META TAG

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Helping Your Students Create a Growth Mindset


Hi again!  I hope last week was amazing!  Today I would like to share with you the importance of helping your students create a growth mindset.

During the past 20+ years I have come across several students who firmly believed that they were stupid if they made mistakes, that they were not good enough when faced with a challenge, and that they would never understand, so why try.   Naturally I spoke with students, referred many to our guidance counselor and had parent conferences. But year after year, there was always one student who I just couldn't reach.  I never knew how to fight back against those negative beliefs, but then I learned about Growth Mindset.  I was so excited, that I created posters, activities, and a bulletin board set to use with my students.


I not only teach Fixed vs. Growth Mindset, but I also use Brag Tags with my 5th graders.  I purchased and downloaded many freebies and have been using both with fidelity since the first day of school.  (Tags that I use are perseverance, empathy, etc.) My students LOVE it!  

In the past I have had students hang their brag tags on a chain, and then hang them off of clips on the wall... this took up way to much space.   So thinking outside of the box is what we teachers do, right? One small wooden pasta drying rack over near my Growth Mindset bulletin board, and done!!! 


So much easier!  I put three of my favorite posters on the bulletin board along with their growth mindset writing.  This way every time they line up or put a brag tag on their necklace, they are reading these posters: 

1.) Mistakes are proof that you are trying. Never Give Up!

2.) I have not failed.  I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work. ~Albert Einstein

3.) I will persist until I succeed.  I will keep trying.


How I Teach Growth Mindset to My Students
The first thing I teach my students is that their brain is always growing and that challenges are good for them.  I ask students if they have any baby brothers or sisters.  (Many will raise their hands.)  I inquire if their siblings were born knowing how to walk. Then we have a conversation about how it is difficult for a baby to learn to walk.  They often tell stories about siblings falling over and over and laughing each time they fall, but they always get up.  We discuss that this is challenging for babies, but with practice they get better... and how their brain goes through growth every time they learn something new.

Next, I ask students to share a time they were learning something new.  Something that they really wanted to learn but was frustrating for them.  I want them to share something that used to be challenging for them to learn... but that now they feel that they were experts at it.  I lead them to discuss that they practiced and practiced and practiced some more. That they didn't give up.  Their mindset allowed them to learn ride a bike, learn to skateboard, learn to dance, etc.  That this is called a growth mindset, and I explain to them that they are going to learn the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset this year.

I teach growth mindset vs. fixed mindset all year through discussions of perseverance, the various writing activities I created, and with the brag tags.  Having a growth mindset sets up my students for success as we tackle the grade level curriculum and the rigorous assessments that go along with it.  Ideally, you would teach and reteach Growth Mindset all year.  Here are the Growth Mindset activities and bulletin board that I implement in my class.
  

Next week I will share with you how I prepare my students for math assessments all year long.  (Hint: Individual dry erase boards are used!)

How do you teach growth mindset?  Please share in the comments section below.

I look forward to reading your ideas,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Reading, Math, and Halloween!


Hi again!  I hope last week was amazing!   Want to hear something terrifying? Halloween is right around the corner. A day filled with candy and costumes. I love it!

To me, it's a day to hold on tight to the child inside all of us, where we let go of regular classroom routines, and offer a chance for some kids who normally don't embrace school, to shine. Now, I know that not everyone celebrates Halloween, but in most cases, the students who do celebrate it will celebrate it at school no matter what you do. So, even if Halloween is not your cup of witch's brew, rather than ignore the day completely, think of a way to make it work for your classroom and community.

I love incorporating pure Halloween fun into the day for my students while still working on some sort of subject-related content. There are plenty of ways to to plan meaningful academic activities that your students will love! For instance, abstract thinking with Halloween idioms or writing persuasive essays about trying to convince parents to allow trick-or-treating on a school night!  For a fun holiday activity, you could have your students create factor monsters!  The product goes into the body of the monster and its arms and legs are the factor pairs. What a Halloween treat!

Of course, since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate, I have a few resources that are either no prep or minimal prep with a Halloween theme.  I start using them October 1st, because I like incorporating one item each week.  From multiplication “I Have, Who Has” to Order of Operations task cards, and also Reading and Writing Halloween packets, I celebrate and recognize the holiday while staying focused on the curriculum for the entire month!  And of course you need to have a few jokes to share each day.  Here are a few good ones for October:
MATH
Q: A witch has seven daughters, and each daughter has a brother. How many children does the witch have all together?
A: The witch has eight kids!
Q: Why were math teachers easy for zombies to catch?
A: They couldn’t work out if that zombies were real in time!
Q: What is the weight of all the bones in an average human body?
A: One skele-ton!
Q: What is a mathematician’s favorite Halloween dessert?
A: Pumpkin Pi!
Q: What Halloween costume has eight legs and eight eyes?
A: A spider’s costume!
Q: Why did the two groups of 4 zombies skip lunch?
A: They already ate!
Q: Why is the number ten scared of the number seven?
A: Because 7 8 9!
Q: Why did the baby witch get upset when her mother called her magic average?
A: It was a ‘mean’ thing to say!
Q: How the witch make seven an even number?
A: She casted the s away!

LANGUAGE
Q: What is a witch’s favorite school subject? 
A: Spelling! 
Q: How does a witch spell mousetrap? 
A: C-a-t! 
Q: How do you know a witch invented the alphabet? 
A: Because you have to spell it. 
Q: Can you spell a word for pretty witch with two letters? 
A: QT! Q: What’s the difference between a ground witch and round witch? 
A: The letter G! 
Q: What happen to the short witch when she added the letter E, R to her spell? 
A: She got a shorter! 


What do you do for October/Halloween activities? Do you embrace the chaos? If so, do you have a great idea to share? I’d love to hear from you! Post your ideas in the comments section below.

Enjoy your week,



Sunday, September 15, 2019

More Math Fun




Hi again!  I hope you had a great week!  Did you try any of my jokes last week?  Any groans?  Or a lot of giggling?  Hopefully your students were laughing right before your lesson (or whenever you told the joke).  I find that a joke or two will lesson math anxiety many students already have.  I feel that it is part of my job to take as much of that stress away and help my students replace it with a growth mindset.  Read on for a few more of my favorite math jokes…

Q: I hired an odd man to do eight jobs for me.
A:  When I got back, he’d only done jobs one, three, five, and seven.

Q: What are ten things you can always count on?
A: Your fingers.

Q: Are monsters good at math?
A: Not unless you Count Dracula.

Q: Why didn’t the quarter roll down the hill with the nickel?
A: Because it had more cents!

Q: What did the spelling book say to the math book?
A: “I know I can count on you!”

Q: Why do teenagers always travel in groups of three, five, or seven?
A: Because they can’t even!

Do you have any great math jokes?  Share yours below and let’s KEEP this math party going!

Check back next week, because I will share even more jokes to keep your students laughing + learning!

Have a great week!

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Math Fun


Do you DREAD teaching math?  I LOVE it!  One of my favorite math jokes is super punny, and my father used to tell me it all the time when I was a little girl.  (He always told great jokes..... hi dad!  You're still the funniest dad in the world!!!!)

Q:  How far can a dog run into a forest?
A: Half-way!  Because once it reaches the half-way point it starts running out!!!

Now I use this joke EVERY SINGLE YEAR at the start of my fraction unit.  I have used it in all upper elementary classes.... every single year since I started teaching.  Think about it!  That's 20+ years of students giggling during math class.  I interject jokes as often as possible.  It has helped to change the mindset of many students.  Today I would like to share with you a few of my favorites.  
Q: Why did the student do multiplication problems on the floor?
A: The teacher told him not to use tables.

Q: How do you solve any equation?
A: Multiply both sides by zero.

Q: Which tables do you not have to learn?
A: Dinner tables!

Q: What tool is best suited for math?
A: Multi-pliers.

Q: Why did the girl wear glasses during math class?
A: It improved di-vision.

Q: What’s a swimmer’s favorite kind of math?
A: Dive-ision!

Q: Do you know what seems odd to me?
A: Numbers that aren’t divisible by two.

Q: Do you know what’s odd?
A: Every other number!

Q: Why was six afraid of seven?
A: Because seven, eight, nine!

Do you have any great math jokes?  Share yours below and let’s get this math party started!
Check back next week, because I will share more jokes to keep your students laughing + learning!

Have a great week!



Sunday, September 1, 2019

5 Tips to Curb Your Chatty Class


Unwanted chatting is near the top of the list of my frustrations as a teacher.  Although I don’t consider it a severe misbehavior, it does still disrupt learning.  It’s tricky, because it’s hard to figure out why it’s happening and why none of the strategies you try seem to work.  (Even strategies that worked with a previous class may not work with your new group of students.)  Sometimes, it seems so out of control that it can make you question whether stopping the constant chatter is even possible.

The truth is, you can fix excessive chatting and expect silence whenever you need it. But you need a game plan.

Here’s what you do:
# 1 Define silence
I know it sounds RIDICULOUS, but many students just don’t know what it means. They don’t know what it looks, feels, and sounds like. It’s a foreign concept to them.  Therefore, you must define silence for them—what it is and, more important, what it isn’t—and let them experience it. Model what they should look like while working independently or listening to lessons.  You will need to model this Every. Single. Day. until your class can be silent when you give a signal.  Be consistent.  Eventually, they will follow through with what you expect.  But some groups of students do need more practice than others.  Make them prove they get it.
There must be complete understanding of what silence is according to your definition before you can ask them to replicate it.
#2 Explain why
Your students need to know the why of your decisions and then this will cause them to be more accepting and supportive of your wishes.  Make sure that you EXPLAIN how silence benefits them and why it is a good thing!  They need to know that the ability to concentrate for long periods of time is a critical skill that is key to their learning.

#3 Teach a signal
This is an incredibly powerful strategy. For the times when you require silence, like while you’re teaching a lesson or they’re working independently, teach your students a hand signal—a thumbs down sign or anything you like—they can use if a neighbor turns to talk to them.  Students using the sign are not allowed to speak to the other student, look at them, or make any other gesture. They just hold up their signal and continue working.
When the student who was talking sees the signal from his/her classmate gets back to work immediately, then you will not need to step in and give a consequence.  This is one of those strategies that I have found to work extremely well in the moment.
#4 Enforce immediately
Your students need to understand that no talking really means no talking.  If your class does get uncontrollably chatty, and everyone is talking while you’re trying to teach or they’re trying to work, then stop the lesson in its tracks.  Wait for silence, go back to the previous transition, and state your expectations again. Review your definition of silence. Don’t show any frustration. Don’t lecture, plead, or complain.
Just prove you’re a person of your word.
Now there will usually be one or two children who don't talk to others when they are not supposed to.  For these children, you also want to reinforce the positive.  I like to give "Caught Doing the Right Thing" tickets for students who follow through with the expectations.  You can do several things with these tickets, and I have used all of these strategies with my students over the years:
1) Have students keep track of their tickets and allow students to redeem for prizes.
2) Reward students - for each ticket at the end of the day, students can earn stickers, pieces of candy, smiley notes home.  Whatever works for your particular group of students.
3) Students put their names on their tickets and place into a basket for a weekly drawing to the prize box.  I will pull anywhere from 2-5 tickets at the end of the week, and students understand that the more tickets are entered into the drawing, the higher a chance they have at winning a prize.

Reward Coupons

Click on this link and you will be able to get a FREE resource to help you start rewarding your students when you catch them doing the right thing!  Catch them being good!  Catch them being silent when you ask for silence!  Catch them not chatting with their neighbors when they are supposed to be working!

I hope you find it useful!

Have a wonderful school year,
-Sandra @ The Happy Learning Den