The Long Division Song

This year my fourth graders really struggled with the steps of long division. That is, until they learned this song that I wrote to a familiar melody.

After singing this a few times as they marched around the playground, they all know the steps fluently!

Do you teach with songs? What are your favorites?

Routine. . . Getting Back to It

Today was the first day back to school after spring break. Mondays are typically difficult for my students, but this one seemed worse than most. I have about 5 students who are extremely affected by any change to routine, and have to take some time to settle back into it when they have been gone.

My third graders did a fantastic job. They were quiet and obedient. I was very pleased. My fourth graders on the other hand, were a totally different story. Let's see, I had. . .

- one that was talking back
- one that would not stay in his seat
- one whistler
- 5 talkers
- two fist fighters

So, needless to say, it was a stressful day. Hopefully tomorrow, the students are settled into the routine a bit more, and behave more appropriately.

Speaking of getting back into the routine after break, here's a great article I found about it.

Do you have any great tips or ideas? How to you bring your students' minds back to their schoolwork?

On a positive note, one of my students came to me this morning asking for forgiveness for something he had done. It is such a blessing to have students who want to do right and want to please God.

I'm Back

For a long time, I have been bogged down with family health issues, incredibly big challenges at school, and very little time to blog.
Right now, we are in the middle of spring break, so I have been able to take care of/catch up on some things, and so this blog is being revived. I don't plan to post daily, but we'll see what I can manage.
If you are new here, thanks so much for following/reading. I value your input!

Friday Follow

I am participating in Follow Friday this week. I would like to get a few new followers, and have fun in the process!

Pre-Referral Intervention Manual

This book is amazing. It was given to our school today, and I learned so much by browsing through it. This book is used so that teachers can be sure they have tried everything possible with students before they refer students for testing.

For example, you have a student who fails to complete their classwork during class time. All you have to do is flip the book open to the index, find that topic, and then turn to the page indicated. On that page, you will find about 45 different things to try with that student.

I plan on utilizing this book to its fullest extent.

Teacher's Convention

This past week, the teachers from our school attended Keystone Christian Education Association's teacher's convention. It was an awesome time of rejuvenation, sharing ideas, learning new things, and refueling our passion for teaching.

I got lots of new ideas, some of which I will be sharing with you here. Some may make sense for your classroom, and some may not, but I hope that they will be a benefit to someone!

The picture at the top of the page is a new project I am working on for my classroom. I do not have a high budget for buying things for school, so I have to make my own things. These are the labels for our new daily schedule. I will appoint a student to put them in order each day, so other than preparing the labels and preparing a chart of daily activities for the students so that they can update the chart, there will be no extra work for me! That is the kind of thing I love. I learned early on that the more I can leverage my time, the better off I will be.

Awesome Site Alert!

Check out SpellingCity.com! This awesome website allows teachers to upload their weekly spelling lists. Students can then log on and choose either "Teach Me," "Test Me," or "Play a Game."

Under Teach Me, students will be able to listen as the computer says the word, spells the word, and then says the word again. A sentence is also given for each word.

If a student chooses Play A Game, then they get to choose between bunches of great games that incorporate their spelling words. Some of the games are Word Search, Match It, Crossword, and Hang Mouse. There are a total of nine different games, all full of fun!

Test Me is where the students are given a practice test. The students hear the word, and then type it in the blank. The computer generates a grade sheet, which can be printed for the teacher's records.

If you have been trying to figure out how to add some variety to your spelling class, try this out. You'll love it!