Carrot Sticks

As far as bloggers go, I'm pretty much a newbie. I'm still learning the ins and outs of the blogging world. Luckily, there are some amazing sites out there that I can look to for inspiration. I've mentioned ilearntechnology before, and thanks to Kelly's alliance, I've found some other awesome blogs to follow, like freetech4teachers.com.

Both of these blogs regularly highlight technology resources, and both blogs have featured CarrotSticks.


CarrotSticks is an online multiplayer game that encourages K - 5th graders to practice their math computation skills.

I love how students are given the option of practicing alone or going head to head against an opponent. Another cool thing is that problems get more challenging as you play. When I was there, I accepted a challenge from another person and was surprised to get a three digit addition problem. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I lost!)

I'm so happy to be able to pass on this little tip: Teachers can get a classroom account for FREE by emailing support@carrotsticks.com.

Differentiation Video #1

This video shows some children in a first grade classroom in Omaha. Notice how the teacher uses flexible grouping to meet the needs of her students. I also love the "Guess the Rule" and "Money Scoop" activities.

Jumping Into the Water

Jumping Off A Diving Board

Jumping Off A High Dive

Jumping Off A Super High Dive


http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/zoo/index.htm

Art

As any of my former teaching partners and/or students will tell you, art is not my forte! I distinctly remember Mary, my first 4th grade teaching partner, coming into my room after one sketching lesson. She took one look at my work and burst out laughing. I really couldn't blame her. It was worse than awful!
I wish I would have known about these sites when I was in the classroom, but I'm excited to share them with teachers. I can imagine doing a whole Picasso unit using the site Mr. Picassohead.


Here are some other sites that I've also had fun experimenting with lately:
Kerpoof
Jackson Pollock
Bomomo
Art Pad


Maybe if I would have had these online resources, I wouldn't have dreaded Art Fridays.

I Made the List!

Mr. Livingston, a social studies teacher at our high school does a really cool project each year. I don't know all of the details, but I think he has each student create a timeline about his/her life. Somewhere along the way, students must identify their favorite teacher.

I was excited to learn that Jacob Engel had named me as his favorite. I taught him 5 years ago, and my best memory of him is when he dressed up as Johnny Carson for Notable Nebraskans Night. He was a great 4th grader, and I wish him all the best in the future.

Congratulations to my colleagues who also made the list this year!

Mrs. Dotson
Mrs Boyd or Mrs Boyle (maybe these are two different teachers.)
Mrs Kinnaman
Mr. Petersen
Mrs Furrow
Mrs Evans
Mrs. Rogers
Mr. Sodawasser (from his Adams years)
Mrs Stevens
Mrs Flanders
Mrs Harshburger
Mr. Deutschmman
Mrs Malmkar
Mrs. walters
Mrs DeBoer
Mrs. Shotkoski
Mr. Mohs
Mrs Leach
Mrs Roberts
Mrs Lehmkuhler
Mrs Elmshouser
Mrs chapman
Mr Halsted
Mrs Roggow
Mr Gulzow
Mrs Gulzow
Mrs Woodill
Ms. lukwitz (student spelling)
Mrs Miller
Ms. Brinkmeyer
Miss Callaway
Mrs Wiles
Mr. Hammond
Mr. Whitney
Mrs Hatch
Mr. Luke
Mrs Diamond
Mrs Fickel
Mrs Cox (Hershey)Mr. Burns
Mrs Burke
Mr Beeman
Mrs Andre-Henn
Mrs Davis
Mrs Hanson
Mrs Harvey
Mrs Deterding
Mrs Mickolatchi
Mrs Ludwig
Mrs Horn
Mrs Hyaban
Mrs Milsap
Mrs Westland
Mrs Cuttingham(student spelling)
Mrs Volchek
Mrs Johnson
Mrs Rickett
Mrs Hess
Mrs Meduna
Mrs O'Rouke
Mrs Michaels
Mrs Froman
Mis Hill
Mrs Groves
Mrs Knepke
Mrs. French
Mr. Vemeer
Mrs Schroeder
Mrs. Digiovioni
Mrs Brogden
Mrs Rolands
Mrs Mohrman
Mrs. Isom
Mrs Carlson
Mrs Brouillett
Mrs Reynolds
Mr. Callaghan

Providing Challenge Through Tiering

I recently had a meeting with a teacher who is teaching multiplication to her third grade students. She told me that she has 4 students who seem to be really struggling, 11 students who are cruising along fine, and 7 students who seem to need more of a challenge.

This situation isn't unique. We teachers often find ourselves wondering how to meet the extremely diverse learning needs of our students.

Tiering is a strategy that can be used to differentiate assignments. By adjusting the level of the task and by allowing students to choose their own entry level, we can help students be successful.

One of the best resources I've found on tiering is Challenge by Choice. This blog asks the question, "What happens when students are offered authentic assessment choices and given the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of their own learning targets?" It's a great question, and by exploring the information, lesson plans, and videos on the site, teachers may find that they want to see what happens when they try to answer it.

For me, the most important part of tiering is making sure that students at each level are engaged in meaningful tasks. If we have one group doing a problem-solving activity and have another group reciting facts with flashcards, we show little respect for our our students. A better solution would be to have all groups solve a problem. The problems, however, could be modified to meet the readiness levels of students.

On the Houghton Mifflin Math site, there is a great multiplication story problem. It's challenging, but I think with some tiering, it would be perfect for the third grade class I mentioned earlier.

Go Big Red!

Wouldn't it be amazing if students could say, " I edited a film over the summer" or maybe "I spent my summer designing and carrying out field and laboratory-based research projects."

Both are possible with 2010 BIG RED ACADEMIC CAMPS . These career exploration camps (which begin in June) give students a chance to explore the UNL campus, meet people from across the state, spend time investigating an interest or potential career, and have lots of fun!

The topics this year are biological science, companion animals, culinary arts and food science, fashion design, filmmaking, golf, natural resources, youth legistlature, veterinary science, and
3-D animation and virtual world creation.

For more information, read the online brochure or go to the FAQs.