Set The Hook.
Follow me:
  • Home
  • Fishin' Solo Blog
  • MTBoS
  • Table Talk Math
  • The Classroom Chef
  • Would You Rather...?
  • Meet the Fisherman
    • Resume
  • Flipping 2.0
    • Flipping Your Classroom
    • Troubleshooting a flipped classroom
  • Choose Your Own Assessment
    • Student Work Samples
  • Apps In Class
  • Pre-made Math Lessons

I'll Have Some Sugar With My Coffee

4/28/2013

1 Comment

 
It was sweet, no doubt about it.  Yesterday morning, my classroom was open for any student who wanted to come in and study for the upcoming state test. If it were up to me, there wouldn't be this feeling that students needed to study for this 65 question guessing game in order to be placed in next year's classes.  At the end of the year, we would just hand the next grade level the students' portfolios of creations and let those determine the placement of each student.  But, because we're in this pressured testing environment that we are, kids care about the test more than they should and I want them to feel supported in their endeavors.

To support the kids who wanted to have that extra chance for review, I took a page out of @CoffeCue's playbook and spin it to meet the needs of kids.  Why not have a cup of coffee with kids instead of adults?
Picture
Photo Credit: Antonio Carrillo (Ancalop) via Compfight cc
So, Saturday morning came around and students strolled into my humble educational dojo and I opened up the iPad cart.  My only instruction was this:
"You are here because you want to be, and not because you have to be. Make this meaningful for you.  Pick a topic that you want to review and make something that we can hang around campus to remind you before the test. I'll help you out as needed, but it's up to you to decide the topic and what you're using to create it.  Go"
Just like that, my instruction was done for the day.  As I went around the room and removed anything math related before testing begins, students grabbed an iPad and got to work. They devised a plan of attack on which standards they needed to review the most, which ones they felt comfortable with, divided up the work and began creating posters.

I'm pretty sure almost every "school rule" was being broken during this event:
  • dress code was definitely not being enforced
  • cell phones were being used
  • kids (and I) were listening to music
  • students were out of their seats
  • students were eating in class (fruit & granola bars)
Picture
I wandered aimlessly around the room with nothing to do but clean up, which my room desperately needed, until someone asked for help or clarification.  Students were asking each other for help and quizzing each other on the formulas they needed, the steps that were required, and the little tricks and hints we discussed throughout the year.  It was pretty cool to watch.

Once we finished up, the attendees got onto wifi photo transfer to send me all of the screenshots from the day.  I printed up each of the pictures, we hung them near where the kids will be testing, and were done.  All in all, the session lasted 2 and a half hours and it was nothing short of impressive.  I'm just ashamed of myself for not doing this sooner, assuming that nobody would show up to a Saturday session.
Picture
"If you build it, they will come" applies to the classroom as well
Here are some of the products that students created during our time together:
Happy Fishing
1 Comment
Matt Vaudrey link
5/1/2013 02:27:03 pm

Man! Looks like you got through all the Algebra curriculum and then some. The #flipclass model is flirting with me, and I might just buy her a drink.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Author

    Math nerds tend to have a reputation for being math nerds.  I'm here to continue that trend.

    For more blog posts, click HERE

    Picture

    Archives

    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

Not that you would do anything crazy, but here:
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Photos used under Creative Commons from timlewisnm, leppre, KristinNador, Jarosław Pocztarski, Martin Pettitt