A couple ways I've motivated my kids this week.

As usual, it's been a busy week! I'm sharing a couple of the things I've done this week to help Spark Student Motivation. Check in with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching to see more! 

Reading

Recently, I ended up with one of those weird 20 minute blocks to fill due to special events being planned in the middle of my reading block. I've been noticing that some of my kids' book bins have been a little light on back-up books, and that there have been a lot of kids trying to book shop during Read-to-Self. 

I don't allow them to book shop when they're supposed to be reading, so this is a problem. I decided to take advantage of the time by having an old-fashioned Book Look a la Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer). If you're not familiar with the concept, it's simple! You select a set of books that you think your kids should read for one reason or another, and your kids sit in a circle passing the books to the left after looking at them for about 45 seconds. By the end of the 20 minutes every kiddo has been exposed to 20+ new book options. At the end of the Book Look I give the kids the opportunity to add the books to their bins if they found one or two that interested them. If two people want a book, we Rock, Paper, Scissors for first dibs. At the end of this Book Look 18 books (all classics that are worth reading no matter who you are!) found their way into a book bin...some with waiting lists attached! 

Math

I've talked recently about one of the cool things going on in my math class, but I haven't talked as much about how much it really motivates my kids. 

In the past I've done Monster Math Battles to cover a lot of different math skills in class. This year I looped up with my kiddos, and even though they begged me to do another Monster Math Tournament, I wanted to do something different. Two of the biggest skills we've covered so far are multi-digit multiplication and long division. This is something the kids just need lots of practice with. 

I've never seen my kids more motivated
to practice math skills!

I knew I wanted to make it more than just boring practice, so that's why I took my Monster Math Battle approach to it, with a twist! I made it a battle between Ninjas and Samurais! My kids love it! They literally beg to see who will be "fighting" the next day. They can't WAIT to do the math problems to find out who wins each battle. They're totally clueless that I'm tricking them into doing the math. There are 5 battles in each pack, and both packs are available as a bundle for $4. If you like the idea, check out my Monster Math Battles, which come with a full 31 battle tournament in a bunch of different skills. 

In other exciting news, my wife and I finally got our printed hard copies of our Adoption profile. We used a website called Mixbook.com. I am super pleased with the results. The pages are thick, glossy, and very well bound. Honestly, they are of a better quality than the school yearbook! Considering this is probably one of the most important documents I've ever designed in my life...I was really nervous. We actually went with a local printer at first, but were very disappointed. Luckily, the local printer told us we didn't have to pay for the ones they made because that prompted me to try out Mixbook. Now...we just wait for the right birthmother to look through one of these! 

In the meantime...grab this up while you can! It'll only be available for a few more weeks! Many of the products are fall themed, so would be great to use in the coming weeks. 

Spark Student Motivation with Hands On Science - and a Freebie!

I'm linking up with my BBB Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Motivation Saturday!

I wanted to share a quick post about what we're doing in Science lately! We've been studying Energy and Electricity, and a big part of that is understanding that energy can be classified as potential and kinetic. 

This Studyjams video explains it really well, and isn't too long.

  

There's also a handy little quiz included to do with your class after the video. If you haven't heard of Studyjams yet, it's a great free resource. There are lots of short videos that explain concepts in all the subject areas!

After we had a basic understanding of the difference between potential and kinetic energy, I showed my kids a couple videos of some amazing Rube Goldberg Devices. 

This one is my absolute favorite!

Melvin the Mini Machine from HEYHEYHEY on Vimeo.

While we watched, I had the kids notice when energy was being transferred within the system, when energy was transformed, and when potential energy was activated.  Pausing at different points and quizzing my kids about what kind of energy transfers and transformation were occurring during these engaging videos really helped them understand. It was a lot of fun, and really help the kids see how energy can be transferred and transformed...but never created or destroyed!  

I think one thing I would like to do when I teach this next time is to teach the kids some hand motions to go along with potential, kinetic, transfers, and transformations. That way they could try to make the motions to keep up with the video!

This group is using a catapult from the
simple machines unit as part of their
device! 

And now that we've watched some cool Rube Goldberg device movies, and talked a lot about potential and kinetic energy I figured it's time for an assessment. So my intern and I gathered up a bunch of raw materials, and my kids have been building their own devices! They are working in groups. They are expected to plan out their device, build and test it, and finally present the device to the class. The devices have to perform a simple task in the end. The kids have to label where the potential energy is in their device, and where energy transfers or transformations will occur. 

Here's the first stage of this group's machine! 

As you can see, the kids are coming up with some great stuff already! And I joined in the fun and have been building one too! If you only watch one video in this post, watch this one because I'm proud of my machine. :)

I made this poster to put up in my room to help kids remember how groups should work. I've posted it in my TpT store as a freebie! Go grab it up! 

Be sure to stop over and check out the other link ups!

Simple things to help with State Testing

Even though I'm jealous of her weekend Disney cruise, and her Florida weather in general... I'm linking up with my BBB Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation!

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't love state testing. I'm a firm believer in the fact that good teaching will lead to my kids doing well on any test that is developmentally appropriate for them. I can't control what the state puts in front of them. And I refuse to teach to a test. So instead I challenge my kids every day at their individual levels. 

This is the first year in PA that the test is actually part of my evaluation. I won't get into the billion and one reasons that this is a joke...it's all been said before. But I will say this...I work exceptionally hard for my kids. I do what's best for my kids. I care about my kids. I hold my kids to high expectations. I teach my kids things that matter and things that will help them have a successful and happy life.  If that's not good enough for the state then I suppose they can...well, this is a family friendly blog.

Just a buck in my store! Click
the picture to check 'em out!

Now, I've done my best to give my kids the skills they need to make it in the real world. Despite that, sitting in front of a booklet full of questions for 2 hours a day for 6 days can be a little trying. So I've done some simple things to help the kids make it through. The first is that before we even take the test I'll be handing out our newest brag tag, as seen to the right. As far as I'm concerned, not flipping their desks in revolt is enough to prove that they are Champions.  :)

I'm not convinced that as an adult I could sit there for 30 minutes of instructions being read aloud to me and THEN have to keep sitting there while I worked through the reading passages, extended responses, word problems or whatever for another hour and a half without a little pick-me-up. It's bad enough that I have to walk around and "actively monitor" my kids while a pile of work sits on my desk/laptop that I could be doing. (I mean if I can't be teaching I wish I could at least get something done besides walking around and not looking at my kids' top secret test booklets...)

So as another quick little motivator/built in brain break I've prepared this little set of notes for my kids. Each day they'll get a new note, with a little treat. When they get to the point where they feel like they need to take a break and get a little pick-me-up they can eat the treat!

This set of notes is just a buck in my store too!

I know some teachers really go all out with themes and all that for the state tests. And I admit that I'm envious of them sometimes. But, I have to be honest in the fact that right now I really don't have the time to put together all of that when I have so many academic things I could be putting that energy into. After all, the school year continues for 2 months after these tests end! Maybe as time goes by I'll make a little more stuff each year to make a testing theme one day that is awesome...this year? Nope! But buying some candy, printing off some notes, laminating and cutting some brag tags...I can handle that! 

It's hard to believe that it's going to be two weeks before I can get back to full days of real teaching! And on that note, one final someecard!

Spark Student Motivation with Food and Tech!

So, thanks to all of the crazy winter weather we've had lately this past week was our first full 5 day week since December! Isn't that insane?! Keeping the kids engaged and motivated for a whole week when they're used to only sporadically coming to school is tough!  ;)  So I'm linking up with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for her Spark Motivation Saturdays linky!

Luckily we had a lot of interesting things going on this week to help keep them engaged! 

Early in the week we finished our unit of study on Japan with a Japanese Foods Taste Testing! I went to a local Asian Market and bought a variety of Japanese snacks for the kids to taste. I was surprised by how many of them they actually enjoyed. I purposefully bought a few that wouldn't normally appeal to American kids' palates....like the green tea mochi pictured here!

Nothing motivates students like science experiments! My partner intern came and led the kids in a science experiment where they tested out different sized parachutes to try and understand drag. I think the kids will need a little more instruction, but they did enjoy making hypotheses and carrying out the experiment!

Using technology is always a big motivator too! It just so happened that I was going to be paid a visit by my superintendent and the school board on Friday, and they were coming expressly to see how technology is being used in the district! To compliment my students' current understanding of what we've been learning in our "Air, Aviation, and Weather" unit of study, I had my kids exploring several websites and doing a webquest that I created. I went ahead and added it to my store for anyone else who is interested for just a buck! I found it funny that when I rang the bell to signify that it was time for us to put the computers away the kids could hardly believe the entire science block was over. Technology really sucks them in!

Go check out some of the other ways to keep kids motivated! And be sure to stop by later this week for some details on my great big one year blogiversary giveaway! Woohoo!

Spark Student Motivation - Math Fact Fluency

Hi all! I'm linking up with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

This time I'm sharing about motivating kids to learn their math facts! I'm in charge of a rather large 3rd grade math class, which is when kids start to really learn multiplication and division. Coming from 5th grade last year, I know that kids sometimes still don't have their facts to the point where they need to be. I think it's pretty important for kids to have their facts down pat so that when we amp it up to multi-digit multiplication and long division they can work at a good pace, and not make simple mistakes. 

So, even though it isn't the most exciting thing in the world, fact fluency practice is necessary! I have two things that I've just made for my own classroom to help motivate my students when it comes to fact practice.

My kids LOVE playing kaboom during my math workshop. I have several kaboom games for them to play, but I just created a Multiplication Fact Fluency Kaboom game for them. If you're not familiar with Kaboom, it's a fast-paced card game where players draw a card, try to answer it and then accrue cards that they answer correctly. If they draw a bomb card...Kaboom! They lose all their cards. Also, the cards can just as easily be used by an individual student as flash cards, or for a whole class version of the game. I just added this Multiplication version to my store for a measly $2! Check it out!

Finally, I really wanted a way that my kids could track their progress as they learn the different multiplication and division tables. I've seen a lot of different versions of this before (build a pizza, etc.), but I wanted something unique. I also didn't want to cut out a hundred little mushroom and pepperonis. 

My class has really been focusing lately on becoming centered. I've even introduced a 7 minute block of time in the middle of my day where we take time to sit and I walk the kids through a daily meditation. So in keeping with that theme, I created Mandala Math Fact trackers! 

Basically, each time a kiddo masters (100% in 1 minute) one of their tables, they get to color in one layer of the Mandala! I made up quick quizzes for each of the tables, both multiplication and division, and 5 options of mandala. I think the splash of color will look great outside my classroom, and I think the kids will really like practicing patterns and rotational symmetry each time they get to color in a new layer. 

This kiddo mastered his
1s, 2, 5s, 10s, and 11s!

This kiddo has mastered
her multiplication facts!

I added the pack of 5 custom made mandala, and quizzes for each of the multiplication and division tables to my store for $4! It's worth that just to not have to cut out all of those pepperonis and mushrooms, right?! But seriously, I think my kids are going to enjoy it, and I love that it is as simple as printing, copying, and using!

And because I hate making blog posts where it seems like I'm just advertising something...which wasn't my intent (I promise!)...I'm going to do a Pin It to Win It competition! Simply pin the cover of the product you want a chance to win to pinterest, and then post the pin link in your blog comment! I'll let Killer B choose a random number in a couple days to see who wins what!

Also, a quick heads up to anyone who isn't a Facebook follower yet...I'll be changing out my Free Follower Freebie soon, so this would be a great time to go over, like my page and grab your freebie! There's a button at the top of the right column that'll take you straight there!

Be sure to check out the other cool ideas in the linky this week! I especially liked Joanne's Snowball Fight!

Read Beads, Brag Tags, and Giveaways, oh my!

Time to link up with the wonderful Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

After reading "The Book Whisperer" a couple years ago I decided to start requiring my kids to read books from all across the genres throughout the year. I set a high expectation for the number of books kids will read. 25 different chapter books! I ask students to read a certain number of each of the various genres, though I don't require them to read from the horror/thriller/supernatural genre. Students also get 6 student choices in case they really love a particular genre.

One of my opening week activities is to have my kids fill out this Reading Interest Inventory (usually while kids are taking turns doing their first book shopping) to learn a bit about their tastes and habits. 

I especially like to see how many stars they give themselves, and the list of books they wish were in my library is always super helpful when I'm placing my scholastic book club orders!

Students are expected to complete one of these simple little book reviews every time they complete a book, and then they are awarded with a read bead! Last year I left the reviews on display for other kids to look through if they needed a book suggestion. If the summary or something needs to be improved, then the kiddo doesn't get a read bead until they fix it up. (This kiddo needs to be more specific in the genre category, but otherwise did a great job!)

These two forms come bundled in my TpT store for just $1.

This was my board last year. It will look a bit
different this year. The flowers have the kids'
names on them, and were leaves in the Fall
and snowflakes in the winter. 

Read beads are just regular beads, but each bead color represents a different genre. So glow in the dark is for Sci-fi, and yellow is for historical fiction, etc. I typically set up a bulletin board for students to display their bead necklaces. This year I am also implementing brag tags, so students will keep their read beads and brag tags on the same necklace! I also have switch over to a metal beaded "dog tag" type chain because it clasps shut easily.


Kids love collecting the beads and tags! I even made myself a read bead necklace. I made the name brag tags using the template from Diane's (from Fifth in the Middle) TpT store. Grab it here for just a buck!

There are still a couple hours to enter her awesome giveaway by the way! It ends tonight though, so hurry!

And if you haven't heard, my BBB Jivey is having a giveaway too! In celebration of reaching 1,000 followers she is giving away a few (actually, a TON) of her favorite things! I'm excited that one of those things is my Reading Response Journals Pack! 

Be sure to go over and enter for a chance to win in a bunch of different raffles! Lots of chances to win, not just one!