Blog Five: Classroom Management

How will you address classroom management in the final weeks of school?  Will you change

anything? What kind of positive incentive plan will you implement in your classroom?  How

will you communicate it to students and parents?

With the semester coming to an end I have noticed that I am having more behavior issues in my classroom.  Students are anticipating the winter break and are having a harder time staying focused.  I have reminded each of my classes what the expectations are for their behavior, and that these expectations will remain up until the very last bell of the semester.  I do find that I need to be a bit more diligent about giving students consequences and redirecting distracted students.  I need to make sure that I am maintaining the same expectations that I have reminded students about.  Since we are giving finals on the computer I have to give them a few days before the original allotted time for finals.  Therefore, I told students that if they are well-behaved these last few weeks that we will celebrate on the last day when they would normally be taking the final.

Blog 4: Engagement Strategies

How do you plan to implement active engagement strategies in your classroom?  How will this impact your instruction?

I would like to try to implement more engagement strategies that get students out of their seats.  With 90 minute classes it is easy to lose students to boredom.  I have used different strategies in the past and would like to bring some of these back.  For example, I have done four corners where students have to move to the corner with the response they most agree with.  I have also found in the past that around the world activities are pretty successful and engaging.  As opposed to just sitting and doing a worksheet students move around and work on problems that are posted throughout the room.  However, it is also important to have students engaged when they are sitting and taking notes as well.  I try to do quick think-pair-shares as well as have students respond to me with thumbs up or thumbs down for certain questions.  I want to make sure that I am implementing some sort of active engagement strategy every day in class because this provides me with good feedback on my students' mastery of the material and also keeps them from zoning out and getting bored. 

Blog 3: STEM

Think about a project or alternative assessment that your students can do this semester where they are using the content and explain your planning process.

In my Algebra Extensions class this semester I planned a Project Based Learning lesson.  We did a unit on perimeter and area, so their project was to make a blueprint of their dream home.  On graph paper students first drew out the blueprint and labeled all of the rooms of their dream home.  Next students were required to calculate the perimeter and area of each room in their home.  Finally, students calculated the total area and total perimeter.  Students also presented their homes to the class.  My students really enjoyed this project and it gave them a lot of practice with area and perimeter, as well as basic operations which is something many of them still struggle with.

Blog 2: School Counselors

Have you had to go to your school counselor to assist in a situation? What was your experience in working with the counselor? Were you able to get the student or parent the resources they needed?

There have been several instances in which I sought the help of a counselor after a student told me something concerning.  I often have my students write me letters in which I ask them to reflect on the class and how they are doing in general.  This allows me to get to know my students a little better.  However, there was one time when a student admitted to me in the letter that they were self-harming.  There was another instance where a student came to my class very upset and started to tell me about some of the issues that she was experiencing at home.  In both cases I talked with the students' assigned counselor and made sure that the student went in to talk to them.  The counselors I have worked with were very helpful and were quick in getting the students in to see them.  I know that both students continued to see the counselor so it appeared to me that they were able to get the help that they needed.

Blog 1: Common Core

What are your concerns about the Common Core Standards? What ah-ha did you have about CCS? What will you continue to do or do differently to ensure that you are teaching to the CCS?

I think my biggest concern with the common core standards is the readiness of my students to engage with these more rigorous expectations. My district is using the common core aligned Eureka Math curriculum, and a lot of it assumes prior knowledge that was taught in previous Eureka Math courses.  I worry that my students will not be ready for the challenges that they might face with these sudden changes.  One thing that I have been doing and will continue to do is scaffolding certain lessons and reviewing what is considered previous knowledge for each lesson.  I do not want to take the rigor out of the curriculum, nor do I want to skip any standards, but at the same time I need to make sure that my students have the basic skills that they were expected to have learned in previous years.  Therefore, I do alter some of the common core aligned lessons and add things in to make sure I am reviewing while also introducing the new material. I add in some basic skills work to scaffold them up to the more challenging and critical thinking questions.