Prime and Composite Numbers

Our math class was SO much fun today!!!  So fun I thought it just may be "bloggable".  ;)

We start out our day with 15 minutes of skill drill (every day) - we're still drilling those multiplication facts - but to keep them engaged, I try to keep it as fun as possible.  Right now we're using my Multiplication Tic Tac Toe for the smartboard - the kids are loving it.  I divide the class into two groups (grade 5 and grade 6) and they work out the solutions on their whiteboards before answering.  They are allowed to check answers with a partner before one student from the group offers the answer aloud.  So much fun!  The best part ... well, I think the picture below speaks for itself ...

We then moved on to today's lesson - we're reviewing prime and composite numbers.  We completed a math journal entry on them yesterday (check back on Sunday to see it), but have been discussing them throughout our current unit.

I started out by randomly handing out my magnetic numbers (you can grab a copy of the numbers by clicking on the link - just print out on magnetic paper).  I put up two hoops - one for prime numbers and one for composite numbers - and asked the students to come up and put their numbers in the proper hoops.  This is what we got after the first try:

We then used our current reading strategy, turn and talk, for math today.  Students "turned and talked" to their classmates to discuss the placement of some of the numbers.  They had to PROVE and convince other students why some of the numbers needed to be moved.  This is what we then ended up with:

YAY!  So, we started out the lesson old-school style - with magnetic numbers and the blackboard -  so we then turned to our technology.  I showed the students a brainPOP video on prime numbers.  I have the subscription to the app on my iPad, so I place my iPad under the document camera and project it.  (Yes, I know there is a little doo-hickey I can use to connect my iPad to the computer, I even
think I have one, but it's just so much easier to slide the iPad under the camera).  ;)

We then used our netbooks to play a fun game with prime and composite numbers - Fruit Shoot.  They had a lot of fun with this one.  You can see one of my students using his math journal to check his answers as he played the game.  (Happy, happy teacher).

We ended today's lesson with a fun prime number maze that I whipped up using Worksheet Works.  If you haven't used this site before, you have to take a peek.  It's so quick and easy to whip up a worksheet (and differentiate worksheets for the students working at different levels in your class).  We don't do a lot of worksheets in my class, but every once in a while a student needs a little practice on a concept ... or will miss a few lessons while sick or on a trip ... or my own kids need a little extra something something to keep them busy at home ... ;)  

Such a fun, fun lesson today - and that equals success in my books!  

Happy Tuesday!!!

Jen

Interactive Math Journal

Interactive Math Journal 2

Building Better Math Responses

Math Concept Posters

InLinkz.com

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Net Books ... Now What?

I am SO excited!!!  Look what I got this week ...

Yep ... that's right ... a full class set of brand new net books all bundled in a shiny roll-y cart - it's like Christmas!  Okay, so they're not ALL mine - I do have to share them with another class in the school, but every second day, all day, they're ALL mine, and I'll take it.  We don't have a computer lab at my school, so for the past few years we've been making do with 3 computers in each classroom, but now that I can get all my students on at the same time, it's opening up a whole new world - a world I'm so excited to teach in!

So far, the only requirement is that my students spend time each session on a program called "All the Right Type" to build their keyboarding skills.  Right now we're aiming for 20 wpm, but as some are already making that goal, it will be raising to 30 soon.  We've got our learning goal posted right on the net book cart for all to see.

Tomorrow we're integrating them into every class - we're going to build graphs on the computer during math, do some research during social studies, and we're publishing Remembrance Day poems in Language ... but that's just the basics.  I want to do more ...

So now what???  I always get the best advice from all of you.  As my students hit their 30 wpm goal, I want to let them try other programs during this 15 - 20 minute block.  What are some of your best tried and true websites to engage students during computer time?  I am also looking for some fabulous resources to use during all the subjects.  Please leave me a comment, and let's compile a FANTASTIC list of resources ... for any subject.  Can't wait to hear what you all come up with!

Happy Thursday!

Jen

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We Heart Books

I started a few heart-themed activities with my students yesterday.  We're making a bulletin board display titled "We Heart Books".  I'll share pictures of the completed bulletin board tomorrow, as a nasty little stomach bug kept me from school today.  And before you feel sorry for me for missing Valetine's Day at school, I was quite okay with it -hormone crazy twelve year-olds on sugar highs isn't exactly my idea of fun.  ;)

Anyhow, we started off on Monday morning with some fun "heart art".  We talked about monochromatic colours and lines, and I showed them how a curve in the line can make an optical illusion.  It was an easy and inexpensive art activity - all they needed was a ruler and a few markers or pencil crayons.

I also had the students create "heart art" in language.  I had the students write about their favourite books they had read this year.  I gave them a list of prompts (I'll upload the assignment sheet when I post pics of the bulletin board - it's at school, too), and had them write their answer on a site I found through Pinterest - Festisite.  This site created cute little hearts from their writing - which look great posted beside the line heart art.

And, because it's Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a little bit about my Valentine.  I'm linking up to Buzzing with Ms. B for her "How I Met My Hunny" linky party.

I met my husband when I was in grade 12 and he was in grade 13 (yes, we used to have 5 years of high school in Ontario).  Although we went to the same high school, I somehow didn't meet him until we were both on a bus going to a ski trip in Quebec.  It was VERY late at night (or VERY early in the morning) when we were first introduced, so I don't think we exchanged many words beside "hi" (although I do remember I thought he had beautiful eyes).  To sum up our 20 year history in a short little paragraph, we were together by the end of the trip, and have been together ever since.  We ended up going to the same university, moved back home together, found jobs, got married, and had three beautiful little girls.  It may not be the most exciting of stories, but it's our story ... and I think it's perfect.  :)

This was us just after we graduated high school ... almost 20 years ago ... 

Here we are at our wedding ... ten years ago ...

And here's one from this year.  Love you, sweetie.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Tuesday!  And Happy Valentine's Day!

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And Now For Some GOOD News ...

The other day, a friend of mine posted a link about the importance of sharing good news stories.  The link reported the results of a study that confirmed people were inspired to do good when they read media stories about Good Samaritans' selfless acts.  You can read about the article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/03/29/bc-good-news-study.html

Inspired by this, I set out to find "good news" sites on the internet that I could share with my students:
Happy News:  http://www.happynews.com/index.aspx
Good News Stories (might be better suited for older students): http://goodnewsstories.org/
UpBeat News Stories: http://upbeat.net/
Optimist World:  http://optimistworld.com/
Dogonews:  http://www.dogonews.com/

I do current events activities with my students all the time.  This year I am going to focus on positive current events - sharing some GOOD news.  This could be done in many ways:

• One student per day could research and then present a good news story.  
• Good news stories could be used for guided reading groups - identifying the main idea and moral of the article, and practicing oral fluency.
• Good news articles could be used while studying the features of a news article.
• Good news articles could be used to practice summary writing.
• Good news articles could be used for shared reading activities.
• A good news story could be shared over the projector or overhead for students to read as they come into the class.
• Good news stories could also be posted over the projector or overhead during lunch or indoor recesses - students will read it.
• Students could write their own good news stories about events going on in their school or community.

I have created a printable to go along with this idea, and uploaded it to google docs.  You may print your own copy by clicking here or on the picture.

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In Our Class with Zoo Burst

I came across a new site a few days ago that I wanted to explore a little further - Zoo Burst.  You can use Zoo Burst to create interactive pop-up books.  I thought this would be a great tool to use on the SMARTboard.  I signed up for a free teacher account, and it looks like teachers can create accounts for their students, too.  They do have a premium account (not free), but the standard account lets you create books that are 10 pages long.    Last night I came up with a neat idea about how I would use Zoo Burst.

I've seen some great posters about "In Our Class" floating around the blogs and pinterest.  Oh' Boy Fourth Grade has a fantastic one!!!  I thought I'd take that idea and create a pop-up book to show the students on the first day of school.  Now, this book is still a work in progress, but I wanted to share this site with you.  Click on the exclamation marks above the "characters" to read more on each page.



I think my students will have a lot of fun writing narratives with this site.  I did this one pretty quickly, so with a little extra work and effort, the students should be able to create something excellent.  Finished stories could be embedded on a classroom blog or website to share with parents.  How fun is that!?!

http://www.zooburst.com/

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Never Work Harder Than Your Students ... Use Technology

As I mentioned before, I participated in my very first webinar last night.  It was hosted by the STEM Institute, and I really enjoyed the experience.

The webinar was called:  Communicate, Collaborate, and Create: Building Dynamic Classroom Projects.  It was based on the 7 principles outlined by Robyn Jackson in her book, Never Work Harder Than Your Students.  I haven't read this book, but I think I need to ... I'm afraid I'm definitely working harder than some of my students most days.  ;)

The neat thing about this webinar was that it took the 7 principles from the book, and applied them to technology.  I want to give you a brief outline of what I learned last night, and some of the sites we were given.  I haven't explored a lot of the sites yet ... but as I try them out, I'll share my experiences with you.

1)  Start Where Your Students Are ...
Adjust your teaching to meet your students' interests (use more technology because that's where their interests are)

2)  Know Where Your Students Are Going ...
As teachers, we are preparing our students for jobs that don't even exist yet ... we need to prepare them the best we can.

3)  Expect Students To Get To Their Goals
We want students to reach their goals, but they don't all need to be A+ students - many truly successful people were far from it in school.

4)  Support Students Along The Way
This is where the technology resources started - here are some websites we were given to help students learn and meet their individual learning styles:
www.transl8it.com - (English to text lingo conversion - I blogged about this last night - see my post below).
Google Translate - Language translation - spells it (correctly and phonetically), and says it.
Skype - great for author conferences, social studies (talk to people in other countries), keep a student connected who has been absent, or is away on a trip.
https://posterous.com/ - easy way to create your own blog through your email - great for setting up a class blog to keep students / parents informed.

5)  Use Feedback
Feedback needs to be descriptive and given in a timely fashion.  If feedback is to be beneficial to the students, it needs to be given to them quickly and consistently.
edmodo.com - It's almost like a kind of facebook - but you can set it up for your classroom - post questions, reading clubs, etc. and give feedback to students as they answer questions.
ed.voicethread.com
https://docs.google.com - Students can use this for their writing assignments, and not worry about bringing files back and forth to school.  Teachers have access to the page to make corrections / give feedback throughout the writing process.

6)  Focus on Quality Rather Than Quantity
Get ready for this ... you've got some exploring to do ...

edu.glogster.com - I've set up an account with glogster so we can make multi-media posters next year.  I can so see myself using this with science / social studies.
www.animoto.com/education - A site for making movies and slideshows.
photopeach.com/education - Another site for making movies and slideshows.
www.jaycut.com - Yet another site for making movies and slideshows - this one looks like it has a few more features (like slow-motion).
blabberize.com - Bring your still pictures to life by making them talk - I can so see myself using this next year with my SMARTboard lessons!  Wouldn't it be cool to make a fraction talk and explain how to do a concept during a math lesson?!?
www.wikispaces.com - I am definitely going to investigate this one further.  I'd like to make a wiki for one of my science units next year - assigning students a different part or concept, and then putting it all together.  We could even print off the pages later and turn them into our own reference book.
livebinder.com - A lot of the teachers at the webinar talked about how they would use this resource to set up student portfolios ... hmmmmm ... intriguing.
epubbud.com - Students can create their own ebooks (which other people can access) and display them on a shelf (similar in looks to shelfari).  A great way to publish their writing, and make the writing process more authentic for them.
www.prezi.com - Another multi-media site great for presentations.  Use as an introduction to a new unit, or have students create their own presentations for a certain topic.

7)  Never Work Harder Than Your Students
To summarize, by using these resources, your students will be applying bloom's taxonomy while exploring new technology and creating fantastic technological presentations.  However ... with all these new resources to explore, I have a feeling I'm going to be working pretty hard for a while ... ;)


Do any of you these any of these websites in your classroom?  If you do, I'd love for you to leave a comment and tell me how you use them.


(affiliate link)

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Writing Prompts with Text Lingo ... So KEWL!

Do U undRstNd wot I'm writing?  I cn garNT yor students do.  OMG - how kewl wud dey tink U R f U rOt a writiN prompt UzN thR language?  wot f U lt dem wrte bak 2 U n txt lingo?  Put a whol nu spin on a pln old writiN assignment.

I took part in a technology webinar tonight (more on that in tomorrow's post), but I just HAD to visit one of the sites I learned about the minute the webinar was over.

Transl8it is a trendy, FREE site that translates English messages into text lingo, or vice versa.  I'm definitely going to use this next year in my writing classes.  I will translate one of my writing prompts into text lingo and display it over the projector for the kids.  I think I will even let them write me back in text lingo at least once ... but it might take this 'old' teacher weeks to figure out what they are writing ... rotfl.  ;)

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Making Movies to Motivate Writers

I just found another cool site today - Zimmertwins!  So I spent some time playing ... check out my movie by clicking on the picture.  (Please excuse my shameless self-promotion)   ;)

Although you can make a movie for free, I bought a one-month membership for less than $4.00.  The site advertises 50% off the membership costs if buying for a classroom.

I think this would be so much fun in the classroom - talk about motivating students to write!  It's also great for differentiation, because there are ready-made movie starters for those students who have difficulty choosing a topic or getting started.

I think I'll do this with my students during our media unit.  I also think I'll pair it with teaching dialogue, and have students use proper punctuation with quotation marks in the speech bubbles.  Students would have so much fun sharing their videos over a large screen - you could even turn it into a "movie premiere party" complete with popcorn.  When students finish making their movies, they can email the link to you for assessment, and they can even email it to their parents to share what they've been doing in class.  SO.MUCH.FUN!

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Wordles - Kicked Up a Notch

I just found the COOLEST site tonight - Tagxedo.  You've just got to check it out!  It's just like Wordle ... only better.  You can enter text from any site, blog, search, etc.  The site automatically turns it into a word cloud, but with Tagxedo, you can CHOOSE a shape!  You can even pick a picture or photograph from your computer to use.  How ridiculously cool is that?  It took me about 5 minutes to make this apple - I entered the URL from my blog for the text.  The site also includes a link to a google doc slideshow for 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo.  You could use Tagxedo to summarize books, create logos, create autobiographies with students' pictures (would be so fun for a back-to-school activity) ... the possibilities are endless!  If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play a little more with this site.  I'm sooooo excited!

How would you use Tagxedo in your class?

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Filling the Bucket

The other day one of the fabulous blogs I follow posted about two great little books, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? and How Full is Your Bucket?. We also use these books at my school. At the beginning of the year we had an assembly and two of our grade eight students read the book to the school while it was projected over the large screen. Each classroom has a collection of raindrops which we fill out when someone has filled our bucket. The completed raindrops get turned into the office where they are read during the morning announcements, then they are posted on a central bulletin board. "Filling the bucket" is part of our daily language at school. That being said, I have the cutest story to share with you. This evening at supper, I leaned over to give my husband a kiss and tell him that I loved him. My little three-year old piped up, "you just filled Daddy's bucket". Apparently, she has been reading and learning about the books at her daycare - I had no idea. It was such a sweet moment, that it filled my bucket!

Tonight I'm going to try to fill your bucket by sharing two of my favourite interactive websites for the classroom. These sites are especially fantastic on the SMARTboard because the students can physically manipulate the information while they are learning.

The first site is Math 6 Spy Guys. It is a collection of interactive mathematics resources covering all the junior math strands. Printable worksheets, parent notes, problem-solving strategies, and a glossary are included. Although it was designed for the grade 6 curriculum, it could easily be used in grades 4 - 7. My students LOVE this site!!! They dance along to the music, laugh at the "cheesy" expressions, and beg to come up to the board to complete the problems. It's a fantastic way to review concepts learned in class.

The second site is Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. This isn't a free site (although you can try it out for free). I think I pay about $20 for the yearly subscription. It is so worth it, though. It is a great tool for my writing lessons. When you type a word into the search box, synonyms and antonyms pop up in a web and move all around the screen. It also has a side bar which groups the words by their parts of speech. Students can click on one of the many new words to get a full definition, find its synonyms or antonyms, and explore the various parts of speech. It's such a fantastic and entertaining tool for grammar lessons, teaching word choice, and banishing those BORING words!

You can click on the images to bring you to the websites so you can explore a little more. Have I filled your bucket today???
Now if only I could get blogger to fix my followers gadget, that would definitely fill my bucket!).

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