Sparking Motivation- Interactive White Board Lesson

This week I planned a lesson without even knowing how motivating it could be. When it was over and my kids were asking to play again, I knew what I would share today. 

It's Saturday with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching

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This week, we talked about integers. Our standards are weak in this area in my opinion. But, with my advance classes, they will use negative numbers this year and do all operations. 

I created an interactive Promethan board lesson. 

We played integer golf. 

First, we reviewed some vocabulary and facts about integers. We went over this the day before. We made a foldable, a vertical number line and practiced + and - integers with a little story. 

Then I explained how the game of golf works. They needed to know that negative or "under par" was actually good. 

They loved the golf courses as backgrounds. They don't have a lot of experience with golf, but this helped them visualize better. 

They created their own score card and we played together on the white board. They used a cube to keep track of the score with their vertical number line from their notebook. 

We used the awesome dice roller as our "stroke" counter. Some of them had never seen this,  they were very impressed. 

Just by clicking on one button, and they were instantly adding or subtracting the integer to see if we were + or -. 

I also incorporated the randomization tool from Class Dojo to call on students  for answers and to roll the dice. This way they knew it random and not favoritism. 

In several classes, they begged to play again. We couldn't because of time, but I told them we would play again a reward. 

They absolutely loved using the Promethean pen. It was a treat! 

These do take one time to create, but are worth it. 

But, no need to reinvent the wheel. There are tons created already, by teachers, and for FREE!!!!! 

Check out Promethean Planet. I used a divisibility interactive chart I found last year. 

I have figured out my students love it, so I am tapping into it for as long as it works! 

Motivating Students- One foldable at a time

It's Saturday, which means I actually have time to blog. This is what I miss most about summer, no blogging. I need to organize better and I can still do my favorite link ups, even during the week. I missed them this past week. 

We finished our second week of school. I am absolutely in love with my classes. I actually look forward to work again. It's not all roses and sweet dreams, but it is absolutely the opposite of what my previous two years in middle school have been. 

Since it is Saturday, I am also linking with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for her Motivation Saturdays. 

I do the same thing six times a day. I have one class that is slightly varied, but I pretty much repeat myself all day. It is taxing. I have to keep it fun. Plus, hello! I teach middle school math! 9 out of 10 people are afraid of math and probably 10 out of 10 people are afraid of middle school. Most people think I am crazy. (I am, but just a little) 

This past week we had Open House and when I met my students' parents, they said things like "They say it's fun" "They like your class" "They say you use a lot of glue". The first two have never been said since I moved to middle school. The last one is absolutely true. 

I honestly believe they feel this way because of our math notebooks. We have had 10 days of school and we are on page 17 of our math journal. 

We are foldable junkies! They love making these things! 

I shared pages 1-9 here. They were resource sheets, stick in the binder and move on. We have used them though. 

The next pages have been interactive! 

Here's what we have done so far: 

They made the match book divisibility cards in a station. The left side was their warm up the next day. 

 The foldable we made when introducing how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa.  The inside is below. (do not adjust your eyes, it is blurry. Sorry)

The top of the left side was their warm up the following day. 

The bottom of the left side was their warm up the day after. They had to write complete sentences to explain the process of converting fractions. These writing prompts came from Danielle at Live Love Math. She has a ton and they are sorted by strand. Awesome resource. 

Side note: I bought her entire store this summer. BEST PURCHASE EVER! She teaches what I teach, (well, she did last year), in the state I teach, P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

 One day we made the foldable and took notes on the left side for examples. 

They loved this just because of the colors. 

Seriously, colored paper is a motivator!!!! 

This is how I am doing vocabulary this year. I plan for each unit to be on a different color paper. This unit had 11 words, we used the front and the back and some used two sheets. I like the Frayer model, but I don't like the non example portion. (it's just me). So I adapted it when I was reading about ESL strategies. 

The four sections are picture, definition, word, and sentence. I made them write a complete sentence using the vocabulary word. This was a challenge, but they did pretty well for the first time. 

Get the template by clicking on the picture.

Another side note: I gave my students blank copies for the most part. But for some of my students with "note taking accommodations", I gave them what you see above. I had the word and the definition written for them and they were responsible for drawing a picture and writing a sentence. 

Linking up here too, a little late, but oh well. 

Free Gift Opportunity AND Student Motivation Linky

I don't want you to miss this cool opportunity shared from Middle School Math Madness. 

She shared about RedditGifts, a teacher supply giveaway. You get linked up with a donor and receive a package from them later in the month. 

The deadline to sign up is TUESDAY, SEPT 3rd! 

Click here to learn more. 

This is my first attempt at this, but I don't want you to miss out on the goodies! 

And now to Spark some Motivation with our kiddos.

Head over Heels for Teaching with Joanne, hosts this weekly linky. 

This was the first week of school and I am completely exhausted. So, I am going to keep this simple. 

Music motivates my students. So, one of the things I use as a reward is playing music while they work in stations. I use my play lists. I also use Pandora and I heart music in my class. 

Kids love it and they actually work. 

I also use you tube videos in my class. I like for the kids to see what other students create. 

One of our schools' favorites is Teach Me How To Factor. Our Algebra kids sing it all the time. 

Mr. Duey is one of my students' favorites! 

Did you know there's a You Tube for Teachers? 

Click here and check it out. 

I searched middle school math songs and a gazillion videos popped up. Okay, maybe not a gazillion, but a lot! I think this will be a great resource to make learning fun for my students. 

Community Walks- Sparking Student Motivation

Linking up with Joanne over at Head Over Heels to share some motivation ideas. 

My current principal started a tradition at our middle school a few years ago for the teachers to "walk the community" and introduce ourselves to the kids before school starts. 

I hear the first year was a disaster. They tried to do all 6-8. Thank goodness it was before my time. 

Then, it was changed to just 6th graders. 

We divide up and tackle our community. We don't get to them all, but we make our presence known. 

They LOVE it! 

It is HOT though. I live in East of Austin, Texas. We have highs of 99 and higher. We have high humidity. 

We sweat. None of us like to sweat. 

But, we know it makes a difference. It last one hour and we make an impact. 

This year I was in a group with my principal and we went to the scariest part of our town. But, it successful and we accomplished our goal. We met about 6 of our incoming sixth graders and made a presence with all us walking down the streets like a gang. (Safety in numbers ya know!)

We leave yard signs as well. I love having one of these in my own yard.

Next week when the kids arrive, they love to say "you came to my house" or "I saw you in our neighborhood". 

Sparking Student Motivation- Tapping into their Likes

Linking up with Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching. 

It's time to Spark some Motivation in our students. 

I like to offer rewards like others, and I don't like to spend money. I do of course, but I am always looking for "free things". 

We all know we have to find that "hook" to get the kids excited about anything, especially middle school. I am lucky enough to have tapped into something that is big with most of my students. 

Soccer is HUGE in our little town. My husband is the vice president of the soccer board. His biggest job is to order uniforms for all teams. My house becomes a box filled mess when they come in. I will say, he has it down to a science though after two years. 

Back to the point.... He meets with vendors trying to get our league to order from them and they offer him freebies. 

For me that spells JACK POT! We were cleaning out our garage a few weeks ago and he found a "soccer box". It was filled with bags made from soccer jerseys. he asked if I wanted them and at first, I said no. I was in the "get it our of here mode". Then I said, "WAIT!" I can give these as classroom prizes!!! 

I also remembered he has a huge selection of goalie jerseys. I wore one for "tacky day". My kids missed the point how tacky it was with its bright colors and crazy circles. They LOVED it because it was a goalie's jersey. I thought it was obnoxious. 

Now I have them both packed away to go to my classroom. I have about 13 bags and 10 goalie jerseys. He will be ordering new uniforms soon, so you know I will be asking for more free stuff! 

Not sure how I will give them as prizes, but I need to get creative and make them earn them. 

And keep my fingers crossed the company for this season is as generous so I can stay stocked! 

And don't forget the big TpT sale is tomorrow and Monday. 

BTS13 is the code you will need when checking out. 

Check out my store and get your wishlist ready!

Sparking Student Motivation Link Party-Rubrics

It's time for Joanne's Sparking Student Motivation over at Head over Heels for Teaching. 

I am middle school, so please remember that. 

It's hard to motivate pre-teens with hormones! They want candy and not to have to work. 

Since I already shared candy once, I am sharing a new grading policy I am going to try. 

RUBRICS 

Rubrics aren't new obviously, but I haven't used many. I use them when I give projects because students know exactly what they need to do to get the grade they want. That doesn't always mean they do it or do their best, but they want to pass. Grades do motivate middle school kids. (some of them) 

It's harder in 6th because there's no athletics for them. 7th and 8th graders care more because no pass, no play. 

My plan is to be up front for expectations and then give grades that way. 

I am going to use one for their Math Notebook. I have seen lots of rubrics out in the blog world. I made one to meet my needs. Honestly, it is subject to change. But, its a start. 

If you can use it, great. Get it here FREE! 

In a perfect world, my students will know the expectations and see this as an "easy A". It will be a daily grade each six weeks. I am hoping this motivates them to care more about their math notebook. 

Got some motivating strategies to share? Link up! 

And I know there's a lot of giveaways going on right now, don't miss out! 

And All Things Upper Elementary started one today as well!

And this giveaway is still going on. Prizes everyday!!!

 

Student Motivation- Phone Calls Home

It's Saturday! I am headed out to an all day softball tournament. No, not playing, just rooting for my husband. It is going to be so HOT! I am drinking my very large cup of coffee in preparation.

I didn't want to miss Joanne's linky party though. It's time to Spark Student Motivation with Head Over Heels for Teaching!

How to spark student motivation: Call their parents with something POSITIVE about their child 

My principal has a big initiative at least twice a year to get us to make POSITIVE phone calls to our students' parents. She makes one of our  faculty meeting a contest to see which teacher can call the most parents and share something positive about their child.

Remember, I teach middle school. Parents don't normally get those positive calls often. As a matter of fact, they see the school number on their phone and don't answer.

We do it early in the year to make some positive contact with them and then we do it again (as a staff) after Christmas.

She encourages us to do it throughout the year as well, but twice a year she creates it as a contest for us. The winning teacher gets a prize. It may be an hour lunch break, leave early ticket, or something like that.

Trust me, if your students know you are calling home to tell their parents something POSITIVE, it will motivate them!

Link up and share something you do to motivate. I'll be checking back when I am all sweaty from being in the sun all day! Time to go apply sunscreen!

HAPPY SATURDAY Y'ALL!