Grading Organization

I get asked all the time how I organize my papers that come in and out to grade. I've done a number of things over the years, but this is probably my favorite system ever now.

Over the summer I hosted a Thirty-One bag party and got all kinds of cool stuff from it. One of the things I got was a Fold-N-File. I absolutely love this thing. I think I'm more organized than I was before because of this system.

Here's what it looks like in general (taken from the Thirty-One Catalog):

Super cute, right? I chose the Black Twill Stripe because it fit my classroom theme. I set it on my desk so it's easily accessible.

On the front I attached a calendar. I found this at the Dollar Tree around back-to-school time. I just hooked it around the opening with a binder ring.

Inside the Fold-N-File, I have a different hanging folder for each class that I teach.

 In each hanging folder is two folders for each class: an "In" and "Out" folder. I put work that needs to be graded in the "In" folder and then put it in the "Out" folder as a I grade it.

When I'm ready to hand back papers, I just grab the "Out" folder for that class and start passing out. It's really easy and works well for me. This is also nice to have because it fits nicely in most of the Thirty-One organizing totes so you can just grab the whole thing and take it home if you need to.

I love this. If you've always been trying to find a way to handle the paper clutter, this is definitely something to invest in. It will save from the piles of papers spread out everywhere.

Happy teaching!

First Day Activity: Saran Wrap Balls

The first day has came and went, and overall it was a successful day! I think they kids this year are going to be great (with a few exceptions, but that's always the case and I think we will learn a lot.

This year for my ice breakers, I wanted to do something engaging and fast-paced that all students would enjoy. I came across saran wrap balls on Pinterest one time and thought about how much fun that would be to incorporate into my class. Thus, my plan was set!

Unfortunately I did not take pics of the process of making the saran wrap balls, but it really is pretty simple. Here's what you need:

 A bunch of candy (I used probably about 50 or so pieces per class)
Saran Wrap (I got 2 rolls that worked for 5 classes)
Packing tape
Anything else you want to give as prizes (I just used candy since I teach high school)

Pick some candy and start wrapping. I would wrap about 5 or so pieces per strip, cut it, tape it with packing tape (adds a challenging factor), and then start again. I would say that the end result was a ball about the size of a child's size basketball (those smaller ones used for Little Tyke basketball goals).

Here's how you play:

1. Give a student the ball and the student right next to them 2 dice.
2. When you say go, the student with the ball can start unwrapping. Whatever falls out is his/hers.
3. While the one is unwrapping the ball, the student next to him/her is rolling the 2 dice.
4. When doubles is rolled, the student who rolled gets to take the ball and start unwrapping it.
5. The next student starts rolling dice until they get doubles.
6. Continue around the circle until the ball is gone.

I only had 2 rules. They could not cut/rip through the saran wrap unless it was to get passed tape. They also had to leave their candy alone until the end.

It's that easy! Kids LOVED this. Some even said that we could do this without candy and they would still love it (doubt that, but maybe).

Here are a few pictures from one of my classes. It worked really well with my new tables this year :).

If you try this, let me know how it works out for you in the comments! Happy teaching!

Syllabus 2016-2017

I've been working this past week on school stuff trying to get ready for the next school year to start. I'm excited, but I don't want summer to end! I think every teacher has that feeling once they see school supplies out in the aisles at Wal-Mart. I haven't been able to get into my room since our building is being destroyed improved with air conditioning (FINALLY!!), so I've been doing as much as I can at home. My laptop has definitely felt the love. One thing I always try to get done first is my syllabus. It always sets the tone for the school year and lets me hone in on my theme that I will decorate my room with. This year I've chosen chalk board and brights, which isn't too far off of what I've used for the past couple of years. Here is my syllabus! I created this in PowerPoint using a template for a brochure and then tailoring it to fit my needs. I pick a foldable style since my students put this in their notebooks. Let me know what you all think!

If you would like to download a copy to edit for yourself, you can find one here. The fonts I used will not appear, but you can download a lot of super cute ones for free from dafont.com.

2015-2016 Classroom Set Up

I've been patiently waiting to post these pics because I've been waiting on a shelf to get hung in my classroom. I've come to the conclusion that it never will so I'm going to go ahead and post what my room looks like. Eventually it will be hung (right?) but it won't make a huge difference anyways.

This is what my room looks like from the outside. It's almost too cute for high school but I don't care. Since we're a K-12 building I know at least the elementary kids appreciate seeing it when they walk by to go to art or music.

Here is what you see when you walk in. I kept the general color scheme from my class last year because 1) it was cute and 2)I had no more money to spend on my new classroom. Between getting married, moving across the state, and my husband's new classroom I was broke.

I love my desk arrangement. I think it works well in my small space and the kids are all well-behaved enough that it works. I bought tv trays to hold their supplies caddies for our interactive notebooks because I was really tired of them falling in the floor and not getting picked up when they were just sitting on students' desks. I think I've only had 2 fall since the beginning of the year, whereas I would have about 5 fall per day in my old classroom.

Here's the front board. Each class has a spot that lets them know what they're doing for the day and what information they should write in their planner. We give planner points at the end of each quarter to use towards any class a student chooses, so this encourages them to write in their planners daily.

Right in front of the front board is my podium with my document camera and all the goodies I need. I also keep my interactive notebooks underneath so it's easy access.

On the right side of the front wall is another small dry erase board and a bulletin board. I write my "I Can" statements and assignment on the small dry erase board and keep data information on the bulletin board. I also have some posters on that wall, including my rules posters. I made those in Microsoft Publisher.

 

 Here's a close-up of the data so far this year. I have a blog post about data that you can view here.

Here's the back table. It is a hot mess. Once my shelf gets hung above it, all of those storage containers are going on the shelf. I keep two crates on the back table - one for extra papers per week for the quarter and the other for station work. I'll create a blog post about station work soon. Underneath the table are two more crates that students can use to put their notebooks in so they do not lose them. Very few actually leave them in here, which is pretty awesome.

 

Next to the back table I have my storage cabinet and Exit Slips. This storage cabinet was full of stuff from all the past math teachers so I didn't really mess with it. Next summer I plan to paint it and will hopefully go through it and get rid of some junk.

Underneath the Exit Slips is a little desk with a bunch of file folders on it. This is where I keep the stuff I plan to pass out for that class period, whether it be notebook papers of worksheets.

 

Above all of that is my lovely place value poster set that I just love. It adds color and takes up a lot of wall space, which would drive most people crazy. But I love it.

 

 

On the left of the storage cabinet is one more bulletin board that I keep my Absent Work Filetastic, Request to Retest slips, and Yellow Slips. Underneath that is a bookshelf where students keep their binders.

 

 

 

The last area in my room is my desk area. Behind my desk are two big radiators. I use these to put my stuff on since they only produce heat during the winter months (that's right, we have NO AIR CONDITIONING IN MISSOURI...crazy!). I have all kinds of crap on them. My goal is to get that area organized one day. I also have my calendar on my bulletin board behind my desk and some more posters.

 

 

 

Here's my (somewhat) organized desk. This is the biggest desk I've ever had and I love it. It also had a bunch of crap left in it from the old math teachers, so I hope to get that cleaned out this summer sometime also.

 

 

Next to my desk is another book shelf where I keep my curriculum binders. Since my curriculum has changed from my last school to this one, I have a lot of reorganizing to do with these things.

 

 

 

On top of my bookshelf is where I keep collected papers to grade. Each class has a folder and I just stick their papers in them and grab one when I'm ready to grade them.

 

 

Last is my little computer desk. It's pretty basic.

 

 

 

For the most part this arrangement works and is functional. I wish my room was a little bit bigger but it's alright. The most kids I ever have at one time is nine so it never feels too crowded in here.

 

The calendar and letters I got from Mardel's Chalk It Up collection. The posters I found on Amazon a long time ago.





Easy Review Games

We're wrapping up another week of learning at USHS and I thought today would be the perfect day to blog about review games (since we're playing one in almost every class). I love playing review games and my students do, too. I think they get much more out of it than just doing the review sheet and us going over it (which I also do, so I usually do 2 days of review).

The problem with doing review is that it can take a lot of time and effort for one class period. When I student taught, my cooperating teacher gave me a bunch of SMART templates for review games. I literally find a worksheet, cut it up, and use the template. This is how it usually happens:

1. I find a worksheet that has questions over what topics I want the students to review. In my Algebra I class today we're reviewing for Chapter 1 test. So I took used a test that came with my book materials.

2. I cut it up into little strips and put it in one of my question cans (pictured below)

 

 

3. I split the students into teams (I usually like 4 teams)

4. I have the students number their papers according to the number of questions in the cans (leave the numbers on the questions when you cut them up)

5. I pass out a question to each group
6. That group works out that question on their answer sheet -- if they got number 20 first, their answer would go next to number 20 on their answer sheet (this is why I leave the numbers on the questions)

7. I usually sit up front. Once they have their question answered, a member of that group will bring me their question and their answer sheet. I look at the answer and tell them if they got it right or not. If they did, they draw another question out of the question can. If they get it wrong, they have to go back and do it again until they get it right.
8. Once they get the question right, they get to do whatever is on the board. Most of my review games have spinners and they get to spin the spinner and add/subtract the number of objects from their board. The Apple Tree Game is pictured below.

I also have a soccer game, baseball game, Christmas presents game, flower game, Easter basket game, fall leaves game, Trick or Treat game, volleyball game, and a money game. They all are the same concept as the Apple Tree game.

I love these games and I'm so glad that I was introduced to them a while ago. Every time I think about reviewing a concept but don't want to put too much effort into making a game, I pull out a worksheet and one of these games and away we go. The kids love it, I love it, so it's a great way to spend a class period.

I believe these games came from the NCTM, but I'm not 100% sure. If you would like copies of these games, you can contact me using the contact form on the right of my blog and I will be more than happy to email these to you. You will need SMART Notebook to be able to use these.

Happy reviewing!

Request to Retest and Yellow Slips

I've been getting some questions about how my Request to Retest and Yellow Slips work in my classroom.

Request to Retest
I allow my student to retest once per quarter. If they want to retest they can decide to do it whenever they feel the need. It can be right after a test they got back and didn't like that grade or it can be later in the quarter and they decide on a test that they want to improve their grade. It really does not matter to me.

Once a student decides they want to retest, they grab a green form and fill it out and turn it in. There are two requirements to retesting.
1) They must come to a session of tutoring to correct any mistakes and ask questions.
2) They must retest in tutoring.

Some teachers I know that allow students to retest only allow them to get up to an 89% on the retest. I can see the value in that, but I allow them to receive full credit. Why put in all of that work when you can't get an A?

Here is a link to the form. I got this form from the lovely Sarah at Math=Love. She is seriously amazing. If you have nothing to do, go read her blog. She has some WONDERFUL ideas.




Yellow Slips
Yellow slips are the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me. I love and hate them at the same time. I found this form on Pinterest and it came from a lovely lady named Elizabeth. Here is her blog.

A Yellow Slip is a missing work log that students fill out with the assignment and the reason why it is not turned in. They then turn it in in place of the assignment. They get 4 days to make it up, after that it is a zero. The first day is 10% off, 2nd day is 25% off, 3rd day is 50% off, and the 4th is 75% off. This is our district policy. My policy is that if a student does not turn in a yellow slip in place of an assignment, they get an automatic zero and may not make it up.

Here's why I love it: it allows me to see who didn't turn work in, read their excuses, and keep track of how many points I should deduct when I do get that assignment. It's nice for me to keep track of that stuff, and when a parent asks what's going on I have the proof that their child is not doing their work. It's also kind of a shaming technique I guess you can say, which probably isn't the best way but sometimes that's what it takes to get through to high school students. They don't like to be embarrassed so maybe they'll do their homework.

Here's why I hate it: some days I get more yellow slips than actual assignments and it makes my blood boil. It has nothing to do with the yellow slip itself, just that students don't do their work. And that yellow piece of paper makes me angry. Students also use it as a way to get extended time on an assignment instead of turning it in on time. Again, not really the yellow slip's fault since our district policy allows them 4 days, but it's just the idea of it.

Here's a link to the yellow slips form.

I must say, the use of Yellow Slips has dramatically declined since I've been at this new school. At my last school, I would get 50% or more yellow slips than homework every day and they didn't even care. Here it's a whole other ball game and I'm loving it.

I keep both forms in folders in the back of my room and students know what to do with them. Here's where they are. Easily accessible and labeled perfectly.

UPDATE:

I've since changed my Yellow Slip and Request to Retest forms. Downloadable versions are available by clicking the links.

Preparing for 2015-2016

LOTS of crazy things have happened so far in 2015, which is why I've been lacking in the blogging area. I got married, my husband got a new job, I had to get a new job, we're moving 5 hours away...WHEW I'm tired.

Now that I've had some time to relax and regain my sanity, I've started working on some back to school things. I'm starting at a new school. This school is WAYYYYYYYYYYY smaller than my last school. I'm going from having around 100 kids per day to having around 40. That. Is. Crazy.

I'm going to an area where no one has heard of Sarah Hall and  no one knows how I do things in my classroom. On Pinterest I've seen several different examples of using memes in your classroom to reach kids, which I think is awesome! Kids LOVE memes, and kids remember more when you connect things to stuff they love. To introduce myself, my rules, and my policies I decided this year to make a PowerPoint that talks about each of these things and has some funny memes I found on the internet. Here's an example of one of the slides.

 



I showed this to my husband and he thought it was hilarious, so hopefully my new students like it and find it as funny as we do. I'll post some more things of my new adventure coming up. Hope this inspires you!

 

Want to view the PowerPoint? Follow this link! Feel free to make a copy and edit for your own use.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3hyrZV9LRhudXRTaXR3OXNUSDA/view?usp=sharing

New Bulletin Board!

So, I started out the school year with one of my pinterest-inspired bulletin boards. I didn't take a picture of it, but the idea of it was this.

In our part of the building, we wanted to make our bulletin boards more interactive. I was not very excited to do this (who has the time to make a new bulletin board). I wanted to do something besides relate it to social media like all the other ones you see on Pinterest. I started thinking about QR codees and made a math riddles bulletin board. Here it is!

I had a lot of down time during parent teacher conferences day 2, so I decided to put this together during that time. I love it, and I think the kids will love it too! I plan on changing out the riddles every week and have even given students the opportunity to give me ideas for funny math riddles.

Sale!

Random post, I know. Last night I was looking online for class decor and went to Mardel's website. They are having a huge sale on Filetastics! All of them are under $10 with some even under $5!!!!!! Go check it out.

A lot of their classroom decor is also in sale. Go check this out!

www.mardel.com

Do Teachers Ever Rest?

It's been a while! A lot has happened since the last time I posted. Obviously school is out and summer is in full swing. If you've been following, you know that I am changing schools for the next school year. So since school's been out I've moved, changed coaching positions twice, and been to multiple basketball camps with my new girls. Busy, busy, busy!

Yesterday I met with the math department head at my new school to get books and kind of learn the ropes a little bit. There are going to be a lot of changes for me at my new school, but I'm excited to be working with great people.

I'm super excited for these books. For one, they are brand new! I love the smell of new books. Second, they are already aligned to common core which makes that part of lesson planning a little easier. And last, I used the Pre-Algebra addition at my last school and loved them. I'm happy that all of the math classes (except dual credit) are using the Glencoe series. That will make transition from one class to the next a whole lot easier because they flow so well.

Now that I have my books and saw my future classroom, I've been busy scouring Pinterest to find ideas on decor and ISN setups. My new classroom is absolutely huge! The ceilings are very tall and the room is pretty deep. I have a lot more wall space than I had before so I'm in the market for good decorative ideas.

Even though we still have over a month until the start of the new school year, I'm already ecstatic to get started planning and decorating. The elementary teacher comes out in me around this time of year. I'll be sure to keep you posted as the new school year approaches.

"An Inspired Student"

Today was a very trying day for me. I spent a lot of my extra time getting my grades ready and packing up my things while my students worked on their stars. It was a pretty rough day in some classes and by the end of the day I was pretty worn down. While I was cleaning out my grading bins I found this letter from a student. After I read this and had my cry, I felt so warm inside. This is what teachers dream about doing - inspiring their students. This definitely made my day a million times better and it is something I'll cherish forever. We all have those discouraging days in our careers, but this is a sweet reminder that all the work we do and everything we put up with makes a difference to those young ones we influence daily.