Goodbye Like, And, Um & Uhh....

So during the RC training I noticed that our instructor never used um, uhh, and or like to pause the conversation/instruction. If you've never done this before try now...see how long you can have a conversation without using these words. You may be able to do it for a short while, but not consistently all day (and if you can don't rub it in). I want to remove these words from my vocabulary, but I'm having a hard time. It takes a lot of conscientious brain power. Wish me luck!

Responsive Classroom

I'm attending a RC workshop this week and I absolutely love it.
I did a lot of RC in my class last year, but this workshop allows me to perfect my craft and build my base knowledge. If you don't know about RC please, please check out their website. Also if given the opportunity go to a workshop. I've had the best instructor: Mike Anderson. If you're looking to improve your teaching technique, or think you could do things better you must check this out. Many of you may already be doing these things, but this programs helps teachers to focus on more than just curriculum.

Mathletics

A friend of mine used this term the other day and I absolutely loved it.
He said he wasn't very mathletic...How many of our students feel that way?
I hope to build an excellent group of mathletes this year using guided math (basically math workshop or math menu). Just thought this word was too cute not to share.

Guided Math 101

So I'm in a summer reading group for math. We're reading a book by Laney Sammons (2010) Guided Math. It's a lot like guided reading and if you've ever done math menu you'll have the gist of the book. I like it though. Good refresher.

Summer School

So I'm teaching summer school....it's a lot of fun, but I just don't have enough time with the kids.
Friday they have to take a post test, to see how much they learned and how well I taught them. When I informed them that they would be taking a test they got very worried and stressed. I told them that it was more to see how good I was doing than how well they are.....the reply I got was, "You're doing a great job! We just don't get it."
I cannot wait to get to work with these kids this year. They are such a fantastic group! Should be fun!