February New Tech Tool

This month I have implemented the tech tool Flash to Pass.  This app allows kids to practice their math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) on the iPad.  It gives them 20 problems to complete in 2 minutes.  The app then moves them up to the next level.  I only have 4 iPads in my room so I use it during centers and I have them take turns.  What I have not figured out is if there is a way to keep track of progress for each child.  Stay tuned . . .

Persistence

Persistence is a key ingredient to surviving life.  We all have struggles and we have to choose to either give up or to endure.  These last few weeks I have given a lot of though to this idea of persistence.  There has been a lot going on in both my personal and professional life.  There have been challenges and struggles and hardships.  The more time I spent reflecting upon what has been happening, the more down I became.  On one particularly hard day, I found myself crying and upset.  It was at that point that I decided I could either give up and run away to the beach (tempting, yes!) or I could persist and baton down the hatches and ride out the storm.  Using the prompts on the poster above, I decided I needed a new mindset.  

I took to heart some of the suggestions and put them to use.  I first refocussed my goal - I broke down the big picture into little ones to make things more manageable.  I reset my mind - I was going to get through this and would come out the other side a better and stronger person.  I checked in with some experts, i.e. friends.  Who better than to help you get your mind right and make you laugh - a few drinks don't hurt either!!  

I feel now that I am in a much better place.  I have never been (nor will I ever be!) a quitter - my husband calls me the most stubborn person he knows!  But by really thinking about what it truly means to be persistent, I have gained a new perspective.  Stay positive and keep getting up.  Every. Single. Time.  

As the poster says:

Persistence is tenacity wrapped in courage with just a sprinkling of stubborness on top.

Haiku Deck

This week, I tried a new app in my classroom.  My 1st graders have been learning all about the solar system.  They created a planet journal where they wrote facts about each planet and drew a picture of each planet.  So I put them into table groups and assigned them a planet.  They then created a slide for their planet by choosing their facts and a picture for that planet.  Overall, it went pretty well.  There was a child in charge at each table so that helped minimize troubles.  I also have 2 paras in the room so that helped as well.  A word to the wise . . . some of the pics that show up are not appropriate!  Overall, this is a really neat app and the kids enjoyed the presentation and working together to create a class project.

February Strategy

This month I decided to focus on writing in my classroom.  I used the Five Star Writing that was shared with us at the Fall Conference.  I used our journal writing time once a week to teach 1 star at a time. That star was the only one we focussed on.  Then I used our writing center that week to have them practice their journal writing on their own focusing on that star from earlier in the week.  Their writing and understanding of writing has improved so much!  I am really pleased with this intervention and we continue to refer back to it on a daily basis.  Here is a shot of the overview of 5 star writing.  You can find more printables for it on Teachers Pay Teachers:)