Common Core Math: Jack & Jill Problems

I recently subscribed to this teacher's YouTube channel after stumbling across some of her previous videos.  I was pleasantly surprised to view this video and find that it was something that could easily be implemented into my classroom with very little difficultly.  The gist of Jack & Jill Problems is this:

1. Write two problems and answers, with one problem being correct and the other problem having a common student error.
2. Students go up to the board to make their initial guess as to who is correct ... Jack or Jill.  The video does suggest changing the names to more popular celebrities at that given time, but I kinda like Jack & Jill.  
3. Next, they have to prove to themselves that the problem/answer they chose is correct.  If they find that they guessed wrong, they can move their name to the opposite side.
4. Then, you pair up students from Jack with a student from Jill and they prove to one another why their problem/answer is correct.  If they find from their sharing that they guessed wrong, they can still move their name to the opposite side.

Although, I really like idea of adding this component to my math lessons, I do think I would make some changes.  

• I would not have students make an initial guess.  I would rather have them solve both problems and have to figure where the  mistake is so they can be prepared to defend the answer they chose and/or explain to their partner why it is/isn't a particular answer. 
• I also would prefer to keep names hidden when they choose either Jack or Jill to prevent certain students from just agreeing with their classmates they perceive as always being right.  I can already name a few of my current students that would do this very thing.

The Flipped Classroom

Every Monday we have three hours worth of professional development in our district.  Today's topic was "The Flipped Classroom", which I have heard about through Pinterest, but don't know much else, other than what the chart below shows.  We are expected to use this strategy in our classroom at least once before the end of the school year and then it is the expectation that all classrooms, K-8th grade, utilize it next year.

The idea of the flipped classroom is that for homework, the class would watch a video that delivers content to prepare them for the following day.  For example, I would make a video about multiplying 2-by-2 digit numbers that would teach them how to solve these type of problems and then I would include several examples for them to try on their own.  The following day, they would return to class with the completed practice problems and would be given a short quiz (maybe 5 questions) to see who has a clear grasp on the math skill.  Those students that earn 80% or higher would move onto an extension activity to challenge them.  Students that earn less than an 80% would receive immediate feedback to correct any errors that are occurring.

Here is an overview of what a flipped classroom is:

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Pro's of The Flipped Classroom:

• increase in in-class homework completion
• extension menus/projects
• grades improve due to completion of assignments
• 1:1 teacher support
• build relationships with students
• decrease in negative behaviors

You might ask ... what happens during the time that used to be spent teaching the whole group?

• group discussions
• experiments, projects, debates
• enrichment games
• cross curricular activities
• discuss questions that arose while watching the video the night before
• collaboration with another class

While researching this idea, I thought it was interesting to see one website recommend having one teacher flip their classroom and collect data on its success, while another teacher doesn't flip their classroom and collects the same data.  Then both teachers can compare to see its effectiveness.  I think this would be a GREAT way to get staff buy in if you have data to back up why this model is effective.  Plus, I think it's always easier to roll out a program when you have staff members that have piloted it and worked out all of the "bugs" that could arise during implementation.

One of my biggest questions regarding the idea of a flipped classroom is ... what do I do with the students that consistently come in without their homework completed, even though their parents have been contacted and are aware of the problem?  Thoughts?

Here are some Facebook groups I've joined to see if they have some useful information about the flipped classroom:

• The Flipped Classroom
• Flipped Classroom
• Katie Gimbars Flipped Classroom

I'm going to be looking at trying this idea out next week in my reading block, so we shall see how it goes!  Wish me luck!

Alternatives to "I Don't Know"

If you're anything like me, asking a question and having a student shrug their shoulders in response, DRIVES ME CRAZY!  The same goes with being told, "I don't know."  So, to help eliminate these two behaviors, I created an anchor chart for my classroom of questions a student could ask instead of saying "I don't know" or shrugging their shoulders.  IIn the beginning, it was a challenge for my students to refer to the chart because they were so used to their old stand by if they didn't know the answer.  However, they've started to reference the chart on their own and if they see me glance at it, they ask one of those questions, so I don't have to verbally remind them very often.  I didn't introduce it until halfway through the year so I'm hoping that by using it from the get go next year, it won't be as difficult of a transition for the class.

An Example of Reading Circles in Action!

Today was our first official day of the entire class holding their own Reading Circle discussions.  I had two groups volunteer to have their discussions recorded and posted on Edmodo for their classmates to listen and respond to.  Each student was required to make five annotations while we listened to Salmon Summer and then they would share three of their annotations during the discussion.  I sat in with this particular group during their discussion and really thought they did a fabulous job!  I was very proud of the quality of discussion that was held, especially since it was their very first discussion.  Tomorrow I will be playing the discussion to the class and we will make a list of things this group did well during their discussion so we can add to our anchor chart of Reading Circle expectations.

 

Geometry Monsters

Now that we've completed our state/district assessments, I'm having my class do various projects to display their learning of 4th grade math concepts.  We're currently doing several projects tied to our geometry standards, including lapbooks and Geometry Towns.  Students are expected to identify an assortment of lines, angles and triangles so I went to my absolutely favorite website, Pinterest, to see what other super creative teachers had already created..  Fortunately, I found a project called Geometry Monster Glyphs that tied into our standards perfectly.  It's FREE so download it now from Teachers Pay Teachers! You can see the directions below, as well as several examples.  Can you guess which one is mine? :-)

Podcasts using Reading Circles

We recently read all eight books in the series, Charlie's Great Adventure, by C.A. Goody as our daily read aloud.  For more information on the series, visit the author's website..  It is a super cute series that my students always seem to enjoy because Charlie, the cat, always manages to get himself into the craziest adventures!  During our read alouds, my class is always expected to practice any given strategy, such as predicting, visualizing, making connections, questioning, evaluating, summarizing etc. and then share their written responses with a classmate for feedback.

Now that we've finished the series, I decided to teach my class what a Reading Circle is and what the expectations are when participating in one.  First, the purpose of Reading Circle's is to discuss what has been read in a less structured setting than you would see when doing traditional literature circles.  There are no jobs/roles that need to be completed.  It's more of an opportunity to use sticky notes to mark favorites parts, questions, confusing sections, powerful words, etc. while a student reads.  When their Reading Circle meets, they bring their sticky notes to the group to discuss them together.  What I really like about this strategy is that it's something we (adults) do naturally as readers.  We have favorite parts of the story.  We have sections where really interesting words appear.  We have questions and wonder about certain things.  So, in this type of setting, it allows the group to freely discuss, but also have certain expectations put in place.  Since it was the first time we tried Reading Circles, I had each student develop 3 questions and 1 reaction statement.  These were then shared during the discussion and each question had to have two responses to them.

Here are the discussions that were held today:

Here are the reaction statement stems that I gave:

• I wonder ...
• I predict ...
• This part reminds me of ...
• If I were in this situation, I would ...
• I can't believe ...
• I find it interesting that ...
• I liked it when ...
• I hope that ...
• In the next chapter ...
• My favorite part was ...
• I don't like ...

I will be incorporating Reading Circles into our weekly Houghton MIfflin stories and will move towards identifying various moments throughout the story to discuss with their group rather than just writing 3 questions and 1 reaction statement.  I'll be trying this tomorrow so we'll see how it goes!

For those of you interested, to record the discussions I used the iPad app, Show Me.  It's a super easy app to use and highly recommended.  I've used the app to create math tutorials to post in Edmodo for my class to watch when they get stuck on a certain type of problem.

Anchor Chart: Evidence Based Terms

As I have transitioned into more of a common core classroom, I decided to create an anchor chart of evidence based terms that I found on Pinterest.  Any time my class writes, they know they are to include an array of these terms.  When I started off teaching this strategy, we solely focused on "because" since it would be the simplest of the terms to get into the habit of using.  Then we moved onto "It said on page" because it would be the easiest way to start proving where they had located their information.  We then began experimenting with the remainder of the terms so that we always proved where we found our answers when completing a variety of tasks, such as group discussions, projects, or written responses.

Here are some of the terms you can start having your students use:

• because
• for instance
• for example
• the author said
• according to the text
• it said on page
• from the reading, I know that
• let me explain

What are some terms that you use with your class?

Anchor Chart: Accountable Talk

Above are examples of the anchor charts that I posted in my room for Accountable Talk statements.  They are easily accessible for all students so they can refer to the chart at any point in the day.  The expectation is to use 2-3 statements within a discussion, depending on what they are talking about.

Motivational Quote

One of my all-time favorite television shows is Friday Night Lights.  If you haven't watched it, I HIGHLY recommend it.  It is one of the most uplifting and inspiring shows that I have ever had the pleasure of watching.  If you think it's all about football, just know that it's really more than that.  It's about the relationships you build with those in your life and how you lift them up and make them become the best person they can possibly be.  The quote above is one of my favorites from the show and something I stress to my students on a daily basis.  I want each and every one of my students to understand that they don't have to be the best at everything (I know that I certainly am not), but they have to at least be willing to TRY and do the very best that they can.  It's basically instilling the idea in them that they need to always strive for their PERSONAL BEST.

90% or Higher Buttons

One of the ways that my students are recognized for their hard work on tests is getting to wear one of my "Ask me how I did on Miss Pottinger's Test!" buttons for the entire school day.  They earn this button any time they get a 90% or higher on a test.  For every person that asks them how they did on the test, they earn points for their house.  My students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when they get to wear one of these buttons because they enjoy the recognition they receive so it's definitely something I will continue doing next year!

Classroom Management Stop Signs

Aren't these fantastic?  They're a great little NON-VERBAL reminder for students when they are doing something they know they're not supposed to be doing.  I have mine printed out, laminated and ready to go for tomorrow morning!  I use Character Cards with my students, which allows them to score their behaviors throughout the day as a positive/negative based on the six Character Counts! traits.  If they receive one of these stop signs at any point in the day, they will mark their card with a negative for that subject area.  You can locate the template here so you can print out these super cute stop signs for you class!

Accountable Talk

As we start to transform our classrooms into what is expected of us based on the new common core standards, we need to begin looking at how collaboration amongst our students looks and sounds like.  This post will specifically focus on what it should sound like.  Below is a list of sentence stems that can be used during group discussions to foster deeper and more meaningful conversations.  Creating an anchor chart of these stems is the perfect way to allow easy access for all of your students.  

1. How do you think .... changes in the story?
2. What do you think is going to happen after ...?
3. Why do you think the author chose to use rich language in paragraph ...?
4. How do you think ... is feeling?
5. What do you think ... will do next?  
6. This reminds me of a time when ...
7. This reminds me of a book I read ...
8. I wonder why ...
9. What you said made me think about ...
10. I agree with ... because ...
11. I kinda disagree with ... because ...
12. What do you think this means?
13. Where can I find that in the book?
14. So, what you're saying is ...
15. Couldn't it also be that ...
16. Can you explain what you mean?
17. Can you tell me more?
18. What you said made me think ...
19. I was confused when ...
20. This reminds me of ...
21. I would like to add ...
22. How can you prove that?
23. Another example is ...
24. If I was the character ...
25. Do you have another solution?
26. How do you know your answer is correct?
27. My strategy is like yours because ...

In the beginning, you can tell each group the expectation is for each person to use one-two stems during the conversation (depending on what they are doing).  As the stems begin to be used automatically, you can start upping the number of stems used or you can start making the stems more challenging by removing the ones that are being used too often.  You could even have your students come up with sentence stems to add to the list to add ownership amongst the class.

What are some ways you hold all students accountable during group discussions?

Welcome!

Welcome!  This blog will be a place to share resources that will help other teachers develop and create a successful common core classroom.  I will share various strategies and ideas that I am using with my own 4th grade students, as well as photographs of my classroom and activities throughout the year.  I look forward to hearing what YOU are doing in your classroom, too!