Welcome to #mtgr2

Like many educators, I have found the importance of having math talk in my classroom. It increases my student's reasoning and understanding of mathematical practices. The more we practice the more they are able to justify their strategies and choices in solving problems. This type of talk engages them and brings depth to math instruction. I had always had discussion time in literacy, yet it was missing in math. It was a necessary addition, and I immediately saw its value.

Last year I began making this more a part of my daily instruction. Students would share their "math talk" in small groups, whole class and even sometimes with a partner in a center or inquiry assignment with a partner. I saw great value in this practice. They learned from one another and developed their strategies by listening to their peers. It was a worthy practice to make time for.

However, it became even better when we were invited to take this process to another level. Leka Degroot, a first grade teacher, invited us to join her class and others in collaborative math talk via twitter. I write more about that here.  It was a welcome addition. The students now had more of an audience for their own thinking, but also were exposed to many other strategies from the many students involved. The learning and experience was outstanding.

Leka is going to do this again for first grade students. You can read all about that here on her blog..  I will be taking my learning from this experience and doing it with 2nd grade students. I will follow Leka's plan and post a math prompt on Sunday evenings. I will begin posting these on Sunday, August 17th. You can join in at any time. My prompts will be very much like Leka's: open ended, many of them photos. I will focus on 2nd grade skills, visiting and revisiting skills throughout the year.

In my classroom I follow a procedure very much like Leka described in her post. In the beginning, I will model and do the tweeting. As they begin to understand how, they will tweet it out after approval from me. I do accept and allow wrong answers to be posted, it is an important part of discussions we will have in our classroom, and I hope you use in yours.

So, are you ready to join in and enjoy some math talks with us? Here are the steps that I "borrowed" from Leka.

1. Every Sunday night starting August 16th, I will Tweet an open-ended math problem of the week. Please follow me at @firstatbat
2. Please retweet to share the question with your PLN.
3. Your students will share their thinking during the following week Monday through Friday. Make sure their Tweets include the hashtag #mtgr2 so that everyone in the #mtgr2 community can view your students' responses.
4. I encourage you to visit Tweets from other classes to discuss different ways to solve a problem or view math.
5. Respond or leave a comment to other classes' ideas. 
6. Follow classes that are participating to build your students' learning community.

Though there is no need to sign up,  I'd like for us all to see who is taking part in this collaborative effort. Please go here and leave your name and location. 

Don't forget to sign up with my friend Leka if you are a first grade teacher!

Here is another opportunity for a collaborative twitter discussion about your school, community and geography if interested.

Twitter Opens Doors

Twitter opened doors to learning, collaborating and creating. 

I have started reading the book What Connected Educators Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, Jimmy Casas and Jeffrey Soul. I find myself shaking my head in agreement as they share how much twitter can change your professional and personal life as an educator. This quote stood out for me, "Twitter has rekindled a strong sense of renewal to our profession.....In short,  you become encouraged and professionally challenged to strive for greatness!"

This is so absolutely true. I found myself learning so much, so quickly. Each educator I connected with giving me a little bit more and another challenge to try. As I opened each door, another followed. Everything was suddenly exciting and new again. It was like when I walked into school as that new teacher! I hadn't lost my love to teach, but I was losing the energy. I find myself with that renewed energy they spoke of in the book. 

I am not going into depth about all the doors opened, but want to give a snapshot. 

1. Skype in the Classroom: I had used Skype. I have grandchildren who live far away and that is a tool we use to stay connected. I had even used it in my classroom once to connect to one of the grandson's classes for a pen pal project. But, through my connections with other educators I learned about Skype in the Classroom and how to really use it. I suddenly had incredible resources at my fingertips to bring into my classroom and experiences for my students. Authors, scientists, explorers and it was amazing! I learned how to connect to other classrooms and take part in engaging learning experiences with map skills and number skills. So many incredible things you can do with Skype! I even used it to create my own lesson and we began connecting and doing Reader's Theater with classrooms using Skype!

2. Blogging: When I first heard about primary students blogging, I thought NO WAY! But I kept listening and decided to open the door. Sure enough, I tried it and was amazed as I watched my first graders blog. Then invited (again through twitter) to a blogging community and they became connected with their blogs and had an audience. They commented and read comments left on their blogs. The skills and excitement this brought was so rewarding!

3. Classroom Collaboration: It was amazing when I made a personal connection with a first grade teacher in Iowa.  Leka Degroot  (@lekadegroot) began to discuss ideas with me that she had for math. Her ideas were some I would never have thought of. We began to meet weekly and "play" math games with our classes on google hangout. (another introduction for me) This later became a math center in the classroom where small groups in each class would spend center time playing a game together while instruction carried on in our classrooms. Leka taught me so many things with technology and ways to use it with purpose and giving student's voice and choice. A twitter connection such as this is what makes it personal. This door not only opened to learning, but in gaining a friend. 

4. Global Collaboration: Throughout the year you learn of so many incredible events to become involved in. We did things like Global Read Aloud, Dot Day, Global Play Day, A Day in the Life of a Student, A Day of Code, and Projects by Jen. We played Kahoot with classrooms in 7 different states at one time! Each of these were valuable, and served a purpose. Through each one the world can flatten a little more, the classroom walls come down. It is motivating, engaging...not just for the students, but for me!

These are just glimpses of the doors twitter opened. I couldn't begin to tell you them all. I couldn't begin to give you a real understanding of the impact. But I do encourage you to do it...get connected. Open those doors, walk through. Keep discovering and learning! Revitalize that energy! 

Open that door...I dare you. 

Twitter Tweaked My Peeps

Part 1 in my series on twitter...

I am a teacher who loves to learn. I want to know what is going on out there. I love to bounce ideas back and forth with my colleagues. I love to talk about what we are doing and how it is going. However, my circle was small. 

My circle of "peeps" grew to an amount I never would have imagined in the last year. I couldn't be happier. On twitter, or really in the digital world, we refer to these "peeps" as our PLN. That stands for Personal Learning Network. 

It is personal, because you choose who you place there. You are learning constantly. The network is global. It truly does flatten our professional world and opens opportunities to you through the discussions, resources and extensions you become involved in.

However, when I began I didn't know how to get there. The first step I took was getting involved in twitter chats. I had no idea they even existed!  Rather than go into a lengthy description of how, when, where...I'll give you two exceptional links that will answer all those questions. Alice Keeler is an amazing resource for many things, but here is her great resource for twitter chats . She tells you all you need to know on how to do it. I encourage you...do it!

I started with a chat called #teacherfriends . They were just getting started about the same time I was. It was perfect. The main purpose of this chat is to support newbies. They also add to awesome with great moderators and PRIZES! It has become much more busy over the year, but I would still recommend it as a great place to begin. They meet every Tuesday at 9:00 PM EST. Once I experienced a chat I started attending them all. It was summer! A great time to explore. I have narrowed my chats during the school year to a few of my favorites, but in the summer I do enjoy checking out others. The chats are a part of the "personal" part of it. You have to choose by your interest, goals and motivations. My regular chats are my grade level chat, Christian educators, Elem Math Chat and Teacher Friends. There is an extensive list. Another awesome resource for anything and everything, including a list and time for all twitter chats is Cybrary Man. Here is his page on twitter .

Once I was involved in twitter chats I began to follow people. I follow people I admire. I follow people who challenge me. I follow people who are like minded and I feel I could connect with. The thing that has amazed me more than anything is that the community is so incredibly positive. There is a willingness to help, to share, encourage and it is so welcoming. I have loved becoming a part of a group of connected educators. I learn new things almost daily. 

I have learned things I doubt I would have learned without joining twitter. You will hear people talk about it being your own personal professional development. They are absolutely correct. I have learned more here in this first year than I have learned in years. The digital world is constantly growing, constantly changing. So in order for me to keep up, I really needed to be connected. 

Where do I hope to go with this in the next year....

I want to become one of the leaders, not always following. I will always follow others, but I think we all can take on both roles. I have things to learn. It is ever changing, always something waiting for me to hear about, try and then share. I am getting use to 140 characters...but I still need more. I hope to connect with some of my PLN in other ways and go deeper and learn more. So many opportunities await and I am nothing but excited to see where it takes me! I hope you will join me there. 

Twitter Tweaked my Teaching

I just celebrated being on twitter a year. I had another account that I didn't use. I would check in, not understand it, and check out. Last summer I was at a PD and twitter kept coming up and I was told to get on and use it. I was told how valuable it was. So...I tried again.

This time I had help. I focused it on education. I began to understand the purpose of a hashtag. I learned about twitter chats that were focused on relevant educational topics. I began to follow people. My eyes were open to what twitter was about, and I was hooked!

June 28th was one year I have been on twitter. I couldn't put in one blog post what this year has meant for me. Many times over the year I have stated that I felt the excitement of a brand new teacher. I loved coming to work, was excited to try new things, and excited to share with others.

I have decided to take the next few weeks of summer to do a series of blog posts on how twitter changed me as a teacher, and changed my classroom. I must wake this sleepy blog and I can't imagine a better topic than sharing the MANY doors it opened and continues to open.

I hope you will come back and visit. I hope you find inspiration and a desire to join in the journey with me.

If you are on twitter you can find me. I am @firstatbat

Come back and soon and hear some more!

Oh The Places We Can Go....

I had to jump on board and share about an amazing week I had with 9 other first grade classes....in 7 different states! We truly celebrated Read Across America......

The planning began at a #1stchat, the Sunday night twitter chat for first grade teachers. We decided to collaborate and do some a few things together for Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. One thing we wanted to achieve was Reader's Theater via a Google Hangout. One Wednesday that happened. Green Eggs and Ham in Florida, Iowa and Kansas!

I also collaborated with my own team of teachers at school. We gathered together for a Skype session with author Natasha Wing. She was awesome and engaging. 

 We had to have Seuss snacks every day this week of course! The Green Eggs and Ham were my favorite!

Seuss photos were a must!

The collaboration was amazing during the week. We took Read Across America to a whole new level. We tweeted our comments and pictures using #1stseuss. We kept a google document going, sharing ideas and making plans. We had a Seuss padlet where students could post their favorite Seuss book. But the biggest celebration happened today. 7 teachers from Illinois, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, and Michigan came together on Google Hangout. By sharing the screen we were all able to play a game of Kahoot together featuring Seuss characters. It was so much fun!

This is all new learning to me. This last summer I opened the doors to twitter, and it has taken me to places I never knew before. I am growing as an educator and I am able to connect my students to the world. I am collaborating with amazing educators and able to bring that back to colleagues in my building. Every door that opens has ten more to follow. 

Oh, the Places We Can Go.........

Welcome Primary Blogging Community

We are excited to connect with other bloggers in the next few weeks. It will be fun to see what others are writing on their blog and see who our readers are.

We welcome our new friends and hope you enjoy getting to know us. Our school is Lecanto Primary School and we are located in Lecanto, Florida. We have 19 first graders in our class.

We are very busy in the next several weeks and working on collaborating with many people outside our area through the internet. We are a part of the Primary Blogging community and are excited to learn more about commenting on blogs.

We are also a class that tweets. You can follow us at @FirstatBatters on twitter. There we will be posting with our first grade pals using #1tweetpals. This is something we have been working on for about 4 weeks.

This week we are also starting some work with the Global Read Aloud project. We are studying the works of Peter Reynolds and learning more about him as a writer. We are also starting a new chapter book called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. This is also a part of the global read aloud project. At the end of the week we will have our first google hangout and do a Reader's Theater with two other first grade classrooms; one is in Iowa and the other Canada!

These are busy and exciting times. We will have plenty to share with you on our blogs. We are excited to learn and grow with you!

Labor Day Weekend Check In

It is so hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is here. Time marches so quickly. When we return to school it will be our 19th day. Many schools are just starting!

I am thankful for this 3 day weekend. It came at a perfect time. Things are truly rising to the surface as to the needs of my 19 students. I have had a chance to sit with them, listen to them and watch them. The first few weeks are full of teaching routines, expectations and building community. A teacher gathers so much information during this time. I will be spending some of this weekend thinking about how to take the time I have and use it wisely to meet the many needs of this diverse group of students. It is a challenge I love and plan to succeed!

In our classroom, we continue to have a wonderful time. I wanted to share a little bit about our day. When students arrive each morning they meet with their partner or group and practice a script or poem for reader's theater. It can be a little noisy in the room and each week there are new partners so there may be some disorganization. But, I must say, it is a beautiful thing to behold! They are reading...and trying to read at the right speed, learning new words and patterns, learning new information, practicing expression and reading words in phrases. We spend some time talking about those expectations. These scripts also go home to practice for homework. We usually practice for a week, then they get to perform. The class points out all the wonderful things they did after their performance. Then, there are some who get to go perform for the principal! They are motivated and excited readers. Look here at the smiles!

 

 



Our next routine is our morning meeting and message. Our letter has a different focus each day. On marvelous Monday we talk about our weekend. On tangled Tuesday, we have to untangle some sight words in the letter. On wacky Wednesday we have to fix some errors in capitals, punctuation and spelling. On thinking Thursday we have some things in the letter to think about and respond to, usually Math or Science! On finish-up Friday we have to add some missing words or letter sounds at the end of the word. Here is an example of our marvelous Monday letter and thinking Thursday. The students get to take these home. I draw names and they are so excited. Many tell me they use them to play school! We were reading these together, but then I found out I have a class of readers. So, they are taking turns reading the letters now. It is a great time to learn new things about reading. They can even chunk some 3 syllable words!

 





Our morning continues with reading centers, phonics and vocabulary instruction. Then we have our Reader's Workshop time. This is a time to learn new strategies and then practice them in their very own books they choose. I get to go visit and talk with them about their reading and thinking. This is usually when we meet some of our critters! Our critters help teach strategies. So far they have met Stick with it Stork, who taught them about stamina and how we need to spend time working on things and not give up. Ollie the octopus taught them to listen to their thinking voice and they even learned the big word metacognition! Our newest critter is Lips the Fish! He taught them to use their lips for sounding out the letters in words. We practiced with two tough sounds, v and f. We felt our lips, the air and our voice and realized the differences in those sounds!

  I didn't get a picture of Lips. I'll post it next time!

Here are some "real" readers using those strategies!

After lunch and some structured physical activity (SPA), we come in for some writing and science. Students have been busy learning about writing sentences and using their best handwriting. They are also bloggers! You can read some of their writing here on our class site! Our Class Blogs They love to read your comments if you would like to leave one! In science they have been observing the properties of objects. I forgot to take a photo of them being scientists! They were really being precise and detailed!

Students then head off to their special classes such as PE, Art, Music or Media. We end our day with math! These students are amazing mathematicians and they are growing in knowledge every day. We have a routine of counting, guessing a mystery number, doing some subitizing with dot cards or ten frames and finally mental math. Then students are off working in groups on mathematical practices. These are some things they noticed they do.

They are working on counting up to 120. They are counting forward and backward and now some are even finding some patterns when they count by 10's on the number chart. They practice their math fluency of facts on a computer program they really like.

 

Interactive notebooks are fun practice too!










A long post to just explain our day! We are having fun here and will keep the updates coming. I didn't take pictures of this but we do try to often stop and post a tweet or two about our day. You can follow us on twitter @FirstatBatters ! Give us a shout out or favorite some of our posts. We'd love to know someone is watching and noticing all our hard work! Soon we will be Skyping with others and tweeting with our first grade classes. We will be a part of a global read aloud too! Our class is a happening place. Stay tuned for more!

Putting My Toes In

I am reminded of my feelings about 10 years ago. I had just completed my 2nd year of teaching and was looping up to 3rd grade with my current 2nd graders. I knew we had the high stake test ahead of us and I wanted to know how to teach them to comprehend. I didn't want another year of worksheets and drill, drill, drill of the skills. I knew when I personally finished reading a book I wasn't reaching over to write down the causes and effects or looking for the main idea. I was comprehending...and I wanted to know, how do I pass that kind of learning to my students? So...I went in search of. I continued to hear about a book, Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene. So, I picked up my first professional read and dove in. It made so much sense...I read it and realized all the things I did (and didn't do) as a reader to comprehend. I still wasn't sure how to take this and bring it to the classroom.


I began to search. I did not find anyone in my immediate network who knew what I was talking about...and didn't seem interested in reading it. At least not yet. So...I went online.


I found a whole new network of teachers. I joined a yahoo group called mosaic teachers. I went online to Teacher Net and chatted every week with teachers online in a group called Professional Readers. We joked and called each other "imaginary" friends. But I learned...A LOT!!! I could not have grown or became the teacher I was without them. I was introduced to other books and loved sharing what was happening in my classroom. We shared lessons, and children's books. I did eventually meet a few of them in person. It changed me and grew me as a teacher.


So, now here I am again. Seeking out in the online community, looking to learn and grow alongside others. It has changed a bit in the last 10 years. Now teachers are blogging, creating products and selling them....and tweeting. I have been trying to blog. Not going too well....yet! I keep wanting to improve. I haven't found my audience yet, and who wants to write and not be read. Not me.


I am not a creator of products. I do buy some and read blogs. But that is very one sided. I want to dig deep, have conversations.


I kept hearing that twitter is the best professional development out there. In fact, our PE teacher has been telling me all year. I have had a twitter account for a while, and just wasn't getting it.


This summer I created a new account, totally educationally geared. I have experienced a few chats. I am enjoying it. It isn't the same deep conversations I found ten years ago. I am hoping it will lead me there. Twitter is so fast, and the limited characters means limited "talk". But, I am putting my toes in, feeling the water. Not ready to swim yet....but I am curious what's out there. How about you? What can you tell me or share with me?