the day I have to report back for school! Yikes!!
I Can Not Even stand to think of it.
However, I have gotten some "stuff" done.
First, some background. Angela Watson at Cornerstone for Teachers is my go-to lady when I need some encouragement and positive words. She also does a podcast that I download and listen to when I'm driving the many miles to visit College Girl.
On one of her podcasts {and I can't immediately find it after looking for 15 minutes}, she talks about spending time on the subject that you feel is lacking. {Obviously this is a great paraphrase since I can't find it.}
Oh, wait... here's the quote!
So.... I'm trying to spend some time on math. Actually, I don't dislike math -- I'm just having trouble making it kid friendly.
Our district is using Engage NY. Quite frankly, I didn't do much with it last year, because I thought it would be a "one and done" type of deal. But for some reason, administration didn't get that message - lol. So I'm putting a little more effort into it this year. I've been working on some Smartboard stuff {for lack of a better term} -- and I realized what the problem is....
Engage NY is soooooo scripted --
T: Watch my hand to know whether to count up or down. A closed hand means stop. (Show signals as you explain.)
T: Let’s count by ones starting at zero. Ready? (Rhythmically points up until a change is desired. Show a closed hand then point down. Continue, mixing it up.)
S: 0, 1, 2, 3, (stop) 2, 1, 0, (stop) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (stop) 4, 3, 2, 1, 0
I'm having trouble getting past the script. Argh! What to do??? Any suggestions for getting the Engage NY script out of my head??? I concentrate on it so much, it's not really me.
Well, another blogger, Tammy at Forever in First has a list of book suggestions. I was going to call her a teacher nerd, but, well, I'm right there with her on loving to read teacher books.
So, next step -- ordering some math books, making some notes, be determined to make math better this year!
I'm a total teacher nerd! We'll be nerdy together. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea--spend time on what is lacking (for me that would be writing). As far as Engage...I looked at Deanna Jumps math units, and they basically cover the same content (although in a slightly different order), but with more hands on and "fun." I will definitely look into using that, whoops, you are 2nd, wish I had an idea for you...I'll keep thinking.
ReplyDeleteAlyce