INB Dividers

Thanks to @Shaun for the template (INB Divider Templates)!

I have adapted Shaun's original template.

Since I have not adopted SBG in my classes, I wanted the larger right-hand side to include place for unit vocabulary. I added a space for pre-test and post-test scores where the place for the image was.

I am not going to link mine so you have to go check out Shaun's blog instead! ;-)

Organization! :-D

Alas, tomorrow will be both a sad and happy day. My brother (who am I kidding, he is really like my child) is off to college. I will be dropping him off with all of his stuff. I hope he has a great time, while also being successful academically. I hope he is more excited tomorrow; lately, he has been rather indifferent. My best friend, whom I have essentially raised for a few years, is moving out, but I know he will do great things! *very proud*

Anyway, that being said, I have not been doing much preparatory work for school the last few days, as I have been helping him pack and trying to spend more time with him.

However, I did start organizing my materials for the first few weeks. I have always been a very organized person, but this year, I may be even more crazier. Besides having binders for each unit, now everything is in sheet protectors! No more holes in the side of the "master" copies.

I also started sorting through all of my task cards, cart sorts, etc. and organizing and labeling them! I bought these poly envelopes because they were colorful, durable, and convenient. Why do I say convenient? Well, I am in three different classrooms during the day... and never the same room two periods in a row. So, I need something small and portable to stick in my backpack. :-)

Not colorful, you say? How about when you see the first tub? They are now in chronological order as well.

Hopefully I keep up with the organization and put everything back in its rightful place as we use it. 

Spoiler: I do not have a textbook for my resource level courses.

Spoiler Alert: I do not have a textbook for my resource level (special education) Algebra 2 courses. Why? "It's not in the budget this year." (or any subsequent year apparently).

This is both a positive and a negative for me. It's a positive because I actually like making my own materials. It's a negative when I have a parent like last year who insists on having material at home (in advance) so that he can try to work with the child. While I would much rather have 12 overly concerned parents than the nonexistent ones (which is what I typically find for my resource level classes), last year I had nothing pre-made as far in advance as he would have preferred. This led to a multitude of issues and headaches for me throughout the year... in just dealing with that one parent.

So, I vowed to myself that this summer I would get ahead making guided notes so that I can have them posted in advance in my Google Site. My curriculum has 11 units; I have created guided notes for 5 of those units. That is some definite progress!

This allows me to post the guided notes early as an outline, but because I still do not have a textbook per say, gives me the flexibility to change them throughout the year if need be. I am not bound to a bound book, so to speak.

I pull examples for these guided notes from a variety of places: our old college-prep level textbook, our new college-prep level textbook, a plethora of workbooks I have acquired in just a few short years, and my brain. I have my special education course organized following the same curriculum as the college-prep general education course (by law), but I have the flexibility to tailor the instruction to fit my students' needs. For example, while we will cover logarithms every year, we may not go AS in depth as the regular level class, because we have to spend more time on reviewing the fundamentals of algebra in the beginning of the year. I can set the pace for the course; I am not bound to the pacing calendar the way we are in my co-taught regular level course.

I can't tell you how many years I have started to blog in late summer and then stopped as soon as school started. The next summer I would go through and delete most of those posts and say "Hey, I'm starting over!". This year, I actually want to continue to blog throughout the school year.

I know very few people follow this blog now... and probably very few will in the future. That's okay. It is more a place for me to consciously think about aspects of my classroom and my teaching. If I blog about it, I will think about it more. Reflection is key. This forces me to do just that!

Data, Data Everywhere

As a Special Education teacher, I am responsible for reading, monitoring, and upholding 56 student IEPs this year. That's a lot to keep track of - here is how I do it.

First, I create a cheat-sheat accommodations chart for each class period to serve as a snapshot. Which student gets to use a calculator? Which student requires a copy of my notes? Which student needs restroom reminders? Etc.

I also include a quick reference for who their Case Manager and Guidance Counselor are, as well as either their Study Skills teacher if they have elected to take that course. 

That's the easy part. Then there is all of the data. 

In addition to keeping track of students' assessment scores and struggles with particular concepts, I have a page for each student for each marking period to track progress toward their individual IEP goals.

The top, which I cut off, contains personal information: name, course, marking period, case manager, etc.

I have one for each marking period. As their IEP meetings occur during the year, the goals will change and I will run off a new sheet for the next marking period. I track weekly progress quantitatively and then I have a ton of space at the bottom of the page (and on the back) for anecdotal comments. 

This year I bought a bunch of address labels and I plan to keep them with me on a clipboard. I will jot down anecdotal notes on the address labels as I observe something in the classroom. At the end of the day, I can stick them on the back of the students' data page in my binder to reference when I want to write comments or progress reports. 

Small Changes

The first day of school is quickly approaching! Teachers return on September 1st, and students come back on the 3rd!

Something that I thought I liked last year, but ended up being really annoyed with was how much "extra" stuff I did in the beginning of the year before getting into the math! It seemed like a good idea at the time - my True Colors survey, a Multiple Intelligence Survey, and some activities. However, in reality, it just ate up a good 3 days when really two of those should have been spent on getting started with content.

This year, I'm going to plan for a much shorter course introduction.

One thing I want to start is Google Classroom. It seems really easy to add announcements each day. I am currently planning to post an abbreviated agenda each day - the warm-up, what we are learning, etc. I can also post assignments. I just wish it was connected to Google Calendar. Also, It seems like I can integrate it with a Google Drive folder to share materials.

What I do not know is if this is better or worse than a Google Site. I guess I really need to think about using both of them in tandem to accomplish what I want. The Google Classroom for announcements and the Google Site as a file cabinet and calendar. Hmm... 

I also created a Google Form to streamline do-now activities. Google will automatically collect their usernames and timestamp.

I had wanted to use Google Forms for do-nows last year, but after the first three weeks of school, I had so many forms and so many spreadsheets, I simply quit. This way, I can have the do-now projected on the board, but all of the responses go to one central location. I hope that will work out better. 

This summer I still want to blog about:

- My first day of school plans

- General ideas for my resource level course

- Big changes in my CP co-taught course

- Anything else I can think of :)

Keep, Change, Start, Stop for 2015-2016

On the last day with my resource level students this year, I asked them to write short reflections on the year. They needed to list one thing I should keep for next year, one thing to change for next year, one thing to start doing next year, and one thing to stop doing.

Keep
* PoWs because they help a lot with grades
* letting us do study guides in class and being sarcastic
* letting students use their notes and study guides on tests and quizzes
* the notebook and the amount of homework
* the PoWs because they are easy points
* throwing new things at them
* keep doing the PoWs! keep the notebook as well. they were such a great idea.
* the PoWs
* PoWs
* keep PoWs. they are easy points that can help grades
* the PoWs
* the PoWs
* Playing the tower game
* keep PoWs and notebook checks; use study guides for tests and quizzes
* keep the PoWs they help with keeping up grades
* you should keep the way you organize stuff
* PoW
* PoWs
* keep the work, it's good for people to understand
* the notebook
* letting people use notebooks on tests
* easy in class

Change
* nothing
* the PoWs to every other week maybe?
* PoWs, maybe make them easy for students to solve that way they can get an A
* do more Kahoots
* nothing it's perfect
* nothing
* I wouldn't change really anything but if I had to chose it would be do more fun group projects
* the projects
* nothing
* having to tape everything in notebooks. I think a binder is better
* the worksheets
* no make up work or test policy
* start giving a little more HW
* less paperwork
* give more homework, it will help give more grades
* don't change anything
* classroom if you can, way too hot
* change seats more
* the questions on the PoWs
* how hard some of the PoWs are
* closing door when you get mad
* play Kahoot more often

Start
* giving more extra credit and fun projects
* giving "catch up on notebook" days
* making some quizzes and tests using memorization, people wanting to memorize certain formulas for careers
* none
* IDK what to say
* something like you always do
* start doing more Kahoots and winners get homework passes
* a page to keep track of the TOC for the notebook
* more PoWs
* only let people use their notebooks on quizzes if the notebook is organized and updated
* doing Kahoots before every test
* giving HW assignments every day based on completion and correctness
* assigning more projects
* more projects
* playing more fun activities that involve the lesson
* more group work
* buying new math shirts for next year
* taking off points for disruptions of class
* start having more hands-on activities
* using Kahoot more
* more 1 on 1 with students
* parties

Stop
* nothing
* nothing because you don't do anything bad I can think of
* making up PoWs that are hard to do and make sure they're relevant to what you're teaching the students
* the PoWs - I just don't like them, that's why
* drop. And hop hop :D
* drop and roll
* there isntohing I would want you to stop because I liked everything about the class
* nothing
* nothing
* nothing really to stop. but maybe making PoWs less hard
* doing projects
* giving out a lot of tests
* nothing
* dropping chalk
* giving a final and midterm
* nothing
* dropping the chalk
* stop being silent and teach even if kids are talking. if they don't listen its on them not you.
* stop students more from misbehaving and have them show more respect
* giving projects
* nothing, everything is ok :)
* making class so complicated

My take-aways
* PoWs are a hit, but change them up a bit for next year.
* HW - give more
* My students truly pick up on how frequently I drop chalk! ;-)

Kiddos arrive September 4th! ANXIETY!

Classroom!

While I am still a travelling teacher and still must share classroom space throughout the day, I am happy to say that the room where my resource classes are located.... will actually house some of my math stuff this year. I have one small bulletin board to use (so instead of having the entire board dedicated to a theme, it is an organized mish-mosh of things I want displayed. I'll probably end up switching things out as the year progresses).

 The quote on the bottom left will be changed out weekly. The pink sheet is where I plan to write the date as a math problem each day. And the yellow sheet is where I plan to write that night's hw assignment. The small calendar on the right will be a paper log of homework assignments and assessments. Googling math posters, I found that awesome sign on the top right. Then, because my kiddos can never remember horizontal and vertical (nor do they know what the horizon means, so that does not help) and because integer operations are so difficult for them, I have labeled each direction and provided a number line. YAY! Lastly, the "Fist to Five" Check is a quick way I ask students to tell me how they are doing. I'm sure I modified something I saw on Pinterest, but I can't find the pin to give credit. I'm sorry! :(  Up close, it looks like this:

 Also, I FINALLY get to keep some of my supplies in the room, which is extremely important as I am going gung-ho with INBs this year. Last year I was INB-crazy for the first couple months and then failed miserably. This year, I have a significant number of INB pages already created so I am sticking to it! So, I have space for tape & glue, scissors, and colored pencils and other assorted INB supplies. There's also room to keep their notebooks in the classroom so they do not get lost or destroyed in the black holes that they call "lockers" and "backpacks". Additionally, I have a cup of pencils - you would think 16, 17, and 18-year old people could come to class with at least a pencil? Nope! Oh and my super awesome 3-drawer paper holder for plain, lined, and graph paper. :)

Let me tell you... it was a rocky time in August trying to secure space for me in this room, and I may have made a few enemies in the process (oops), but I can't lug all that stuff around all day!



Goals!

I have always been an organized person. Everyone always says I probably have a mild form of OCD and they are probably right. However, this is the year of true organization. I want to maintain a binder for my co-taught college prep level classes that contains completed notes, completed study guides, and a log of their homework assignments to reference for the days when our building's internet decides it does not want to work (i.e., ALL the time).

I want to make sure I really focus on monitoring student learning, getting all students involved, and making the knowledge stick. I want to get the kids up (we have a TINY classroom space - probably smaller than some of their closets at home) as much as I can, interacting with each other as much as I can, and engaged in the material more than I have in the past. My enthusiasm is not enough. THEY need to own it.

The goal that has been my goal for 3 years - classroom management. Ugh. I have some ideas. Hopefully they come to fruition. Looking at my rosters and talking to colleagues, I have a tough crowd this year. The big thing I need to focus on for classroom management to be more successful is ROUTINE.

DATA COLLECTION for my students' IEPs. Enough said. It needs to get done frequently, accurately, and consistently. I have 54 students with IEPs... I need to be on top of this stuff!



Anxiety!

This year my district is 1-1. In grades K-4, each student has access to a Nexus tablet that are housed in the classrooms. And every student in grades 5-12 has a Chromebook that they take to and from school each day. It is going to be a year of transition for me as I am going from having basically no technology (not even a working projector half the time) to LOTS of technology. This makes me excited, but more anxious. I want to introduce classwork with the Chromebooks slowly. I know I want to do INBs instead of trying to find a way to take notes on the Chromebook. Typing math is just too time-consuming!! The interactive aspect will be so much better for my students. I have a whole room full of struggling learners. So, here's my plan: each day, students will need to use their (hopefully charged) Chromebooks to access my Google Site and view the day's agenda. There will be a warm-up to complete (Mental Math Mondays, then a variety of warm-up problems Tues - Thurs, and Friday Funnies) which will almost always be online. Then it's lids down! Most days I plan to have a mini-lesson, frequently involving our INBs. Then it's practice time. Some days this might be on our Chromebooks (still looking for more ideas) and some days this might be good 'ole paper and pencil. And some days I might try to squeeze some stations into that tiny classroom - wish me luck!

Again, I'll reiterate the TINY SPACE that is this classroom. (Also you can see that the other teacher will hate me because of my influx of COLOR and STUFF) :) :) :) I'm standing next to the first pair of desks, there are actually 12 crammed in there. And of course I have mostly athletic boys and it's on the second floor (hello hot and sweaty!) Good thing I'm only in this closet for two periods a day!