On the move

We started last week with the students setting reading and math goals for the summer. Today we revisited the goal setting. I targeted their math goals. I ran a report from  MobyMax  that listed how many math problems the students completed last week and the percentage of problems that were correct. I challenged them to set a goal of how many problems they will complete this week. This goal was recorded on a spreadsheet next to the number problems they completed last week. The goal setting definitely created a focused atmosphere in the computer lab. I reviewed the quiz data from  Newsela  as well. It indicated that although the students were interested in the articles and reviewing and reading many articles, they were struggling with the questions on the quizzes. I printed one of the articles at a lower Lexile level. The students worked with one of the assistants, Ms. Ayala in a small group on reading the article and answering the questions. The students enjoyed working in a small grou

I could not resist posting this video clip which illustrates the joy of discovery. You can hear their excitement at exploring computer programming.

The reader board outside our school reads, "Hard work knows no season! Summer School 6/23-8/14". Our custodian, Dan crafted this message to advertise our summer program. It fits with the motivation for creating this program. Over 70% of our student population come from homes that are labeled economically disadvantaged. They do not have access to enriching summer activities like camps or extra classes. The idea of a summer program came out of some conversations among staff about how to prevent the "summer slide", the loss of learning that occurs over the summer when students are out of school. With some careful planning and use of our school budget, we devised a plan to open our library and computer lab for 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. The program is staffed by one teacher and 3 assistants. We are using computer programs that the students use during the regular school year like MobyMax and Reading Counts as well as introducing new ones like Newsela and Scratch. We a

I gave the students a writing prompt today.  I asked them to pretend they were writing to a friend to tell them why they should come to our summer program. They did their writing in MobyMax  and submitted it to me. I let them know that I was writing a blog about our summer program and that I would use their writing as part of my blog entry for today. Here is a sample of what they wrote. They are not edited so you can appreciate their voices. Summer school is 50 times better than recces and pe at the same time we even get free lunch here. The best part is that almost at the end we get to play games! A mi me gusta benir aqui por que es muy divertido a qui te alludan como en matematicas te ayudan a que aprendas mejor las divisiones y todo eso que esta relasionado con las matematicas  esta escuela es una de las mejores tal vez lsea lamejor y pudes usar las tabletas las computadoras Translation [I really like to come here because it is fun. Here, they help you with mathematics. They

Scratch Our Young Scholars became computer programmers using  Scratch . We used today as a free exploration day. I did not give them perimeters for what they needed to accomplish. There was a lot experimentation with the sounds and backgrounds. Here is a sample of what I heard as I walked around the computer lab. "Try it again!" "What do you think this will do." "Come see this!" "How did you do that?" There was definitely a high level of engagement. The students with prior Scratch or programming experience were able to share their expertise.  When it was time to log off and go home, they wanted to stay and do more. I told them that if they had fun learning that they should tell a friend so we can have more students at our Summer Program. More photos from today's session Off-line activities were popular, too. Students made arrays to answer a math word problem and explore the idea of multiplication. Students

We had 40 students today!  The library was open for business. Our Young Scholars were excited to have time to choose a book to check out. Many of them expressed an interest in being able to find a quiet spot in the library to read their books. I am looking forward to introducing the students to computer programming using  Scratch .  I can hopefully learn enough tomorrow morning to help them get started. I know they will be explaining it to me before the end of the day. This summer I will be learning along with my students. Students enjoy the challenge of playing  Frutaba

Hard work knows no season, 30 Young Scholars arrived today to continue their learning through the summer. We began our first session by asking the students to set goals for their summer learning. Many of the students were able to navigate MobyMax to find their math level and Scholastic to find their Lexile level. The students are empowered to track their own progress. After the students completed their goals, the 3rd through 6th graders were introduced to Newsela. The students read an article and took a quiz on what they read. The 1st and 2nd graders listened to the story, Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews. They then used the Educreations on the iPads to create a picture with black dots. The students also worked on their math and reading skills using MobyMax. Today was a great start to our program. 1st and 2nd graders using iPads to create their own Black Dot picture Students working on articles from Newsela

Can you ever be truly prepared? I have come to the conclusion there are only varying degrees of preparation and the rest is how much uncertainty can be tolerated. Monday some of my students will arrive for lunch and to begin our summer program. I do not know exactly how many will come, it could be the full 70 that expressed interest or more or possibly fewer. I cleaned the computer lab, printed passwords and usernames to facilitate logging in, I planned some off-line activities for younger students and printed registration forms. I am prepared to the point that I can accept the uncertainty as excitement about a new venture.

Welcome to my blog. I have started this blog to document through pictures and words my journey as an educator. I will share what is happening in my school and my reflections as we travel together. Enjoy.