by Brandford (Highlander)
How could you make addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, positive/negative integers, fractions, probability and percentages into a game? Having the ability to work closely with the Math Fair organizing lead teacher I was able to see students from 6th - 8th grade engage in a side of math that I wasn't accustom to seeing.
Students that would struggle with math during school or had tutors all focused and became young mathematicians and engineers during the process; which was the most impressive thing for me. Students built a Planko Board, designed a Dinosaur world with a time machine, and constructed a ski ball machine.
Students had approximately 20 schools days to design a game using math concepts such as: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, positive/negative integers, fractions, probability and percentages. Students games would have to be able to be played by both kindergarten through 5th grade and parents.
During the math fair I also had the privilege of being one of the judges. I had to play as many games as possible. The best game that I played which was also the first place winner from my 6th grade classroom was a game called Call Me Maybe. When you sat at the game you would first have to solve ten problems ranging from fractions, multiplying/ dividing positive and negative integers and percentages. Once you solved the ten problems you would take your ten answers and place them on a giant phone board, If the ten numbers was correct you would win and get a ticket for the raffle.
5/7/13
5/6/13
Measuring Spacesuits
by Yairy (Segue)
During February vacation I worked with third and second graders for a week. One of the activites we improved was measuring and converting measuresments. Students were in pairs. They each traced eachother on butcher paper and then measured the length of eachother. Overall, the students enjoyed the activity.
During February vacation I worked with third and second graders for a week. One of the activites we improved was measuring and converting measuresments. Students were in pairs. They each traced eachother on butcher paper and then measured the length of eachother. Overall, the students enjoyed the activity.
5/3/13
Reflection Friday: What is one thing you learned from a teacher you worked alongside this year?
Leah (International): Working with Mr. Ben this year has taught me the value of giving kids frequent cycles of mind and body rejuvenation. Between just about every lesson he plays a game, sings a song, or gets the kids moving in some way - and it really helps them focus! He is not afraid to be silly, and that's something I'm more than happy to emulate. His practices have taught me the importance of those little in-between moments, and how even transition times can be spent in effective ways.
Brandford (Highlander): One thing that I learned from a teacher that I worked along with is to laugh when things are funny, laugh when things are serious, and laugh when you don't know what to do. Embrace the moments of the day and don't stress over the little stuff.
Jill (Highlander): My cooperating teacher spent the year encouraging me to work independently, and working with her has allowed me to learn more about perspectives in student learning. Although she is obviously the primary teacher, I am given a lot of chances to co-teach and teach independently, and through various methods, we work together to teach concepts in a variety of ways to play into student's varied learning styles. This has allowed me to learn how to teach from different angles in order to best facilitate student learning, and it has allowed me to become a better educator.
Francesca (International): Connie has been a terrific teacher to work alongside during my service in the Charter Corps. She has taught me how to work towards the perfect balance she achieves between disciplinarian and a warm, welcoming teacher.
Deyan (SRI, formerly Highlander): I learned the value of rotations while working with Mr. Bovay, this year. If there are enough teachers in the room to lead 3 or 4 stations, there’s no reason not to make rotations a part of your class routine. The small groups at each station make it so much easier to give students the individualized attention they need!
Nellie (Highlander): One thing that I learned from my teacher that I work with is to take some time during class for silence. Not as a punishment but as a way of getting centered, focused, and relaxed before starting the lesson/day.
Yairy (Segue): The one thing I learned from a teacher I work with this academic year is about systems. The systems' goal is to get students on task and to improve. One of the systems is the token system, where the student receives two talk tokens as a reminder to participate during class. Once the student participates the teacher rakes the token away and so on for the next token. The goal is to have the student participate twice for every class.
Dianny (International): This year I learned that you need to improvise when plans don't go the way you foresaw and that your agenda needs to be flexible in order to accommodate these changes. Basically, you need to be prepare for anything and everything to happen during your class!
Itza (International): Communication is key.
Brandford (Highlander): One thing that I learned from a teacher that I worked along with is to laugh when things are funny, laugh when things are serious, and laugh when you don't know what to do. Embrace the moments of the day and don't stress over the little stuff.
Jill (Highlander): My cooperating teacher spent the year encouraging me to work independently, and working with her has allowed me to learn more about perspectives in student learning. Although she is obviously the primary teacher, I am given a lot of chances to co-teach and teach independently, and through various methods, we work together to teach concepts in a variety of ways to play into student's varied learning styles. This has allowed me to learn how to teach from different angles in order to best facilitate student learning, and it has allowed me to become a better educator.
Francesca (International): Connie has been a terrific teacher to work alongside during my service in the Charter Corps. She has taught me how to work towards the perfect balance she achieves between disciplinarian and a warm, welcoming teacher.
Deyan (SRI, formerly Highlander): I learned the value of rotations while working with Mr. Bovay, this year. If there are enough teachers in the room to lead 3 or 4 stations, there’s no reason not to make rotations a part of your class routine. The small groups at each station make it so much easier to give students the individualized attention they need!
Nellie (Highlander): One thing that I learned from my teacher that I work with is to take some time during class for silence. Not as a punishment but as a way of getting centered, focused, and relaxed before starting the lesson/day.
Yairy (Segue): The one thing I learned from a teacher I work with this academic year is about systems. The systems' goal is to get students on task and to improve. One of the systems is the token system, where the student receives two talk tokens as a reminder to participate during class. Once the student participates the teacher rakes the token away and so on for the next token. The goal is to have the student participate twice for every class.
Dianny (International): This year I learned that you need to improvise when plans don't go the way you foresaw and that your agenda needs to be flexible in order to accommodate these changes. Basically, you need to be prepare for anything and everything to happen during your class!
Itza (International): Communication is key.
5/1/13
Building Bridges
by Dianny (International)
Ladies and gentlemen, we might have the next generation of engineers in our own ICS. Yes, you read it right! Last week in my afterschool science club my kindergartners to fifth graders were faced with the challenge of constructing a bridge that was at least a foot long. Besides the length requirement, the bridge had to hold up the weight of three small hard cover books and follow one of the bridge designs I gave them; be it as simple as a beam bridge to as complicated as a cantilever bridge. Now you might be asking yourself, how did these students manage to build a bridge? Well the answer is easy, with dedication and hard work just like our school motto says. But dedication and hard work can't be everything...yes, yes, I know. The parameters for this project were broader then your typical bridge building science project because the students only had one hour to accomplish this laborious task. They were only allowed to use 100 popsicle sticks or less, tape, glue, glue dots, and two pieces of construction paper.
To my surprise, the bridges came out phenomenal and students were really engage in building them; there's nothing like hands-on learning! They really enjoyed working on the bridges and also working with their team members. By the end of the project there was even a friendly competition going on between the groups.
My students say that it reminded them of art class and that "they didn't like it, they loved it!" We are all happy campers!
Ladies and gentlemen, we might have the next generation of engineers in our own ICS. Yes, you read it right! Last week in my afterschool science club my kindergartners to fifth graders were faced with the challenge of constructing a bridge that was at least a foot long. Besides the length requirement, the bridge had to hold up the weight of three small hard cover books and follow one of the bridge designs I gave them; be it as simple as a beam bridge to as complicated as a cantilever bridge. Now you might be asking yourself, how did these students manage to build a bridge? Well the answer is easy, with dedication and hard work just like our school motto says. But dedication and hard work can't be everything...yes, yes, I know. The parameters for this project were broader then your typical bridge building science project because the students only had one hour to accomplish this laborious task. They were only allowed to use 100 popsicle sticks or less, tape, glue, glue dots, and two pieces of construction paper.
To my surprise, the bridges came out phenomenal and students were really engage in building them; there's nothing like hands-on learning! They really enjoyed working on the bridges and also working with their team members. By the end of the project there was even a friendly competition going on between the groups.
My students say that it reminded them of art class and that "they didn't like it, they loved it!" We are all happy campers!
4/30/13
Spring Vacation
by Naomi (Highlander)
I really liked Spring Vacation Camp. The students liked the topic and they were really interested in the classes and to learn something new about the countries. One of my favorite part from the camp was when Yairy made the fruit salsa with the students. It was a really good activity and students were engaged in the activity I also enjoyed Friday activity when we all got together and showed what the students made and shared something back.
I really liked Spring Vacation Camp. The students liked the topic and they were really interested in the classes and to learn something new about the countries. One of my favorite part from the camp was when Yairy made the fruit salsa with the students. It was a really good activity and students were engaged in the activity I also enjoyed Friday activity when we all got together and showed what the students made and shared something back.
4/29/13
Portfolio
by Yairy (Segue)
In the month of November I started working with students on their portfolio. At Segue, portfolio is a requirement to continue to the next grade. Portfolio is a very important component of a scholar's academics. Within portfolio students need to write a certain amount of reflections per class. Reflections are written using PBAs or performance based assessments. Students have to meet deadlines throughout the academic year to complete the requirement.
In the month of November I started working with students on their portfolio. At Segue, portfolio is a requirement to continue to the next grade. Portfolio is a very important component of a scholar's academics. Within portfolio students need to write a certain amount of reflections per class. Reflections are written using PBAs or performance based assessments. Students have to meet deadlines throughout the academic year to complete the requirement.
4/26/13
Reflection Friday: What was your favorite part of April Vacation Camp?
Last week, Charter Corps ran an Around the World themed day camp to create a fun April Vacation learning experience. When asked what their favorite parts of the camp week were, here's what they had to say:
Leah (International):
My favorite part of April Vacation
Camp was making Moroccan "khamsa hands", which are meant to bring
people good luck. The students traced their hands onto colorful paper and
decorated them with drawings, sequins, foil, and other decorations. They wrote
what they were lucky to have around the hands, and it looked awesome!
Deyan (Serve Rhode Island): I may not have been around for camp, but I
had a blast putting together a list of picture books about different cultures
and regions! The trickiest part, and therefore my favorite, was finding good
books about the African rainforest. In my search for books that dug deeper than
the standard “rainforest alphabet” books, I found some great stories by authors
like Isaac Olaleye, who grew up in Nigeria and crafts his stories out of his
childhood experiences and stories he heard from his father.
Dianny (International): To say I had one favorite part of
April Vacation Camp is an understatement and also incorrect because I was
fascinated with what I experienced this past week. To start with there's
nothing better than working with a partner who's on the same page as you and
who supports you every step of the way! But without the awesomeness of the kids
we wouldn't have been able to experience camp to its fullest. The theme,
"around the world" and with the level of organization it was executed
was the backbone to making all this possible!
Yairy (Segue): My favorite part of April vacation was hearing the comments of the
first graders and kindergarten. They have very interesting and funny things to
say. They are also very eager to learn new things.
Angelica (Segue): My favorite part of April Vacation Camp was seeing the
students use the Japanese abacus for math relays. Using a hands-on method for
math has proved to be an exciting way to allow students to practice their math
skills. It also gives them the opportunity to learn about other cultures.
Kimberly (Highlander): My favorite part of April vacation was
having the students plant African daisy and volcanoes eruptions. It was great
watching the students’ reactions as the volcanoes erupt and as they planted
their seeds.
Brandford (Highlander): April Vacation was quite exciting for me from working with
the kids create and underworld coral reef sea poster to molding a volcano and
exploding it. Students were engaged and didn't mind getting a little messy in
the midst of things things.
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