If You're Lucky...

Well, as my first year is coming to a close I've learned:

• simple is best,
• to keep records of EVERYTHING,
• be prepared that no matter how many hours you planned, something unexpected will happen,
• sitting 5 hours in a gym watching your students play basketball will pay off in the classroom,
• making a positive phone call to a parent will make their day,
• smiling is contagious,
• being a teacher is a HUGE responsibility and worth it,
• if you have a question - ask,
• your faculty and staff are your second family,
• technology is your friend,
• fractions CAN be taught,
• students will go the distance,
• teaching is the most rewarding job ever.

I like telling my students, "If you're lucky, you learn something new everyday!" My students have made me the luckiest person in the world because they have taught me soooo much! I can't wait for my 2nd year! I will miss them, but they have taught me well so I'll be ready to face whatever my next class has in store for me!

Have a great last month of school! Remember, if you're lucky...you'll learn something new today!

Blog posted by April writer Sheri Hale, 5th grade teacher at Fred Anderson Elementary School in Bayboro, NC.

Good advice for a first year teacher

I was fortunate enough, along with the other first year teachers from our county, to go hear Harry Wong at Chapel Hill this year. He was wonderful! I brought back many classroom management tips from him along with some great ideas that I have been able to incorporate in my classroom. My favorite one is posting every goal and objective in the classroom where everyone can see them from all over the room. After posting them, read them or have the students read them (I do them 9weeks at a time) and then we check them off as we complete them! They don't ask me "Why do we have to learn this?" because they know the answer is "because North Carolina says you do!" This give them a visible goal and they love it when I take down the goals and objectives that we've learned so they can see what's new for them.

If you ever get a chance see Harry Wong, please do. He is funny, inspirational, and full of ideas. He was a teacher at one time and he gives us all permission to "steal, steal, steal!" He says his classroom was full of "stolen" ideas! Talk to your coworkers, visit their classrooms and steal their ideas! Ask veteran teachers what they wouldn't or couldn't live without and "steal" it! Almost every teacher I've ever known was ready to lend a helping hand and any extra copies of items they have. Harry Wong is great...so look him up online and try to see him if you can.

Blog posted by April writer Sheri Hale, 5th grade teacher at Fred Anderson Elementary School in Bayboro, NC.

The possibilities are endless!

Boy! The end of our first year is drawing to a close and I'm very uptight about the EOGs. We finished our math book a couple of weeks ago so I am now trying to find fun ways of reviewing and assessing the kids. I want to keep them interested but I also don't want them to forget what we've worked so hard to accomplish. My morning class was 100% proficient and my afternoon class was over 92%! I am very proud of them and what they have done this year.

Some of the things I've done with my students for interesting math has been:

• Fraction Bingo
• Math Vocabulary Bingo
• Jeopardy!
• Multiplication/Division Bingo
• Multiplication Board Games
• Wrap-UpsStations (like centers using plotting coordinates, time, area and perimeter, fractions, probability, etc...)
• Flash cards
• Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (they LOVE this)
• Card games
• Dice games
• Sidewalk math (give them a peice of chalk with an EOG practice problem and let them work it out on the sidewalk! This gets us outside and reinforces the goal and objectives!)

The possibilities are endless! I just think they will give us more if they are having fun, their minds are fully focused, and they have confidence that learning all this "stuff" is important.

Have fun!

Blog posted by April writer Sheri Hale, 5th grade teacher at Fred Anderson Elementary School in Bayboro, NC.