parents play games such as Yahtzee with the kids. 

Center 4: Math Mountain Repetition.  I have the kids work on math mountains, which is a concept used in the Math Expression curriculum.  I simply made math mountains with missing totals or addends and laminated them.  The student must then fill in the missing number.  They are practicing their facts from all different ways when they are doing their math mountains.

Center 5: iPhones and iPads.  I have used old iPhones as cameras.  The students use them to record each other while they come up with story problems.  This is easier then having them write them down.  They get way more story problems said then if they were to write them.

Center 6: Card games.  I have taught them a card game where they put a card to their forehead and a card on the table and their partner tells them the total so they must figure out what card is on their head.  You can also play it with three.  Two kids put cards up to their heads and the third student tells them the total.  The first one to say their card wins. 

Center 7: Work time with me.  This is where most of the differentiation is taking place.  My first group I teach the lesson because they did not watch the movie.  The second group I reteach.  The third group I enhance their learning by having them practice more and do one problem together that is more challenging. The fourth and fifth group I challenge.  I give them more independence on their strategies they use and make them explain their work and thinking more. 

Center 8: Pattern blocks.  It's amazing the creativity that comes from what they make.

As a new chapter begins, next week, I'm sure I will be adding more centers. 

Parent Feedback at Conferences

Last week we had conferences.  I know everyone has some nerves and some excitement for this exhausting week....I was much more nervous and excited then ever.  The big thing with flipped in the primary is the parent involvement.  When going into this, I knew I wanted to make the students as independent as possible with getting to the website, logging in, and watching the movie.  I didn't want it to be more work for the parents.  To be honest, I expected to have some parents annoyed with the flipped classroom. I thought I would hear that I am asking WAY too much of them at home and that it was taking up a lot of valuable family time.  Here were the responses:

Only one parent was having trouble with the movie at home taking too much time.  He does need more instruction time and she said the movie itself just takes too long for him.  I didn't even suggest the solution we came to, she did.  Since she is a stay at home mom, she said she would watch the movie (which are usually under 10 minutes) and teach him or do the problems that I provide in the movie that day.  She said that she sees the benefits and wants to try to make it work for her little man.  If that doesn't work, our plan is to go back to the homework that Math Expressions provides and he will always be in my re-teach group. 

The rest of the parents, believe it or not (I WAS SHOCKED MYSELF), loved the flipped classroom so far!  They could not believe how independent their child was with logging in and how motivated they were.  Some parents said that their child just loves having the computer all to themselves for the time of their movie.  Others said that younger sibling sit and watch me teach too and their four year old is doing our first grade math with their older brother. 

The most common response was how they loved that I was able to meet their needs as a learner.  Whether their child was advanced or needed to be retaught the concept, I am able to do that.  I would have a lot of bored students if I taught the way I use to. 

I was very pleased with the response.  I am so thankful for the parents I have in my classroom this year.  If it wasn't for them, this would not have been possible.  Well, Friday is our Unit three test....which is the first large assessment post flipping.  I can't wait to see their scores. 

First Week of FLIPPED

We have started chapter three in math, which means the students have started watching the movies at home.  Now, it's hard for me to reflect on how much the students have watched at home, because we have only had two night of watching the movie at home, and those days were the night before Halloween and the night of.  I was actually very impressed with how many students still watched the movies!  I only had three students not watch the movie, both nights.  I'm excited to see what this week brings.  So far, I can't imagine teaching any other way.  I have been able to connect with every student!  It's unbelievable.  I was also expecting to have some unhappy parents, but I have had nothing but positive feedback.   It almost feels like I'm on 'CLOUD NINE' with the way things are going. 

Differentiating FLIPPED

When I was planning my implementation process of the flipped classroom, the biggest piece was going to be what am I going to use my classroom time for, now that I have cut back on the instruction and whole group time.  My plan was to have the students come into the classroom and they would work on one activity for the entire math time.  This has changed now that we are in the middle of it all. 

What we do, is the students come into the classroom and have a short assessment on the movie from the night before.  I use the homework sheets that they would have been doing at home prior, to assess the kids.  While they are filling in their answers on the sheet, I tell them which bucket they put their sheet in when they are done with it.  I have five buckets and these buckets are then their group for the day.  Instead of having the kids stay at one center for the entire 60 minutes, we rotate the centers.  Some days, when the concept is first being introduced and new, I will cut it down to four centers, to make sure that I have enough time with each group.  The differentiation really only happens when the students come to my center. 

As of right now the first group is where I have to teach the concept, because the student was not able to watch the movie the night before.  Then, the next group is a reteach.  They watched the movie, but really struggled with the assessment.  The next group I work with is the reinforcement group.  This group missed a few on the assessment, but overall are understanding the concept.  My last two groups, usually last three groups, are enhancement groups.  I am usually teaching ahead or challenging these students with word problems incorporating the skill they just learned. 

The other centers that the kids are doing work with memorizing facts, creating their own word problems, and using the technology the curriculum has provided. 

RTI and Daily Five!

Today we started our RTI groups in first grade.  I love our RTI groups but my challenge is what to do with the rest of my students during this time.  I don't want them to just sit and do worksheets and 'useless' work, plus RTI is right in the middle of our Daily Five time.  Now, prior to today, we rotated through the Daily Five centers.  Every student went to every center both Wednesday and Thursday.  This allowed me to see every student in a small group setting both days but for only about ten minutes a group.  That wasn't going to work with RTI mixing it all up.  Today, I took a leap and LET GO!  I let the kids choose what Daily Five they wanted to complete.  Now I told them my expectations for today and tomorrow and if certain things were not completed, then they would have to complete them during Free Choice on Friday.  I totally expected craziness, but it went great.  The independence was amazing and it was nice to see them not forced at every center.  Some kids even said they can't wait to write more tomorrow!  Plus our RTI group was not interrupted at all.  Day one down in the books and I'm happy with what I am seeing.  :)

Substitute and Flipping....?????

As my two days of being gone approached....I could feel the nerves about math fill me up inside.  How in the world was math going to work with a sub?  We FINALLY have everything down.  The kids are only use to me teaching them on the screen, and NOW I'm going to have a sub come and teach traditionally.  Not only that, it was the two days that we are introducing subtraction.  Why did I have to have these doctor appointments, especially now?  I thought for awhile thinking that I would just let her, the sub who is amazing, teach it traditionally and then we will get back into the routine of things when I get back.  Then I thought of all the fun little 'tricks' I have to introduce subtraction and I just couldn't stand it.  I decided to record both of my lessons and still do the centers the way we do it every single day.  The only difference would be is the sub would only pull those students she thought were struggling and I had my intervention cards out for her to use if she felt necessary.  From the sub plans I got back today when I returned, her big comment was WOW, THANKS FOR THE GREAT PLANS!!  I am so happy that I didn't break our routine and that it was 'doable' for my sub.  Not only did my students not miss a beat, they were so excited to show me what 'I' had taught them while I was gone.  #flippingisthewaytogo

Backwards Design Unit

My planning of my backwards design unit makes the most sense to me.  I sit down and look at the unit as a whole.  Where are we starting and where do we want to end?  I think this makes the most sense when planning a unit.  For my school, we have to follow our curriculum for math and language arts.  Almost like a script.   With social studies and science though, we have more freedom.  This is where I chose to start my backwards design.  Last spring, I planned a backwards design unit on the body unit.  What I noticed the most, I took more chances with allowing the students to take hold of the instruction. In years prior, this would have made me nervous, but since I knew where we were going with the unit, it allowed me to let the students explore on their own with very little guidance.  The results were amazing.  As I begin my backwards designed unit in social studies, I look forward to see where the students are going to be most interested.  So far, I can not believe the ideas they have come up with even when it just comes to making up a song or rhyme about the oceans.  The standards are clear and the objectives are known.  The path we take to meet them are up to the students and their interests and intelligences.  I love it.

Flipped First Grade

While teaching math last year, I found that I had very little time to differentiate.  I had students of all levels.  I tried different ways to have my high students go and watch me teach on the iPad at the same time I taught my other students, but the high students would not understand the vocabulary and terms the Math Expressions curriculum uses.  I also noticed during my whole group instruction, certain students would be extremely bored with the slow process of helping the other students understand what was being taught.  The students who were low also seemed to just give up in the whole group setting.  The only students benefiting from the whole group instruction were the on-level students.  This needed to change which led to me researching different ways on how we could use our one hour of math time the most appropriately.  As I read and read, nothing seemed to fit our classroom.  I needed to have the whole group instruction to get across the different techniques and terminology that is used in our curriculum.  A lot of things I found talked about grouping and using hands on approaches.  All of these I wanted to use, but how was I going to fit it all in.  Then, I stumbled on the secondary idea of the flipped classroom.  The first thing I thought was this is not possible for a primary grade level.  The independence that is needed to flip was something that turned me away from this idea at first.  As I read other approaches, I kept going back to the flipped idea.  I finally decided to make the dive into flipping. I knew it was not going to be exactly as those I had read, but I found research supporting the flipped classroom in grades K-12.  As I have begun the flip, I have found that I have multiplied myself and allowed my students to have as many 'Miss C's' as they need.  This year in math is going to be career changing.

Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset in first grade is key to NOT going crazy!  :)  Knowing that my students are coming into my class at all different levels academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and mentally really helps me realize how much is really being asked off all teachers.  Setting goals for each individual student for areas they are lacking in and highlighting those that they succeed in is one of my ways that we make our classroom full of ALL students that are learning.  Recently, I had to give my students a test.  If you know me as a teacher...you know I absolutely HATE tests.  I hated them as a student and I hate them for my students.  Some of my students, boys especially, knew the answers, but didn't get the format of the test!  BLAH!  What am I assessing them on?!  Test taking or past, present, and future?!  This was a great time to reflect and see different ways the students could have shown me their growth and knowledge that they have gained.   I have been able to get our grade to cut a lot of these tests out....maybe some more for next year.  :)

Fresh Start

Last spring, our principal said something to our staff that has stuck out to me.  He said that teaching is great in many ways, but a large benefit of the teaching profession is your fresh start every year.  I have to say, I totally agree with him.  Now, did I have a hard time saying good bye to my students from last year? Yes.  Would I take them back in a heart beat? Yes.  But, there is something about a clean slate of students that you can get connected to, figure out their learning styles, and create an educational journey best fit for that new class.  I am loving the challenge of figuring out each student.  It's so easy to get comfortable in anything you do for a long time, whether it is your profession, hobbies, or whatever.  Well, when you are a teacher, there is NO getting comfortable.  Every year is different and every year forces you to try new things that are best for the students you have at that point.  This is why each and every student you have as a teacher, means the world to you.  You put a lot of time, heart, and energy into each and every one.

2 Things

1.  Now that I have met my class....I CAN'T WAIT TO FLIP!!!! I actually dislike teaching math right now, because I know how much more beneficial it's going to be for my kiddos when I flip.  I have sooooo many kids that are bored....and a few that are lost ALREADY!  YIKES!!  I can't wait!

2.  Fellow bloggers!  I implemented a new way to BLOG this year!  MY FIRST GRADERS DO IT!  We end every day writing the blog TOGETHER!  I LOVE IT and it's a great way to reflect on our day as a class!

THAT IS ALL.... HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Vacuum Cleaner!!

Well...if you haven't read my other posts....I have a WONDERFUL class, with some WONDERFUL kidos....with different needs.  This one, I am so concerned about academically and behaviorally.  I am pretty sure I will be referring him after Fall conferences, but for now, I am trying to think of things that can keep his behavior in check.  I was inspired by two very amazing people....my mom and Grace!  While Grace and I were watching an old time classic, "The Brave Little Toaster" I remembered a story my mom told me when she was teaching one year.  She could not get a student to finish his work for the life of her.  She noticed how much he wanted to help in the room, but couldn't do his work.  So, she brought in a broken vacuum cleaner and other broken appliances....tbis got the kid WORKING!  She told him that on Friday, he could work on the vacuum cleaner as long as he did his work in class.  It worked like a charm!  This sounded just like my little rockstar I have in class.....so what did I do?  I went and had my dad find a broken vacuum cleaner.  It will arrive in the twin ports tomorrow, and it will be revealed on Friday.  The student knows about it and has been contributing his hard work to the excitement of his vacuum cleaner and tools that are coming.  I can't wait for Friday!   

FIRST WEEK!!

I have to start out with....WHAT A WEEK!  It went great and it was tough at the same time!  I definitely felt very prepared and ready for my kiddos!  Thank goodness I was so prepared with the classroom stuff, because I was not prepared for what was walking into my classroom.  WOW!  I am so fortunate to have the students I have this year but some may really give me a run for my money.  :)  They are a MUCH different group from last year, and I am actually really excited about this.  I am really using my mom, a first grade teacher starting her 31st year, as a resource.  With one of my little dudes who can not sit still or get an assignment done for the life of him.....I found broken appliances!  WHAT!!?!? Yup!  This is his incentive......get your stuff done, which really isn't that much, and you can put these appliances back together.  Since I mentioned them he has been a WHOLE NEW KID!  I also gave him more responsibilities in the classroom... like as the HANDY MAN...he has the tool of tape!  Whenever someone tears a paper or cuts something out wrong....the handy man is there to save the day!  :)  SO FUNNY that the smallest things can work.  Loving it. 

First day.....OVER LOAD!!

I don't know if everyone's school is the same but I felt SOOOOOO over loaded today....so I can't imagine how the little ones felt!  We had bus safety and then how to go through the lunch chaos and rules in our classroom!  YIKES!!  I think next year I would only want to have the rules of the classroom the first day and lunch room procedures.  Then I would go over the bus safety the next day!  I felt like we were running EVERYWHERE and nothing was sticking.  I am exhausted to say the least, so I'm hoping all of my little ones are all tuckered out and ready for a more relaxed and enjoyable day tomorrow!  We are starting Daily 5 tomorrow and centers!  I'm so excited to teach it because I know how much fun they are going to have!  :)  My favorite part of our first day was when we took a brain break and played the smile game, where they try to walk down the aisle of people without smiling.  :)  I also loved when I had two students share their summer pictures!  The kids loved it!

One new thing I implemented today which I thought could help anyone trying to blog, especially in elementary.  We wrote the blog at the end of the day together!  SO MUCH FUN!! Then I don't have to do it on my own time!  It took 5 minutes.  They talked and I typed!  Happy SLEEPING!

Year Four....Leader?

This will be my fourth year of teaching....and I am asked how am I going to be a leader in my classroom.  This is a really tricky question for me especially in a school FULL of leaders.  In kindergarten, we have the President of the Minnesota Kindergarten Association.  In first grade we have the head of the technology committee.  In second grade, we have some of the most gifted teachers I've ever seen.  In third grade, we have a teacher who's dad is the 'guru' of math.  In fourth grade, we have a teacher who leads the area wide development day.  In fifth grade, we have the union president.  In sixth grade, we have a teacher who (I feel like) is awarded every year with different honors and grants.  So, how am I GOING TO BE A LEADER?  Well, at least I have great role models around me.  I feel like, since I am only a fourth year teacher, I do need to know my place.  In the last couple of years, I have taken on different leadership roles.  I have joined different committees; tech committee, ipad committee, staff development, and math committee.  These different committees has really taught me a lot.  It has taught me how to incorporate ideas and knowledge that I have within the district.  Although, I still don't contribute a lot, I think it is important to hear about what has happened and worked in the past and build off of that. I think the biggest way of being a leader this year at my school is to lead by example.  I'm not going to try to tell people my ways and share all that I've learned in our masters, I'm going to simply focus on my classroom alone, and if people have questions, they are more than welcome to help.  I have found that sharing my ideas, doesn't always go over to well, and it's because most people are doing their own great ideas.  So I am going to ask people about their classrooms more and comment on great things I see them doing.  I think we need to compliment each other more and more, so I want to start that.  Teachers don't get acknowledged enough and I feel like this will break down barriers.  Sometimes the littlest things can make the biggest change. 

Fear of the FLIP!

As the school year slowly approaches, I am starting to get extremely nervous for flipping my classroom.  Everyone has said that I am going to feel the most ready for this school year, but in all honesty, I have the most anxiety.  I know I have done the research and I am excited to teach, but I think all of this time for me to sit and thing about this HUGE change I am about to make is not good for me.  I think about every scenario that could happen and I just don't want it to fail.  The benefits that my students will have is what is keeping me going with this project.  I have honestly thought of totally burning the idea and starting OVER!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?  I think it's just the fear of being one of the first in my district to do this, and the fear of being one of the first primary teachers to try this concept.  They do say the best things in life happen when people take risks.....man I hope this is the case.  I just want this year to get started so I can 'feel out' the parents and see where my students are at.  I CAN'T wait. 

Community Building

There are two things that I did last year to help build community that I loved and wanted to share.  First, when I sent my letter welcoming the kids to first grade, I ask them to send me three pictures of them from this summer.  This tells me if the parents are 'technologically savvy' and have internet access in some way. Then I use these pictures at Open house.  They are playing on a slide show on the smartboard.  This way, kids are seeing different students they may know that are in their class.  Now, this year I plan to also use these pictures as a way for a brain break and sharing.  When I feel it is time for a break, we will randomly pick one of the pictures and that student will be able to share what is going on in the picture.  I'm thinking it will be a great way to have the students get to know a little about each other right from the start.
Another thing that I did last year, was have a family day.  On a Saturday morning, whoever could make it, met us at the movie theater in Cloquet and we had our own private showing of a movie.  Parents came and siblings as well!  It was a blast and a great way to see which families were already close.  We had a lot of fun at this!  

August Next Week!!

I can not believe it is August next week!!  I have so much I need to get done and I am starting to get stressed.  This is my list thus far....as you all know it will keep growing...
1. Finish writing a referral
2. Finish mapping our math curriculum
3. Finish my classroom order
4. Finish my letters to my new students, including their form on the use of technology they have at home.
5. Finish my plan for my action research, which I have all in my head, just need to finish getting it down on paper.
6. Finish the perfect classroom, which I write WAY too much when I'm working on it.
7. Finish my backwards design unit. 
Like I said, the list will continue to grow, but I think I keep avoiding things because they are all such HUGE tasks!!  Tomorrow, I'm going to start knocking things off the list one by one.  Maybe even tonight.  We will see what time I arrive in Duluth after my mom's birthday celebration up on the range.  Life all of a sudden takes crazy turns where your priorities shift.  My students and my classroom will always stay towards the top of my list.  As soon as they are not towards the top of my list, I know it is time to find something else to do.  :) I don't see that ever happening, feeling the stress I am right now.  :)

A week away to reflect and write my ROL!

This week I am getting away from my busy life and heading out to the wild.  I want to take this time to really reflect and think about my year to come.  White Iron Beach Resort in Ely, MN will be my home for the week. I have already spent quality time in the hammock reading a new book that I just purchased, Teaching in the Digital Age: Age 3 through Grade 3.  Being away from the hustle and bustle of work and friends is really helping me be focused.  I want to take the time and energy to make sure that the flipped classroom is being implemented the best way possible for my students.  It was so nice when I got stuck and bored of reading, I took out the kayak and went and just thought over everything I have read thus far.  No, I have not started my ROL, but I do best when I get all of my thoughts in line and then start writing.  I am getting close to being ready to write out my story of my research, I can tell because I'm starting to get excited to write what I have found.  I want it to be informational, enjoyable, and beneficial to the reader.  Well, off to the hammock again. 

Blackwoods Visit!

I was so excited the other night to have one of my former students and his amazing family visit me at Blackwoods.  It was amazing to see them and talk about all of his summer adventures.  Thank goodness I was managing that night, so I could sit and chat with them for awhile!  Nothing like getting paid to catch up with some AWESOME people!  His little sister, who is three, kept telling everyone that I was going to be her teacher next!  :) THREE YEARS...yes, I already started the count down.  It just shows the love and attachment you get for these kids and their family.  The little sister wants me to come see their chickens when they get them....AND go to DISNEY with them.  :)  LOVE IT...... This is why I teach.

The 21st Century Classroom

As I look into my action research, I am overwhelmed with different information.  Joe and Nikki really opened my eyes when they said to look into things such as 21st century skills, productive time-use, differentiation. I was just researching the flipped classroom at first.  This approach to my research is gibing me so much more information and defense to why I need to flip my classroom.  I am currently reading 21st Century Skills by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel.  This book has really opened up my eyes to how the learner has changed, even from when I was in school.  I must keep in mind these different ideas:  Authentic learning, Mental model building, Internal motivation, Multiple Intelligences, and Social learning.  Everything that I have read so far, supports my ideas towards the FLIPPED classroom.  I'm still just looking for more specific 21st century classroom ideas for the primary setting.  The search continues....

Summer of Research

Our facillitators refer to this summer as the sacraficial summer, but in all honesty I am really looking forward to it.  This enthusiasm is showing me that I have picked an action research topic that really does interest me and makes me think that it will make a difference.  I am interested to see what I find on the flipped classroom for a primary grade.  So far, I have only read about teachers in 3rd grade and up that have used this format, but I spoke with a second grade teacher who flipped her classroom and it works well for her.  She is very familiar with our school district, as she was a former students and her mom is a colleague of mine, and she thinks that it would work well in my first grade classroom, due to all of the parent involvement.   I look forward to finding the best way to go about implementing this new way of teaching with such a young group. 

The last two years have not been the easiest with things in my personal life.  Last year I attended 4 funerals within a month of one another, and I also found out that my grandma was not only diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she is also full of cancer.  With that, a relationship ended and my new teaching team was not the most supportive group.  There were some really rough days.  I could not have done it with all 21 of these smiling faces.  These kids held my hand through some of the hardest things I've had to deal with in my 26 years of life, and they have no idea that they did.  I will always remember all of my students, but this class will have an extra special place in my heart for being the class that made me just keep going.  Everyone has those days, or times, where they feel like they just can't keep going....we are lucky as teachers to have these little dudes and dudettes to always show us the joy and happiness...even when it's a cloudy day.  So thank you to my class.  You are my true heros.

Introvert speaking out!

My cousin is in grad school to become a nurse practitioner, and recently they had to watch a TED Talk.  She found it very interesting and shared it with me.  I thought it was a great point of view for all educators to see, especially with all of the 'hype' around collaboration these days.  It's 18 minutes, but well worth the time.  Enjoy.

TED Talk - The Power of Introverts

Sensed need....

My sensed need in my classroom is MORE TIME!  I know everyone feels this way so maybe people can help me out.  I am ESPECIALLY feeling the time cramp in math.  After language arts and looking for time where a student isn't pulled from my classroom, I am left with 55 minutes of math.  In this time, I am suppose to teach the concept, have them practice the concept, and then differentiate.......WHAT?!  There is not enough time.  That is why I'm leaning towards flipping my classroom in math.  The students can learn the concept at home, through my educreation videos, and then we can practice and differentiate at school.  I'm really loving the idea of this, but I need to see what is going to work best for students at such a young age.  They don't have the independence at home as the secondary students that I'm reading about.  The youngest grade I have seen this used in is second grade.  I guess I'll keep researching and asking questions! 

Flipped First Grade

Happy Mother's Day everyone!  I have recently decided to look into this 'Flipped' classroom business and research what would work best for my classroom next year.  Everything that I read has really inspired me and made sense to me.  I am reading a book that Dan suggested to me, Flip Your Classroom by Jonathon Bergmann and Arron Sams.  Although, they teach in a high school setting, I could still make this model work.  I have also reached out two one Esko teacher's daughter who has done a lot of research on the flipped classroom and has flipped her own fifth grade room and her other sister has flipped her second grade classroom.  She has sent me presentations that she has given with information to provide to parents.  I have also been asking colleagues, parents, and administration how they feel about it in first grade.  Everyone has been all for it!  One teacher/parent did say that all the research she read suggests you start in fourth grade.  This made me wonder why they thought that, so I decided to try a flipped approach in my own room, just to see what happens.  I did it with an art project.  I simply had 4 pictures up on the smart board, in order of how to make the project.  The students were making Mother's Day plants.  Once they were done, they came and worked with me in small groups to plan the flower.  If they finished ahead of time, I had math apps on the iPad that they could 'play'.  It was so amazing!  As you can see above. all of the gifts turned out great and I had to give little instruction and got a lot of one on one time!  Who knows how much different it would be in math.....I guess we will SEE!

Happy Cinco de MAYO!

Enjoy!

Vision/Mission Statement

“…you can be proud of a picture that you colored in the lines, but you are going to be even prouder of a painting that you made on a blank canvas.  My goal is to provide my students with that blank canvas.”

                                                                                                         -Christina Cimermancic

When I created this statement, I was thinking about the 'old fashion' approach of teaching.  Many teachers have been very successful with this approach and students have succeeded with it.  This is how I was taught.  There was not a lot of creativity or problem solving included in my education, it was more being told how to learn and what to learn.  That is your coloring in the lines.

A 21st century classroom gives the students a blank canvas, maybe a few talking points, and lets them discover on their own. Using different forms of technology, different mediums, learning styles; putting it simply; learn the best way for them!  This allows the student  to take ownership in their learning and their end result.  The students are not only learning the content, but also the process.  This day in age, the process is the most important part, due to information being so readily available through the use of technology. 

Loving Carol Tomlinson

Below is an excerpt from my annotated bibliography.  I read a few of Carol Tomlinson's works while exploring what I wanted to do for my action research.  One thing I really enjoy about Tomlinson is that she is a teacher herself.  I have difficulties reading from people who have never taught a day and think they know what's best for students.  Tomlinson is very honest and takes you through her entire journey of discovering what works best for her students.

Tomlinson, C.T. (2010).  Learning and Managing A Differentiate Classroom.(1ed.). Alexandria, VA:ASCD.  Carol Tomlinson takes you in her journey of becoming a leader and manager of a differentiated classroom.  Carol’s interesting perspective is very honest and truthful.  Her first teaching career started in October, and she was brought into the classroom as they fired the teacher she was replacing.  She walked into a class that was out of control and not engaged at all.  The book talks about how to get to every student on a personal and academic level.  According to her, they are one in the same.  

Action Research

All I have to say is thank goodness this is my 'practice' action research.  I loved my backwards design unit with the human body, so it is hard to follow it up with my unit that I'm trying to compare to the body.  The question I am asking is:  How will choice in assessment change first graders' motivation and understanding of science concepts?  The data collection is the most challenging part for me.  The idea that I can keep track on how many times I need to redirect a student or when they have questions, is asinine. When I look into data collection for my actual action research, I need to be more specific with what I want to see in my outcomes.  To be honest, I don't think I really knew what I wanted to see.

Like I said at the beginning, it was a hard follow-up to my body unit since the kids were so engaged.  I feel like my action research should have been comparing two units, one where the students taught the lessons, and the other when I just taught the lesson.  This would be much more useful to me and looking into generativity. 

I am so happy that we did a PRACTICE run!