Field Trip Fiasco and Planning on the Fly

My teaching partner and I were planning to go to our local museum after we realized we were ALLOWED to go on field trips...as long as A) the planning was done during school time and B) the actual trip was within school hours.  I should probably EXPLAIN that ALL the teachers in my province (BC) are in province-wide bargaining with our gov't and it IS NOT going well. . . which explains the Field Trip "protocol".  Really, it's been quite annoying!

Unfortunately we WILL NOT be going on the field trip because through a series of unfortunate events . . . Hey, that's a great series of books BTW . . . the lady at the museum that does the school bookings went off sick and somehow our request got 'missed' and the person who took over for her didn't know that we were trying to book a tour and by the time we actually got hold of this person, it was the week before the last full week of school and . . . and . . . that tour didn't happen. . . BUT I was not willing to give up yet! . . . I suggested maybe we could go to our local Heritage Park, where there are neat 'ruins' of missionary buildings and a really old cemetery where the kids could do headstone rubbings . . . how cool is that? (hubby thinks its a bit morbid and would give the kids nightmares . . . he doesn't really know my class of eight & nine year olds!) and maybe we could treat the kids at the little teahouse . . . can you tell I was grasping???LOL  That idea was kiboshed too! (crap!?) . . . no bus available! . . .oh, for cryin out loud . . . really??

So, there we were . . . one of only three classes in the entire school NOT going on a field trip . . . we couldn't do that to our grade 3's . . .could we!??  On to Plan C . . . picnic in the park across the street from the school . . for the whole day (okay. . . most of the day). 

But we were still feeling as if that wasn't going to cut it, so in a moment of sheer desperation brilliance, my teaching partner came up with the idea to do a theme-a-day until the end of the year!  Hmmm . . . what would thst look like . . .let's see, we could do Wacky Hair Day, Pajama Day, Sports Team Day, Favourite Decade Day, Hawaiian Day, Celebrity Day . . . oh yeah, . . . this could work!  why then is my principal giving me that are-you-sure-you-want-to-do-that-for-the-last-week-of- school kind of look? . . .

Oh, the things we do for our students.

I'll let you know how things go.  Tomorrow is Wacky Hair Day :)

Math As A Teachable Moment: Problem Solving

This activity should really be called Problem Solving & Problem Posing because the students do both.
I generally post a problem on the board or on chart paper (if I'm really on the ball).  Students copy down the problem in their Problem Solving books and then try to answer the problem.  The problem is usually based on a concept we are currently working in math such as:  measurement (g, kg, ml, L, perimeter, area), number operations (+, —,  ÷, X ) or time.  Students get about 8-10 minutes to work on the problem.  When they have solved the problem, they write their own problem using the same format.

There's a lot of sharing out and class discussion about HOW we solved the problem (what strategies did you use?)  Students know that they have to show their thinking...not just write down the answer!

Here are some samples of a problem we worked on a couple of weeks ago.  This was a Friday assessment, so it was on a half sheet of paper, rather than in their books.  Most students understood how to solve the problem and I was pleased to see a variety of different ways that students showed how they solved the problem.

This student decided to break down the numbers into tens and ones and then add them together.

This student broke down the digits in the tens place into tens, but then mentally multiplied the ones.

This student multiplied the 20's by 3 (even though he is showing them as 2's) and then added the ones

This student decided she was going to line them up vertically and add them up...the 'traditional' way.  She surprised me because Math and organization are not her strengths, but her work was very organized AND logical! LOL

This students decided to just add the numbers horizontally...the preferred method with many students

This student decided he wanted to be a 'lazy' mathematician and just multiply (his favourite way of adding up stuff)

This is a student created problem modeled after the problem given

Most of my students are very comfortable with this problem solving format, so I decided to switch it up a bit the other day and give them a different type of problem.  This is an example of the problem I gave them:

I am an even number.

I am greater than 20.

I am less than 50.

My digits add up to 11.

Who am I?

Some figured it out fairly quickly, but others balked at the problem.  So we reviewed what good problem solvers do and what strategies might be appropriate to try.  I was surprised that a number of students did not understand what the word digit meant...which prompted a quick mini lesson! And then I reviewed what an even and odd number were to my math challenged students.  I find this particular problem very useful for incorporating the math vocabulary we want our kids to know.

Now, they enjoy creating their own Who Am I? problems and beg me to use their example for the next problem. I think that's a good indicator of the level of engagement these kids are demonstrating.

Lovely Blog Award Recipients!

OK, I have only managed to find 5 relatively 'new' blogs that haven't been awarded the Lovely Blog Award (Granted I haven't been trying extra hard either)....as with everyone, its been super busy around here...just finished writing end term report cards! Yikes!...only 13 school days left! So here they are in no particular order:

1. Teacher Idea Factory 
2. Lessons With Laughter
3. Daisy Days for Learning 
4. Working 4 the Classroom 
5. Obsessively Teaching fourth Grade 

Smartboard!!

I have a bunch of other posts that I really should be writing but I just couldn't resist this one . . . and it's short. :)

I just found out after school that I will be getting a Smartboard installed before the end of the year!  WooHoo!  I know, some of you who work in tech-laden schools are probably wondering what the big deal is??? . . .  but in my school I will be one of the first teachers to have a Smartboard in the classroom!! 

Am sooo excited, and must DEFINITELY add "researching Smartboard resources" to my Summer Bucket List.

First Award!

Miss Sara at Miss Elementary has bestowed upon me the One Lovely Blog Award.  I am very honored to receive this award. . . thank you Miss Sara! Now, my job is to find 15 new blogs to give the award to . . . a difficult task, as there are so many deserving blogs.  BUT . . . it is the long weekend and I am always up for a challenge!

Check back soon to see which 'new' blogs I have given the award to. :)

Summer Bucket List Linky Party

I love bucket lists. . . in fact, I had a bucket list before bucket lists became popular.  Of course, back then, I called it the "Things to Do Before I Die" list . . . Bucket List sounds much better.  Anyhoo!, back to the purpose of THIS post.  :)  Although here in BC, we still have 33 days of school (but who's counting!? ha, ha) I definitely was making a list of things I wanted to do/accomplish this summer.  So here it is . . . my summer bucket list:

1. OK . . . visit Paris . . . it's already been planned for August! WooHoo!  4 days in Paris and then off to Germany, Austria, and who knows where else?, for 3 glorious weeks.  Can't wait!
2. My niece's wedding ... in August and the day before we leave for Europe.
3. Organize my classroom . . . I've been planning this for the first week in July ever since I discovered the Clutter Free Classroom blog! Not sure if I should hug her or smack her! LOL
4. Read the CAFE book and Daily 5 book in more detail and use it to plan next year's Language Arts program
5. Create more math games
6. Plan what I'm teaching in SS and SC.  I've got a split grade next year, so I have to decide which units from which grade I want to use.  Usually I try to balance the units out so I'm teaching an even number for each grade.
7. Enjoy the summer sunshine . . . which can sometimes be hit or miss around here!

 Well, that's it!  Hope I manage to cross off everything on the list!? Hope everyone else manages to do the same too!

Math as a Teachable Moment: Assessment Binder

I decided to organize my math assessment binder the same way I organized my reading assessment binder which is modeled after Beth Newingham's. . . if you haven't been over to her website you need to check it out . . .amazing! 

 At the front of the binder I keep a class record for All the Facts - one sheet for each operation.  When a student has mastered each operation, I highlight that students scores . . its a nice visual to see where everyone is, at a glance. 



I also keep a class record for Problem Solving -
there is one score for Problems Solved and one for Problems Posed.  We use Performance Standards in our district so the rubric I use is based on a 4 point scale 1= not yet meeting, 2=minimally meeting, 3= fully meeting, and 4= exceeding expectations.



 Each student has their own pocket divider which holds all their assessments.  Friday is assessment day, so I collect samples of their Problem Solving/Problem Posing, How Many Ways, and an All the Facts sheet.  I also include any other concept tests we have done.

Behind the pocket divider I keep a number of checklists.  This is the first year I've tried this program and I haven't used all the checklists, which I'm a little mad at myself for doing because there is one that I think would be very helpful when reporting to parents and I'm kicking myself for not having used it from the beginning.  In my defense, I will say that I was away for most of the second term AND I WILL be using it for the final term . . . I think?!  Anyways, here it is. . . .I know . . . I should be using it! <ack!>

Sadly, I also included a sheet to record the different problem solving strategies students use.  However, that kind of went by the wayside this year, too.  Sigh . . . next year . . .:)

I do, however use the How Many Ways criteria sheet to keep track of the types of things students are including in their equations.  This part of the program is amazing . . . I have students using square root, Pi, and powers . . in grade 3! But I'll go over that in more detail in a separate post.  The score is based on the same 4 point scale as the Problem Solving.

Next year I would also like to include a comment/observation sheet to record things I have observed or things I have discussed with the student about math.  The program is set up so that there is time during Games/Projects to meet with individual/small groups.   I think this would be a very useful addition to the binder, especially when it comes to reporting.

Overall, I am quite happy with the way my assessment binder is organized.  But, as with a lot of things, there is definitely room for tweaking!  I would love to get some feedback, or examples of what other people are doing to keep track of their assessments.