RELAX.......

From a Facebook post a colleague Debby posted.  (Thanks Debby!)

Great Math Manipulatives - FREE!

While reading through the Whiteboard Blog, I found a great website by Glencoe that gives teachers some great math manipulatives. Check out the manipulatives at Glencoe.

• These manipulatives would be fantastic on an interactive white board, 
• but they could also be used on a teacher computer with only a projector.  In this way, a student would need access to the mouse connected to the computer.
• This will definitely work as an individual or group station on a pc. 
• Many students need help doing homework at home.  Adding the link and directions for set up to a homework assignment could be a great asset for students and parents.

 Check it out... play with the grade levels, backgrounds, and manipulatives. Lots of good ideas... and it's FREE!!!

Where's that cat? The mice are misbehaving!

I found a very cool way to engage students that is low to no cost.  Some of you may have come upon Mouse Mischief by Microsoft already.  For those of you who haven't, here's the scoop (or is it cheese?).
  If you have Office 2007 or 2010, Microsoft has a free download that adds Mouse Mischief to your Powerpoint program.  It allows you to add pages to your presentation where students with an attached mouse (wired or wireless) can respond on the screen by choosing an answer or using the drawing function.  Windows XP can support about 5 mice with a hub attached to the teacher computer.  Windows Vista or 7 can support up to 25 mice with a hub.  Then viewing could happen at a student computer station on regular monitor, or with a projector with or without interactive whiteboard, or on large screen tv.  If you have an IWB, it will not interact with this program, but will of course, allow viewing. Program shows the correct answer and also gives immediate feedback on how many chose correct and incorrect answers. 

The download only takes 2-3 minutes.  I happened to have 2 mice hanging around to use and I'm planning on purchasing a couple more for next year.  I gave this a try out with a couple sample lessons with higher and lower level students.  Participant feedback was good.  Check out the demo video and the sample lessons.  Program is easy to utilize.  I see great potential for creativity!

Cool way to bring an expert to your class!

I was reading Troy Tenhet's blog on KernCUE and went and checked it out for myself.  I am going to check out how to get a polycom for us to use to do a videoconference with PORTS.  Fantastic idea and thanks for sharing Troy! 

Positive Discipline Strategies Yield Quick Results | Edutopia

Positive Discipline Strategies Yield Quick Results Edutopia
Click on this link and watch the video.  :-)
I use a similar approach with students in my class as the TAB. Kids are put in a place to "take a break" and reflect on what they did and why the behavior is not acceptable. I don't use the writing part, but I follow a similar process by discussing and posing questions to the student to think them through the process. We discuss the two basic choices - the positve behavior and consequence and the negative behavior and consequence. We talk about ways to handle feelings more appropriately. It is a learning experience. This is not a lecture, but it is a teacher led conversation. At the end, I always ask for the student to summarize what we discussed so that I know that he or she did follow the points. This approach has worked well with my junior high deaf and hard of hearing students.

I do add simple picture drawing and writing appropriate to the child's level of language when the situation is more severe or warrants a more complex explanation.  I am thinking of developing a simple form that could be used that may include a space to draw a simple picture and explanation.

What 2 Learn? Cool way to practice vocabulary!

What 2 Learn is a site that offers you the ability to input words, words and definitions, questions and answers etc  for your students to practice in a game format.  You can choose different games to input your information. There are mazes, wordsearches, hangman, Then you click and the game is created.  It gives you an access number that you need to write down.  Then you can have your students go to the website, put in the access number, and play your game.  You can also embed them on a webpage if you have one.  See an example of three vocabulary games I created for my students on my class website: Mrs. Berg's Class .
 
Play this game on the what2learn site

You can also create student logins, have students report their game scores to you, and have reports from the practice completed.  Check it out, sign up (it's FREE), and create a simple game.  Very easy and your students will love it.

All Aboard! Let's Take a Virtual Field Trip

As we all know, budgets are tight. So open your students' minds with a Virtual Field Trip. No need for bus approval or money for lunch. You can find many field trips related to your thematic units. Some trips are in museums, some are in zoos, and some tour in National Parks. So click on the links and off your go. http://mrsbergsclass.com/teachers.html Scroll down and click on Virtual Field Trips.
You may want to make a scavenger hunt of things for students to locate on their trip. Depending on your students, a list of questions or activities for students to accomplish as they take the tour. Or you can plan a project for the students or the class to complete based on their field trip. What about a passport with different stamps for each different section? Lots of possibilities!
All aboard!!!