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Spiral Review In All Its Glory (Decimal of the Day)

   The school district I am in has cumulative tests covering everything taught each six weeks.  The twist is, these tests are made by administrators and not teachers.  This really isn't a problem to me.  It is a learning tool for me and a teachable moment for my students on the importance of all material covered in class.       We as teachers can really get bogged down in the variables of a test like this.  By that I mean, oh the test question was worded funny or well they were only given one chance to show mastery on this, my students are _______ fill in the blanks, thoughts, and reasoning.  The one thing my school district did was have us put our scores up standard by standard right next to every other teacher in the district who had to teach the same thing we did.  My oh my did I fall short!  I say I fell short even though I had great reasoning as to why my scores looked the way they did... but upon further reflection I decided to take responsibility for what I was seeing.  My
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Incorporating Literacy Into Math...and what about Fortnite?

     The name of the game is engagement, but let us all be honest with each other; if you aren't targeted about your engagement, then it is just fluff.  I think I spend about 1/2 of my waking hours thinking of ways I could incorporate cross-curricular and real-world items into my lesson plans.  Shouldn't we all be though?  Well... maybe not spend 1/2 your waking hours thinking about it, but definitely incorporating cross-curricular and real-world items into your classroom.  I always tell my parents life is not a worksheet, but let's be honest... sometimes you ARE stuck with using them!  I like to break away as much as possible!  Sometimes though, those angelic (cough) students of mine could care less.  We know they don't!  They don't care how much of our own money we spent, how long we spent planning something just for them, the only thing they care about is whether it is fun, and not "boring".        I would like to invite some chat and thought into thi

Finally... I have a Wonder Shelf!

      Well, wouldn't you know it that I would go crazy shopping and planning and guess what?  I will once again be teaching 5th grade math!  You know what though, I am definitely okay with it.  I LOVE MATH.  One of the things I've also learned in my short 7 years of teaching is that it doesn't matter how many times you've taught a subject, every year is different.  There are new ideas, thoughts, activities, and a blend of what you know that works great mixed in.       This summer I clocked something like 40 hours of professional development.  It was my favorite kind too!  You know, where you get to pick what you learn about instead of the district mandates.  For years I have wanted to institute a Wonder Shelf in my classroom.  Have you heard of one of these?  It is essentially a place with mini-projects and activities for students to work on when they have mastered your current standard, or even if they are just early and correct finishers of that days work.  Let'

Calling all History Buffs!

    A day I thought would never come has happened... I am teaching something other than math!  For 7 years I have taught math to grade levels 2nd on up to 8th and I have absolutely loved every second it.  I will admit it with no problem.. I LOVE MATH!  I have learned one thing about "Life" though, it changes, and it is constantly changing.      I found myself at the end of this school year packing up a home we have lived in as a family since right before my youngest child was born, and moving 2 hours away.  Not a huge difference, but it seems it has been the summer of change for many I know.  My brother moved from his Texas home to Colorado, my Grandmother is moving from the home she loves into a suite she had built onto my Aunt's house as she is turning 90 tomorrow.  My 3rd child graduated high school, child number 2 is about to embark on a travel tour of America in an RV, and child number 1 went and got married!  And of course, the change didn't stop there.  I'

The "Ripple" Effect ~ DonorChoose.Org

Like thousands of other teachers, I was amazed, excited, and very grateful to a company I'd never heard of called Ripple.  Many already know that Ripple donated 29 million dollars to DonorsChoose.org and funded over 30,000 teachers!  What an amazing gift for students and teachers!  If you didn't hear about it, check out this broadcast! I know that everyone just wants to know the amazing items I got for my classroom.  Well, it was 1 item really, with some accessories.  I asked and received a 3d printer (This is a FlashForge 3D printer.  You can check it out HERE ) and the filament for my classroom due to the generous donations of family and Ripple!  I can't even begin to explain the excitement when I told my students.  They have been researching and telling me about all the cool projects we could do with a 3d printer, and I already have several plans up my sleeve!  One includes making catapults for a measuring and data collection project.  I am soaking up any and a

Digital Break-Out!

  How many of you have tried digital break-outs, or any kind of break-out for that matter in your classroom?  If you haven't I promise you are missing out on a fun way to engage your students in their content while making those brains work on some serious critical thinking skills!     After spending $$ on my favorite website ( TeachersPayTeachers of course) on digital breakouts I decided I really needed to learn how to do this myself.  Especially when I couldn't find the exact item I'm wanting.  Let's face it... it's hard living in a Common Core World when I work in a TEKS environment!  Common Core and Texas Essential Knowlege and Skills (TEKS) are pretty different and most of what I tend to find is catered to Common Core.  Time for me to "BREAKOUT!"     I would like to tell you that I spent a large amount of time researching and putting together my first break-out but let me be honest with you... I didn't have that time because I actually want t

Bloxels with Fractions

  By now all of you savvy educators are well aware of what Bloxels are, and I am super proud to be a Bloxels Ambassador.  In case you aren't familiar with Bloxels and how they can impact your classroom, let me introduce you to my favorite curriculum collaborator!   Yes!  You are reading the logo right... a program that lets you build your own video games.  This educator values the fact that it is hands on and technology!  Most of the graphics on my page today come from the Bloxels webpage, but some are my own.  Creations by imagination.   If you are not familiar with Bloxels or how it works I recommend visiting their website HERE .     The amazing Bloxels website contains a huge amount of information such as the Bloxels blog, how it works, where to buy it, and even educator lesson plans.  Let me tell you how my Bloxels journey began: One day I stumbled into a Barnes and Noble with my family and there was a Maker Faire going on.  I couldn't believe my l