New Classroom:
This year I get to move into a new classroom, in an entirely different building across campus! I am so grateful that I have a room. But, when I first heard the news last year, I was pretty devastated. I had been in my building for two years and believe it or not, I have acquired TONS of STUFF. And, who likes to move?
However, from the moment that I first walked into my new room, I was in love! My room is so quiet, has tons of cabinets, and just feels peaceful. I’m hoping it will help me be more “zen” this year! I don’t go back for teacher prep week until Monday, so my room is still in the planning stages. I did get everything unpacked and fabric up on the bulletin boards. But, there isn’t a picture or poster on the walls. My room is far from finished, but I still wanted to post my progress here today.
Goals:
I am not much of a “goals” girl. But, in the spirit of blogging I am going to give it a go.
Stop:
- Being head MS cheer coach. I love, love, love this but it was almost the end of me last year. As sad as it makes me, I just don’t have the extra time. I do plan on helping out as much as I can though. I love it and cannot get it out of my system!
- Putting things in random places. I need to make sure that papers go in a file, and quickly. I tend to build up piles.
- Worrying about everything. There are some things I cannot control.
- FLAG (Fix Learning and Grow) – I loved the idea, but it was too hard to keep up with for students.
- Eating random food in the school kitchen just because it is there (we have amazingly generous parents and teachers that bring food).
- Staying up too late. If I’m tired, I just can’t do anything as well as is possible.
Continue:
- Tweeting and Blogging. Every year I fall off of the Earth once school starts and them totally disappear in Feb. This is my greatest source of professional development and recharges me like nothing else can. I need these people in my life and need to make time for them.
- Improving the Concept Help Pages
- Re-organizing my files. I changed my system last year and now I have double of everything. I started working on this last year but then stopped.
- Working on advisory topics. I love this part of middle school and can’t wait to develop it more fully.
- Coming up with new hands on activities for my classes. There is no better way to learn than the concrete and it is amazing to pull out an activity that you can just DO.
- EXERCISE – This is so important but I often skip it to grade papers or lesson plan when school starts. This only takes 30-40 minutes of my time and is a great stress reliever. I need to keep it up!
Start:
- Working to improve technology skills with the incoming 6th grade class.
- An after school math club. I want to do this so badly but it’s hard to find the time to develop the activities. I don’t want it to be boring or stupid.
- More problem solving across the board.
- Writing equations to all word problems from day one. I want everything to be a word problem because in real life, IT IS.
- Incorporate Exeter problems, somehow, someway
- Learn to do the “three acts” problems and actually do them.
- Incorporate activities for the GIANT whiteboards!
- Observing the other fabulous teachers at my school more. I am still new to middle school and I have so much to learn!
I Speak Math 
Ooh, you have some good stuff on your list. It reminded me to actually start writing mine down as well and get started on writing my post. Hoping that with my 40 minute drive home some good stuff will formulate.
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Great post! Your room looks fabulous!
☼ Kate
To The Square Inch
Coming from you this is an amazing compliment bc you have the most fabulous, colorful, creative stuff. Thank you!
Your room looks great! Love you lavender containers for supplies. Goals…….
Well, my school is in a 1:1 grant using iPads.
1. I will use the iPad in an effort to go paperless.
2. Want to use the 3 acts more regularly and create some of my own.
3. I will make my students think rather than “feed” them.
4. Figure out how and why of google docs and blogs
5. Do one project hooking my kids with another class
Continue to
Use Edmodo as our online learning environment
Learn and study as much as I can about flipping, ePubs, and screen casting
Take students out to present to others on technology
I would love to hear more about your iPad integration! Our school is piloting them for 9th grade. I teach 6th and 7th so we don’t have them yet. But, I am really not a big fan of my iPad bc Google Docs is so hard to use on them. Help! 🙂
I love your goals; they remind me that even amazing teachers always push themselves to continue to grow. In terms of an after school math club, we use a lot of materials from MathCounts, and the Illinois Math League and the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics, all three of which put out contests for middle school students that are fairly cheap. I wonder if North Carolina has similar organizations that would provide you with materials? MathCounts, for sure, is a national organization, so that could be one place to start.
I do have a lot of the MathCounts material. But much of it is over my kids heads and has to be taught. So, I plan on using that but would also love some fun activities. I saw a set of buzzers that I thought would be fabulous! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your goals. I am really interested in the Exeter problems as well. This past year I used some of the questions with my 12th graders. My colleagues and I tried to create a set of problems that would lead them through the start of a unit on sequences and series (arithemetic and geometric) without any direct instruction. I thought it went fairly well and the kids responded well.
Please let me know how you are thinking of using these problems with your kids. I am really looking forward to the globalmath session on Aug 28th related to the Exeter problems.
Cheers,
Blaise @blaisej
I am going to use them but am still working out how. I bought giant whiteboards so I may combine the two.
These could be my goals for this year! Amazing! Not one of the things on your list does not apply to me this year. The only additional bullet on my list is to continue to optimize my SMARTboard within my daily lessons! I can’t wait to see how your year progresses:) Thanks!