Fractions, Fractions, Fractions, and Lessons Learned

This last week we spent working on fractions, fractions, and more fractions!

I started the week by looking for a great project that I could use as a "review" for my students, since their fraction test was on Thursday.  As many of you who are regular readers of my blog know, I don't teach any test formatted questions and we don't do any worksheets.  So I needed to find something great.

After a little searching I found a project online called "Let's Get Cooking!".  It looked awesome, so we jumped right into it on Monday.  Man did I learn something....

So the project covers a very real life example.  The students are planning a party for 30. They have three recipes (one for Chocolate Chip Cookies, one for Sugar Cookies, and one for Banana Bread).  Each recipe though doesn't serve 30 people so they have to do lots of conversions. Then they have to figure out how much total supplies they need to buy at the store, and then they're told some of the supplies they already have in the pantry so they have to take that out of what they "need".  It's awesome and so applicable to real life (plus they're super excited about me bringing the desserts later to try from the real life recipes)

What I love about this project is that it covers everything we need in 5th grade math for Texas (and even a little things that aren't necessarily needed)  It covered simplifying, converting, adding, subtracting, and even cutting fractions in half (which isn't a 5th grade standard).

But I mentioned earlier that I learned something.  What did I learn?  Well on the surface this project looks rather simplistic.  After getting started with my first group, I quickly learned that I know how to teach fractions, but I only understood and knew how to teach fractions to get them to do well on our state test.  I actually, as an adult, didn't fully understand fractions well enough to work with them in a real life scenario!  WOW!  That was eye opening for me.  So what happened?  The students and I learned together how to work with converting some of the recipes.  But it was such a cool experience to have that learning opportunity WITH my students. And it was yet another reminder to them, that I'm not all knowing.  I'm not perfect.  But that's why we're at school, to learn and get better!

I had hoped to get the project done before the test on Friday....well of course that didn't happen.  We got pretty far, but as of today (Monday), a week later, we're still working on it with a closing due date of tomorrow (Tuesday).

But the work on the project was TREMENDOUS!  And my students actually did really well on their exam!  I always feel so proud of my kiddos when we take district exams and my students perform at the same level, if not sometimes above the other four elementary schools.  Why does that make me so proud?  Because we're working so hard to prove that you don't have to drill and kill worksheets and cover test strategies to be successful on an exam!  If you just teach the knowledge and have fun learning, the testing part comes easy!  It's a lot of work yes, but it's so much more fun!

When Someone Notices You

Today was a rough day, I'll just admit that now.  But something interesting happened today.  A moment that hit me like a ton of bricks.

All of us in education do incredible things, and many of the things that we do go completely unnoticed.  We can even think about that in even our personal lives.  Many times we do things around the house, or for our spouses, or children, or other family/friends that never seems to be noticed or acknowledged by anyone.

Lately, I've had the opportunity of being recognized for some of the things that I was doing and the recognition has felt nice.  I worked in trenches for years and never had anyone see anything I was doing until I started posting the things my students were doing online.

But then today, someone who I didn't even realize ever noticed me, messaged me, and brought up something they had seen that I was doing that really made an impact on them.  And wow, it made an impact on me as well.

We can have those moments where we achieve great things, and then someone can knock you down so fast and make you feel like a piece of trash.  Even in the midst of celebrating great news this week, I've been reminded on several occasions the destruction that can come from a hurtful comment.

But today, when someone noticed me, when someone I never even would imagine ever making an impact on contacted me, it made me stop.  It made think.  And it reminded me that each of us make an impact (positive and negative), and that many times we don't see the impact we've left on someone.

But the more important part is the feeling of being noticed.  So today, I encourage you, take time out of your day to remind someone around you of their value.  To remind someone that you see the great things around them.  Take the time to notice someone.  Because I promise you it makes a world of difference.

I Am Me, and I Can't Be You

As we close out the second six weeks of our school year, I've been doing a lot of reflecting.

My first six weeks was a complete disaster.  I was a mess and it reflected on my students.  And as I've looked back at the difference between my first and my second six weeks I noticed what I had done.

I spent the entire summer learning.  I'm a learning addict (heard that phrase from Eric Sheninger).  I was on twitter, blogs, and facebook almost every day this summer learning from and with incredible people in education.  I was gaining all these wonderful ideas of ways that other educators were incorporating awesomeness into their classrooms.

Then the school year began, and I tried implementing all these great ideas I had been learning.  And I failed....and failed miserably.  I couldn't get hardly any of these "amazing" ideas to work, and I figured it must be me.  I must be that teacher who isn't "as good" as those teachers I was reading about and interacting with online.  I was destroyed and I felt like the biggest failure.  And I came to school upset, downtrodden, and bruised.  And it began to reflect onto my students.

Then something hit me.  I was trying too much, and more importantly I was trying to be something I wasn't.

Let me explain....I had allowed myself to believe that some of these incredible people I was reading about or interacting with, were better than me.  I had allowed myself to believe that my ideas weren't as good.  I had allowed myself to believe that I was "less than".

I thought I had to do all these things I was reading about so that I could be a better teacher.  And I overwhelmed myself.  And in turn I became a teacher I didn't recognize or like, because I tried to do things that weren't me or my style.

So I went back, and started doing what I had done before.  Ideas that I had used before with great success, I began to tweak.  I began to change little things here and there to make my ideas even better.  And I stopped trying to be the amazing teachers I was reading about, and I started trying to be me.

Now that's not to say that those teachers weren't and aren't still doing great things, they ARE!  But through all of this I realized that I am doing great things too!  And I shouldn't dis-count myself because my insecurities made me believe that my ideas weren't as good.

So I write this in saying, I feel like that's what happens when many of us become "connected educators".  We begin to feel like there's so much greatness happening in other classrooms, and we begin to feel like our ideas aren't as cool as we thought anymore.

Well here's what I learned....we're ALL doing great things!  And we're doing great things that fit the needs of OUR students.  Can we get better?  YES!  But that doesn't mean we have to become someone different entirely.  We may just need to tweak some things here and there.  And that's where I've truly found the value in connecting online.  Now I have a network that I am not trying to become like, but I'm using them to help me become a better version of myself through asking them for advice, help, and just a listening ear for me to vent to.

Because in all honesty, I am ME, and I can't be you.

I'm Going to the White HOUSE!!!

So I can't believe I'm writing this...my hands are actually shaking as I write this...but I can FINALLY share my big news...

***DISCLAIMER: Per the White House's request, I cannot take any interviews or  have any part in ANY blog posts (outside of this one) with any entity until AFTER the official White House Press Release comes out, but I am allowed to share this...

I have been selected as a White House Champion of Change!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH I cannot believe it!!!!

I will get to travel to the White House in two weeks.  I'll get to be honored at the event, speak on a panel, and write a blog post for the White House website!!

I can't even believe this is real.  I'm a teacher in a tiny town in Texas....I've never even been to DC!!  Oh man oh man oh man!!

So yes, dear PLN, I had to share the news with you!  I've known for a little while and it has KILLED me keeping it a secret, but I am now allowed to share!  Just can't do any press or press releases about it, until after the OFFICIAL White House Press Release comes out in about a week and a half!!

Wow wow wow wow.

@ClassroomChamps, @ArneDuncan, and FRACTIONS!

Man this week has been a WHIRLWIND for sure!

So Monday we did our monthly Classroom Champions lesson (www.classroomchampions.org).  As I've shared before, we're learning from our athlete Joshua Sweeney as he prepares for the Winter Olympic Games.  This month we learned about "Fair Play".  I started out by playing two games with kids that had the odds clearly stacked against one of the students.  They flipped out talking about how unfair it was, and it was a great lead in to the day's lesson.  Then we watched our video from Josh, and we used www.fairplayinternational.org website to talk about all the aspects of "Fair Play".  The students then colored the Olympic Rings and wrote five of the words they felt were the most important to them dealing with Fair Play.  Then the wrote a story of a time when either they played unfairly or someone else did.  It was a fun day full of great conversations.

This week has also been hardcore with the Flipped videos.  We started Fractions this week and there is a LOT of information to cover, so for the first (and pretty much only time this year) the students have had a 4-6 minute video every night over different fraction concepts.  I love though how my students haven't complained one bit!  And they're doing the videos too!  I've really been reminded lately, that building that LOVE of learning in my students is really helping what I'm doing in class.

Tuesday though was one of my big moments of the week.  I co-host a weekly podcast series called EduAllStars.  We interview people who inspire us that we see as "difference makers" in education.  We've interviewed people such as Angela Maiers, Adam Bellow, Erin Klein, Brad Waid, Drew Minock, Eric Sheninger, Dave Burgess, Steve Mesler, Jack Andraka, Matt Gomez, Shelly Terrel, Todd Whitaker and many more!  But this week was a game-changer for us.  Through a random tweet about 3 months ago, I was able to convince United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to come on the show!  To say I got a lot of "flack" for booking him, is an understatement.  But you know what, I was stoked to be a teacher in a little town in Texas, who was going to talk to the SECRETARY OF EDUCATION!  It was such a blast and Arne was honest and open on the show.  We may have only gotten 15 minutes with the Secretary, but it was definitely an incredible moment in my career, and one I will not soon forget.  I wish I could really express to him how much it meant to all 3 of us co-hosts to have him schedule time in his busy schedule to talk with teachers.  You can see the interview (and all the others) at www.eduallstars.com or on iTunes (search "EduAllStars").

Wednesday was also another huge day in my career, because I was asked to do my first ever Keynote!  I was the Keynote Speaker at the TechFest in Houston, TX on Wednesday.  I was nervous beyond belief, and was sure I was going to throw up right before I took the stage.  But it was a GREAT experience.  And I think it went really well!  The response was good, but more importantly to me, I talked about how being a connected educator changed my career, and several veteran teachers came up to me afterwards and said I inspired them to give social media a shot and really jump into it.  But I must give credit to the MANY tweets of encouragement I received.  They really helped me, and I spoke about all the incredible people who have made me that much better at what I do, because I'm only good because I surround myself with brilliant people.  I really love my PLN.  And I can't wait to Keynote the ETLC Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia on MONDAY :)

The rest of the week I worked with my students learning about fractions.  We played lots of games and did some really neat activities.  We're just learning through investigation, trail and error, and hands on fun!  What better way is there to learn?

My favorite activity we did this week was an activity I blogged about last year as well.  I threw a bunch of items on the floor (51 to be exact).  And all I told the kids is, "I want to you classify and organize the items however you wish, think differently, and be creative with how you organize them.  Then write a fraction for the amount of items you included in each category.  You can only send one person from your group at a time to the pile on the floor, and you can't touch anything in the pile either."

The kids really had to work on their communication skills, and had to be creative with how they were going to organize the items and actually include ALL of them.  Out of 24 groups (each group had about 45 minutes to solve it), I only had 6 group solve it correctly.  Many of them were getting the denominator incorrect (meaning they didn't actually count all the items).  But it was a great activity, the kids had fun, and there was a lot of conversations about organizing the items, writing the fractions, adding the fractions, and more!

Next week we jump even more into fractions!

Join the #ARevolution Post #3: Augmented Reality Apps in Education

Welcome back to another post in our series about Augmented Reality!  This week’s post is going to focus on some of the great apps that we have found that can be utilized in your classroom immediately to enhance your student’s learning experience!  And please if we miss any Augmented Reality apps that you love, let us know in the comments!

Daqri

www.daqri.com

DAQRI is the world’s leading augmented reality developer, providing custom software and creative solutions to clients across a broad spectrum of industries. (www.daqri.com) Daqri is using their 4D technology to create educational experiences that allows students to learn like never before.

One example is their free app Anatomy 4D, which allows students to explore how each system in human body works.

Another example of Daqri’s 4D technology is shown in their recently funded Kickstarter campaign, Elements 4D. Elements 4D lets you interact with elements of the periodic table using beautifully crafted cubes. This application will allow students to view various modes of chemicals and their interactions, to deepen the learning experience.

                 

Aurasma

Aurasma, is a free open source product that allows users to engage in, and create, augmented reality experiences of their own.  Educators, and more importantly students, can use this tool to enhance their learning experience and essentially bring their learning to life. Many educators have collaborated to create this list of meaningful ways to use Aurasma in education.

ColAR Mix

FREE App (upgraded version cost $1.99)

ColAR Mix is one of those apps that we show everywhere we go.  It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s exciting, and more importantly it doesn’t cost a ton of money!!  What ColAr Mix does is allow you to print a coloring page off their website (there are now 12 different pages).  You then color the page, open your ColAR Mix app (on your iOS or Android device) and watch your coloring pages come to life right in front of you!  It’s pretty incredible!  Now we will tell you, you only get 4 coloring pages for free with the free app.  But if you pay the $1.99 upgrade you can have access to ALL of the coloring pages, even coloring pages they’ll be coming out with in the future!  We promise you, after you see one page come to life, you’ll be paying the upgrade fee to watch the others!

AR Flashcards

FREE app

AR Flashcards is a FREE educational app primarily designed for your little ones (Pre-K, Kinder and 1st).  You can download the app free from an App store, then you’ll need to go to the AR Flashcards website and print out the cards. (Word of Advice: The cards must be printed out in color and we advise not to laminate them because the laminating paper causes a glare which sometimes doesn’t allow the cards to work).

After printing out the cards you can scan them with the app and watch them jump to life!  You’ll get the entire alphabet (as well as a few dinosaurs) and when the kids scan the card, the animal pops up on the screen, and if the child taps the animal the animal will speak it’s name and letter it represents.  A totally fun and inventive way to get kids to learn their letter and sounds.

AR Flashcards: Space

$0.99 app

AR Flashcards Space is designed by the same company who designed AR Flashcards.  The entire premise behind AR Space is pretty self-explanatory, but you can scan cards that you print out from their website and scan them and watch the planets come to life.  When children tap on the planets they’ll hear the name of that planet along with a few interesting facts.

NASA 3D Spacecraft

Nasa 3D Spacecraft is an interactive augmented reality app that allows for students to use 1 trigger image, or marker, to explore an abundance of spacecrafts! The benefit to having only 1 trigger image is that multiple students can interact with a different spacecraft at the same time. This app give students an amazing opportunity to explore how NASA learns about the Solar System.

TRACLabs Atlas AR by FuelFX

TRACLabs Atlas by FuelFX  brings a robot to life giving students the ability to “program” its arms and legs in a series of steps, then playing the steps in quick succession. Here is the iOS link and Android. Terri Eichholz has an amazing post about using this app in her classroom.

Fetch! Lunch Rush! by PBS Kids

This fun app uses augmented reality to engage students in solving addition and subtraction problems. Each math problem is timed, challenging the students to increase their quick recall of addition and subtraction facts. This is an iPhone app but still works well on the iPad. Our students loved this game and can be used with anywhere from 1- 4 students per device.  

Planets! (Coming Very Soon!)

Planets! will allow students a learning experience like never before. It creates a new and engaging way to explore our Solar System. This mind blowing app brings a new depth to learning with cut away views of each planet including detailed information of each layer.

Now you may be reading some of these and thinking “wow those are some pretty amazing tools, but how can I actually use these in my classroom in meaningful ways?”  Well that’s what we’re writing about next week!  Our post next week will be all about using Augmented Reality in Education!  Stay tuned, and in the meantime go out and play with some of the tools above, and don’t be alarmed if you start to feel like a giddy little kid again!

**This post was co-written with Drew Minock. You can follow him on twitter @TechMinock or visit his Website.

Olympic Athletes, PBL....and GROWTH! (Finally!)

I know I know I know....it's been a few weeks since I've blogged about my classroom!  Let me apologize!  I've been learning my limits, and have taken on a little too much for the month of October haha.  But here's what's been happening...

So we've gotten to do a bunch of really great things the last couple of weeks.  My students got to talk to Olympic Athlete Giddeon Massie about pointers getting ready for their 5th grade track meet.  That was a blast.  The coolest part of that Skype was that at the track meet I overheard two of my boys reminding each other that Giddeon told them "it's ok to be nervous!".  Love that!

There's also been a couple days in the last two weeks that I've had to be out of the classroom.  The cool thing is though, that that is never a big thing!  It's never that big of a deal for me to be out of the classroom because I always record lessons to show while I'm gone.  But they're not your typical lessons.  I record them as if I were there in class, so they're interacting lessons.  Kids must talk back to the video is if I'm still there!  The subs have told me it's quite entertaining to watch.

We also got to participate in a group Google Hangout (GHO) with Olympic Gold Medalist, and friend of mine, Steve Melser.  He took questions from us and 5 other classes from around the US!  It was great for my kids get to meet yet another Olympic Athlete.  They even missed half of their lunch to talk to Steve!

But this week we also took our second district exam.  If you follow my posts, you know that our first district exam was a disaster.  I wrote about it here.

To say I was nervous about this exam is an understatement.  I knew my district was watching me.  Not only am I REFUSING to teach test formatted questions and worksheets, but I've also been out several days for conferences and stuff.  So I knew there was a lot riding on this.  But let me tell you, failure is motivating if you let it be.  And we took the failure of the last exam and used it to our benefit.

Well my kids took their exam, and we scored 78%!!!  That's an almost 40 point gain!  We were thrilled.  But  my students are funny, they're more concerned with how the other schools did.  Now I haven't seen all other 4 elementary schools yet, but of the 3 I have seen we scored higher!  Why does that excite me?  Because I feel like I'm getting somewhere and comparing myself to the other schools gives me a baseline of who we compare.

There are so many negative people out there who are constantly telling me I could do it better.  I should be teaching the test.  Everyone else does worksheets, why don't I?  Why am I so against all of that?  And more....and my answer to that, is that I want my students to LOVE math and more importantly, LOVE learning!  I don't know of any student who has said "I loved doing that worksheet!!!".  And I sort of enjoy taking our district exams because it gives me a baseline of where most of my students are and how I can now go about reaching their needs!  But more importantly, there was growth.  We're not at 100%, which is where I always want to be, but we're getting there!  Growth is what's important!

We also finished our first huge PBL project this week.  It was quite the interesting experience.  I blogged about this project in a previous post too.  But the kids really liked getting in there and creating and it gave me a lot of time to work with small groups.  There is still work to be done that's for sure.  But we're off and running! (pics coming soon).

Another highlight of my week was watching my students present their projects for their first PBL activity in reading.  After reading The Lemonade War, they had to design a product and create an entire advertisement plan as well as their financial plan and so much more. Then they had to present it to us "Shark Tank" style where the teachers chose who we were "investing" in!  It was a BLAST!  I'm hoping my reading teacher blogs about it this week, and if she does I will share the link for sure!  But here are a few photos.

**Also, a quick "request" from all my readers....please keep me in your thoughts this next week.  I have TWO Keynotes that I am having to give.  One in Houston, TX, and one in Williamsburg, VA.  I am FREAKING out and nervous as all get out.  So I'll take all the prayers and positive thoughts I can get :-)