Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Setting Goals in the Classroom

Goal Setting in the Classroom
I think it is so important for kids to set realistic goals and work towards them. It will prepare them for setting greater and bigger goals in life.
 
Here are some ways I help the students set goals:
-I let the students set their own realistic goals
-Our goals are small and the students are able to complete them in a 5 week period
-They choose a subject area that they need improvement in.
 
 
 Pictured above are our goal sheets that I have shown in the room. The students had to run their goal towards me so I know if it is realistic and that the student is able to complete it.
They have their goal, and 3 ways to help achieve it.
 
Pictured below is their "check in stars"
Once a week I have them "check in", rewrite their goal, and reflect about how close they are to accomplishing their goal. These will be hung up in between their first goal sheets.
This helps the kids realize that setting a goal takes time and work and can't expect to get something done without hard work and dedication. Its exciting to see the goals that they kids set for themselves, and hey, when they are working for a reward it makes it all worth it! We set our goal a couple weeks ago because the movie Frozen is coming out in March, and if the kids complete their goal they get a Movie Munch in my room and watch the movie!!! They are so excited to work towards this!
 ( I bought the sound track and he have been jamming to it during work time)
 
 
Teachers- This takes about 10 minutes a week to complete. Week 1 -I have the students think about what they want to improve on. I have the students reflect on their Spelling, Reading, and Math grades and participation to see if they personally need to improve on anything. Some goals are to finish a book, read a certain amount of pages, or on Spelling tests to practice their words and miss less than 2 on their weekly tests.
 
Today I had a student approach me and tell me that he already had failed his goal. His goal was to get 85% or above on his reading test, the previous week before he had missed 1 too many, he thought that right there and then he wouldn't be able to participate in the Movie Munch. I had a talk with him about how setting goals is important but the road is not easy, it is a rocky road to get there.
 
 
If you would like copies of anything I use, you can shoot me an email and I will share the documents with you!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Snow Day? I will take it!

What a wonderful feeling to go to sleep knowing that I can sleep in Wednesday morning... setting no alarm and watching onnnnnne more episode of Arrow, or Greys Anatomy, or Hart of Dixie, or how about one of each...midnight rolls around and I guess its time to go to bed!

A snow day feels like a day where anything can happen, it is bought time, time that I am supposed to be at work, but I get to choose how I use it! Sleeping in is always at the top of list, especially since I not longer get to do it on the weekends! My body still got up at 630am, but at least I wasn't forced to get up!

I was able to read at my local coffee shop while enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee
I was able to clean and do laundry
I was able to get my taxes done
I was able to get gas and fill up my window washer fluid in my car
I was able to go get groceries, and prepare snacks and meals for the rest of the week
I was able to go for a run
annnnd I was able to paint my nails, something I LOVE doing. (plus trying to save my money for my summer travels-- nail polish is SO much cheaper than a mani/pedi!)

So again...bought time.... now I might actually be able to use my upcoming weekend for fun instead of running errands..

I always feel blessed being a teacher and have never taken it for granted. I love what I do, and I still love that feeling of staying up late watching the news to wait and see my district go across the screen!

January Teaching Ideas

I have always loved the idea of an "exit ticket" but this one I added a little spice too! I have always had numbers on the kids desks so I can randomly call on them, so I posted the numbers on this board so I can see who participates!


 
Who knew there was a use for toilet paper rolls? I have SO many colorful pens and having them in a bag/box was not working...the rolls help them stand up!
 Change the number each time, but have the kids come up with their own math sentence to equal the given number! great if you have an extra 5 minutes in class.!
 Invisible Man
My new favorite spelling review game!
I have 20 kids, so I split them into 4 groups of 5, first one to spell the given word and put their marker down gets to erase a body part of the person. I give each team 13 things to erase. First team to have no body parts left-- hence invisible man-- WINS!
 This seems so simple, but kills 2 birds with one stone
-Volume
-Using centimeters and inches on a ruler
Kids loved it-- and this is SO much better than a worksheet, having the kids explore helps them remember concepts.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Go BRONCOS!

I painted my nails in Broncos colors for the Super Bowl!
I bragged all week about the Broncos winning....
 
The Broncos lost miserably....
 
I repainted my nails after the game and come Monday morning I had a student come up to me and say:
Him- "Miss Koch, I see you erased your nails"
Me- "You mean took off my nail polish?"
Him- "Ya, whatever, they lost anyway- Peyton Manning should have gotten the MVP for the Seahawks"
 
Oh the things that come out of 12 year old mouths...