Splashing into Our New Curriculum

Despite the numerous days of torrential downpours, power outages and puddles everywhere,  the learners of Room 103 have been busy soaking up new knowledge as we embark on our new curriculum.  Our first three weeks together have created opportunities where learners are in charge of their learning, engaging with their peers as they experience rich learning opportunities, enhanced with technology....To say we've been busy thinking and learning is an understatement! 

Majority of our sixth grade lessons have utilized Desmos, which has sparked numerous discussions as we decompose and rearrange areas.  Learners loved having anonymous names of famous mathematicians!  Add in my excitement of how, from the teacher view, I can see how each mathematician answered the question.

One of the features of Desmos that I love is being able to see how learners are thinking and justifying their solutions.  Both of these are examples of how learners were decomposing and rearranging areas into familiar polygons in order to find the total area in a figure.

 

As a checkpoint, learners were given an exit ticket where they were asked to determine the area of a given figure.  To make it more interactive, we used Flipgrid!  If you've never used Flipgrid, I definitely recommend it.  Being able to verbally justify their solution allowed our learners to approach the given problem in a different manner, while being creative!

Learners created their own Flipgrid and then watched 3 other videos, leaving meaningful feedback.  What I loved seeing, as I watched each child's Flipgrid reflection, was how some used tangrams, like we had in class, some made references to Desmos and even showed it in their video, while others acted as the teacher and shared their thinking with the audience members of Room 103!  I can say by the profiles created that everyone enjoyed themselves as they used Flipgrid for the first time.  

In 7th grade, we have been focusing on scaled copies (similar figures).  From using patty paper to trace figures and using protractors to measure angles, learners proved that corresponding angles in scaled copies are congruent!

  

Google Forms were a lifesaver this week with an unexpected absence!  If I could give advice to a new teacher, it would be to not leave new material for a substitute teacher to teach.  Rather leave a review of some sort.  Because we are a 1:1 campus, I immediately thought of creating a couple of digital resources to review similar figures.  Below is a sample of the Google Form where I embedded a video from Youtube and then asked 10 follow up questions.  Upon my arrival back to campus, my learners were having meaningful discussions over the definitions of similar and congruent.

Another small detail that makes these Google Forms so helpful is the Flubaroo Google extension.  I simply create a key and then the extension grades the assignment!  I love the reports that our created after running Flubaroo, so I know immediately which questions need reteaching, as well as which kids need small group reteaching.  Flubaroo has truly helped not having piles of papers to grade and allows for immediate feedback!  

Our week ended with looking at a basketball court and determining the actual measurements.  Sure it's the beginning of college football season, but when you share your classroom with the basketball coach, you embrace the love of the game!  Our learners were introduced to the WON *Words Original New)method.  Of course there was some grumbling and resistance as we began, yet learners quickly jumped on board when they began to see the success that comes with having a method that helps organize our thinking.  

Reflecting Using Google Forms

During PLC, our campus digital specialist, Rashel Larson, led our day of learning about creating and using Google Forms within our classroom.  Because we have such a variety of digital experience, we started with the basic way to create a Google Form, by creating a End of Year survey.

I love how excited our teachers were during our time together!  Ideas were being shared about how to use Google forms to make our lives easier.  I shared with them how we use it in 8th grade math to help grade our STAAR reviews, as well as to hold our learners accountable during intervention.  Teachers were amazed at how much data you could gather from the use of Google Forms.

As I left our time together, my head was spinning with ideas on what I could do with a Google Form.  I already use them for documentation for the restroom, late arrival and incomplete assignments.  Using QR codes, allowed for students to use their phones to be responsible for their actions!

   

I decided I was going to create a Google Form for our end of year reflection.  Student voice has been a focus of mine for the past few years.  I use this Your Voice Matters survey to gather input on the strengths and areas of improvement for each unit of study.  The feedback has been huge as we move forward with creating meaningful learning opportunities.  

End of Year Reflection

The feedback I received from our EOY Reflection was meaningful.  I'm grateful that the learners of Room 27 feel safe when it comes to expressing their feelings.  In fact one child made a point of asking me to read his response, since I was the first math teacher he has ever had that he felt important.  

Data has been collected and analyzed.  Of course there are areas of improvement such as getting corrections or late assignments graded faster as well as making more time for after school tutorials.  Some of the strengths included the ability to make corrections on all assignments, the pacing of our class and most of all the love of our STEM challenges and Hour of Code.  

Some of my favorite quotes from the evaluation:  

"The class was always kind of like an open discussion rather than a "raise your hand and be called on" sort of thing.  It was like a book discussion every day!"

"Wow, where to start. I think I will always remember when I came back from being in Colorado for a week, and everything was crazy. I remember going up to Ms. Pauley, and freaking out over schoolwork and things that I didn't understand, and she told me to stop freaking out, and to just get my work in when I could. I will forever be grateful to Ms. Pauley for being such a chill teacher, even when we are all freaking out!"

"I have grown in so many different ways, in learning, believing in myself, and growing as a student. You have helped me understand the impossible!"