100% Participation

I just had to celebrate something that doesn't happen very often -- at least in my world.  This year I had 100% participation in parent conferences.  I can't remember a year when every child in my class had a parent who came to parent teacher conferences.  There are some children whose parents I never met.  I would try to contact them, but we never connected.

The other half of this celebration is that no parent was surprised at what I shared at the conference.  Some years I have shared evidence that a child is not at standard and received anger.  (Then I went to the previous teachers to find out this was a habitual response.)  I am excited about what can happen in a class where parents and teachers are truly working together.

Quote of the Week -- November 11, 2012

"When those in charge give resources and guidance to those not in charge, then let go to allow them to take responsibility, that's leadership."

Simon Sinek

Rounding on the 100s Chart -- Free Math Tool Kit

I was reviewing rounding with my students the other day when I had this idea for remediation that worked with several of my struggling students.  I gave them each a 100s chart that I modified to look like this:

We practiced rounding to the nearest 10 with the chart like this.  Then I added zeros to one of the rows like this:

I showed how they could round to the nearest 100 this way.  I asked each student where they would find a three digit number on this modified chart.  Once they could do that, they could see how to round.  I was able to talk them through rounding to 1000s this way.

I know this lesson was successful, because one of the students was able to explain this method to another student coming back from Learning Support.

For a Free Math Tools Kit, visit my Teachers pay Teachers store.

My Free Math Tools Kit is also available in my Teacher's Notebook store.

 

Airman by Eoin Colfer

This book reminded me somewhat of The Count of Monte Cristo.  A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit and he must overcome many obstacles to claim his rightful place.  Airman might be a challenging read for some students, but I know several intermediate students who will be pulled along by a good story.

If you want to discuss this book in class, you can use my Elements and Events as a means to determining the important characters and situations in the book.  Click here for a free download.

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Vote Because You Can

Last week one of my students shared a little about how her parents left their country for the United States because the government was killing its own people.  In the middle of political advertising season, it was good for me to take a moment and appreciate what we have.

Tomorrow we decide many issues.  We can approve the current government, or we can peacefully choose a new one.  I won't use this blog to tell you how to vote, but I encourage you to vote.

I do have to say, I still can't wait for Wednesday morning when I can be free of the political ads.

Quote of the Week -- November 4, 2012

“An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know.  It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.”

Anatole France

Word Central

Have you explored Word Central?

 

Merriam-Webster has a website for students where they can build their vocabulary and it has resources for teachers too.

 

 

Build Your Own Dictionary is a feature where students invent definitions for words and can read what others wrote.

 

Daily Buzzword is this site's Word of the Day.

 

The Games are ones I would allow my students to play during the school day.

 

I like the Browse section where students can explore new words.