Reading Between the Lines

1. Burned face with boiling water
2. Sliced open palm on a wet paper towel
3. Burnt pointer finger on lava
4. Burst glass pot lid whilst watering above finger with cold water
5. Sliced open tip of "tall man"
6. Broke out in pimples

So, perhaps you can infer from the above that I am a hot mess, clutzy, prone to accident, not a good choice for a cooking partner, ridiculous, not faring well without the parents...*sigh*

Aside from trying to meet my maker, I've been reading Laney Sammons, working on my ecourses with Sally,  listening to an audio book about happiness, watching Whole Brain Teaching videos (which have been making me happy since Chris Biffle reminds me of my dad), and connecting with another teacher with some expertise in class town building. 

One more week before I get to work in my classroom. Another week after that until teacher workdays. I am getting exxxxxxxcited!

Again, I'll be linking this post to the book study that Primary Inspired hosted this summer.  They are already done with the book- so you don't have to wait on me to read the next chapter.

Can I say that Chapter Six - Making Inferences and Predictions did not get me excited?  And I don't think it has to do with Laney.  My apologies.  I think it's me.  Teaching inference in reading doesn't get me excited either.  In fact, it makes me whiny. I don't wanna!  Because it sooooo hard, and they don't get it fast enough, and wahhhhhhhh.  I think that is the root of my problem here.  I am sort of glad to have come across the reference to how children do, for the most part, make great inferences when dealing with people's facial expressions, tones, and moods.  But they aren't translating this over to reading- or mathematics for that matter.  And this points to that visualization piece, don't you think?  If they can visualize what they are reading, they would be able to make better inferences.

On page 174 Laney says "making an inference requires considering new or unfamiliar information in light of what is already known."  So it's a matter of being able to make distinctions- another thing eight year olds aren't super groovy at.  But this points towards that safe risk-free environments where kids can try things out and not be afraid of being incorrect.  They have to make that inference, or  prediction and be ok if it turns out to be wrong- or if it turns out to not be answered at all.  There is a lot of discussion about encouraging the kids to think of themselves as mathematicians.  Makes me think of this pin I ran across a couple of months ago:



I've really got to make the point of calling them mathematicians anytime we are talking about math.  If I treat them like they are mathematicians, they will feel like they are mathematicians, and they will be mathematicians.  It's going to be so much to keep all in my head it seems.  Maybe I am biting off more than I can chew.  Or maybe I just need to breathe, and try not to cut my finger for a second, and relax.  I can do this.

You know, I've been teaching probability and data for eleven years, and it has never occurred to me that I am really teaching prediction and inference lessons.  This is a good place to take those baby steps in teaching the reading strategies within the math class.  I already teach this unit.  I already show graphs ALL.YEAR.LONG, so it will only take a second or two to point out "Hey, we're inferring here!"  Or, instead of "what does this data tell you?" I can say "What can you infer from this set of data?"  Perhaps the answer is still Ms. Meek's class brought in the most canned items for the food drive - but we've added that higher level vocabulary.  It's a small teeny step in the right direction.

When we do the probability games- have them decide if it's fair or not before they play.  And then explain why it was or wasn't afterwards.  There's a great dialogue in the book when it comes to even and odd numbers and how they add together in the context of problem solving on page 191.

I already announced that I wanted to take on expanding vocabulary this year.  The math stretch "word splash" on page 186 would go along great with this.  Throw the topic word of what you're teaching up on a piece of chart paper, and have them add in all the other words or phrases they can think of that goes with that topic.  You're activating prior knowledge, discovering misconceptions, getting some valuable feedback that can be used to adjust your teaching focus.

Another thing mentioned in the chapter is taking time for one-on-one conferences.  To really talk to them about their thinking and ask them to talk MORE.  I made a note to myself that it would be important to tell the kids from the very first day that if I ask them "what do you mean?" or "why do you think that?" it doesn't mean they are wrong.  Which most assume.  It just means I want to know more.  Everyone of these chapters talks about the importance of modeling and doing the think aloud, and I realize that we have become so rushed by the pressure of "getting all of this done"- that we are neglecting our professional calling.

I was pondering this statement earlier today while I braved washing dishes:

Being a teacher defines me as a person.

 

I have heard people say this. I am trying to visualize their face when they say it.  It's not really an expression of joy- more like, sheer determination.  Commitment maybe.

 

I have also heard people vehemently exclaim that they will not let teaching define them as a person and when they go home they go home and teaching isn't coming with them. I haven't decided how I feel about that yet.  Sometimes it makes me feel sad.  Other times, sort of ashamed that I do bring teaching home with me. Lots of times I struggle with trying to decide what the right sort of viewpoint to take is.  Or if there even is one.

 

But as I scalded myself (instead of paying attention to the temperature of the water I was filling the sink with, and leveling it out with a bit of cold I was, quite frankly, talking to myself), I tried the sentence in the other direction.

 

I define what it means to be a teacher.

 

If you looked in a dictionary, would your face be next to the word teacher?  And if it were- what would that mean about the word, teacher?  Would it be a positive or a negative term?  Would people use it as a form of praise, or an insult?

 

Sounds like some pressure- but it is, in fact, a bit of a reality.  Kids determine what a teacher is by the example they have before them.  It is this one experience that takes up 180 days, 1440 hours of their lives each year that gives them the definition of teacher.  It is in fact, YOU, who are creating the definition. 

 

What definition have I been creating? Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts...

Visualizing in Math

One more day until the hop!

Sneak peek of my freebie:

And baaaaack to the math!
I've gotten into the swing of things with this book. Chapter Five is all about visualizing. I have to give credit to my parents, in that they fostered a love of books in my sister and me when we were little.  I have many, many memories of being read to by both of them, and trips to the library.  And I can remember that on any shopping trip, even though they might say no to cookies, or chips, or a new album- they really rarely, IF EVER, said no to a book.  But I never had any idea that the way I read a book was no the way that other people read a book.


I think it was one of my first years teaching when I was reading aloud to my students and something came up about what did so and so look like, or whatnot- and they said that they had no idea.  And I said, but aren't you watching the movie in your head?  Flabbergasted.  They had no idea that they were supposed to be seeing something in their head as they read and I had no idea that was possible.  And once finding that out- well how in the heck do you teach them to do something you just know HOW to do?  Without even thinking about it.  I'm glad Laney has something to say on this subject.

There is a good point made at the beginning of the chapter about how we've actually become passive viewers in our current society that is inundated with images.  You'd think it wouldn't work that way- but with all of the images provided for children nowadays- they haven't had to come up with their own.  Which now that I think about it, we didn't have TV in our home for quite a bit of my early years.  I think we got a VCR maybe when I was in second grade, so that might point to why visualizing was an easy skill for me- as I had no other outlet for it.

I'm thinking about different lessons I teach where the students struggle in visualization not connected to reading.  Maps for instance.  I think this points towards a visualization problem when they can't make the move from drawing something head-on to drawing it from up above.  I'm thinking about geometry when I try to get them to see the different faces of three dimensional shapes and how they can recognize some of them but not all.  And I think about how I just plod on, not understanding why they can't transition over.

Wonderfully- Laney's chapter included seven steps to building the ability to visualize- because they have to have this ability BEFORE you can teach them how to use the strategy.

The first step being creating mental images of observed concrete objects.  I think I do this somewhat when I do quick images in the classroom with ten frames.  But that's a stretch for them too.  So I think this year I should start with things that are more familiar.  A stuffed animal.  A potted plant.  My squashed peanut butter and jelly sandwich I'm saving for lunch.  Having them really look at something, and then hiding it and having them visualize it in their heads and describe it.

It reminds me too of a board game I have had sitting in my closet for years called Stare:

The basic idea is that you show them a picture and they have sixty seconds to stare at it and try to remember everything they see.  Then you put the picture away and ask them questions.  Definitely for more advanced visualizers- but I think you could easily start with some simpler pictures to work your way up to this sort of level.

I am also reminded of those pictures where you are supposed to spot the differences:

 

 

Not exactly the same concept- but I think it might help to train the eye and the brain.

 

I can see tying this early practice into my other content areas as I show them examples of rain gauges or thermometers and have them practice visualizing those.  Or I bring in examples of natural, capital, and human resources and have them visualize and describe those.  Seems like a quick, easy activity you could do in the first two minutes of carpet time.

 

The next step is to create elaborate mental images of imagined concrete objects.  Something they saw last week- or earlier that day at their home, or a favorite box of cereal at the grocery store.  Their mother's face.  Still, an easy enough pursuit the first couple of minutes of gathering on the carpet.

 

She goes on through five more steps to help your kids become champion visualizers and ready for the strategy lesson to apply when doing math work.  It would be nice of course if there was a time-frame given for how long this takes.  But I have to remind myself that kids learn at different rates.  And I can't assume they will all get it in the same time frame.  I think I'll start out with step one for the first couple of weeks and then see where the kids are.  But it looks like this will probably be a first quarter of lessons.

In helping the kids visualize math problems- story problems that is- I do like to have the kids practice acting them out before we solve.  They take great delight in pretending to be Franco giving away collections of shells to Sally and Jake.  It gives them something to think back on when they sit down to work a problem.  But it is important to translate this into their heads because they will not always be able to get up and put on a skit.  That would probably be frowned upon during standardized testing to say the least.

 

It's important to have them draw out their visualization and practice verbally describing it as well- as that will be the only way for you to check on their progress as visualizers.

Another thing Laney suggests is taking a picture walk of a math text.  Can I tell you I was stunned for a second when I read that?  I do picture walks all the time in guided reading groups, but have I ever ever ever taken a picture walk of a math book?  Jeepers.  The things I don't think of.  It's mind boggling.  And I can remember that when I was teaching non-fiction text features we had a hard time finding charts vs. graphs.  Now I know to really hunt for these all across the year so the kids can develop that bank of representations.

 

 

I liked how she tied in visualizing to the weekly poem idea.  A lot of us do that in the classroom already, and being able to take what I've already got going on and just add in a new twist is going to be great to help me work this into my teaching habits.  I did a Pinterest search for "mental images" and found tons of poems that can be used for visualization activities.  This is a poem my granny was telling me about a few years ago when she came to visit me. I found it on this site.  I wonder what my kids would do with this poem, anchored in contradictions.  Would they notice right away?  How would they choose to make sense of it?  Just oodles of ideas bursting forth after reading this chapter.

Again, I've linked this post to a book study that was hosted by Primary Inspired.  Please go there to see what other folks had to say on this subject.









What sorts of visualizing activities do you do in your classroom?  Do you use them in other areas aside from reading?

Questioning Math, and A Blog Hop announcement

I am super excited for Sunday.  This is the day that the Virginia is for Bloggers Blog Hop begins!

 

 

And, amazingly, I will not be finishing this up at the last minute (shocker) as I have already finished my freebie and my post days ago.  I made a math game for working on your quick ten facts- so be sure to hit me up Sunday for it!  And then there's going to be tons of other freebies too from the other bloggers. Come see EVERYBODY!

 

 

And on to math.

 

Hey- I finished Chapter Four of Laney Sammon's outstanding book:  Building Mathematical Comprehension.  Chapter Four is about the reading comprehension strategy Questioning, and how it applies to math.  Lots of meaty goodness here- especially when we start right off the bat with this quote on page 115, "one of the most effective ways one learns is through questioning."  And then you get just a few paragraphs further and see how curiosity in math has dried up by middle school because as teachers, we've created an environment in math where asking questions relates to a lack of knowledge as opposed to interest.  We've focused so much on there being A CORRECT answer that we've squelched the possibilities of exploration.  So here's another killer quote on page 116, "When the teacher is solely responsible for asking questions, students become disenfranchised.  Students need to know that their questions matter and are valued."

 

So the root of question is quest.  A quest! An adventure! I had NEVER thought of it this way.  Really gets me thinking about problem solving and engineering in the classroom and how all these years its just been formulas and worksheets.  But you see, I was an English major, and this was one of the things I felt like I liked about math- the lack of subjectivity.  I LOVED having AN ANSWER as opposed to a million different viewpoints.  And so I'm reading this chapter thinking to myself- well shi-oooooot.  I've been a curiosity killer, dang it.  Let's add that on to the long list of things to feel guilty about.

 

Luckily though- the chapter offers some solutions.  One great link (oooo-connection) I can make to help me out is that I had some training this year by the great Jan Richardson herself- who wrote The Next Step in Guided Reading.  She has a technique of teaching questioning in reading with green, yellow, and red questions in relation to how easily/difficult it is to find the answer in the text.  Laney has a similar outline to questioning with what she calls Right There, Think and Search, and On My Own questions in relation to math.  Already knowing this similar strategy really helped me put this part of the chapter in perspective.  And also, clued me in to when I get to teaching it to my students- I will probably combine the two phrasings to have Jan's as the "title" of the type of question, and Laney's as the explanation for it means.  That way I'm teaching it with the same terminology in both venues.

 

Laney goes further to add in the difference between thick and thin questions which is also important to teach children as they construct meaning.  I really enjoyed the part of the chapter where she outlined a strategy lesson where she taught the kids how to generate questions about a problem and then go back and determine if the question they asked would actually help them come up with an answer.  So important to model and provide this foundation for the kids.  You know as a teacher how often kids just ask odd-ball questions out of seemingly nowhere, and don't seem to be able to determine for themselves whether it was applicable to the situation.  At least this way, you can still validate them for their questioning, but also teach them how to evaluate that question that they asked.

 

Again, I also like how Laney is using ideas from Comprehension Connections by Ann McGregor which is another book I'm familiar with.  The same thinking stems you create in reading class, are the same stems you can use in math class.  I don't have to come up with something new!  I can use the same thing all across my day and really provide valuable links and connections for the kids so they can experience learning as a whole, rather than disjointed subject matters.  Maybe this means there could be an end to "which subject do you like best?".  If they are all infused with the same backbone- do they need to make a choice?  Aren't they now offered the possibility of loving them all?  I don't know.  I realize that I just went off into a little philosophical corner of my brain there.  I'm getting awestruck by how much of this profession I just DON'T KNOW yet.

 

One other part of this chapter that I really liked was the Questioning math stretch- which again, I can connect to some prior knowledge from her first book, Guided Math which discussed math stretches every morning as part of the small group teaching model.  In this stretch, the idea is to present kids with a problem solving scenario without a question- and then ask them what the question should have been.  Very Jeopardy.  I'll take "richer thinking experiences" for $200, Alex.  I've seen something similar to this, but not exactly the same.  Here are three pins I've had on my math boards for a while now and was seriously considering doing in the classroom this year.  And I'm not saying that I still won't- but look at these three and ask yourself two questions:

 

1) What do they have in common?

 

2) Is this rich, higher level thinking?

 

Completely no disrespect to these pins- I STILL like them.  I STILL will use this to some degree in my room, I believe.  Like a warm up, because there is validity in being able to come up with equations - but this idea can be taken farther- and it should.

What I saw they had in common was that the "answers" were equations.  And where I can see the argument that this is higher level thinking in terms of having the children think in reverse- it's not really, rich, is it?  there is still only ONE way the kids are determining their "answer" - an equation.  I feel like when I look at these now, after reading the chapter- I'm still squashing curiosity if I present this model.  Laney's idea for the questioning math stretch is to present the problem this way-

"Mrs. Hall's fifth-grade class is planning a party for their first-grade reading buddies.  They plan to serve pizza and punch at the party." -pg.139

Think about that!  what happens when you ask kids to think of the question on that one?  Are you going to get an equation?  Heck no!  And that's why I like it.  The equation is not the first stop.  Or even the last.  The kids really have to think about what they would need to know to CREATE a math problem.

Of course, this line of thinking leads me back to an earlier revelation I made during my reading and e-courses this summer. Teaching this way, is going to be A LOT of work.  Like, I will never be able to "wing-it" through another day.  It really shows me how lazy I've been in my career to this point.  and having said that- I can think of many times where I felt I worked my butt off.  So, am I brave enough?  That's the real question...

There are other folks who have written blog posts on this chapter through a book study hosted by Primary Inspired- go check those out!

Curiously yours,

 

 

Mathematical Comprehension Connections

Remember: photo guilt:

I pass this tree on my morning walk.  It amazes me.  I can't even figure out where these other twisty branch deals come from.  Is it part of the tree?  Is it another plant twisted on top of it?  Are they living symbiotically, or is it hurting the tree over time?  

I just finished up a week at a county math conference.  I will admit that my favorite part was being able to hang out with a small group of teachers I work with.  It was fun to blend social silliness with academics.  But the academic part was great as well- really has my wheels turning, looking forward to put it into practice in September.  One of the books we read during the week was Accessible Mathematics: 10 Instructional Shifts That Raise Student Achievement by Steven Leinwand.  I'll talk about that book in another post- but it is a quick read- but pretty powerful.

 I also used the time to make my way through chapter 3 of Building Mathematical Comprehension by Laney Sammons.  In this chapter the topic is connections.  On page 85 Laney quotes Marzano saying "research shows that what students already know about the content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information relative to the content."  Sheesh- and I wonder why they struggle.  I mentioned in my other post how meaty this book is.  And this chapter took me a bit of time to process.  I'm pushing myself to take what I know about teaching reading comprehension, and seeing how I can transfer it to the math lesson. 


Teaching connection strategies has always come easy to me during reading.  And many of the great comprehension techniques Laney mentions in her chapter are from one of my favorite books Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading by Tanny McGregor.  Being familiar with these strategies helped me mull over the math piece.  Which goes to show how powerful it is to be able to make connections to comprehend.  Reflecting on this point has pointed me in the right direction- if I teach the reading portion first- which they seem to be able to grasp ahold of relatively easily- I then have provided them with an initial connection when I bring it up again in math.  In reading, I teach how to make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections. We make a concentric circles poster, we practice, we make thinking stems charts, the whole nine yards.  So now what I have to do is to teach the same sort of thing in math class.

Math-to-Self connections:  Easy enough- this is the math about me stuff we do all the time.  I know that I am 5 feet seven inches.  I know I weigh one hundred million pounds.  My house number is 141.  There are seven digits in my phone number- and it goes on and on.  We have daily math experience that we might not even realize.  In the grocery store- I make a math decision every time I compare two check out lanes and decide which one I will get through quicker.  At home I cook- therefore I juggle time, temperature, and fractional parts of a whole. During my commute I manage distance traveled over time when I check my clock at certain check points to note how much longer I have and will I be there on time?  I also have ingrained in me probability of acceleration or deceleration based on whether I'm going up or down hill behind a big rig or a lady on her cell phone.  I am always judging distances between cars and making decisions on whether to pass or stay put.

And I've said easy enough- BUT.  Are my students having these experiences in which they can make connections as well?  In my student population- probably not.  So it's going to be on me to beef up that part of my curriculum and provide some experiences to build upon.

I got stuck on this part of the chapter: Math-to-Math connections.  I was seriously, what the hey? for a page or two until she gave me some examples.  I even wrote a note to myself in the margin:

 

Luckily though- it turns out that math to math connections aren't as hard as I initially thought.  Take text-to-text connections - The Rough-Faced Girl is like Cinderella in that both were treated unfairly by jealous family members.  So- if I have that experience measuring when I'm baking, then I can connect that math knowledge to fractions.  And even though I just said they aren't that hard- they are still going to be where I need to spend some serious time building those connections with the kids so that we can make them naturally.  It comes down to precision planning on my part.  No more "winging it".  Which is going to be quite the challenge for me.

 

Across all of these, math-to-self, math-to-math, and math-to-world(which can be easily handled through current events) the importance of modeling in a teacher think aloud is going to be key.  And you have to KNOW what you are going to say beforehand.  You have to pick exactly the right example so that you can make a natural connection and not a forced one.  And when it comes to the right example- I really think there is something to be said about NOT using one straight from our adopted curriculums.

 

I ran across this TED talk on Pinterest today: 

 

 

 

 It's 11 minutes- but worth the time.  Yes- he is talking about high school- but what he's saying about the text books are true for any grade.  And his methods for taking apart a text book questions and actually making it relevant is also applicable to any grade level.

Overall, what I'm discovering is that the good teaching is going to take more effort and time.  And maybe that's what's been wrong for so long- we went on auto-pilot for a bit.  So here I go- switching back over to manual control.

I've linked up this post to the book study going on at Primary Inspired:

 

   

And hey hey!  There's a giveaway going on at Shifting Teacher K-2.  Christin is celebrating 100 followers- and The Meek Moose is providing Winner's Choice.  head on over, wish her a congratulations and try your luck!

 

 

   

How much planning do you put into your math think alouds?  Are you doing a math think aloud?  Are you making connections?  Do you want to try? 

 

Musings about Vocabulary Instruction and awards

Confession: I feel guilty when I don't have any "real" photographs to go along with my posts.
So, here's a random picture from my three mile trail of sweat:

Part of my walk takes me by a farm, and this is all that is left of what once must have been an expansive rock wall.  I love it.  I love how it still stands.  I love how the rocks are all jumbly, yet smooth, and fit together so well.

On a side note- the walk is killing me.  It doesn't seem to be getting easier to heave myself up and down hills.  And in the end of it- my pedometer says I've burned 300 calories.  300!?  Are you kidding me?  I could burn 300 calories "aggressively kissing" for half an hour.  Shoot.  And it would be more enjoyable than this walk.  And right there is probably the reason for the weight gain folks- you stop kissing and you blow up like a balloon...

Ok- let's get educational.



I've been reading Laney Sammons Book, Building Mathematical Comprehension.  I wrote a post on the first chapter regarding why you should infuse reading comprehension techniques into math.  There is also a book study going on through Primary Inspired that I'm linking up with- but they are way ahead in the book reading than I am.  I'm just here on chapter two. Beth from Thinking of Teaching hosted this chapter.

Chapter two is about vocabulary instruction.  A very meaty chapter- as is most of the book.  And I think a struggle I had with this chapter is guilty feelings about not really teaching vocabulary in any significant way- or even thinking about it much for that matter.  This last year I had a high school student teacher helper put up a word wall for me- and it was sort of a mad disaster.  Colorful- but completely unusable.  And then I felt guilty about taking it down, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I just left it up.  And I just sort of decided I'd do a better job of it next year.

Another motivator for having a word wall in this next year is that Flamingo Fabulous made me word wall cards in my color scheme. 

But here's what makes me hesitate:
I don't want my walls all covered up. I didn't get rid of three fourths of my hoard just to clutter walls.  Even if the rest of the room does look nice and tidy, a cluttered wall completely throws the whole thing off.

Now, I thought at first I'd go and find pictures of word walls on Pinterest and flash them up here and say- SEE- I don't want THAT.  But then I thought, that is way sort of mean, sister, curb it.  So I'm just going to say this- it's a personal choice of mine, not to have a lot of things on my walls.  So when I do have a word wall- I plan to only have certain words up at a time.  For instance- just the sight words we're working on at that particular time, and then when everyone has mastered a particular word- "retiring" it into a class book and replacing it with the next one we're working on.

But sight words aren't VOCABULARY words.

The first quote in this chapter that really got me was this one on page 46, Laney quotes work by Thompson saying " as teachers we should consider every student a mathematics language learner regardless of his or her level of English language proficiency".  This one hit home for me because 90% of my class every year IS an ESOL student- so from the get go, I've been depriving them. This was the hook that got me to really focus on this chapter.

She talks at length about DIRECT vocabulary instruction and what this should and should not look like.  Definitions for example.  NOT to be found in the dictionary.  They need to be created as a class in language that the kids understand and can manipulate in a conversation.  Because if they can't TALK about the word, they won't use it and they won't understand it.

There is also discussion on representing these words in both linguistic AND nonlinguistic ways.  Enter the graphic organizer.  In addition to many other types of organizers, she also suggested a Frayer diagram:

The word, clearly, goes in the middle there.  But that got me thinking- if this is really what the kids need to "see" a word- that's a bit more than a word on a wall.  In this case, I'm definitely going to have to have a revolving system of words on the wall- and "retiring" them not because they are mastered, but because I need the space.  But I also don't want to give the impression that the word isn't necessary anymore, so I will need to keep a class book of vocabulary words that is available to the students and that I refer back to often.

 

And there is also a significant piece on having the students play games where this vocabulary is part of the review.  Now, on one hand- I can incorporate this into my word work time during reading.  And I can also create a center rotation that is about math word work during math time- but that pushes me further into the realization that I'm going to need to do this with vocabulary in all areas of my curriculum- not just math.  Not just reading.  Everything.  How do you play games to make vocabulary fun?  And am I just being poopy about it because it doesn't sound like fun to me?

 

There is a nice piece about games you can play with your word wall- but nothing overly specific about independent game practice.  So I am going to have to go a'hunting.

 

I do appreciate that the book does really go into how to deliver direct instruction on the words- with how to pick your words, form questions, drive the discussion, scaffold and move it into the realm of student independence.  And I know at my school a lot of their assessments they have to write why they did what they did to solve the problem, and they aren't super good at this.  The quote I love about this subject is on page 64- Laney says, "Before expecting students to record mathematical ideas independently, it must be modeled - not just once, but repeatedly.  Until students have a vision of what is expected, it is unfair to ask them to attempt it on their own."  And I FORGET this all.the.time.  This was another quote that just centered me in my thinking- and now I know.  First quarter, don't worry so much about what they write down as their answer- just model, model, model.  Keep my own super big book of mathematical thinking right up there here we always meet for group discussions and constantly refer to it.  Perhaps this will help me to decide what looks/works best in math journals, and actually be able to create one with the kids that is useful.

 

But, WOW, what a complete hunk of newness.  You know, I read these books and I get really gung-ho and I just want to do everything and it ends up being too much.  I know last year I wrote a post on taking baby steps- just picking one thing and going with it until I felt strong enough to add in something else.  I guess at this stage, I'd have to say that incorporating in the vocabulary instruction would be as much as I could handle- but I'm only on Chapter TWO!  My word, what else will I be in for?

Let's lighten the mood here:

Christina at A Tale of Two K Teachers, Kristin at Fifth Grade Ramblings, and Victoria B at Enchanted in Elementary each nominated me for a Liebster award.  And I do love getting positive feedback.  But, as mentioned in an earlier post  I feel like a complete cheater since it's supposed to be for bloggers with under 200 followers.  And I'm over that- it just looks like less because they are split between Blogger and Bloglovin'.  However- it would be great if folks that are following me go and check them out and share some follower love.  And also, I love answering the random questions.  Spread the quirk, you know?  I won't answer all 33 though- maintain an element of mystery and all that- I picked four from each person who nominated me.

1. If you won the lottery would you still teach?
A very important question- and one I have fantasized about at length. To the point where I've already picked out my "claim the winnings" name, since I want to maintain a bit of anonymity. At this point, I still believe I would keep teaching.  I'd want to bask in being able to buy my whole class iPads and things like that.  And also, I really do love what I am doing now- and I can't give that up for money. (I would however, start heavily vacationing during my summer weeks off).  Another reason I would keep working is based on the fact that not too long ago I was unemployed and on welfare for two years.  The first paycheck I got at my new job was the best day of my life.  I called up social services and cancelled my benefits and vowed never to go back to that place in my life again.  Now, of course, winning the lottery isn't the same as being on welfare- but there is a POINT to contributing to society- and it's my personal feeling that I need to continue to do that.
 

2. What's your favorite thing to wear?
Shoot, kittens, at this point in the stage of being Mrs. Claus- elastic waist pants.

3. Have you traveled?
I have visited my sister in New Zealand.  It was a great trip, and the only vacation I have ever taken all by myself.  I'd like to do it again- but Traci and I have discussed that she and I would visit other locales about the world.  Do they still have the game The Amazing Race?  She and I could rock that, I think.

4. What made you start blogging?

Reading other blogs and being constantly on Pinterest.  Also, my undergraduate degree is in writing- so this seemed like a great creative outlet for me to reflect on my work. I've kept on doing it because I've started to make virtual connections with people that I really enjoy collaborating with.  I know this award is about followers- and I know that getting more followers means getting more comments- but for me, one great connection is better than 100 people clicking "follow me" and never hearing from them.  So don't worry about the numbers, kittens- just love the relationships.

5.  Favorite all time movie?
I actually love love LOVE movies- so it is hard to pick one.  However- hands down, I will never give up on the Empire Strikes Back. just minus the Degoba scenes.  But this is when Harrison was HOT HOT HOT, and Mark wasn't whiny anymore or super creepy yet. And I'm sorry- but those Ewoks totally did something to Carrie while she was with them and they ruined her.

6.  What is your favorite food/thing to cook?
TACOS, TACOS, TACOS!

7.  Ultimate destination vacation?
Ok, so I saw this pin the other day and have decided I must complete all ten:




8.  Coffee, tea, or neither?  What gets you movin' in the morning?
It's evolving.  I did at one time love love love the cold Starbucks double shot drinks you could get at the gas station in the morning.  White chocolate being my favorite.  And then I noticed that the calorie count wasn't helping me.  So then I switched to hot green tea, and became, um, used to it, but can't say that it ever seriously pleased me.  And I love Pepsi, but it does at times feel wrong to have it in the morning.  So at the moment, I'm all about mixing my own lemonade with real lemon juice and adding some real fruit bits before I get in the car for my commute.

9. What is the best piece of teaching advice you have received?
Relax.

10. What is one thing on your Summer to-do list that you haven't gotten around to yet?
I haven't been cooking meals like I wanted to yet.

11. When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Indiana Jones of the ocean searching for buried treasure. Yep. Totally serious.

12. You just found $100 in an old coat pocket, what do you spend it on?
Crayola crayons, elastic-waist pants, a 44-ounce Pepsi from 7-11, and then the rest on stuff on my TpT wishlist, which is probably thirty pages long at this point.

And before I go- here's two other blogs I came across in the past week that are under 200 followers and need some attention:
Marcy from Searching for Teacher Balance is a fellow moose lover- and this raises her to the highest pinnacle of my esteem.  And she has also inspired me to try out yoga in the classroom this fall.  Which will be HI-larious people, watching Mrs. Claus try to "balance" this basketball.

And I heard from Laken at Whole Brain Teaching in the Ladybug Club today- and am very excited to find out that she is a fellow second grade teacher in Virginia AS WELL AS totally being into Whole Brain Teaching, which I absolutely adore.  Please go check these two ladies out, and the three above and love, love, love on them all!

 

Peace out, kittens!

You can't make this stuff up folks...

To update you on the caterpillar drama, he got himself almost completely into a chrysalis, and then exploded. It seems that the demon has fled. But this also means not one stinkin' butterfly will be had. *sigh*

 

And on a creepier note, even though he's half caterpillar and half chrysalis, and it's been days and days since he exploded and fell to the bottom, if you gingerly pick up the chrysalis, the caterpillar part wags back and forth.  HOLY GUACOMOLE! That's just not right...

I have written to the customer service department to ask for advice and to try to help us figure out what we might have done wrong.  If they please me or cheese me, I shall let you know.  

We ended up being able to go outside and watch another class release their butterflies. First caterpillar envy, now butterfly envy. I'm so very, very flawed...

 

On a happier note- 

Crystal over at My Kinder-Garden is having a giveaway.  And actually- it's  TWO giveaways.  The Meek Moose clipart is part of the prize package in giveaway number two that will begin Saturday- but there are tons of lovely things in both, and you should go and try your luck. Here's the rafflecopter link for giveaway number one:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

  I even won a book the other day!  Tori at Tori's Teacher Tips had a really great post on teaching Synthesizing, and she had a giveaway for an Aesop's Fables Book by Vincent A. Mastro.  I went with book number one, but I know I will eventually get the other two.  Tori was right, these books will be great for teaching synthesizing to the kids.  And the illustrations are beautiful!  I am very excited for it to come in the mail! Click on Vincent's name to go check them out for yourself.

 

So, even in a world of exploding demon possessed caterpillars, there can be lollipop and rainbow moments.  Thank the Lord for that.

 

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