New Car Smell

Ever since I was little I have dreamed about having a classroom to decorate.  It is one of my favorite things about the beginning of school.  Of course, I am not a little kid anymore and realize there is more thought that needs to go into creating a good learning environment for students than just some posters on the wall.  Here are some things I took into consideration as I set up my classroom this year:

Growth Mindset - I have decided to have a big focus on Growth Mindset this year.  In my class I have a bulletin board that teaches my students how to change their words and thoughts to help create a growth mindset.  I am sure as the year progresses we will refer to this bulletin board often as a reminder.  Also, I have created a space to highlight those "Mindset Moments."  Throughout the year, my students or I will write down moments where we noticed a growth mindset.  I hope that the board is overflowing by December!

Varied Work Spaces - I think it is so important to have a variety of work spaces for students from cushioned chairs to open floor space and even some clear counter space for students to stand at.

Depth & Complexity - This year one of my goals is to incorporate the Depth & Complexity icons into my lessons even more than last year.  So, I have made sure to have a space where they are visible to me and the class in hopes of adding these into class discussions.

Motivation Wall - I may have a slight overload of motivational posters, but I just can't pick a few.  I decided to create a gallery wall behind my desk to help motivate my students and I.

Math Vocabulary - Although my vocabulary cards are not in these pictures, I have made a space at the front of my classroom for math vocabulary.  I have cards with definitions and pictures on them that I post at the beginning of each unit.  We talk through the vocabulary and play games with them throughout each unit.

These are just a few things I took into consideration at the start of this new school year.  I am sure there will be many things added as the school year progresses.  I hope everyone has a wonderful school year!

Twitter Chatter

I had to cheat a little on this mission!  The Twitter Chat I wanted to join is on Fridays at 6:00pm, so it has been a little hard to catch with a three year old in the house.  However, I found where they archived the old chats, and they are all organized by topic.  This is such a great resource.  Of course I haven't had a chance to read through them all, but was able to read the chat about twice exceptional students.  It is great that you can are able to hear so many points of a view on a topic.  I love that each chat is on a specific topic within the gifted and talented arena.  I really hope I can join one of these chats in the future and be an active participant.  Twitter Chats are also useful because it gives you an idea of other people you may want to follow.  I have already added so many people to my list and look forward to reading their tweets.

Math Mistakes

I have finally gotten a chance to look through some of the great resources shared here from Brian Bushart.  I really like the idea of Math Mistakes; however some of the problems may be a little hard for my students. I have tried this concept in my class.  We have analyzed math problems done incorrectly or used student's work to figure out what is incorrect about a wrong answer.  I think this really helps students think critically, and also makes them less likely to make the same mistake in the future.  Plus, they always love to point out mistakes!  I  need to make an effort to continue having students think in this way.

Twitter

I have had a Twitter account forever, and occasionally I will look at it and have tweeted when we have technology challenges at school.  However, since we have started Math Rocks, I have really tried to make it a habit to checkout my feed.  Now I just need to work on tweeting more!  On Thursday I joined the elementary math chat.  It was a good experience (once I got to the right hashtag)!  This time I felt like I was trying to keep up with reading everything, but now that I have it figured out I hope to participate more next time.  It was great to hear from others that teach and get some new ideas and thoughts about teaching math  I hope to be able to join these chats in the future.