Grading made easy

I'm writing today after the daunting task of grading 45 benchmark tests with 30 questions.. Normally just getting myself mentally prepared for the idea of grading all those papers would take me at least a week to come to terms with, but I have exciting news- it only took me 4 minutes. Yep, not even 5 full minutes. Take that extra minute to revel in your success and productivity!

I was able to do this with a nifty app called zipgrade. I first saw it pop up on Pinterest and I was intrigued but like all my other pins I saved it to a board and it was lost in the abyss. It kept popping up though so I figured I'd check it out. It's an app that will scan bubble sheets and grade it for you, like a scantron. You use the bubble sheet made by zipgrade.com which are easy to find and print. Then with your phone or device you can scan a paper in seconds. You enter your key, and can even do multiple versions of the test. After all of your papers are scanned you can find valuable information like the class average and even item analysis so you can see what percent of the class got each individual question- GREAT for reteaching! 

You can view individual papers, so this is a scan of this students bubble sheet.

You can also view all of the scanned papers to easily add to your grade book. The names have been blurred, but they'll appear as the student has written them.

Here's the item analysis I was referring to. I literally graded these tests while the children put their test materials away and in minutes we were discussing he first question since it was only answered correctly by 43% of the class. This instant feedback is great because it's fresh on their minds.

The app also allows you to export your data from the assessment so you can print out and have a hard copy, or need to file it.

The first 100 scans are free, so that's a great way to try it out with no strings attached. After that a year of unlimited scanning is $7.. Let's be real I was hooked and thought that's a steal for such a time saver and great data analysis!

I hope you consider checking out zipgrade. I highly recommend it!

Rock on,

Diana 

Five for Friday

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! Here's my 5 random thoughts for the week :)

Multiplication!! We were off to a great start this week and the kiddos have named themselves the master of multiplication. Before we jumped in I met with groups to see how they would go about solving word problems with pictures and repeated addition. It was so neat to see all the different strategies! The other kids in the group would share what they liked about the strategies and ask questions. It was a great opportunity for math talk.

 

While working on multiplication we reviewed arrays which they learned in 2nd grade. We talked about how arrays aren't just dots and counters though- they're all around us in real life! We takes about the floor tiles, or the many windows in our school's lobby. If we needed to know the total number of objects we could look at the array and use a multiplication equation instead of counting every single object. Pretty cool! So that sparked an impromtu scavenger hunt of course. We recorded all the arrays we could find in our classroom and around the school. So fun!

Another plus this week that could have made me cry was finding a little note...

This little sticky note was stuck under my big fake apple that sits on my desk. Creston had came in to help me hang some things in the classroom and left it there 😊 I can't believe we've been married a month now! 

Now that we've been in school for 9 weeks almost, my students have really gotten the hang of math centers. They know where to go, what to do, and MOSTLY what the voice volume should be :) So time for me to add in more differentiation! They already come to math group where I work with a small group on a skill deficit from their pretest and check-ins. I'd been trying to think of a way to make their independent practice more differentiated and how to organize that. I've now got a color system and envelopes and we'll see how this works.

The color coordinates to the color of the charts on my board with their groups and assignments.

Now the trick will be finding enough resources or making enough to have all my groups working on their own level. Their math technology assignment is on Mobymax, which also has them work on an appropriate level with lessons to move up. I'm excited to see how much these kiddos grow with everything going on with our math centers!

Finally at the end of a long but exciting week, I go out to my little farm and am greeted by this.

Love my furbabies ❤️

Link up and share your week!

Rock on,

Diana

Daily 5 Math Centers with Freebies!

I'm finally getting caught up with grading and planning since the wedding! It only took me a month :) I wanted to share how we do math centers in my classroom- which the routines set in place for those were a God send with being gone for a week!

Although I call it Daily 5 centers, we actually do 3 a day. We only have about 45 minutes for centers so by doing 3 each day I get a longer chunk with my math groups. There are 5 centers that we rotate between.

1. Math by Myself
2. Math with partner
3. Math Writing
4. Math technology
5. Math with teacher

I love that these 5 centers allow for different approaches to a concept where students can have independent practice, play games, write about vocabulary or explain their thinking, and use technology to reinforce their skills.

This is a few examples of what math centers look like around my room. You'll see children all around the room in seats, on the floor, crowded on the couch, bouncing on our bouncy ball chairs, even standing. I believe movement is so important to incorporate, not only as they transition between centers, but also while they're at their center. You'll also see different manipulatives, technology, and games to reach all learners and keep that engagement going. However, you won't see blurry faces.. that's just a fancy app I have ;)

Every day students do "math by myself" which could be a page in their book, a worksheet, or interactive notebook activity. This should be something they can do completely on their own, since it's not partner work and I'll be working with a group. "Math with a partner" and "Math Writing" centers are visited twice a week, and "Math technology" and "Math with Teacher" are 3 times a week. On Friday I meet with all my groups to reteach anything they missed from our weekly quizzes.

So, here's the kicker. I start centers on day 3. I promise I'm not crazy!! The first full I week I do not do my "Math with teacher" group and they just play a game or do a review activity as a group. Meanwhile, I monitor the class and check on groups to make sure everyone is on task and I can answer any questions. I set a timer for 12-15 minutes and display it on the smartboard. When the timer goes off, we clean up our centers and all the of the students return to their seats. I start by setting a timer for 1 minute, and then each day I see if we can beat our previous time to clean up. Once all students are at their seats I announce where the groups go next and send them on their way.

During that week my students learn procedures such as where to find their work for each center, what materials they need (and where they can get them), when it's appropriate to talk or when they should work quietly, and where to turn in their work. This takes a lot of modeling and repetition, but that saves you a whole lot of time in the long run! Now my students know exactly where to go, and can even move into their next center without me announcing each group. They know to move quickly during transitions before I start the timer. They've even gotten the hang of "early finishers" activities and working on those independently. I'm so proud of how far these kiddos have come so far and how independent they are! They take pride in their work and do not take the responsibility of centers lightly.

If you're interested in trying out our centers I've made a few different schedules and cards for math centers to help get started! I'm still working on a product that has the 3 centers, but feel free to check them out and see which fits your schedule the best!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-5-Math-Schedule-2007691

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-4-Math-Schedule-2092579

Rock on,

Diana

Establishing Routines & Expectations

Here's my post about the first two weeks... a week late!  :)

We're currently in our third week of school and things are running smoothly! I'm so happy with how my kiddos are doing with math rotations and our general classroom procedures. I wanted to share some of the things I do the first two weeks to have everything running like a well oiled machine (ok it's still a little squeaky but we're getting there!)

The first big thing I push is class building. Before you can expect these kids to listen to you and respect eachother you need to build those relationships. I know there's a lot out there about being stricter the first few months and then letting off  a bit but I really feel like if you build a trusting relationship with your students they will listen to you because they WANT to, not because you scare the bejesus out of them.

Some fun things I like to do for class building are get to know you games. One we do is called a snowball fight. I found this fun idea on pinterest and the students LOVED it! You write a couple facts about yourself on a piece of paper with your name, crumple it up, and then let the kids have at it. After a few minutes of snowball fights, or until a snowball falls in the fishtank for us, the students each grab a snow ball and have to find the person who wrote it. They then read the facts about the person and get to know them a bit. After a couple of rounds I had the kids write the same facts but with no name, so they had to try and guess who it matched. Here's the link I found on pinterest if you want to check it out: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2011/07/back-to-school-snowball-fight.html

Another fun class building thing I do is ask silly questions. I have them either pair up,  or work with teams of 4. I then ask a silly question like "If you were a vending machine that could sell anything, what would you sell?" and each of the kids share. Then I'll share a few with the whole class and they get a good giggle out of it. Some other good questions are "what's the craziest dream you've ever had?" or "If you could be any sound, what would you sound like?"

I like to have one class building activity per day for the first full week. After that, I really like to do one a week if I can, to keep everyone working together and feeling like a trusting family.

After we knock out some class building I then go into the classroom rules and some procedures we use every day to learn. I'm a big fan of Whole Brain Teaching. If you're looking to learn more about it I highly suggest you check out the book by Chris Biffle OR you can check out a site I made for some district PD last year: www.wholebrainteacher.weebly.com

I start with how I plan to get their attention. When I say class, they say yes. The trick is, they have to match the way I say it... no matter how goofy I do it! so if I say WHATS UP CLASSY CLASS?! They say "WHATS UP YESSY YES!!" or "hey hey class" they say " hey hey yes". You can switch it up however you'd like so they don't get bored and neither do you! You'll get some laughs out of it, so whats neat is you have kids following rules and enjoying themselves as they do it. THAT IS KEY!

I then go over my 5 classroom rules. These rules have NO LOOPHOLES. So if you have a kiddo thats really tough to crack and likes to find a special way to get under your skin, they still have to follow your rules!

1. Follow directions quickly
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat
4. Make smart choices (no loophole here-a kid that likes to find loopholes does not want their intelligence questioned!)
5. Keep your dear teacher happy (by doing the right thing!)

I teach these rules by using "Mirrors Up" which is another WBT technique. They repeat after me with actions and words, so we match movements and words to the classroom rules (the brain is getting a workout!). I go over the rules several times a day the first week. I want the rules to be memorized- there's only 5 and if the kids learn movement with it then they can have it memorized by day 2 no joke. After the first week I go down to just doing the rules once a day, and after week 2 we try to do it once a week if we can, just to keep it fresh and on their mind.

After we've grown together as a family and set out our behavior expectations, it's time to show them that I actually will be looking for those behaviors and rewarding them. I like to use class dojo to give my students points for good behavior and for doing their work. What I like about class dojo is its online, so I can add it from my classroom computer during class, or take my phone to lunch and even give points as we're walking in line or outside of our classroom. Also, parents can log in and check their child's points. Class dojo allows you to also take away points. There's lots of different philosophies on this, but I'm ok with them losing points for excessive breaking of rules, and they lose that point privately. Students all have different totals of points so usually it's not noticed by other students. I think that's important. You as the teacher can leave a comment with the points they earn or lose, or can send a message to the parent so they are clear as to what happened. I of course like to send messages about the positive behaviors to open up dialogue with parents and have them know that I love their child and appreciate their positive qualities :)

I would like to add that students then use these points for rewards- and I do not have a prize box. Instead I do coupons for privileges, such as lunch with teacher or feeding a mealworm to our class pet Stubs. This way, the positive behavior is linked to a good feeling, rather than a material thing. It's been pretty motivating so far :)

So these are the big things we've had in place the past two weeks! The students show great compassion towards eachother and they want to do good, because it feels good :) I'm so excited to have this great bunch of kiddos.

I hope everyone is off to a great start to the school year!

Back to school

It's been a bit since my last post but it's been a very hectic week. We had back to school night last night and I was able to meet some awesome kiddos and great families. I'm so excited for this upcoming year!

To prepare for last night I've been working in my room the last two weeks trying to get everything set up and organized. I planned out where the big things would go so that on back to school night the parents and students could see where the math manipulatives are, where they sit for small group, where the books are, etc. so they get a good feel for the room and hopefully feel comfortable :) I also wanted to leave room on the walls to add student work and anchor charts, but at the same time you don't want it totally blank and depressing. For this I put up some really cute banners to tie in the colors of our room and some inspirational quotes and posters to set the tone. 

On back to school night the students found little treats on their desks and of course a packet stuffed with info for mom and dad. I had the names put on their desks alphabetically so they could find it quick and to help me learn their names the first week. After that though we'll be moving around as I get a feel for their personalities and who works well together. I tried something new this year, putting their name tags on Velcro to move desks easily without rearranging the room. We'll see how they hold up! 

I also can't forget our main entertainment for the night- Stubs! Stubs is a bearded dragon who's missing a foot. He is probably the coolest class pet in existence. He munched on crickets and mealworms last night for the students enjoyment.

I can't wait for our first day back this coming Monday! Today's workday will be dedicated to planning :) 

Wishing everyone a great first day back!!

Show Us What You Bought Linky Party

I just had a field day during the Back To School TPT Sale!! I'm linking up with Bloghoppin to share some things that I bought this weekend and how I plan to use it.

One item that's been sitting in my cart for a while now is Equation Station by Amy Griffith. It's Boggle for math and the bundle includes 5 puzzles for addition and subtraction, and 5 puzzles for all operations. I set up a pocket chart right next to a comfy couch with pillows so that early finishers could plop down and try to find some math equations! I can't wait to set it up. Check it out here.

I also picked up some items from Ashleighs store over at Ashleighs Education Journey. I've blogged about some products I've gotten from her before- I just love all of the 3rd grade math items she has! I still have quite a few items in my wishlist that I plan on getting from her store soon :)

I love the anchor charts she's made and I have a space set aside on my wall to put up a chart when we're on that topic. In your download you get two copies of each chart- one you can print on a regular size of paper and one that's made to be 18 x 24 if you'd like it nice and big. I plan on sending mine to the website she suggested to have them printed this size for $3 per poster.. not bad! Grab them here.

From her store I also picked up Restaurant Math. This fun activity includes 32 task cards that can be used with almost any restaurant menu. What an awesome way to show students how math is used in the real world! I plan on asking students to bring in a menu from their favorite place to eat if they can, and then have them work in groups to solve the task cards. You can check out the product here.

Last but not least, I went clip art crazy over at Scrappin Doodles and Graphics from the pond! I picked up these fun sets and can't wait to incorporate them into my lessons and worksheets.

What did you buy for the big BTS Sale this past weekend? Comment to share, or join the Linky Party on the Bloghoppin site here!

Chevron Desk for "Made It Monday"

So I have to say I have the best fiance in the world! Creston helped me so much in my classroom today and I don't know how any of these projects would have come together without him.

For "Made It Monday" we did a desk makeover. I was so fortunate that the new school I moved to had a desk I could use, and that I was also allowed to spice it up! I originally thought of painting it.. but this would take more than one can of spray paint so I wasn't feelin it. I thought of a much more labor intensive project.. Let's wallpaper it! LOL Poor Creston...

This is the "BEFORE" of the desk. It had some contact paper on the sides that was a wood look, so I pulled that off and sanded it down a bit to prep for the project.

Here's Creston being a total trooper and putting wallpaper on this desk! This adorable chevron print was in the paint section at Walmart. It caught my eye when I got the turquoise paint for my last "Monday Made It".

Here's the finished product!!! How adorable is this?? I thought about painting the top and sides white.. but I'm kinda diggin the dark wood look with it. Also.. I really don't want to paint :)

Some other things I picked up for the classroom is matching chevron shelf liner that I've put in the white bookcases. I'll need to take a picture next time I'm in the room. The shelf liner goes fast so I ended up buying 5 rolls of it.. lets hope it holds up! I also picked up a cube shelf organizer and LOVE IT!! I got 2 turquoise boxes like shown in the picture and two gray ones that have a print. I also thought the "weathered" finish made it look more like a homey piece of furniture.

I like it so much that I may go back for a four shelf single level organizer. I'm thinking this could work really well in front of the smartboard. That space below the smartboard has always been empty and blank for me because what can you really fit there? This too cute perfect height bookshelf of course! I know I can always use more storage.

I'll be back in the room tomorrow to get some more things together! All of this decorating is taking my mind off of what's to come... pacing and lesson planning.. DUN DUN DUNNNN!