Back To School Time!

Unbelievable! It is time to go back to school already. I always get excited to go back and begin a brand new year with new students, new opportunities, challenges and this next year new responsibilities as I begin internships. As I was thinking about starting a new year I began brainstorming all the activities I want to use. I thought I would share a few:

*I always like to have a little 'something' on my students desk the first time they come into the room. This changes from year to year depending on my inspiration and mood. I attach a little note along with a treat. I have used popcorn or blow pop suckers with a note saying "I am so excited to be your teacher I might just POP!" Smiley face fruities (from Wal-Mart) with a note "I'm all smiles because you are in our class!" Smarties - "Welcome to a class full of smarties!" Rice Krispie treats - "It's a treat to be your teacher! Welcome!" Notepad with pencil - "Take note-you are in the greatest 3rd grade class ever!"

*The first day of school I like to give the students a chance to decide what atmosphere they would like in their class. I often have the students sit on their desk (this is great fun for them) and I toss a small ball to someone. I then tell them to play the game. That is all I say. After a few awkward moments they begin passing the ball around. I usually act like I am busy at my desk or something. When they all begin asking what they are playing or how they should do it, we begin talking about how a game is much more fun when we know the rules and how to play. Our classroom is the same way. We can have a lot of fun and a great experience if we all understand one another. Then the students come up with their own expectations (of course they are guided to determine the 'class rules' that are appropriate).

*The first few days the students don't really know each other. Having an activity each day where they can get to know one another better helps everyone feel more comfortable and at ease. Classmate Bingo is fun to play. Also, having each student bring 5-10 things in a lunch sack (I provide the sack) that describe them. The items have to fit inside the bag. I start by telling them about me. I include things like a diet coke, Hershey Kisses, Cinnamon Bears, picture of my family, a book, slice of bread-I can't eat any gluten so this helps explain why I can't eat the birthday treats they bring, and a picture of Mexican food.

Have fun beginning a new school year! I would love to hear about any of your great ideas!

IPods in the Classroom

Most of us have at least one iPod. iPods can be great tools for the classroom. Many teachers are writing and receiving grants to purchase a class set of ipods. These can be used as listening centers, small group instruction and large group instruction. The iPod nano, Generation 5 has a video camera built in. What a great tool with unlimited opportunities for students. There are thousands of podcasts available, along with iTunes U, which contains information for teachers. By purchasing a cable ($10.00 on ebay) you can easily hook up your iPod to the projector and view video clips, podcasts and video of class presentations. What a fun and exciting way to learn!

Make It Fun!

Math is a hard concept for many students. Anytime we can relate math concepts to real life we help students comprehend. It is also beneficial to make it fun! It is more enjoyable for the students and the teacher. Math jokes, manipulative, cartoons and even video clips are all things that can add enjoyment and fun to a math lesson. Check out the following web sites and add some spice to your math lessons!

www.trottermath.net/humor/cartoons.html

www.math.about.com/od/mathcartoons/Math_Cartoons.htm

http://www.surfnetkids.com/comics.htm

They are never too young to play with manips!

Earlier today I was playing with my 1 1/2 year old grandson. He got into my containers of math manipulatives. We were playing with the base 10 blocks and colored tiles. We spent some time dumping them out, stacking them and putting them back in the buckets. Then we got out the tiles. As I started sorting them into colors and he mixed them back up I kept telling him the colors of the tiles. We learned 'yellow' today. I was reminded how valuable play really is. He loved playing with the tiles. It won't be long until we can make patterns and he can sort colors. What a great way to begin mathematical thinking - just play. I think I need to spend more time in my 3rd grade class 'playing' with math and numbers.

Keeping Students Minds Sharp Throughout the Summer

The first few weeks of school are always a bit frustrating for me. We spend so much time setting up the 'rules' of the classroom, processes of doing things, acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, etc. All these things are vital for a successful year. They must be done. There is also the days - and sometimes weeks- that are spent reviewing. If parents will do a few simple things each day throughout the summer, students will be able to keep their minds sharp and up to speed. This would save so much time - time we could spend on new learning.

For this reason, I send home a calendar for June, July and August. Each day (Monday-Friday) there is an activity that takes only a few minutes, but keeps the mind going and helps to retain learning that we worked so hard on for 9 months!

As soon as I figure out how, I will attach my calendars. Let me know what you think. I would love any additional ideas you may have!

The following article is one I use on my class website. I think we underestimate the power of numbers and the ability of young elementary age students. Many parents do not understand what a number really is and how numbers can work together. I have had parents question my reasoning in spending so much time on number sense, fact families and basic fact skills. I share this article and discuss the reasoning behind why I do what I do. It is always an 'ah-ha' moment for them to realize how complicated our number system can be and how valuable having a deep understanding of numbers is at an early age. 'Playing' with numbers is an awesome way to learn many great and important things.

DON'T FORGET THE FACTS

Getting back to basics can pave the way for higher level learning.

Drilling children on basic math facts and administering timed tests seem to have gotten a bad rap. Increasingly, teachers are encouraged to move to a math curriculum rich with problem solving, manipulatives, and active learning. Yet, focusing on mastering math facts has an important place in children's math education.

Children are able to reason more quickly and flexibly when armed with the basic facts. Imagine having to relearn letter sounds and combinations each time you start to spell a word. Children experience something similar if they do not have basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts memorized as they progress to algebra and other higher-level math concepts. Stopping to multiply by counting or adding slows them down. Important math processes like estimation and mental computation are based on recall of math facts which can empower learners and give them confidence to be problem solvers.

To determine when students are ready to memorize math facts, you must closely monitor their understanding of the meaning behind addition and subtraction equations. Most children under the age of seven are still developing this understanding. Some second grade children are still developing the concept of equality, and the notion that addition and subtraction equations are logical inverses of each other. Once one knows that 6+4=10, then 10-4=6 is a logical reversal of the problem. Piaget called these "operations." Before children are operational in their thinking, it is important not to rush them into memorizing series of facts, which might force them to rely on rote memory instead of their emerging logical skills.

Giving children meaningful experiences using math facts in the earliest years of schooling lays a firm foundation for later mastery. Arranging, counting, and manipulating objects, as well as games and other engaging activities that use addition and subtraction, give children the chance to solve problems over and over. They then begin to grasp the consistency of the facts. For example, every time 6-year-old Samantha rolls double 4s on dice, she counts the dots and gets a sum of 8. Soon she figures out that she does not need to count the dots each time. Once she knows that 4 + 4 = 8, she can easily confront the problem 4 + 5. "That's one more than 4 plus 4," she reasons, "so it must be 9." She is building a solid knowledge base developed through repeated experiences and logical reasoning.

In third and fourth grade, as children progress into multiplication and division, they continue to build on what they already know. At first they may calculate the answers to multiplication problems, such as 3 x 6, by using repeated addition. As they develop an understanding and recognize that the two multipliers can be reversed leaving the answer the same, they gain the power to calculate the answer in a more efficient way.

At the point when children are advancing to multiplication and division, they need to have basic addition and subtraction facts under their belt for automatic recall. They need to know that 9 + 9 is always 18. They should easily be able to demonstrate the basic addition and subtraction facts using counters, fingers, or other examples, but should not need to check the answers using manipulatives.

By Sandra Waite-Stupiansky, Ph.D. & Nicolas G. Stupiansky, Ph.D.

Instructor-Primary; Sep98, Vol. 108 Issue 2, p82