CAMT 2014- Session Debriefing- DAY 1 and GIVEAWAYS!!!!!

During CAMT last week, I did get into some really good sessions, even a few that weren't so good. But, I got something from everyone of them. 

My very first one, I actually walked out of. I was on the very back row of a huge lecture hall and five minutes into it, I knew I was not where I wanted to be. 

This is when I left to go meet 4mula Fun and Miss Math Dork. I had priorities people! 

My second session was a BIG one with featured speaker Glenna Tabor from Tabor Rotations. She was a good speaker and I could tell she had some good ideas, but with only an hour, instead of getting some real classroom application, I got a tease of what it is she does and how I could get more training on it through her company. 

I did leave with some good resources though. Her website is good and the one thing I will be using is a planning guide for my rotations this year. 

I also picked up a simple tool for naming groups. Instead of having students create their own and choosing something like sports teams or TV shows, they can create their own but they must use math terms. This way I can really instill more math vocabulary. See, that is useful and yes, I could have thought of it on my own, but I didn't. So happy for simple things like that to use right away with my students.

How she gives group member jobs. Again, useful! 

Next, I went to a session that focused on one lesson and a few percent and tax standards. (We call those TEKS in Texas)

It was much smaller and more interactive. We, the audience, played the role of the students and actually completed the lesson. The presenter was the teacher and then filled us in on how we would apply this in our classroom. JACKPOT! Seriously, it was perfect. She gave us the lesson and practical ways to adapt it to meet our needs, our student needs and various ways to differentiate it. I will definitely be incorporating it in my lesson plans. 

Lastly on the first day, I went to Jennifer from 4mula Fun's session. I feel like I have been to a session of hers just because of her blog and getting to know her in the blog world. I knew there would be a long line though, so I went early. I was right, her session filled up quickly and people were turned away. I went right to the front and when she saw me, she came up and hugged me. (I had just met her earlier in the day) It was so nice to feel so welcomed. This is also when I met Danielle from Live.Love.Math. She was helping Jennifer out during her sessions. For those who don't know, Jennifer had kidney stone surgery only a few days before CAMT. I cannot believe all she did after that experience. She was quite the trooper! 

Of course, her session was fabulous. I am still shocked when I hear people and how it seems its the first time they have ever heard of foldables and interactive notebooks. I shouldn't be, but I am. 

And because we were her second session of the day, we also got these great white boards and erasers to take with us. You know how we teachers love FREE! 

Great white board with place value included and a positive and negative number line.
Seriously ordering these when school starts! 

We made a pocket and used fun washi tape to add color! 

My goodies! 

She gave us great ideas, showed a few flippables and then showed how to apply it with our kiddos. 

Again, I walked away with knowledge I could implement immediately. 

Day 1 was a HUGE success! 

Don't forget about the summer giveaway. You can enter more than once. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And... more giveaways over at Fifth in the Middle, one of my favs! 

Have you heard about this fabulous giveaway yet?

This is a multiple blogger giveaway. Click on the picture, it will take you to one of them and you can read all about it! Everyone loves a giveaway right? Plus, they have practical ideas and information to help the school year start right!