Tales from Zombie Flipped Class - Volume 1

Greetings and Happy Sunday to everyone. I thought I'd take a break from my massive correcting pile to post a much overdue update on the status of things in Zombie land. A new year brings a clean slate, and a chance to reinvent yourself and your teaching methods. Here's what I've been up to.

First off, I'd like to introduce you to my Voki!  A coworker forwarded me the link, and I dropped everything to play for over an hour. Make your own at www.voki.com

Create free animated avatars that you can embed in your Smart lessons, online, or wherever you want to interact with students. Choose any clothing, hair styles, characters and backgrounds that DON'T have the graduation cap on them, and you'll have fun, free, interactive cartoons that can be re-designed to say whatever you want them to.

Also new in Zombie pre-algebra: Full-time Flip Class! Holt/McDougal's 2012 edition makes this extremely easy to do, with massive resources both in print, text and online for me to pull from. This required a new seating arrangement more appropriate to lots of group work. My little zombies were the first to approve the change.

I have 8 pods of 4 desks, aligned at an angle to the Smart board for whole-group instruction. There are also a pair of desks, a work table and two rocker chairs in the front of the room (which you can't see) for students needing alternative or preferential seating.

We're nearly due for a seating change after only three weeks!!!

So anyway, what about Flipped Class? I have blogged about it before, and have added an information tab on my school website for parents. This was a big decision for me, not made lightly, and I am still working out a lot of the kinks. Here's how I went about it:

1. Complete Backwards Design on Chapter 1 "Principles of Algebra"

If you haven't yet read Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe, get ready to have your mind blown. You start with the "big ideas" of the unit, and work backwards to break down the larger ideas into more manageable chunks. Math books, for the most part, are already chunked out into the pieces. And the examples in each lesson are the manageable chunks. Language Arts and other content areas can be deconstructed as well, until you're down to a day-to-day agenda of manageable learning outcomes.

Then you start pulling from your resources... which ones will help with which students? And your assessments... which ones will provide meaningful data? And then your remediation/intervention... who will need which and how much and when? And start working forward again. It's a lot of thinking. Especially in the first run through a new curriculum. But well worth it.

Here is the math menu I initially came up with:  (click here for more info on menus)

This document provides a road map for students (and me!) to understand the chapter concepts in their own way. The "Homework" column seems backwards at first glance, and takes a lot of training for students new to flip-class. We spent several days during the first week about what good note-taking looks like, and when to stop reading the book and go to the video tutor... and how to take meaningful notes before attempting guided practice problems. (That's the GP) The "Think & Discuss" questions are the "T&D" and help students reflect on what they have read.

The "Class Work" column is what is traditionally assigned as homework (aka the book problems), but is now done in class. Students have the most trouble with this... understanding that if they don't finish it in class, they're not going to have to bring it home and finish it. (unless they've been screwing around and then I assign it anyway). My accelerated classes can usually bang through a lesson in a day, while the regular paced classes tend to need two days to really master the concepts... so we flip half the reading, and then half the book problems, and go back and forth as needed. Hence the leveled problems... purple is the traditional assignment, gold is a little more advanced.

The "Class Labs" are items that I think EVERYONE should complete, whatever their level, and however far along they are in their flip notes. You'll notice that there are reading strategy and study guide labs built in there, that are just good tips for any student. And of course, some extra credit and extensions to keep those high-flyers engaged, without getting too far ahead of the rest of the class.

Phew! That was a lot for Item #1.

Onto 2: Accumulating & disseminating your resources

This is where Schoology comes in. If you haven't taken a tour, DO IT NOW!!!! It's like Facebook and a school website and an agenda book, all rolled into one. And it's FREE. So I ran copies of worksheets for my room (remedial level, extra practice, challenge/puzzles, and independent projects) that I store in labeled dividers and uploaded electronic copies of everything to Schoology, where parents and students can access them from any device, at any time.

We completed our first quizzes on Friday, and rather than just giving them their score and moving on, I am assigning categories of re-teaching needs to each student. I will pull them in small groups this week to inform the necessary students of which areas they need to work on, before they are allowed to move on to the next thing. For example:

Student "A" scores a 31/35 on the quiz.  Great, they got a B+. They're fine, right? But note... they answered incorrectly on EVERY problem including subtracting integers, and could not correctly simplify a variable expression using the Distributive Property. It might only take this student 15 minutes on re-teaching each concept to attain mastery, but they should spend some more time on it. Which leads me to...

Item #3: Flexible and realistic pacing for the year. 

Part of completing  UbD on your units, is aligning them to the standards for your curricular area and state/national guidelines. I used the MN 2007 State Math Standards to align each and every lesson in our book, and decide which lessons to omit (or save for enrichment and/or end of year after testing). The biggest benefit in doing this, is that I was then able to count up the number of standards that applied to each lesson, in each chapter, and make this beautiful pie chart of emphasis.

How to read the chart... take Chapter 1 for example... There are ten lessons covering everything from what a variable is, how to use one, how to use properties and integer arithmetic, and how to solve one-step equations and inequalities. The 17% represents that there were 37 events of standards covered (3-4 per lesson, often overlapping & repeating) in the ten lessons.

There were a total of 216 events of standards covered in all 14 chapters of the book. (37/216 = 17%) I then take the 17% and multiply it by days in the school year. 17% x 184 actual instructional days and I get about 31 school days to dedicate to the chapter. Which helps SO MUCH.

Why does this help? BECAUSE WE ARE COMPETITIVE TEACHING ZOMBIES!!! Society and our coworkers and our students and parents and state testing have molded us into the "Faster Stronger Higher" mentality that is supposed to be reserved for the Olympics. Even in the 10K race I just ran, I was getting passed and passed and passed by faster, younger runners (both males and females)... and even though I creamed my 55-minute goal time to finish with 51:40, I still felt bad as I was running that I couldn't go any faster. This is SO TRUE for us in the classroom, and even more so for our students.

It is already driving me crazy that the other two teachers in my grade are a few lessons "ahead of me" pacing-wise in Chapter 1 in our regular classes, and it's driving another teacher crazy to have an accelerated class going at a slower pace than mine. I have to keep chanting in my head, "It's not a race! It's not a race! It's not a race!" and even it if were a race, we'd all finish at different times, depending on our prior training, current skill level, and ability/desire to push ourselves faster/harder.

What this pie chart gives me, and then I swear I'll shut up about it, is piece of mind, that yes... we are three weeks into school, and yes I'm technically "behind", but that it's better to go slower and deeper through the lessons, if my students need it, since this chapter is one of the two MOST IMPORTANT chapters of the entire year. I should be dedicating 30+ days to it, and I'm only on day 14 of that cycle and we are just about done with 1-4. So I think we can handle finishing another 6 lesson in 16 days.

Item #4: Adapting Flip Class for Middle School

Independent learning and functional group work are not concepts that come easily to seventh graders. But the sooner you train them to read textbooks for meaning, take good notes, and to seek help from others (not just the teacher), the more prepared they will be for high school and higher education. Some things that my students are already struggling with include:

   -what do I write in my notebook when I'm reading my flip lesson?
   -how do I take notes on an example without just copying down exactly what I read?
   -when do I give up on the book, and switch to the video tutor?
   -where do I go to get help if I get stuck on a math problem? (at home or in class)
   -when is it OK to ask the teacher for help, vs. when ask my friends or work on my own?
   -what is the difference between comparing answers, and copying answers?
   -how to ask for easier/harder/independent work and when to ask

And then there's MY questions, that I still haven't figured out the answers for:

   -how to pull students into needs-based groups without embarrassing them
   -how much whole-group instruction and review of "flip" notes is needed each day
   -how to keep students on task without sitting next to them
   -how to get students to ask for and/or admit they need help or don't get it
   -how many opportunities do I give to reteach/re-assess a concept before moving on
   -what to do with off-task students or those who don't have flip lesson done
   -when to assign the class work as homework for off-task students
   -when and how much to reduce the class work for slower paced learners
   -when to use the book and when to use worksheets (I waste so many trees!!!!)
   -how to use online assessment tools, versus paper, to demonstrate mastery
    (so I have less correcting to do, but what about cheating!?!?!?)

More to come on these and many other questions, as I continue to plod through it... in the mean time, please enjoy the Hunger Games / Harry Potter crossover  t-shirt I just purchased! Sure to get some appreciative laughs both in and out of school.

http://www.cafepress.com/mf/66821455/hunger-games_tshirt

Zombies can use Tablets too

Check out my new toy! I know iPads are all the rage, but you just can't argue with a $249 sticker price on this refurbished 10 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. Yes, it's from Walmart, and yes, it's used, but hey... I added a $59 insurance plan that covers freezes, drops, cracks, etc... so why pay for new? (not to mention, I couldn't afford it anyway.) 

Get this... I ordered it online on Tuesday, it arrived on Thursday. I also ordered a nice padded storage case because Zombies are klutzes when it comes to carrying things.

So what's the big deal? I remember back when the iPad was a feminine product joke on SNL... we all said, "Who would bother buying that? It's just like a laptop but flat... what a waste of money!" And here we all are... finally realizing what Apple figured out a long time ago, that it's REALLY NICE to have all your web, music, files, movies, books and games in one easy-to-look-at, portable location! Not surprising, then, that something so handy for home/work would also be handy for school.

Tablet Advantage #1: I don't need to lug a textbook home anymore

Here's me playing with the online textbook at home. (I still like the hard copy at school though) Many textbooks are also available in the iStore and Android market for download, just like any other eBook. You can view them pretty much any e-Reader.

 

Tablet Advantage #2: Interactive Classroom

You can walk around the class with one thing on the Smart board, and use your tablet either for teachers or students to reinforce concepts. All you really need is a decent Wi-Fi connection in most cases. And it doesn't need to be attached to a cell phone plan unless you want network access everywhere you go.

Unfortunately, internet speed does seem to be the biggest stumbling block for businesses, schools and communities. Servers and bandwidth can't always support the needed volume for thousands of individuals to be viewing large files and videos from the internet at the same time.

If you don't have the bandwidth to support online activities, you can still use e-Reader textbooks or download math-related apps and games. I am setting the main page of my tablet to meet student needs, including the Schoology.com login, grading portal, regular and graphing calculators, the e-Book, links to the online textbook site for interactive practice and videos, as well as some games. If you do have internet access, well... then the world is at your students' fingertips! Especially if they are allowed to bring in their own tablet (and if you can trust them to use it responsibly). 

The Schoology.com platform is also nice on tablets for automatic updating. Say you have an important reminder to post in your class (like my Math-7 Hour 1 Bellm) above... I can be standing in the back of the room, type in an assignment clarification, or start a discussion, and it will automatically update on the Smart board in real-time in the front of the room. Any students who have Schoology installed on their phones or tablets will then receive the update on their device as well.

 

Tablet Advantage #3: Quick Reference for Teachers

Sitting at a meeting? Need to check on a student's grade or check out a book from the library and you're away from your desk? Bring your tablet! Type or write some notes while you're there. Open a .pdf or word document while you're there. Show it to your colleagues on the huge 10-inch screen. 

Tablet Advantage #4: Take attendance as you walk around the room

Stand by the door to greet kids and mark them present/sick/tardy as they arrive. Or stand in the back and be sneaky. Whatever you do, you're not chained to your desk anymore. You can even set a timer on the device to beep at you so you don't forget. (which I often do) 

Tablet Advantage #5: Real-Time polling / Check for understanding

If you trust your students to have their own smart phones / tablets out, and you have working internet and a platform like Schoology (which is free!) to start up a conversation or a random polling question. They can answer from their own device either anonymously or by name. You've got instant feedback, and you can always still check verbally or on whiteboards with students who don't have a device. 

Tablet Advantage #6:  Timers, Clocks, Calculators, Weather and other Gadgets

Do you have a time management problem? Well I sure do. In addition to needing timers to take attendance, I need a "wrap it up, big talker" timer to get kids back in order and conclude the lesson at the end of the hour. I also like having weather at the click of a button when the kids start asking if their sports are going to get cancelled at the end of the day. 

Tablet Advantage #7: Everything else!

Check the news. Read a book. Download a bunch of apps for your kids and yourself. Watch a movie. Listen to some music. And try not to get too addicted.

Zombie is Alive (and back for another bite)

 

Happy August, everyone! 

The summer is flying by in its typical expeditious pace. Curriculum training has begun, school supplies crowd the shelves, and I am getting the back-to-work bug in the pit of my belly a little too soon. 

 I wasn't planning to blog again for at least a few more weeks, but seeing as I just Googled the term "flip-class" and found the picture I was looking for ON MY OWN BLOG, I took it as a sign from God, or maybe it was Ashley, to get back in the groove of things. So this blog will probably read like half health-journal entry, half HGTV show, and maybe a third school-related. Yes, I know that doesn't add up. It's summer. Give a girl a break. 

Health-Journal/Shrink Entry: 

A million thanks for all the support, as my family and friends continue to grieve the loss of my sister Ashley. Her funeral in June was extremely moving and gave everyone a chance to let out a lot of pent-up emotion. We have since been passing the summer on Ashley-time, showing up at least 15 minutes late everywhere we go, and taking lots and lots of pictures. There are some touching memorials on Youtube that you can watch (with Kleenex!) if you would like to know her better. 

1. Ashley's memorial tribute slideshow created by my brother Justin 

2. A dedication to Ashley and recitation of her poetry; written by Steve Courage and spoken by our Great Uncle Jim Goetz at her funeral

The headstone for Ashley's grave will be ready in a little over a month, and then we will travel as a family to the cemetery by our family cabin where we will lay her to rest. It is a beautiful site; full of farm-land views and a bubbling brook, eagles swooping and guarding over the graves, and lots of room to plant flowers and sit on the family bench, contemplating happier times. 

So how do you pick up the pieces after a tragedy and move on with your life? Well, us Goetz/Bellm's are not mopers. We have done just that. Picked up the pieces and gotten on living. Visiting each other, traveling, meeting and playing with babies, participating in a 5K walk/run in Richfield and dedicating our efforts to Ashley. I myself have taken everyone's advice to heart to "take care of yourself". For probably the first time in my life since high school sports, I truly feel healthy and fit. 

I am not a private person, and I don't like to toot my own horn, but it really wasn't that hard and I want to share my secret. Shhhhhhh. Here it is. 

DIET and EXERCISE. 

Step 1: I started a free fit-log at www.fitday.com. It has a ton of ads, which I don't pay any attention to, but if they bug you, you can subscribe to the pay-site version. The biggest benefit to the fit log? Taking ownership and being honest with food intake, and being shocked to find out exactly how much (and what is in the) food I'm eating. And then taking ownership of the exercise (or lack thereof) that I'm doing, and accepting that I need to do a lot more. If you're honest, and stay within your calories, you should see results. 

Step 2: Taking up running. I know, right!?!? I have hated running since I was a teenager. I liked it as a kid, but when my body got too gangly and the side aches started, I said, "enough!" and gave up the institution of running for pleasure. Biggest mistake ever. Watching the Biggest Loser contestants year after year, and my brother training for major marathons, you'd think I'd get a clue... but no, "that's not for me", I said... and then one day I just woke up and said, "I can do this!" and ran for 25 minutes straight. Slowly. Like 15 mins/mile slowly.  I refuse to run/walk. Because I am lazy and I know I'm going to abuse the "walk" part.

The second day was SO HARD that I whined on Facebook about child birth being easier. But the third day was better. And then I started adding incrementally to my distance and decreasing my run times, and got better shoes, and got a new MP3 player and arm band, and really good blister band-aids... and before you know it, I'm posting a 29:02 time at the 5K race we just ran! 

I. AM. HOOKED. This is FUN!!! My brother warned me that running is addicting. He was right. I want to run further and compete in more races. So I am now registered for a 10K race in September right down the road from my school. The training is really hard on the body if you don't have REALLY GOOD SHOES that fit REALLY WELL. And REALLY THICK BAND-AIDS. Believe me. I learned the hard way and had to take two weeks off to nurse a sore heel. Note to prior self & y'all: Walmart does not sell decent running shoes.

Step 3: Plan ahead so you can have a life. And EAT like a normal human being and take a day off here and there. I have gone on vacation several times, out to eat too many times, and hosted/been to many parties in the last few months and was able to keep losing weight. I don't sit around eating celery or bring a bag of my own special food. 

But I do sign into my Fit Day log before going to a party or a restaurant, and look up the nutrition information on what I want to eat. I enter it into my fit log beforehand so I can adjust my food for the rest of the day. You can always delete or edit it later. And if you want to eat an extra large piece of cake? Go to town! Just know that it's going to cost you an extra 20-25 minutes of running or a nice long bike ride the next day. 

Here are my all-time favorite tips before I switch gears into HGTV-mode:

-Don't eat 3 hours before bed-time. A light drink seems to be alright occasionally though ;)

-Don't drink your calories!!!! No regular pop! No shakes! No full bottles of wine!!! 

-Eat a light breakfast (150-250 cal.) with some protein in it. I LOVE BACON!!!

-Cross-train when bored/injured/tired (I like to walk, do Pilates, and now, biking!).

-Log only weight losses. Never gains. Everyone yo-yo's. Celebrate the good days.

And now for some Home Improvement! (Note, nothing school-related until August...)

Our basement was boring, blah beige and hadn't been updated since we moved into the house five years ago. I could qualify for Trading Spaces with this makeover because I think I stayed under $1000 total for both rooms. 

Downstairs Great Room: (~72 hrs labor, logged major calories burned painting!)

 

-Painted the boring beige walls a hearty maroon. 

-Painted a Golden Gophers gold accent wall in front.

-Built my husband a desk for his home business

-Built 3 giant square storage shelves from Ikea 

-Bought some matching black frames and artwork

-Bought a ton of lighting for the east end of the room

-Bought couch slip-covers in "Cappuccino" and a couple matching throw pillows

-Spray painted the coffee table with a stone finish

-Cleaned out and hid all the kid stuff and mini trampoline in their own area by the door

Downstairs Hawaiian-theme Bedroom: (~48 hrs labor, seemed easy after above...)

-Painted the walls a "Cape Blue" and a lighter "Winter Sky" blue accent wall

-Hoping to put up the wood plank faux finish wallpaper above the bed soon

-Installed layered curtains with a washed out, almost tie-dye blue/gray/white rippling effect

-Invested in a PILE of dollar-store tropical fake flowers (birds of paradise, palms, etc.)

-Bought this amazing bookshelf head board and matching Ikea wood side tables

-Bought a set of side-table lamps with cream-colored shades

-Typed "Hawaii" into the search box at Allposters.com and ordered a TON of prints

-Bought separate black frames at Target rather than paying Allposters for frames/shipping

-Bought dollar store candles and tubs of shells to spread around book case / head board

-Bought the beautiful accent pillows and pillow cases AFTER selecting room colors

-Flipped over the reversible bed spread from the brown side to the cream side (FREE!!!)

Last Topic: New Toys and Tools for School!

I made a major life-changing decision this summer, to delete my TeacherWeb.com school page. I have nothing against the software; it worked great and had a fairly inexpensive yearly rate. But I vowed to use the free software and sites provided by my school and new textbook instead. OK... and Schoology.com too.

Changes for 2012-2013 (which you may or may not find useful):

-Using my school-provided website for information, pictures, and links to my other sites

-Using Schoology.com for class news, documents, discussions, calendar, and drop-box

-Using Prezi more, and Powerpoint less. I made this Prezi for our new math curriculum.

-Using free online version of our new textbook at school & home instead of real books

-Use more Flip-Class to promote student learning at own pace & more class work time

We had fascinating training days working with these new free technologies, and I have to say, I think this is going to be the most productive and successful year I've had yet. It's only August ninth, and I've already outlined nearly the entire first month without needing any printed resources in front of me!!! 

Thank goodness for technology...  

Enough computer for now. Time to get some exercise. Cheers to an active summer!

-Zombie

Zombie signing off...

Happy summer everyone! We have reached the end. My door now says "1 day left". It feels like forever ago that I made this door decoration. Truly, it feels like another lifetime. Or maybe I've aged over a year in three weeks.

At any rate, I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while to allow my brain and heart to finally process the loss of my sister; something I've yet had a chance to really do. It's easy to be in denial when you have a zillion things to do. But I just finished them. One more day of partying at Valley Fair, and it's "adios" to students and school for the summer. 

Before I go, I did promise and update on the tetrahedron project. And here it is. We made it!!! Starting from the first Stage 2, created by my buddy Gus, which inspired a whole heap of students to want to jump on board. We read a good chunk of the book, we cut and folded and taped and glued and assembled... and covered the desks and carpet in sticky hot glue wads in the process. Oh well. It was FUN! And it looks amazing. 

Here was the original, complete with themes from the book on each Stage 1 set of mini-tetrahedrons. It took a month of complete the book, figure out the concept, and buy a hot glue gun to construct, but it finally got done!

A cute little baby Stage 1 tetrahedron. We made lots and lots and lots of these.

Stage 2 tetrahedron. (4 to the 2nd power = 16 tetrahedrons) These required more patience and more hands and a much bigger mess of glue to clean up.

Stage 3 tetrahedron. (4 to the 3rd power = 64 tetrahedrons) We were pretty proud of ourselves when we got one of these made. And then we realized we had to make 4 more of those to get to a Stage 4. You can see how the project starts to snowball really quickly and there becomes a problem of storing them all... seeing as they double in height with each new level...

And now, it's time to lay the groundwork for the Stage 4 tetrahedron! The culmination of 3 weeks' and 30 students' effort... 4 to the 4th power = 256 tetrahedrons! Holy Hannah...









Now, don't MOVE for at least 60 seconds...











Viola! Stage 4 Tetrahedron! We rock.










Now let's be really cool and hang it inverted from the ceiling.  And then pretend we're super strong and holding it up with one finger.

And then lay on the floor and look at it from underneath.

And then sign off for the summer, with the afternoon sun rays catching the faces just right to make it look like an optical illusion. So proud of my 7th graders. I will miss you this summer! Come back and visit!

-Zombie out.

Grateful Zombie / End of Year Thanks & Appreciation

Congrats to classes of 2012 around the world on your achievements! Another year has come and gone in the blink of an eye. My school door only has 5 days left to cross off before we say farewell. The last set of copies will be sent to the copy room tomorrow. Yearbooks to sign. Filthy, cluttered classroom to clean out. D'OH!

Before I return to complaining about my quickly growing to-do list, I wanted to pause and reflect on all the positive things I have to be thankful for this year. It might just make the grunt work to be done seem a little less tedious.

Zombie Hubby Thanks! For accepting a new Zombie kitty into our home, and making a little room for yet another litter box. Miele (pictured at left) is slowly coming out of her shell, and seeing what it's like to be outnumbered in the house (as I am) by a ratio of three boys to every girl. 

And for dealing with the realities of having a teacher in the family. Like late nights of papers to correct, websites and grades to update, parents to email, and general crankiness from being too nice at school all day. And lots of lots of laundry left unfolded in a pile in the laundry room. Lying in wait for me now... can I put it off another five days???

Zombie Parent Thanks! I have the most amazing parents, who have supported me throughout my life and many career trips and dead ends. With everything else going on in our tumultuous lives right now, they find a way to put everyone else first. Buying lawn mowers. Paying for meals. Flying family members (and pets) around the country. WITH luggage. Arranging impromptu birthday parties and catering at the cabin. Driving out to replace a sump pump line on the fritz, after my duct-tape-and-plastic-bags doctoring didn't do the trick.

Zombie Friends & Family Thanks! The outpouring of assistance, play dates, hot dish meals, Facebook pictures and videos, mailing of cards and gifts, verbal and other expressions of sympathies are deeply appreciated. Transitioning back into work and home life after the tragedy was as smooth as could be expected under the circumstances. Being around some normalcy and the bubbly energy of teens helps keep the grief under control.

I am sure there are individuals I have forgotten to thank, so I'll let Ethan do it for me. "Thanks for the extra cash that finally motivated Mommy buy me the new bike I needed! I got to ride it out of the store!"

Zombie Coworker Thanks! To all the wonderful team members, support staff, secretaries, custodians, administrators and other professionals I work with on a daily basis. You put up with my daily lateness (I'm still running on "Ashley Time" after all) and grandiose ideas, and bossy over-management of all spreadsheets, and somehow still love me enough to throw together a big wad of sympathy cards, words and cash to make me feel better after my sister's passing. The money really does help. No one realizes just how quickly the expenses add up after a death in the family; especially when travel and settling of accounts and property take place. 

Zombie Student Thanks! Daily sympathy cards and gifts continue rolling in to keep me going each day. Random hugs and positive thoughts, pretty plants, compliments on my sister's clothing and jewelry that I wear all the time now, and continued effort through the end of the year, are more than I could ever ask for. It is such a privilege as a teacher, to see students blossom into creative, analytical, and reflective thinkers at the end of the year. No Senior Slide here. (knock on wood!)

Now that testing season has come and gone, my math enrichment classes are completing a read-aloud of All of the Above and have started the tetrahedron project. We have made a Stage 3 (64 tetrahedrons) so far, and are hoping to complete a Stage 4 (256 tetrahedrons) before our last class next Monday. We were going to have a party that day, but several students have informed me that they would RATHER CONTINUE READING THE BOOK! One girl even said, "can you keep reading it to us while we work on the tetrahedons???" (yes, it's THAT good... or maybe it's just that my attempt at an inner city accent is really entertaining to them ;)

Anyhoo, I will post some pictures of the tetrahedron project in the next few days, as we work our way towards "THE END". Peace out.

In Memoriam: A Sister's Life Lessons inspired by Ashley Ellen Goetz

 

One of the unanticipated fringe benefits of being a teacher: 

Sympathy prayers grow exponentially, to the power of students and their families.

This post is dedicated to my baby sister, Ashley Ellen Goetz, who died tragically in a car accident last Monday at the age of 26. She was an artist, a writer, a sometimes musician, a teacher, and above all, a wonderful sister. Her professional website will continue to be available at www.ashleyellen.com, where you can see some of her best works of poetry, creative writing, photography, strategic design, and mixed media art. Ashley leaves behind a rich legacy of creativity and life lived to its fullest.

Staff Writer Ben Storrow, at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, interviewed my family shortly after the accident, and wrote a wonderful article celebrating Ashley's life, and stating the known facts of her accident. You can read his article by clicking here.

I envision her last moments spent thinking, "Well, I couldn't have done any more with the time I was given!" and that is the biggest tribute I can give her. I'd bet money that she's LOVING the fact that she doesn't have to waste any more time sleeping, now that she has no corporeal need for it ;)

You've probably noticed that I haven't blogged for quite a while. Mostly because I've been wracking my brain trying to think of the appropriate words to remember her by. Then, I finally decided, I don't have to speak for her. She can do it herself. Please enjoy.

A Sister's Life Lessons

inspired by

Ashley Ellen Goetz

Silly faces are the universal language of childhood.

Sisters know how to make you feel beautiful. Even in big bangs and early 90's pastels. 

There's no need to spend money on Halloween costumes, when you have footie pajamas, face paint, and fake ears. 

Life seems to make more sense when you're surrounded by nature, hiking an unknown path, listening to the rush of the current.

Take time to feed the ducks.

Spend time with your grandparents. Listen to their stories. They actually know some things.

Everyone looks good in a giant sombrero.

It's never too cold to hit the slopes. Frozen toes and fingers = warm hearts.

There is no better feeling in the world than rubbing your face into the fur of a purring cat.

Sibling bonds cannot be broken by distance or time, no matter how much they annoyed you in childhood.

Know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em, Know when to give it up and stick it to your face.

Take more pictures. Use real film. Aim the lens less. Stick it on a shelf for a few years before you develop it. You just might surprise yourself.

Travel the world. Learn a new language. Try a new food. And buy lots and lots of scarves.

Sniff babies as often possible before they lose that heavenly smell.

Who needs toys when you have your Auntie godmother's jewelry to play with? 

Everything is better with a pitcher of beer.

Always properly light your pictures.

And don't forget to smile.

Exponential Growth of Spring Zombie Brain Decay

Mother's Day weekend was phenomenal. From the giant-sized Frosty ice cream inflatable, to fishing off the dock at the cabin, to sunning my zombie-pale skin on a deck cushion until I looked more like a salmon filet... I was pampered by the hubby, my folks, and occasionally, my children. And now, only 16 days of school left!! (We made a count-down for my classroom door to staunch the flow of students asking over and over again HOW MANY DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL)

We even have it marked with special days, like "Next Friday is Exploratory Day!" and "June 4th all Library Books are due!" and "Last Day of School: Valley Fair field trip!" so... technically there are really only 13 or 14 actual educational days left. And boy are we feelin' it! 82 degrees outside today!?

After having completed our review lesson, I took my math classes outside to do homework in the sun. There were naturally groups laying out to tan while they worked, and others finished with work frolicking near the soccer nets (luckily NOT trying to stick their heads through the gaps). And.... then there were the three gangly, 5'10" seventh grade boys CHASING BUTTERFLIES through the field. No joke.

They actually caught one and brought it to me. Alive. I was literally RITG (rolling in the grass) LMAO (expletive deleted). It really is a crying shame that more middle schools don't have playground equipment, or some sort of rec area for kids to go blow off steam. Just to run a few laps, or climb on something (other than my classroom desks and counters) and BE A KID! We do often forget, that even though middle schoolers have grown-up sized bodies at their disposal, there are still actual children living inside those big bodies with children's desires... to run and play and be free and have FUN.

So... the challenge of keeping zombified middle school brains from decaying past the point of no return is getting harder by the minute. Thus, it's CAREER PROJECT TIME! 

First Task: Brainstorm and create an ACTUAL, working resume to keep in Word format, and edit throughout the rest of their middle/high school careers. You'd be amazed how many activities, sports, awards, jobs and volunteer opportunities have been earned by even young zombies. 

Second Task: Research and choose a plausible professional career that they (students) are interested in; including how much schooling they will need, how much money they will make, and the demand for said career.

Third Task: Research and contact a college or trade school where students might likely obtain said training for the career in their second task. Find out how much  the annual tuition, books, room and board are; as well as how rigorous the admissions procedures are. What kinds of activities and skills do they look for?

Fourth Task: Research and/or contact a local bank to find out the typical interest rates on student loans. Write an equation for the duration and annual costs to attend school for the expected amount of time to obtain necessary degrees. Calculate inflation both for yearly tuition cost increases; as well as the compound interest accumulated on the loan over the 4+ years in attendance (this is an accelerated class after all!)

Fifth Task: Calculate the expected monthly payments required to pay back the college loan, and write a summary report comparing these payments to the income and lifestyle each student expects to realize as a young professional.

I will upload more information once I've detailed out a "real" project description and created a rubric. My zombie brain is already half dead and it's only Monday...