Our presenters shared a series of short videos about maps, including their history, uses, and global applications. Students learned that maps not only provide information about our geographic location, but also about our climate, economy, and humanitarian needs and efforts - just to name a few. Below are links to the videos shared. Each one is under 4 minutes and totally worth watching!

• What is GIS?
• Dr. Richard Alley - Using GIS to teach the world about Global Warming & Climate Change
• Geospatial Revolution - Food Deserts

Then students were given guidance to explore maps using an interactive tool designed by National Geographic. You can check it out here! This website is a PBL project waiting to happen! My wheels are definitely turning . . .



Using GIS, students were asked to make a map. They could select from the a series of choices or design their own challenge. Students explored everything from Carbon Dioxide production to global electricity use to trends in food consumption.




It was an eye opening experience for the students (and their teacher)! The visual power of GIS is astounding, on a personal, local, and global level!

I think this tool has great potential for classroom learning. For those of you who are already implementing interactive mapping in the classroom, how do you use it with your students? What works best for you and your class? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

I am so proud of my students who participated in last year's 3rd grade film academy!!! And I am infinitely grateful to the parents, particularly our director/producer Chip Hackler, who made the entire opportunity possible!

Because of my talented students and parents, we are headed to the 20th annual Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington, NC in two weeks! :-)

Among the thousands of films that were entered, our short film "Shot Reverse Shot" was selected as a favorite! Based on Jack Johnson's song, the music video is about point of view and perspective in both film and life. The festival will take place November 12-16th. Our film will "premiere" Sunday, November 16th at 1:00. Tickets are only $10, so I hope you will come join us to enjoy and celebrate!!!!



Click HERE to watch our short film. Check out the following link to learn more about the 3rd grade film academy! Some day I promise to post about all of the Elementary Academies in detail!! They have become one of my favorite aspects of teaching.

Stay tuned :-)

We had another great week in our new classroom! This week, we focused on building classroom community. Our first activities addressed team building and communication - specifically respectful listening and speaking. Below you can see pictures from the "Paper Tower Tournament." In this challenge, students collaborated in randomly selected groups to build a tower made of printer paper. The goal is to create the tallest, free-standing tower using only 3 sheets of paper and 12 inches of masking tape. No additional materials or supports can be used.

My 4th and 5th grade gifted students began pull-out classes this week. Our first order of business was to set goals for the new school year. We began with a pep talk from Kid President, who inspires us to learn, teach, change the world, and BE MORE AWESOME!

One of my favorite math units to do with upper elementary students is Math Quest! I very rarely repeat units in my classroom (there are too many great new things to try, right?), but Math Quest is one I have returned to year after year. So, I thought I'd share some of the ways I use this AMAZING Interact Unit with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students.

Math Quest is set up like a game to engage and motivate students. (See the game board below!)




Students earn “travel dots” for solving math problems; each travel dot is worth one space on the game board. As students work their way towards the treasure chest at the top of the board, they earn special "powers" and gold. The team of students with the most gold at the end of the unit wins! SO MUCH FUN!

Now for the math . . . ! The unit is designed to help students become competent, confident, and creative problem solvers. Throughout the unit, students explore six problem-solving strategies:

• Guess and check
• Look for a pattern
• Work backward
• Make a picture or a diagram
• Use Logical Reasoning
• Make a table or a chart

Students work in teams and then on their own to apply each problem-solving method. The Math Quest unit provides all of the problems for team practice and individual application. Each set of problems is tiered to provide varying levels of challenge. I've found that levels A, B, and C correspond pretty well with grades 3, 4, and 5.

When introducing a problem-solving strategy, I follow an "I do," "We do," "Y'all do," "You do" approach. With "I do," I introduce and model the strategy. I select a different problem for "we do" and the students and I solve it together; the students record their work in their math notebooks, while I write on the board. If all goes as planned (ha, right?), then we move on to "y'all do." In this stage, students work in their teams of 4 to solve the problem together. We use Student Learning Teams to ensure meaningful learning. In a student learning team, each student has a specific "job," which promotes individual accountability, equal student responsibility, and positive interdependence.



And then finally, "you do," where students practice and apply the problem-solving strategy independently.

Due to the complexity of the problems, I require my students to use a problem-solving mat to guide and illustrate their thinking. The work mat guides them through the important steps of understanding, solving, explaining, and checking the problem. Prior to using the mat, my students tended to RUSH, particularly through steps 1 and 4, which seriously compromised the accuracy of their work! I've found that the mat helps my students to navigate and solve complex problems with greater independence and accuracy.



I then use a holistic rubric to score the completed mats. While it is not as descriptive as an analytic rubric, I find it more user-friendly for the purpose of scoring LOTS of math problems each week.



When I designed the problem-solving mats and rubrics, I wanted to emphasize the importance of the problem-solving process. Therefore, I wanted students to be rewarded for showing their work and thinking. As a result, students can actually earn more points for an incorrect answer where they have shown their reasoning, then if they simply record the correct answer. With that said, there is a lot of value in accuracy, as well! That is why there is such a large numerical gap (4 – 10) between the two highest scores. I want students to participate in and value the problem-solving process, but I also want them to recognize that accuracy is essential.

Putting an emphasis (and a score!) on the problem-solving process is a new way of thinking for many students. I've found though, that once students understand and use the problem-solving maps & rubrics that it dramatically improves the quality of their work and thinking.

In my experience, when my students take ownership of the rubric, they are more likely to understand and invest themselves in the process. Therefore, I enlist them to help me build the criteria. I provide the descriptors and we discuss each one. In the discussion, we address the value of the problem-solving process, the importance of accuracy, and our ultimate goal of accomplishing both! As a class, students then decide what point value each level of performance is worth. We record their decisions on paper and use this an anchor chart. It keeps the criteria clear and available and students can refer to it easily throughout the year.

I love the Teaching Channel! Last year, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to watch one short video a night before bed. Well, the every night-thing didn't happen (ha :-), but I did watch a whole bunch of terrific, inspiring videos in 2013! One of my favorites was called, "My Favorite No." I was originally intrigued by the title, but it was the content that got me hooked! (You can watch the 5 minute video here.)

In "My Favorite No," the teacher provides a brief pre-assessment in the form of an entrance card. The students work the problem to demonstrate what they learned the day before. The teacher then collects responses and sorts them into two piles: yes and no. "Yes" represents a correct answer and "No" is an inaccurate response. She then works with the class to analyze her "favorite no." She calls it her "favorite no" because it reflects strong thinking and problem solving and, as she says in the video, "A mistake is an opportunity to show how much you know." (LOVE this!) The activity provides reflection, analysis, and higher order thinking. Furthermore, it is quick and effective!

What I love most about this strategy is that in NO WAY penalizes students for being wrong. In fact, the whole process is designed to validate students and their thinking! I have been using this strategy - in various ways - with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in both reading and math. Like the teacher in the video, I've seen improvement in student accuracy, understanding, accountability, and metacognition. I have been so in love with this strategy that I created a series of task cards for my 4th and 5th graders to use as we explore, review, and extend the concept of fractions. Each card presents students with an error in problem solving, arithmetic, and./or reasoning. Using a problem solving mat, students rework the problem, show the correct answer, and explain the error.

My kiddos love this! They feel empowered analyzing mistakes, while developing a meaningful depth of understanding from analyzing and explaining the error.



Thanks for checking in! Happy teaching!

Hi Friends! It may be the result of my Christmas-spending "hangover," but I am more appreciative than ever for all of the wonderful free items on TPT and my favorite blogs! In the spirit of sharing the joy of "FREE," I am offering my new product on TPT for FREE for the first 48 hours as a special "thank you" to my blog and TPT store followers.

This 4th grade geometry activity incorporates the fun of "Hidden Picture" puzzles while challenging students to think critically and creatively about lines, angles, and shapes.



After designing an original house using specific geometric elements, students explore their classmates' designs searching for "hidden pictures" (ie: geometric elements). Students get a double dose of identifying and classifying shapes , angles, and lines while having FUN learning! An analytic rubric with detailed descriptors is provided to support student success with clear expectations.


ENJOY!