Identity Day 2013

Identity Day has come and gone this week and it went well.  I didn't feel the buzz and excitement like I did last year, but I think that was partly due to the chosen date.  The staff decided to hold it on the 8th of April, a Monday and a week after a 2 week break in school.  I heard from parents that said they didn't do it over the break because it was their time and they didn't want to be doing homework.  I heard from others that said they'd forgotten about it.  We also had about 20 kids that didn't take part because the didn't want to, and the grade 8's also did not join in. 
There were many poster style projects that came in, a couple of demonstrations and the grade 7 class made mini movies about their topic.  The students, especially the younger ones loved going from class to class to see the big kids and what topics were chosen.  One project that stood out for me was one about Paleontology.  That's what the student wants to be later in life and had a nice display of fossils that he's acquired.
Over all, the went fairly smoothly and the kids had a good time.  We will be taking a year off next year, as the staff felt it would be better to do it every other year.

iPad in the classroom

I was very fortunate to have an iPad assigned to my room for supplementing learning.  I was really excited about the opportunity, but when it actually arrived I started to really think about it.
The positives include all the great apps that are out there, the technology will draw kids in and "hook" them, it will give kids that would never have the chance to use this type of device a chance to do so.  There are more of course, but these were the ones that came to my mind right away.
The not so positives are that there is only one device for 20 kids, it is a new to our room, with it's own set of routines and it is April (my year is almost over), the kids that could use the assistive technology tend to hyper-focus on fun things, and this could be a problem integrating the iPad into their programs at this late date.
The bottom line is that I am trying to find apps that will support learning so that work happens on this new device and integrate it into my classroom in a way that everyone gets to use it for something valuable.  I just don't know if I have enough time until the end of the year to make it work.  My EA is also concerned that the kids she works with won't be able to share and that raises a bunch of other issues for her.
I love the idea of putting technology into kids hands.  I believe that by the time they are my age technology will just be life for them, a natural thing, like breathing.  Now is the time to start getting them ready.

Any thoughts?

Math Centres

I'd been wanting to write about this for awhile, but it kept getting put on the back burner.  As I talked about before, I use centres for Math and Literacy in my classroom to reinforce concepts and allow me some time to work with small groups.  I wanted to talk about the math centres that I'm using right now.
I have been using a book called Math Tubs, by Creative Teaching Press.  It has little lessons on math concepts, but more importantly, has activities that you put together for centres.  There are four different activities for each concept that reinforce the lessons that they have.  I will sometimes leave the lessons for a TOC, as there is little prep, and very well written.  The activities come with an instruction card and an accountability sheet for the students which I include in the shoebox.  Each shoebox contains 4 pencils, the instructions, recording papers and any materials need for that activity.  When they finish the center, it goes back on the shelf and they choose another one, or move to another group that has space.  There are 4 people in each group so they are free to move around to different activities where there is room.

Routines

Spring Break has come and gone and I am now looking at the calendar wondering how I'm going to fit in all that curriculum that I have left.   I was glad to get back to work after the 2 week break and I was even more glad that I have strong routines in place in my classroom that help the kids come back too.  Having and EA in the room is good as she can let me know what really goes on when I leave, but the kids could run the classroom by themselves it seems.  They know exactly what to do and where things go and usually TOC's are amazed.  I also feel a little sorry for the teacher too, as some of my kids are sticklers for routine, and will correct the TOC if they are not following the "rules". 
Having group leaders collect and hand things out, making sure supplies have a home and having a schedule on the board everyday are just some of the things that make our lives easier in the classroom.