1D Diaries

January 11, 2014

Math Center Newbie!

One of the things about teaching over time is that you see things come and go.  In Math I have worked on four different curricula -- five if you count the three years I spent teaching 6th grade where we piloted a new junior high math curriculum during my second year.  

All of these different curricula were instituted with the purpose of deepening student learning and improving the instructional practices in our classroom.  No district chose and purchased a  new curriculum thinking things weren't going to get even better!   On the other hand, teachers get comfortable and familiar with lessons.  You know what works and what doesn't work.  You  find ways to teach students with different skills and dispositions.  Many times my colleagues and I reflected on the curriculum changes and say things like, " Wow, Curriculum A did a much better job of addressing that skill!"  And sometimes we would trot out lessons we had used in the past to supplement the ones in our new updated curriculum. In my closet I have at least three different manuals and materials purchased to support those lessons.  I've thrown out binders and old folders full of worksheets and lessons.  They might have been wonderful resources, but I just didn't have the time to search through them to find what I was looking for.

This year is no different.  

We don't have a new curriculum, per se, but we do have the Common Core.  Without getting into all of the issues surrounding the adoption of  Common Core standards, which are legion, let's just say I'm working on changing my practice  -- or updating my practice -- to reflect the underpinnings and habits of learning embedded in these new standards.  

I've been making some changes, not just in my teaching, but also in how students re-inforce their understanding of what we are learning.  And here's how it's new and different.  

In the past, we might begin our lessons with students on the "rug" (i.e., whole class lessons), and I would deliver a short, say 10-15 minute, "mini-lesson" about the skill or understanding of the day.  Then we would break up into small groups, with  some students with similar skills working on their "lab" workbooks, papers or activities or games reinforcing the "skill" taught that day.  My intern or student teacher would work with one of the groups.  A parent volunteer might work with another small group, and I'd work with the group that required the most support At the end of the lesson, we would return to the rug, for a brief follow-up lesson or problem, a kind of "summarizing" lesson. 

As a process, it was not always perfect, but it allowed students who were able to work independently to do so, and we could focus our teaching on students who required more small group support.  

This year with encouragement from our Math Coach and District Coordinator, we set up four Math Centers three days a week.  This was a really big move for me.  

What is a "Center" you may ask?  It's pretty much as it sounds:  at each Center I put together a box with an activity (materials and instructions) designed to focus upon one skill.   Students have an opportunity to practice the skill at the center for a period of time (about 18-20 minutes), and then move on to another station where they practice a different skill. For a concise explanation of centers, you can go here.

I was determined to work centers into our math routines this year, and  we began the year with four centers of  four-five students each.  At this point in the year, we have ten centers and students work in pairs:  Teacher Table, Computer Station, Fact Families, Adding 3 Addends, Clock Work, Word Problems (we write the solutions in our Math Journals), Number Race Game, Counters in a Cup, Calendar Work (this will be phased out when everyone has completed it), and Number of the Day (math journal).  Here are pictures from four centers,

Number of the Day: Students write, draw or make "today's number" using numbers, pictures, tally marks, tens frames -- you name it! 

Clock Work: this student is adding one hour to the time shown on the card.

Adding 3 Addends:  we use three dice ( Some dice go beyond six for students who want an extra challenge)

Butterfly fact families: we roll two dice to get the two addends!

I have to say...while it's by no means perfect, and we are still working out the "kinks" of moving from center to center,  I like them!  I really like the independence and confidence I see in my students.  I like that students get to experience a variety of reinforcing games and activities, and I really like that students practice skills they learned earlier in the month, or year. 

There are moments of clarity. Changing stations is a bit confusing.  For example, on Thursday we were about half-way through the period, and we were changing centers. As I walked around checking to make sure that everyone had safely landed at their next center, I discovered that two little girls had gone to the wrong place. When I asked them why, one responded, "Christopher told me to!" (go to Station 5)  I looked at my assistant.  Christopher???  I looked at Christopher who was already at his station playing a math game.  He shrugged and went back to work, explaining, "I was just trying to help!"  He was trying to help, even if he had given them the wrong advice.  I reminded the girls they needed to figure their destination out for themselves, and made a mental note that we needed to mark the stations with BIG numbers for next week.  After all, I'm figuring this whole station thing out too!

Back In Business

1D Diaries 

It’s been FOUR years since I wrote my last blog post – lots of reasons for this, but after this hiatus, I’m feeling the need to rub my hands together and re-start my efforts to catalog life in 1D. 

Gotta Love Mid-Winter Vacations…. 

Our students came back for one day after Winter/Holiday Break before having a snow day today and one the first things I noticed once we gathered for Morning Meeting (Quick overview of Morning Meeting here) was a new-found capacity for paying attention. My first grade colleagues have often noted that our firsties make a true “great leap forward” (Apologies to/for the Chairman Mao reference) in January and February. This developmental change enables our seven-year old selves to persevere and persist in what they are doing.
As if by magic first grade students work for longer periods of time, focus on what they’re doing and become much more productive when compared with only a few weeks earlier. 

It could be magic, or…it could be that we are almost half-way through the school year. All our hard work spent in the Fall learning and practicing work routines and setting forth expectations now pay big dividends! Our students have made so much progress us becoming thoughtful, responsible students. It’s a LOT more fun to work and learn when you can concentrate and sustain your interest for longer periods of time! And there’s that aspect of being well-rested and ready to tackle some new and interesting ventures…. 

Less Than 4 Weeks to…. Chinese New Year! 

We are about to start work on China geography in preparation for learning about Chinese New Year, a.k.a the “Spring Festival,” which this year begins on January 31st. We (mostly me) have a lot to do to organize this exciting time of year. This year, like last year, we will prepare by learning about China’s geography, landforms, culture, history, and celebrations. We’ll use resources from the library, websites, and document our new-found knowledge in China booklets using using  “Little BirdTales.com.”   This is a website which allows students to write, illustrate and publish individual pages and then assembles them together in a slide-show format which can be accessed on-line.  The students (and their parents and families)  love the fact that they can see their work on the internet!    

Mrs. D Tweets!

I am making an attempt to ramp up my tech know-how.  Perhaps I have been inspired by my colleagues --  some older and some much ( much!)  younger  -- who are beating the drum to find ways to incorporate technology into elementary classrooms.

Simply put:  I don’t want to be on the outside looking in.  For better or worse, I’m jumping into the fray!

I’ve started to “tweet” when I find things that catch my eye.  I like to read about developments in geology and astronomy, education, and literacy, so I’m following some industry “experts” in those fields as well as other colleagues and teacher-leaders in our district.

More importantly, I hope to send pictures of student work, and document some of the wonderfully creative and thoughtful ideas that our students come up with on a daily basis!  You can follow me by going to twitter @Runkle1D. 

More later…..

Keep warm and toasty,

Mrs. D.