spring is around the corner . . .

On Friday our students were gone for the writer's conference at MU or the music day in Fayette. Therefore, I averaged about 7 students per class. We all enjoyed the day and it was a relaxing end to the week. It was impossible to do a lesson so we enjoyed math puzzles and brain teasers. I was amazed by how much the students got into these puzzles! I printed a ton of stuff off of various math websites since we could not get into the lab. Right now we are finishing up a unit and then preparing for MAP until MAP gets here. We are having 2 practice MAP days this week which will get us started with our MAP review. I am scared and at the same time anxious to see how my students will perform. I have already been talking to the other math teachers, and we have many new ideas for next year. THis was kind of our 'practice' year since the curriculum was new for both of us. Now we know what to expect and we can do more planning together. The kids are getting so restless because they can sense spring--and me too for that matter. We have had many more issues among students and more fights. We have spring break in 2 weeks so hopefully that will calm them down . . . yes, I know--wishful thinking;)

what is up with valentines day in a middle school!!!!

Thank goodness Valentine's Day is over. I have never seen so many flowers, balloons and bears sent mostly from parents and friends!!!!! My personal opinion: Feb.14=giant chaotic mess for school. The kids were absolutely crazy and it was so hard to accomplish anything. All teachers would walk into the halls between classes giving each other that 'annoyed valentine's day' look. THis is not even to mention all of the stuff that is brought into the classroom as a huge distraction ALL DAY! On a more positive note, I am relieved that my informal evaluation is now over . . . and I am less anxious and nervous because of that. It went well despite the fact that he came in during a 'bad' hour and I didn't feel that it was a very good 'snapshot' of me or my classroom. Students are getting so tired of school, and I can just feel spring around the corner. When it really starts warming up, I know these students are going to be crazy and it will really be hard to calm them down. I cannot believe we are just around the corner to March. Where has the year gone? My students have really been struggling with addition and subtraction of integers lately. I had really looked forward to this thinking that it would go well . . . however, after reviewing a TON and giving them a chart with rules, they did very well on their tests . . . with class averages of 83% and 85% so I was very pleased. We are now starting multiplication and division of integers and fractions which I think will be much easier since there are less rules to know and apply.

Oops . . .

Well despite the fact that I thought the first month or two after Christmas break would go really slow, it has obviously been flying by since I just realized I forgot to post by the end of the month. I have been busy implementing my strategies for my research paper. The weekly goal setting is going very well, and I am anxious to see how my students view it at the end. While some students were excited about it at the beginning, some thought it would be pointless and a waste of time. However, this week, over half of the student's grades had gone up and many low-achieving students are progressing toward their goal. Some students are really into it. I am starting conferencing on a weekly basis with my research students. The first one went very well and his grade has already gone from a 48% to a 64%. He is doing much better, and I am really excited! I am just working on collecting more data and triangulating all of my strategies/data collection. I am finding that the students are getting burnt out on schoolwork and I can tell we are all anxiously awaiting spring and warmer weather as well. We are having more problems among students and I am hoping that this does not skew some of my research data just because its to that point of the year where some students will struggle to pay attention more anway . . .

Back to school--here comes the rush!

Everything has been so much better since Christmas break. I had heard about how bad the students would be before break from veteran teachers and wow--were they ever correct! The break was too short and I was really dreading coming back--not because I didnt want to teach but I know this semester is going to be extremely busy and stressful. Once I have gotten back into the flow of things, it has been going really well! We are also starting a new book in our series, "Accenture the Negative" which is one of my favorites so I am excited to teach this part of math. I am really starting to get my data collection stuff going. I set up my goal setting activity today and I am going to start it on Friday. I am also working on some surveys to give and I have decided exactly which 2 classes I am going to use. I have started my introduction as well. At the same time, I am really trying to start more MAP preparation while also getting through the material. We are only starting the 4th book which we should have FINISHED before Christmas! However, the other 7th grade math teacher is the same place I am so I am not too worried. I am going to choose my individual research students who have either a D or an F and also who I beleive can truely work to raise that grade through reflections, goal setting, and conferencing (my research basis). I am actually excited to see how the kids respond (hopefully in a positive manner) and what the outcomes are. I have definitely come to one conclusion that sums up everything I have learned this year and it includes everything going on this year: THERE SHOULD BE MORE HOURS IN A DAY! There is not enough time to accomplish everything. I keep thinking about how next year should seem so easy because I won't have so much "extra" work beyond general teaching duties! I am really excited about one student who I am really focusing on in general this semester. He was a huge problem for me before Christmas and failed most of his classes. He's been in a ton of trouble. He has switched classes and from the beginning, I started by giving him 'pep talks' about his new behavior, improvements, etc. Minus the fact that he was written up when I had a sub for the release day, he currently has an 'A' in my class, daily comes prepared, asks and answers questions, and conducts himself better in class than he ever has before! I am really hoping this this will be my 'miracle student' this semester, but we'll see. As a whole 7th grade team, we have decided our students need more time in school to complete homework because it is not getting done at home. Therefore, we have set aside our core enrichment class on Thursdays as a strict and structured studyhall. If they bring work AND work efficiently, they get a ticket. They bring this ticket to advisory where they get to play games the last 25 minutes of the day IF they earn it. So far, it is going well so hopefully this was a great intervention! More next time!

Happy New Year!!

I am so disappointed to not have worked on anything school related over this break. I had planned on working ahead and really preparing, but that did not happen. I was hoping the break would slow down, but no such luck. I cannot believe we are already to the spring 2008 semester . . . this is the semester that I will write this LONG paper, build a presentation, finish my masters . . . then give my first MAP tests at school and finish up my first year of teaching! WOW! Just as I feel like I really know that is going on and I feel in the flow of things, then something hits me and I just get lost for a few days . . . and wonder what the heck happened. The snow days threw things off and then I spent the last week and a half trying to catch up. Then I thought I could get so much accomplished during the last week despite warnings from experienced teachers . . . wow was I ever wrong again. And now I dont even know where to start tomorrow . . . I cant even hardly remember what we were doing so how can I expect the kids to remember exactly what a rate, ratio, unit rate, etc. is immediately . . . so I guess I'll start out reviewing and see where it goes from there. It just seems like we've been off longer than a week and a half and its going to be harder to get back in the groove of things.

As far as technology goes, I am hoping to get my students more involved in our team website. The social studies teacher should have gotten his eMINTS classroom finished over break with laptops for almost all students . . .therefore he will be doing much more with the students . . . so I am hoping to start planning a few things to do with the students that connect to his class as well. He will be teaching basic computer skills to my students, so that will really help me out when planning computer activities.

Halfway through my first year of teaching!!

Well, these 2 ice days last week really messed up the plans I had made before break. I wanted to complete our book and test on it, and now that is not going to happen. I am going to spend one day finishing up this week, 2 days on a study guide and then give the students a big quiz. I have been really busy lately trying to get my research plan lined up. I know I want to focus on student engagement. I think I want to further focus on the effects of goal setting, conferencing, and self reflection to see how that improves student engagement. I found a ton of good articles and some really good surveys and checklists for anecdotals to get me started. I have just noticed lately that I am finally becoming really relaxed in the classroom. I feel that after my formal observation was over, that was suddenly a huge weight off my shoulders. I havent used any other technology lately other than my projector and the calculators. It's been so busy, and I have just been trying to get through these lessons before we leave for Christmas break. I have been doing something interesting though lately: I have been taking down the names of students who do not turn in their homework and I have been keeping them for lunch detention. I am amazed at how the number of students has decreased!!!! On Monday I had over 10 students and I only had 3 on Friday. They have been doing so much better at turning in homework because of that punishment. After Christmas I am really going to start focusing on MAP practice more.

3 weeks until Christmas already!?!?!?!?!

Time is flying as we are mid-way through our "Comparing and Scaling" book. We are currently studying ratios, fractions, percents, and differences as ways to compare different forms of data. We are looking at news data and newspapers to discuss different ways of expressing statistics. We are also looking at the different ways that advertisers use to sell their product. Next week, I am taking my students into the computer lab. They will be looking at different statistics and tables. They will have to make a 'quiz' for a partner student by looking at the information on these tables. They will then trade papers and the students will have to look up the data. They will have to answer the questions based on the data they find. This gives the students a chance to look up things that interest them such as sales on a particular video game or CD. They can look up sports statistics on their favorite teams or the girls could look up information for their favorite store at the mall. The students will have to include the web url and give some background info about the site. I am really excited to see the students 'work backwards' from the assignments they normally complete.