Supplies... Key to Journaling!

SUGGESTIONS?!? Anyone?

For some reason, I cannot type in the reply comment box through my iPad and my iPad is all I have to work with.

A fellow expert in her field added a comment:

Jessica MonahanJune 26, 2013 at 5:42 PM

"I decided to try journals with my kids this year. It lasted about two weeks before all of the scissors, glue, markers, etc that I had bought for the "supply" baskets disappeared. I had spent hundreds of dollars and wasn't replacing it so the journals went away. I explained to the kids that these weren't for the taking but they disregarded me. Any ideas for solving this problem? I am an old teacher. I'm very comfortable being the sage on the stage so out of the box thinking is very new for me and everything I try, blows up. I work with VERY inner city kids who do not bring their own supplies...ever."

I wish that I had all the answers. All I can do is share some thoughts and reflections.

I purchased supply 'caddies' from Dollar Tree for $1 EACH. I have seen them elsewhere such as K-mart, Wal-mart, Target, etc. These helped me to organize and quickly count supplies before dismissing class.

Each caddy consists of three

• bottles of glue (always liquid, it's cheaper and holds better)
• small safety scissors (They may be highschool students, but I found that the smaller the scissors, the less time the scissors spend in their hands.)
• highlighters
• ultraflex rulers
• safety compass
• mini protractors

The following images are ones that I pulled from a google image search and do not reflect what my baskets consist of. My baskets remain on my classroom tables where the students sit.

Thought the above image was a neat idea for storing the baskets. The teacher used 3m plastic hooks.

IDEAS:

My second year students purchased one supply of their choice to contribute. This sort of brought out some ownership from them and they didn't disappear.

STAPLES: My first year, Staples had amazing sales and as a teacher they would let you get 15 to 30 of penny/quarter items instead of a limit of one. (Must have evidence that you are a teacher.)

The caddies made a difference in organization and counting of supplies.

I am extremely particular when it comes to objects in my class. My saying: "Don't jack with my stuff!" I watch students like hawk. Supplies stay in the basket until needed. If I see one out or used without need, I tell the student to put it back and continue teaching without pause.

Modifying behavior: I start day one with what is supposed to be in the basket and before they leave each day we make sure everything is put up and accounted for.

For middle school and freshmen, a colleague of mine assigned supply managers every other week. The supply manager was in charge of getting the basket and accounting for the supplies for each table when class was dismissed.

Journaling is a daily event of my class. The only day the journals are not used is on testing days. The journals are turned in for a major grade.

 

If anyone has strategies, advice, and/or success stories, please share!

 

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Domain and Range Revised!!!!!!

Due to experience throughout the year, I need to revise my Domain and Range to reflect the more hands on approach that we developed.

This is not what I would call a definable foldable, but an interactive tool used to find domain and range. My original was more of a way to view and define domain and range. If you compare the two I think that you will discover my meaning.

I am going to show you the finished tool and how I used this to find domain and range.

Finished product:

The left and right flaps are used to create the boundaries for domain.

It's hard to demonstrate with photos. This is a very demonstrative and interactive activity that I do as the kids do.

The bottom and top flaps are used to create boundaries for range.

This really helped them understand and see a true maximum and not focus solely on the endpoints.

Now if you have an arrow on the end of a graph indicating an infinite domain or range; I tell my students that this cannot be boxed in and this means infinity.

We discuss discrete and continuous and the types of ways domain and range is written before we do this activity.

We glued multiple graphs in the form of a flip book (instead of post-its, glue lasts longer) so that this foldable became a reusable manipulative in the classroom.

 

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Algebra Review Game

Monday's seem to be my worst day of the week. I give a weekly grade report to students, and, it never fails, there are certain students that throw fits, argue that they turned assignments in, or dispute every grade given back. My classes are not hard, but the key is-don't miss class. Many of my students have picked up on this. Anyways, I was determined to make today a high energy, fun day. I did and it was a great day. My favorite was, surprisingly, my Algebra 1 classes.

 

 

We reviewed for tomorrow's test by answering questions as a team competing with other teams. I wrote down 3 sets of the same problems on different colored paper and gave each group a set. We used marker boards.

(GREAT IDEA: GO TO LOWES OR HOME DEPOT AND HAVE A SHEET ($12) OF TILE BOARD CUT UP INTO MINI WHITEBOARDS FOR YOUR STUDENTS. They will cut them for you!)

 

 

How it works:

The students may choose to work together or split up the questions and work individually. Once they solve the problem, a student raises their hand and I come around to check. If right on the first try, they get three tokens. If incorrect, I usually provide some guidance or show a incorrect step. For the second attempt, if correct, they receive two tokens. If incorrect, try a third time for one token. Today, all of my students answered it by the second round. I made sure to monitor and provide verbal cues.

THEY LOVED THIS!!! We all had so much fun.

In the beginning, I tried to keep exact track of the number of attempts; however, they got so into it that it wasn't worth the concern. It turned out to be better to reward them for their effort and energy than to try and focus on the specifics.

My 5th period played the game right and took their time solving and collaborating. (Mostly girls.)

However, my 8th period (all boys) figured out how to cheat the system. My policy for the game is that I have to see your work. I'm much more observant than my students give me credit. They figured out that if they solved and answered correctly, then they could quickly show another teammate how to correctly answer the question to accumulate points faster. At first, I was going to deny them this strategy, but I then saw them teaching and collaborating on strategies. A class that usually struggles with engagement was blowing my mind with enthusiasm and hard work.

I really enjoyed this activity because of the diversity it produced with the learning. I had some students teaching, and others learning from peers. I saw a lot of different strategies used to solve the same problem, heard debates over which method is better, and observed a classroom full of pride and determination.

I'm very excited to see how we do on the test tomorrow.

 

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