I have launched into literacy and numeracy rotations for an hour a day. I do Literacy for an hour three times a week and Maths for an hour on the other two days. Obviously there are plenty of other whole class lessons, games and activities, but this is the time for direct instruction and ongoing assessment. I was going to wait until I had a bit more response from parent volunteers but I thought since I have such a variety of learners that I may as well get the routines ironed out as soon as possible.
I have only had the rotations for two days so far, but I am really pleased with this way of teaching and I feel much more effective than when I try to lock-step the whole class through a learning episode.
I read this scholastic site on Math Workshops a few weeks ago and I have implemented some of these ideas, particularly the order in which I see the students. I am really pleased with the logic behind the rotations and I think it is working.
Basically, the class is split into three main groups. (When I get more help I will try to increase the number of groups so they are smaller and they are getting through more work). I work with the lowest group first and basically go through the workbook activity, giving a bit more instruction and teaching explanation along the way. It is a good chance to work with hands on materials and really see that these students are understanding the concepts. During this time the middle group is working on a game or using the iPads on a related activity and the top group are doing the workbook independently. In the second rotation, I work with the middle group and do some small group teaching and a basic introduction to the workbook activity to get them started. The lowest group go straight on to completing the workbook activity that they started with me, and the top group play a game to consolidate the skill they just practised in the workbook.
In the final rotation I check the work done by the top group to ensure they understand it and then do a challenge or extension lesson with them. The lowest group are ready to play the game and the middle group get a chance to finish the workbook activity.
So far it is working well (after two whole days). I would love to differentiate the games a little more and make sure that the independent groups are working effectively but I'm sure this will come as we get used to the routine.
I am keeping the same groups for this week to make it simpler for me (and the kids of course) but once I learn more about the Daily 5 and CAFE system I would like to make the groups more flexible.
How do you manage rotations?
Life is a learning journey and I am headed up a mountain! This blog will chronicle my musings and learnings as I continue to discover more and more about teaching. I hope I never reach the top!
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Friday, 27 January 2012
Reading - The Daily 5
After reading yesterday's post on Introducing Read to Self by Kylie at Down Under Teacher, I was inspired to give it a go myself.
A teaching colleague had sent me a link to the Daily Cafe website about a week ago and I have been seeing these terms, CAFE, Daily 5, Read to Self, I -Charts, all over the place so I thought I should at least do a little bit of reading into it.
I must say that the program seems to have many fans and it looks like it is something that could benefit my students so I am ordering the books and then going to implement the ideas into my own room and let you know how I go.
Today I followed the lesson as described by Kylie. Her kids managed about a minute and a half of sustained reading before someone broke the silence. My kids managed 10 seconds on their first attempt (silence broken by an avid reader who just had to share) and built all the way up to 50 seconds by their third attempt! (The "non-readers" keep wanting to look up and see if I am watching them - how do I get them reading? I hope this program holds the answer to that and many other questions...)
Have you tried this system? Any advice on how to implement it and what has worked well would be appreciated.
A teaching colleague had sent me a link to the Daily Cafe website about a week ago and I have been seeing these terms, CAFE, Daily 5, Read to Self, I -Charts, all over the place so I thought I should at least do a little bit of reading into it.
I must say that the program seems to have many fans and it looks like it is something that could benefit my students so I am ordering the books and then going to implement the ideas into my own room and let you know how I go.
Today I followed the lesson as described by Kylie. Her kids managed about a minute and a half of sustained reading before someone broke the silence. My kids managed 10 seconds on their first attempt (silence broken by an avid reader who just had to share) and built all the way up to 50 seconds by their third attempt! (The "non-readers" keep wanting to look up and see if I am watching them - how do I get them reading? I hope this program holds the answer to that and many other questions...)
Have you tried this system? Any advice on how to implement it and what has worked well would be appreciated.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
First Days
Well, the first day came and went and I was still excited about going back the second day. That's got to be good news!
I am blessed to have such a lovely bunch of "curious cats" in my class.
I think I did the lion's share of the learning in the first two days - having to learn all of their names and then begin to work out some personality and learning traits. At least they had some fun while I did some learning. When we return to school tomorrow it will be their turn to start some serious learning!
I tried a simple Mathematics Investigation to see if they had an understanding of place value, and also to see how they were able to work with a partner. Each pair was given a fistful of matchsticks and were challenged to work out how many matchsticks there were altogether.
As they tried to solve the problem I noted some of the strategies they used, and then stopped them after a while to discuss these strategies.
All of the children realised that moving the matchsticks as they counted in some sort of systematic way made the task much easier. Some students split the group into two so each partner had a turn to count, but funnily enough, none of them counted the separate groups first then added to find the total. They waited for one partner to finish counting, then the second started. Even the pair of boys who counted simultaneously and could tell me that one of them had 53 and the other had 58 still counted on from 53 in ones to get to the total. When I write "58 + 53" on the board, they could tell me the total, but it hadn't occurred to them that they could add.
Not one group used grouping to help them count, which surprised me, so I stopped them and we looked at a hundreds board and saw how it was in rows of ten and that made it faster to count to 100 because we could count in tens. After this guidance (and a bit more hinting) the students tried to count their matchsticks again, this time, grouping them into bunches of ten. THis was much easier for them!
On Friday I am going to keep working on place value ideas and then I will assess them next week to see how they are going.
I am blessed to have such a lovely bunch of "curious cats" in my class.
I think I did the lion's share of the learning in the first two days - having to learn all of their names and then begin to work out some personality and learning traits. At least they had some fun while I did some learning. When we return to school tomorrow it will be their turn to start some serious learning!
I tried a simple Mathematics Investigation to see if they had an understanding of place value, and also to see how they were able to work with a partner. Each pair was given a fistful of matchsticks and were challenged to work out how many matchsticks there were altogether.
As they tried to solve the problem I noted some of the strategies they used, and then stopped them after a while to discuss these strategies.
All of the children realised that moving the matchsticks as they counted in some sort of systematic way made the task much easier. Some students split the group into two so each partner had a turn to count, but funnily enough, none of them counted the separate groups first then added to find the total. They waited for one partner to finish counting, then the second started. Even the pair of boys who counted simultaneously and could tell me that one of them had 53 and the other had 58 still counted on from 53 in ones to get to the total. When I write "58 + 53" on the board, they could tell me the total, but it hadn't occurred to them that they could add.
Not one group used grouping to help them count, which surprised me, so I stopped them and we looked at a hundreds board and saw how it was in rows of ten and that made it faster to count to 100 because we could count in tens. After this guidance (and a bit more hinting) the students tried to count their matchsticks again, this time, grouping them into bunches of ten. THis was much easier for them!
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Math Mats
A few years ago when I first taught Year 1 my sister put me on to the idea of using placemats for the students. This year I have adapted the template further to suit my Year 2s and to help them to meet the standards in Mathematics in the Australian Curriculum.
Making the placemats was fiddly and time consuming. My teaching partner tried to convince me that it would be easier to make one and photocopy it rather than make individual ones for 24 students (plus a spare just in case - and as a teacher model). I was afraid the colours wouldn't be as bright so insisted we make them by hand. After making 25 placemats each (printing, cutting, gluing, laminating) our fingers were tired and our minds were numb. She might just be able to convince me to make one and photocopy next time!
But don't they look lovely????
The front side has a handwriting model sticker (purchased from Young Ideas), left/right hand stickers (also purchased), a name plate (created using a table in MS Word with text box overlays), and a list of "No Excuses Words" which are a combination of a few high frequency word lists and a few other words that I wanted my students to spell well - including my name. ;-)
You can purchase placemats from various places that are similar to these but I like to be able to personalise them and include the bits and pieces I feel are important.
The back side has a hundreds chart which is sized to fit counters, a tens frame which also fits counters, some shapes and their names, the poem about the months (important for Year 2), the days of the week, a number line and some other maths things.
We found these great little containers (that are Decor brand - supposed to be for salad dressing) that fit 20 counters in neatly so each child will have their own set of counters and a hundreds chart at their fingertips for daily number awareness and games!
The placemats were great in Year 1 a few years ago. I am hoping they will get lots of use again this year.
Making the placemats was fiddly and time consuming. My teaching partner tried to convince me that it would be easier to make one and photocopy it rather than make individual ones for 24 students (plus a spare just in case - and as a teacher model). I was afraid the colours wouldn't be as bright so insisted we make them by hand. After making 25 placemats each (printing, cutting, gluing, laminating) our fingers were tired and our minds were numb. She might just be able to convince me to make one and photocopy next time!
But don't they look lovely????
The front side has a handwriting model sticker (purchased from Young Ideas), left/right hand stickers (also purchased), a name plate (created using a table in MS Word with text box overlays), and a list of "No Excuses Words" which are a combination of a few high frequency word lists and a few other words that I wanted my students to spell well - including my name. ;-)
You can purchase placemats from various places that are similar to these but I like to be able to personalise them and include the bits and pieces I feel are important.
The back side has a hundreds chart which is sized to fit counters, a tens frame which also fits counters, some shapes and their names, the poem about the months (important for Year 2), the days of the week, a number line and some other maths things.
We found these great little containers (that are Decor brand - supposed to be for salad dressing) that fit 20 counters in neatly so each child will have their own set of counters and a hundreds chart at their fingertips for daily number awareness and games!
The placemats were great in Year 1 a few years ago. I am hoping they will get lots of use again this year.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
5 Senses Unit
We are doing Lifecycles this term in Science but if you are doing "The Five Senses" you ought to check out Little Miss Hypothesis' 5 Senses unit.
In fact, go on over and check out her whole blog. She has lots of ideas for all sorts of science, including keeping pets in the classroom.
In fact, go on over and check out her whole blog. She has lots of ideas for all sorts of science, including keeping pets in the classroom.
A Classroom Tour
With two more sleeps to go, I am not feeling completely ready but I know that I have done most of the big things now and it's the final touches and tidying that will get done or don't really matter too much.
I also need to start thinking about planning the first week so I have something to do with my lovelies in my new space.
This year we are "2C" so I decided to be "Cool Cats". Surprisingly there are no "cat" themed packs that I could get my hands on. Frogs, bees and ladybeetles seem to be more popular than cats. I made the door decoration using clipart by Trina Clark. I used a paint program and MS Word to individualise the paw prints. People keep telling me they look like dog prints but I don't know the difference and I hope my Year 2s are non the wiser as well. ;-)
Here is my room. I have 24 students but until a few days ago I was expecting 25 so I have 5 groups of 4 and one of 5. I'm not quite game to repurpose the spare desk just yet in case someone turns up on the first day. Six groups of 4 would be very neat though. I usually start the year with students facing forward as much as possible because it is easier to gain attention at first but I figure since they are younger grades, I will put them on the floor for whole group focus stuff and the desks will be for activity in groups or individually. I am using pencil caddies, not pencil cases, so they need to be in groups. Secretly, I would have preferred tables to desks but they are fairly new, especially compared to what I have been used to for the past few years so I won't complain.
I made these placemats for my students desks. I use them as easy reference for high frequency words, maths activities and also to mark where I would like the students to sit for particular activities.
This is one of the pencil caddies. I have enough pencils, scissors, crayons and glue sticks for each child, as well as a set of 20 counters each. I have only put two erasers on each table because I don't really want them to be erasing all the time and they tend to just use them to stab, chew on, draw on and crumble, so hopefully if they have to share them they will pay more respect to the group property. (It's a theory - I'll let you know how it goes.)
This is the front of the room. There is a large blackboard which is half covered with a white board and then I covered the rest with paper to use as a display space. I found a great picture of a lifecycle of a frog craft activity and display that will look great on the board. I have an interactive whiteboard on another wall so I will use it most of the time. I'm not sure what I will put on the whiteboard yet. Maybe messages.
The piles of stuff on the ledge are the books that go into children's desks. They should be gone by Tuesday morning.
This is my gathering space. I wanted it to be in front of the IWB so that we can do morning message and calendar and use the board interactively. I have put the carpet under the desks because the floor is vinyl and we are directly above another classroom and it gets very noisy when children are putting their chairs in and out. This means I don't have a carpet to sit on. I don't know whether to go for cushions or a rug or what just yet. Mum's a great quilter, maybe she will come and help us to make an alphabet rug. (That's a hint, Mum, if you read this.)
This is my prayer space. I still need to make a sign and find a candle and bible. I have cut out the letters for the sign but haven't worked out how to put them up. I have plans for the tree.
This is another view of the space on the floor. I have a sound muncher and some boxes with toys for free play and also maths equipment - MAB and unifix.
My empty word wall, ready for the students to add their names and to keep adding to as the year goes on.
This is my birthday chart. On the first day, I want the students to place their name and birthdate (already printed, cut out and laminated) on the right charts and add a candle to the right cake to make a birthday graph. Then I will move them up higher to make a frieze.
So as I said, it's coming together! I am pleased with how it looks. I hope my kids love learning in this space.
I also need to start thinking about planning the first week so I have something to do with my lovelies in my new space.
This year we are "2C" so I decided to be "Cool Cats". Surprisingly there are no "cat" themed packs that I could get my hands on. Frogs, bees and ladybeetles seem to be more popular than cats. I made the door decoration using clipart by Trina Clark. I used a paint program and MS Word to individualise the paw prints. People keep telling me they look like dog prints but I don't know the difference and I hope my Year 2s are non the wiser as well. ;-)
Here is my room. I have 24 students but until a few days ago I was expecting 25 so I have 5 groups of 4 and one of 5. I'm not quite game to repurpose the spare desk just yet in case someone turns up on the first day. Six groups of 4 would be very neat though. I usually start the year with students facing forward as much as possible because it is easier to gain attention at first but I figure since they are younger grades, I will put them on the floor for whole group focus stuff and the desks will be for activity in groups or individually. I am using pencil caddies, not pencil cases, so they need to be in groups. Secretly, I would have preferred tables to desks but they are fairly new, especially compared to what I have been used to for the past few years so I won't complain.
I made these placemats for my students desks. I use them as easy reference for high frequency words, maths activities and also to mark where I would like the students to sit for particular activities.
This is one of the pencil caddies. I have enough pencils, scissors, crayons and glue sticks for each child, as well as a set of 20 counters each. I have only put two erasers on each table because I don't really want them to be erasing all the time and they tend to just use them to stab, chew on, draw on and crumble, so hopefully if they have to share them they will pay more respect to the group property. (It's a theory - I'll let you know how it goes.)
This is the front of the room. There is a large blackboard which is half covered with a white board and then I covered the rest with paper to use as a display space. I found a great picture of a lifecycle of a frog craft activity and display that will look great on the board. I have an interactive whiteboard on another wall so I will use it most of the time. I'm not sure what I will put on the whiteboard yet. Maybe messages.
The piles of stuff on the ledge are the books that go into children's desks. They should be gone by Tuesday morning.
This is my gathering space. I wanted it to be in front of the IWB so that we can do morning message and calendar and use the board interactively. I have put the carpet under the desks because the floor is vinyl and we are directly above another classroom and it gets very noisy when children are putting their chairs in and out. This means I don't have a carpet to sit on. I don't know whether to go for cushions or a rug or what just yet. Mum's a great quilter, maybe she will come and help us to make an alphabet rug. (That's a hint, Mum, if you read this.)
This is my prayer space. I still need to make a sign and find a candle and bible. I have cut out the letters for the sign but haven't worked out how to put them up. I have plans for the tree.
This is another view of the space on the floor. I have a sound muncher and some boxes with toys for free play and also maths equipment - MAB and unifix.
My empty word wall, ready for the students to add their names and to keep adding to as the year goes on.
This is my birthday chart. On the first day, I want the students to place their name and birthdate (already printed, cut out and laminated) on the right charts and add a candle to the right cake to make a birthday graph. Then I will move them up higher to make a frieze.
So as I said, it's coming together! I am pleased with how it looks. I hope my kids love learning in this space.
Feedback Please!
I have created a blog for my class this year. I have picked pretty colours and created some pages but there is not much content there yet because I haven't started the year.
Please take a look at my class blog and let me know what else I might need or how to make it simpler for my students and parents to navigate.
This is the third time I have attempted this so I want it to be a success this year.
Constructive feedback very welcome...
The blog is called "A Year in Year 2".
Please take a look at my class blog and let me know what else I might need or how to make it simpler for my students and parents to navigate.
This is the third time I have attempted this so I want it to be a success this year.
Constructive feedback very welcome...
The blog is called "A Year in Year 2".
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