To reward students for their hard work between the high stakes tests we take (6 times a year!!) we have a "Smart Cookie" decorating party! Students who show 10% or more growth on their tests get to decorate a cookie, complete with a "woo hoo!" note from me. They LOVE it, and it must be motivating because my WHOLE class got to do it this time! Some kids even went up as much at 40% from April's test! Say what? Proud teacher right here! :)
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Field day in Las Vegas = VERY HOT! Thankfully the PE teacher makes it really fun by adding in lots of opportunities to get wet! We had a blast today! It was an awesome way to wrap up the end of our year!
We have had a blast studying about the earth, space and the moons. Today we "rocked" this HET lesson studying why there is craters on the moon. We added some measurement to our simulation since we are learning about the metric system in math. They had so much fun and were able to discuss like a scientist why there are different sized craters on the moon. I even had a kid say "this ROCKS... get it?" haha! Who else gets to have as much fun as I do? ;)
Many teachers (and parents!) are familiar with the "gonoodle.com" brain breaks! If not, you really need to sign up, get moving and have FUN!
Anyway, a favorite of my class is the Koo Koo Kangaroo gang! As an end of the year surprise, my student teacher and I thought it would be fun to do a photo shoot dressed up as the Koo Koo characters with the backgrounds of their favorite brain breaks from them. This is the result. I can't WAIT to see their faces when we show them these pictures! I LOVE MY JOB!!!!! We are wrapping up our weather unit with a study on the moon and it's phases. I am still amazed by outer space. Every year my students teach me something new. He we were experimenting with how the moon looks from Earth and how the sun gives the moon its light. It was a fun way to try and reinforce the moon phases we have been learning. We even have a little rap and song that goes with it! It was "out of this world!" ;)
Today we were lucky to have a member from the community come into our classroom and talk all about community, jobs, and economics. They played games, created products, learned the difference between needs and wants and even got to find their way around a map. The students loved it and they learned all about what makes society go 'round!
Today I got to present my love of Kagan to the staff! I love sharing my passion for learning with teachers. They were able to take the strategies and apply them right away! If you want me to show YOU the ways, just ask! :)
Our very last high stakes test (called EVALUATE) of the year was this month. We have been working SO hard on 2nd grade material and I thought it would be fun to review in a "boot camp" style! Each day we practiced a skill from what we were learning. After our "mission" was complete, we would check it off on our list. Students were given "survival tickets" each day at the end of Evaluate Boot Camp and had to write one thing that stuck with them, or something they learned from the day. I even came up with a chant we would say while marching in line. As a final wrap up/closure to every "mission", I set up a "Boot Camp Obstacle Course" outside. The students broke into groups and worked on the different skills at each station. Of course they had to do some sort of military drill (bear crawls, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc...) before they could begin. They also got an "I survived Evaluate Boot Camp" certificate at the end.They LOVED it! It was excellent teamwork, they enjoyed being outside and BONUS, they were showing what they know, and rocking it!! It was an amazing review, and, most all of my students made huge gains between 5-33% on the test! Yay! This is just one of many reasons why my job is the BEST! :) Take a peek at the pictures of all the fun we had! This year I have done something I never thought I would ever do. I helped direct our school musical! This year we did Disney's Aladdin! It was so much work, but it sure paid off. I was in charge of teaching choreography. The dedication and talent from these students ages 8-10 was amazing. I was so proud of each and every one. The final shows were mesmerizing. I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to be a part of something like this! ON WITH THE SHOW!
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Super Teacher!
A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning. Archives
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