Numeracy Warm Up

Do you ever get that AMAZING feeling when your students are understanding EXACTLY what you are trying to teach them??!?!? 

It leaves you on cloud nine and fist pumping the air!!! 

It is magical...UNBEATABLE!!! 

...

and then the next day comes and it as if that lesson never took place. You feel as if you obviously taught a different class because you KNOW they had it yesterday/two days ago!

I mean its only been a day or two!!!

Well that's memory for you! It is a fickle thing!

Moving learning from short term to long term memory may seem hard but through the use of warm ups it can become a lot easier!!!

Warm ups are basically a review of both past lessons and content you have covered or was taught in previous years! 

As its name implies it 'warms' your little learners' minds up ready to learn something new by reminding them about their prior knowledge!!!

Now it is NOT about reciting and drilling sums!

And if you know anything about me you know I AM NOT ABOUT THAT DULL BORING DRILLS!

So add some fun!!! Don't sit down and count find some videos, do some jumping jacks!!!

Here is a glimpse of  some of my Maths Warm UP!! :)

Counting To 100

I love dancing and music! It is just incredible what you can teach through music!!

I think it is important to not get bored with the song so we have a selection and the students choose the one they want to do for the day!!!

                                                               What Comes Next?

We pretend we are trains chugging along and then toot our horn as we call out the number that comes next!

                                                             Count on From

We pick different starting numbers to begin counting from and jump around the classroom from these starting points!

                                                       Double Jumping Jacks

Yes that is right we do jumping jacks! 

We call our double fact answer out to one jumping jack!

                                                               Expanded Notation 

We pretend we have a balloon that is getting bigger (moving our hands further apart for each number) and then POP the balloon by clapping and saying the number this equals!

                                                                      Rainbow Facts

This is just an easy stretch from the bottom of the floor, creating an arch as we come up and return to the floor on the other side - creating a RAINBOW!!! 

All while calling out our rainbow fact! 

                                                              Skip Counting

These videos are amazing! Sometimes we groove to a couple or sometimes we make a circle and clap our 3's or 4's together!

                                      Skip Counting by 10's from any starting point

We LOVE stomping around like a dinosaur all while counting by 10's from different starting points like 90,140, 55 or 16!

Well that was just a small GLIMPSE of some of the things we do in our Year 2 class Maths Warm Up! 

Hopefully you got some new ideas!!!

What do you do to help your kids transfer their learning to long term memory?

Jurassic Park Day

Well last week I had what has got to be one of the MOST FUN days I have ever had in a classroom!

I just love reading blogs and I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new ways to engage my students in any way I can! I came across a blog post by Hope King about some Jurassic World themed lessons she had done with her yr 7’s and yr 8’s and I fell in LOVE!!!

I love dinosaurs and I just LOVE the Jurassic serious so I got to work brainstorming how I could do something similar in my class!

Let’s start with decorations!!!

I only had a weekend to create everything and one afternoon to get it all set up for the next day.

I am very lucky to have an incredible Mum who is very creative! (she passed her love for it onto me!) She helped me with decorations!!! Mums are just the best.

We created some vines using brown material and coloured paper for the leaves!

Mum had these bamboo mini fences in the shed so I grabbed those!!!

Mum also added two palm trees to my collection!

I used some garbage bags, pie tins, aluminium foil and some pipe to create our Jurassic Park Jeeps!!!!

Finally I taped off some areas with my DANGER! Do not Enter Tape!!!!

Oh also we made EPIC head lights using push lights and headbands! The kids went NUTS over them!

I had sent each child an invitation to our Jurassic Park day to get them excited! They were told to dress up as explorer / paleontologists to get ready to come on our tour!!

I created a PowerPoint as our ‘tour’ of the park it took us through each step of the day!

As students entered the classroom I turned the lights off and played the Jurassic Park soundtrack using Youtube – the first song is SO CREEPY! It is wonderful because it made the classroom feel eerie!!!

When the students came in I introduced myself as a park ranger and went through the ‘safety’ features of the park.

We discussed how we had electronic fences and to not touch or go beyond these points! (these were the DANGER tape!)

Some of my class can get quite loud so we discussed that some dinosaurs react to movement and noise so they must maintain an appropriate noise level at all times!

Finally I showed them their jeeps and loaded them in remind them to keep their valuable body parts inside the jeep at all times to avoid a dinosaur snacking on it!

I found a YouTube clip of some travelers riding a jeep through one of the locations of Jurassic Park – we used this for when our jeep was moving to the next stop! They kids loved it and jumped up and down as if they were in a bumpy jeep!!!

Onto the activities!!!

We crammed a lot into the time we had! We had a mix of Science, English and a tiny bit of Maths tasks but if we had more time there would have been some more Maths too!

First up was looking at the science of fossils! We learnt that they type of scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists and dug for some dinosaur bones in groups!

Then we read a passage about fossils and had to identify the main idea using some skills we have learnt previously.   

I then handed them a ‘fossil’ that I had created by imprinting parts of toy dinosaurs on play dough. We tried to guess what parts were shown in the fossils! We had wings, claws, foot prints, plates and spikes, heads, legs and even tails!

Afterwards students worked with a partner to chip away at a ‘rock’ to find a fossil below. (I got the eggs for $2 at Kmart!!!) BEST MOMENT EVER!!! They were so utterly engaged and it took them a good 20 minutes to get through and not one person was off task for even for a second!

Next we drove in our jeeps to look at dinosaurs! We watched some clips from Jurassic Park via YouTube of the first time they saw the dinosaurs and the eggs hatching in the lab! I turned the volume off just to monitor the language but had the soundtrack still playing.

Then we discussed the life cycle of a dinosaur and students had to sequence and describe the life cycle of a Triceratops!

After this we drove to the stegosaurus and discussed dinosaur adaptions! We matched some adaptions to their purpose!

We journeyed on to look at the triceratops and we discussed ways the scientists find out information about animals today. We talked about how sometimes if we want to know what an animals has been eating we can look at their poo!!!

And would you believe it one of the triceratops was sick and we needed to know what she had been eating! I gave each group a bowl of DINO DUNG to investigate! (IT was chocolate YoGo mixed with crushed cookies with some different plants placed underneath)

This was an absolute riot to watch!!!!

*Hint: Leave the poo activity until LAST it went EVERYWHERE and made it hard to do the over tasks.

We had finished with the herbivore enclosure and headed over to the carnivore section, starting with my most feared dinosaur - the Velociraptor cage!!

We discussed what a carnivore/ herbivore is and then each student was handed a dinosaur. They had to classify it is was a carnivore or herbivore and serve it a meal by drawing it on a small piece of paper!   

Finally we stopped at the T-REX enclosure! I used a STEM challenge from one of Cara Carroll’s science units (side note those units are A-MAZ-ING!! Check them out!) where my students had to create a T-Rex using straws and plasticine. I changed the height to be the size of a 30cm ruler and they worked in pairs. They were given a set number of straws and that was all they were given. They could used scissors and a ruler to help but no other 
equipment. It was a great challenge that they found quite challenging but it was wonderful for them!

Check out some photo snaps!!

Well I was one EXHAUSTED teacher by the end of it!

I was covered in ‘Diino Dung’, fossil remains and generals sweat from running around like a crazy dinosaur lady!

BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!

Living and Non-living things in the Ocean!

We have been learning about living and non-living things in our Year Two classroom- particularly in regards to things in the ocean!

I saw this as the PERFECT opportunity to integrate our dramatic play rock pool and a wonderful way to hook my students in!

We gathered around our little rock pool and each picked out one item. We discussed if this item was a living or non-living thing in the ocean!

Afterwards we used the ocean sort from Cara Carroll's Science in May unit (It’s AMAZing!!!! and used our knowledge to draw 3 living and non-living things from the ocean into our workbooks!

Finally we made our own living triaroma (again Science of May activity!! – get on it!!) I think they are just the coolest and the students loved them! They worked for 30 minutes straight on them with no distraction!!

It was a teacher battle choosing between the calm or pushing them to get it done so we could move on! Sometimes you just have to give them the time!

Do you have some amazing science ideas?! I would love to hear them!

Classroom Tour 2016

I love that feeling you get when your classroom layout flows and everything feels like it is in the correct place!!

I have not had the same classroom for more than one year so it always takes me a term or two to find the layout that works for me personally. 

I thought I would take you on a classroom tour of my classroom after all we ALL love looking at each others classroom but we just don't have the time always to actually see them!!

So this is where I started the day before the first day of school (I had moved both schools, towns and been in Europe so there had not been much time before school began to decorate)

It did have some pop pom decorations before school started because it's me and there MUST be colour!!! 

Also FYI I am EXTREMELY blessed this year my classroom is A-MAZ-ING!!!!!!!

This is what it looks like now . . . :) :) . . .for now ;) hee hee

Please excuse my messy teacher desk and the pens!!! haha

A closer look you say!?! SURE THING!!

My little reading area :)

My beloved palm tree is still going (slightly!! eeek!) although it will need a revamp  very soon!

In the reading corner I display our challenge words that we have previously covered as a class. 

Behind our couch is a little area dedicated to drawing. We have been focusing on putting our best effort into our drawings so I have been encouraging scratch that TRYING to encourage them through creating a nice area! 

I have a lovely education assistant in my classroom one day a week so we turned my old teacher desk into a support area!

Our current dramatic play area

and finally Our little Religion board and prayer table. 

Well that is it for now :) 

It's okay to have a bad day . . .

Do you ever have one of those days where you think to yourself I am done!

Like that’s it I am done! I am going to go join the circus or start working at the local supermarket because I am done with this!!!  

You are convinced you are walking out of that classroom and never coming back!

Someone once said do something you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Well the reality is even if you love what you do there are going to be days where it does feel like a job rather than a vocation.

I think everyone has those days every now and then and you know what THAT IS OKAY!!

Just because you have those days does NOT make you a bad teacher, it does NOT mean you don’t love your job and it does NOT mean you are not good enough.

It just means you are human.

Teachers are wonderful people but we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect.

We feel if we have a bad day in the classroom it is because we have failed or are inadequate.

We put so much time, effort and love into our classroom that often we forget to dedicate this same time to ourselves.

So these are just a few of my own rules I am (trying) to follow!

They are nothing new but they may just remind you to take that time for yourself!!

      At least once a week do something you love!

Read a book, go to the movies, swim at the beach, create something or even blog!! 

As long as YOU love it that is all that counts. Try to make sure there is NO school work involved!

If you are watching TV put that laptop away!

Personally I love to take a bath but that is more a monthly thing! ;)

Drink Water

Seems basic but the truth is we are on the go so often throughout the day we rarely stop to eat let alone drink! Keeping up your fluids keeps up your energy levels so make sure you are drinking water each day!

Strap a bottle to classroom keys or apron! Assign designated drinking breaks with the students and role model by drinking your own water!!

Exercise

In many ways this can be the hardest. School can be is exhausting! We love it but it sure does wipe the energy!! You have to have your mind on 100 000 000 things ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

So it’s not a surprise when we get home we just want to slump on top of our beds and not move!

Even if you are not into going to the gym just try and take a 30min walk. It just clears your head and helps you think straight. 

You will actually be MORE proactive after than if you just went straight home.

Sleep

When I first started teaching it was all I did. I stayed up late, got up early, went to work and repeated this routine again. I also would go into school on the weekends (both days) and work there all day!

I was literally burning the candle at both ends!

 A good sleep is so important – it can set up the mood for the next day. IF you are tired your students will sense it. You will be on edge and less patient and they will mimic this mood.

Set that alarm for bed time not just waking up and stick to it!

Remind yourself that you are doing the best you can!

You are one person. You have one brain, two eyes and two arms.

You cannot do EVERYTHING!

And you know what!? Teaching is the type of job where you will NEVER be content. There is always something you could be doing. The trick is reminding yourself to prioritise.

Our job is hard enough without having you put unrealistic and harsh expectations on yourself.

You are doing the best job that you can. Just take it one thing at a time.

Do the few things you do well rather than doing lots of things.

Teaching is one of the BEST jobs in the world (THE BEST in my humble opinion) so take care of yourself because it would be a shame to lose a great teacher like you to our noble profession. 

Word Wall: Feelings

Howdy! :)

Just quickly stopping by today :)

I have spent the afternoon putting together an IKEA coffee table! I am Queen of the flat packs in my house! I have also been organising everything for our Mothers Day afternoon tomorrow!!! I am so nervous BUT excited!! 

Word walls have always been a goal of mine but I have always found I never had the time to create them and the generic ones were not quite taking my fancy! 

Last term my class focused on recounts. A personal comment is one of the structural elements of a recount where students summarise how they felt about the event. 

I found my students were stuck on words like happy/sad/bored or I had fun - to the extent these words were BANNED during writing time!!

To remedy this I created my feelings word wall to encourage my students to choose different words to describe their feelings and in turn EXPAND THEIR VOCABULARY!!! 

You can grab this product for $1 from my TPT store by clicking HERE

I am working on an adjective word wall at the moment as well!  If you have any particular words throw them my way! :)

Have a great week!

Sentence Correction

So I woke up this morning to the coldest morning I have had in Bridgetown yet!

I felt like I should be dressed like this....

 Sad thing is that it isn't even winter yet and this is NOT as cold as it gets!

Now that I am home I am on the couch resembling something very close to this . . . 

Literally it is a major decision to get up to get food right now with the warmth winning the battle for the time being! 

I thought I might share with you today a little bit of what I do in my literacy block - more to the point my sentence correction.

Sentence correction as the name implies is about correcting sentences.

Personally I focus on capital letters, end marks and spelling choices of particular sounds/rules we have learnt. It is a great revision activity and I believe helps shows that link between spelling a word and transferring it into writing. 

I have been slowly warming my current class to how sentence correction works as we will be doing this daily soon (well that is the plan anyway!) 

At the beginning of each week/lesson we revise over the sounds we are looking at for the week as shown below:

Then I display two sentences a day on the board. 

 Students copy down my sentences EXACTLY as I have written them in lead pencil. Then using a red pencil they correct the spelling mistakes, add capitals and end marks. 

At the bottom of the sentences is the rule we are working on to remind students on what to do and provide that extra support. 
                                      

You can easily support students further by printing the sentences out so people only need to edit rather than write the whole sentence or extend by asking students to find a synonym for a word or adding extra detail to the sentences via adjectives, adverbs or general information!

Well my finger tips are starting to freeze outside of the blanket!

I will love and leave you before I loose them!!!

One thing I know for sure - Winter is coming ;)