Wednesday, July 27, 2011

We've Reached a milestone

We now have 50 followers on the Facebook Fan page! As promised, here's a back-to-school activity. I love doing this with middle school students.





Happy Days! -Ashley

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Behavior Management

Greetings, 
Today's topic stems from The Organized Classroom Blog Facebook Fan page. The question of the day focuses on managing student behavior. 


In my classroom, I use responsibility logs. I have a binder with a tab for each student. I assign numbers to students so I never have to replace the tabs from year to year. In each tab, students have a log.  Students have to sign the log when they make poor behavior choices. There is a consequence for each time a student signs his/her log. The log requires the student to write a brief description of what they did wrong. During class, I simply say sign the log. The student has to then figure out what poor choice he/she made. I send the sheet home at the end of the week for the parents to see and sign.

Responsibility Log






My reward system is a team building competition. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, right? Super teams is what I call it. Students are organized into teams where they can earn points toward prizes. Teams can earn points by working cooperatively during class and doing well on tests. This helps ensure students are ring responsible for their learning. It also fosters some interesting educational conversations amongst my students. 

Roles of Cooperative Learning[1]Poster for Super Teams[1]Cooperative Grouping Strategies






Cooperative Grouping Strategies
Poster for Super Teams
Super Teams Roles
Responsibility Log




Happy Blogging!


Happy Days! -Ashley

Monday, July 4, 2011

Give Away Coming Soon

We've reached 19 fans on our Facebook page. Let's reach 50 by the end of the week.
As a reward, I'm giving away a Back-to-School Icebreaker. So, please hit the share button on the fb page. Let's really create an online PLC!


Happy Days! -Ashley

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Standards Based Grading System

Greetings All,
What are your thoughts on current grading trends where completion versus the learning. I would love the opportunity to look at examples of systems using a different type of grading system.

Personally, I allow students to retake tests. If the student is willing to learn the material, then I should be flexible enough to allow him/her to get the grade he/she truly deserves.

What are your thoughts community? I've found a book that refers to this topic. Anyone read it? Have other resources on the topic? Here's an article: Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading. 

Happy Days! -Ashley

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Math Playground

Hello all,
Looking for a place to find math games, activities, and worksheets? Check out Math Playground! This site has "thinking blocks." I love this activity for kids who need a model for solving independent practice problems. After students complete the set, they receive a score (great for your gradebook).

Happy Days! -Ashley

Welcome

Well folks,
I've done it. This is my first blog for collaboration. I hope the ideas you find here are helpful and effective. Happy Blogging! Please feel free to visit my classroom website. I am thinking about switching to Google sites. Anyone have any thoughts on the benefits/disadvantages of Google sites vs. Wikispaces? Please feel free to share.