Strategy #5

Strategy #5 - Think-Aloud

The strategy that I will be focusing on this week is the Think-Aloud strategy. This strategy is helpful for struggling readers because the teacher demonstrates good reading strategies out loud in front of the class. Thinking out loud for the students effectively teaches them good reading strategies that they can use on any and all assignments.  Struggling readers usually give up once they get stuck or continue to read without ever actually comprehending the text. By using the think-aloud strategy, we as teachers are showing them how to overcome these difficulties in a more productive and successful manner. Struggling readers need to see and be taught how expert thinkers solve problems. Teachers need to teach students how to learn if we want them to be successful on their own.

As a math teacher, think-alouds are super helpful when first introducing word problems. Most of my students are relatively strong math students but that is not helpful if they don't know where to begin when they are given a word problem. I begin the year by thinking out loud as I read through a word problem. I model how to determine the important information and make inferences. I model how to create explanations for the events going on in the word problem and providing details for the setting. After modeling several examples I ask the students to walk me through their thought processes on new examples. By the end of the unit they will be working through word problems and practicing good reading strategies with their partners as I walk around the room to monitor their progress. 

Text #5

Text #5 - Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone

The Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone is about a young knight's search for King Arthur's sword. King Arthur is looking to find the knight that is worthy of taking his place as King. He has given them a riddle that if solved correctly will lead them to the sword. The children's story book takes you through the journey of Vertex and Radius as they solve the riddle. They must create 3 dimensional figures from their nets, calculate the number edges, vertices, and faces for each figure in order to determine which ones satisfy the riddle. After determining the correct solids they go searching through the castle for these particular 3D figures in the hopes of finding the sword. They eventually find the cone with the correct measurements and thus King Arthur's sword.

This book would be a fun way to introduce edges, vertices, and faces which in itself is not the most exciting lesson. I would walk the students through how to make inferences and allow them to try and predict where they think the sword is hidden. After I document their predictions we will calculate the number of edges, vertices, and faces for each of the figures on the parchment. I will have a huge poster in the front of the room with our findings but the students will have their own table to keep in their notebook as well. After we have completed the table I will ask them if anyone would like to change their predictions. We will finish reading the rest of the short story to see how close our predictions were.

Neuschwander, C., & Geehan, W. (2003). Sir Cumference and the sword in the cone (pp. 1-32). Charlesbridge.

Strategy #4

Strategy #4 - Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are a visual representation of knowledge that has been constructed and organized to better help students. They can be used at the beginning of a unit, during a unit, or even at the end. They are used to scaffold language and content and are especially helpful for english language learners. It may just seem like a piece of paper with some boxes and circles but it helps the students separate the important information and to make connections between concepts. It is especially helpful for struggling readers and writers to visually see how the concepts connect to one another without having to read through complicated text. Graphic organizers are a helpful tool for brainstorming, demonstrating their thinking process, and increasing reading comprehension. They are so versatile that they can be used in many different ways and for so many different purposes.

A specific example in my classroom is the graphic organizer that my students create to help them separate and organize the different volume and surface area formulas for prisms, cylinders, cones, pyramids, and spheres. The names of the figures, pictures of the figures, and the formulas are included in their graphic organizer. It is a great study tool for them.

Strategy #3

Strategy #3 - Question Drop

On my google site I have a form that the students must fill out after every homework video that they watch. The form consists of two problems that are similar to the problems on the video and a question box. If they are confused about any part of the video or the concepts in general they should type their question into the question box. Every morning I check their solutions and read through their questions. Their answers are not graded but simply used to show their understanding or lack thereof. At the beginning of class I will go over the two problems from the previous night’s form and answer the questions that they submitted through the question drop. This is really helpful for me as a teacher because it allows me to see if the students are struggling and therefore determine if I should move on or spend another day on the concept. I also have a question drop box in the back of the classroom that my students can write down their questions and place in the box. I check the box at the end of every day. This strategy teaches the students to advocate for themselves and provides them with several writing opportunities a week. This strategy can be used daily or just once or twice a week. I have found the more frequently it is implemented the more helpful it is for both the teacher and the students. Struggling students are less likely to fall through the cracks because I can see that they are struggling before they are assessed.

The students just recently watched the Solving Equations with Variables on Both Sides video for homework. The video consisted of me working through 4 examples step by step and the students were expected to listen and take notes. At the end of the video I provided the link to my google form. The form consisted of two problems where the students were expected to solve an equation with variables on both sides and submit their answers. They could use their notes to help them if they needed to. Obviously they had just watched the video so I did not grade the questions. At the end of the form they had to submit their question in the question box. Some examples of the questions that I got were as follows:

• “Why did you divide by -1 on example #3?”   
• “Does it matter which side I move the variables to?”  

I checked their submissions first thing in the morning and I was able to answer their questions without any of the students having to feel embarrassed or dumb for asking them.

Text #4

Text #4 - Race and Gender Diversity on Television VS. In the United States

Race and Gender Diversity

Think Progress

The author, Alyssa Rosenberg, has broken down the statistics of our leading networks’ main characters based on their race and gender.  She then compares them to the statistics of the United States population also based on race and gender.  It comes at no surprise that her statistics show that the majority of the main characters are white males and minorities appear very rarely. The first website that I have listed is a more easily interpreted and visual representation of her article.  I would use this website for my struggling readers.  It compares the percentages of television main characters based on their race and gender directly beside the matching race and gender statistic of our U.S population.  It also puts all of the statistics in a single chart which makes it easier for the students to make comparisons. The second website is a written explanation of the author’s findings.  Rosenberg also goes on to talk about how our major networks are reconsidering their casting approach in order to bring in more diverse viewers and increase their ratings.  According to Rosenberg, The University of California in Los Angeles is even conducting a study on the effects of diversity on TV ratings.

I would first show and discuss the statistics with my students as a class.  We would compare the percentages and discuss why they might think they would be that way.  From there I will mention that similar statistics can be found outside of television in the everyday workforce as well.  I will ask them to brainstorm with a partner about some jobs that might have more of a particular race or a particular gender than their counterparts.  After a few minutes I will ask them to share their ideas.  After the discussion I will have a bucket ready that is filled with pieces of paper with a different country written on each one.  One person from each group will select a piece of paper from the bucket.  The group will then be responsible for researching the workforce statistics for each race in the country that they were assigned.  They will create a pie chart on a piece of poster paper to visually represent their findings.  They must provide a key with their chart.  They will also research the workforce statistics for the wage gap between men and women in their country for 3 different years.  They will create a bar graph to represent their findings on the same poster paper as their pie chart.  They must provide a key for their bar graph as well.  They will need to include the name of their country at the top of the poster paper because they will be posted around the room.  They will have the rest of class  and half of the the next day to complete this assignment.  The next day I will conduct a walk around where each student will be required to write down at least three things that they find interesting from each group’s poster.  At the end of the class they will share and discuss their findings with their group and then we will discuss them as a class.

Rosenberg, A. (2013, November 11). Race And Gender Diversity On Television Vs. In The United States. Retrieved October 8, 2015, from http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/race-and-gender-diversity-on-television-vs-in-the-united-sta#.kkZ1q4RWX

Rosenberg, A. (2013, October 28). What The U.S. Would Look Like If It Mirrored The Main Characters On Prime-Time Network Television. Retrieved October 8, 2015, from http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/10/28/2840441/world-looked-like-prime-time-network-television/

Text #3

Text #3 - My Granny Went to Market

My Granny Went to Market is a children’s book about a grandmother’s journey across the world.  She travels to different countries on her magic carpet and buys souvenirs along the way.  This book is filled with pictures of her journey and the items that she purchases.  More importantly her souvenirs are icons of their culture and therefore exposing readers to cultural differences from around the world.  Not only is this book visually appealing but it also uses rhyming to grab the attention of it’s young readers.

After asking for volunteers to read from the book we will discuss the different countries that were mentioned and the souvenirs that were purchased.  If there are any students from other countries in the classroom then this would be a great opportunity for them to share an interesting fact or two about their country or culture.  After the class discussion they will choose a partner for their “All Around the World” project and decide on a country that they would like to research. Once they have chosen their country they will need to look up the cost of the flight for both of them, staying in a hotel for 4 nights, touring 1 attraction, and a recipe for a signature dish in that country.  They must also tweak the recipe to feed all 27 students.  They will also be required to create a presentation that includes all of this information and try to convince the class why their country would be the best place to visit.  All of the travel expenses should be calculated to the nearest cent (NO ROUNDING TO THE NEAREST DOLLAR) and the recipe must be written in fraction form.  Their least favorite part about this project is that they are not allowed to use a calculator.  This project is done at the end of our unit on decimals and fractions.

Blackstone, S., & Corr, C. (2005). My granny went to market: A round-the-world counting rhyme. Cambridge, Mass.: Barefoot Books.

Strategy #2

Strategy #2 - Occasional Paper

The name of this strategy is called the occasional paper.  An occasional paper is a brief written reflection.  It is an assignment that is to be read aloud to the class on a volunteer basis.  It is not a graded assignment so there is no fear of failure.  Students are able to choose when they will complete the assignment and what they want to write about.  This strategy provides students with writing and reading practice on a personal level.  It is the most appropriately used by assigning a given number that must be completed by the end of a unit or a quarter.  Other than that there is no hard due date.  At the beginning or end of each class ask the students to volunteer to share their occasional papers.  Once a student has shared their paper then you should open it up to the class for discussion.  Teachers should use this strategy because it makes a connection between what the students experience outside of school and what they do in class.  It also teaches students to listen and appreciate the differences between themselves and their classmates.  This strategy could also open up discussions about different cultures as students share their own personal experiences.  As a math teacher I would like to be able to use occasional papers to make a connection between the concepts that the students learn in class and the math they see in the real world.  Students are always asking, “When will we ever use this?”.  I would like for them to be able to find instances on their own and share it with the class.  I think they would be surprised at how often math appears in their daily lives.

Strategy #1

Strategy #1 - Flip Book

Video to show how to flip through the Flip Book

The name of the strategy is called flip book.  This strategy is helpful for the students throughout the entire year as they are learning vocabulary.  As we learn new words in the unit I have them pull out their flip book so we can write down the word, the pronunciation, and an example.  The students begin with a binder, a piece of card stock, and a pack of 3” by 5” lined index cards.  The index cards will be taped down on the card stock in an alternating fashion going from left to right with one on top of the other.  Only the top of the index cards should be taped down and about an inch of each card should be showing.  The word is written on the index card in the 1” space that is showing.  The definition and pronunciation are written on the front of the card and the example is written on the back of the card.  I also have them color code the vocabulary terms to separate the terms in each unit.  The flip book keeps all of their vocabulary words in one location for the entire year.  It helps the students, especially English Language Learners, to organize the vocabulary terms and master the terminology.  Not only are they learning the definitions but they have an example of each word to use as a reference. I let my English Language Learners use their flip book on their quizzes but not their tests.

Text #2

Text #2 - Factoring Rap Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSrINhfNsQ

This video is a rap that was created by two high school math teachers and their students to help the students master the concept of factoring quadratic equations.  It reminds them to find the greatest common factor first and then factor the equation based on the signs and term values.  The video covers difference of squares and quadratic equations with a leading coefficient of one.  I also really like how it reminds the students to check their work by using the FOIL method.

My students absolutely love this video!  I play the video at the very beginning of the unit before I start instruction. And I will have the video playing every day after that as the students walk into my room.  They always start by thinking that it is cheesy but by the end of the unit they are singing and dancing to it.  This video provides the students with something to grasp onto besides their notes.  It is simply another way to enforce the concept but it peaks the students’ interest at the same time.  At the end of the unit I have the students create a video of themselves factoring a quadratic equation. They get to work in a group of 4 and they can create a music video or a skit, whichever they feel the most comfortable with.  If they want to volunteer to show their video to the class then I will allow them to but otherwise I will be the only one seeing the videos because I know I usually have some pretty shy students.  I really enjoy this assignment because it allows my students to showcase their musical and theatrical talents.

Schultz, & Winner. (2010, November 8). Teach Me How To Factor (WSHS Math Rap Song). Retrieved September 25, 2015.

Text #1

Text #1 - Stand and Deliver

A high school math teacher, Jaime Escalante, works in a rough part of Los Angeles that consists of mostly minorities and is in danger of being shut down for inadequate test scores. However Mr. Escalante is determined to prove to everyone that his dropout prone students can achieve anything with the right motivation and support.  In fact he goes as far as to claim that he can get his once below grade level students to pass the AP Calculus exam.  He pushes these students to come in before school starts, after school, on Saturdays, and even during the summer.  The students learn to respect and love Mr. Escalante and they work hard to meet his expectations.  He has so much faith in his students that they don’t want to disappoint him and they even gain self-confidence in the process.  The time comes for them to take the AP Calculus exam and...SPOILER ALERT...they all pass!  Unfortunately because of “test abnormalities” the students are accused of cheating.  Mr. Escalante and the students refuse to let this be the end and they agree to retake the exam.  They spend countless hours reviewing and...SPOILER ALERT...they all pass yet again!  

**Now I obviously make the whole process sound a lot easier than it actually was.  They struggle throughout the entire movie and almost give up on several occasions.  They must persevere through several obstacles.  It is truly an inspiring movie!**

After the students watch Stand and Deliver they will be given the percentages of high school dropouts based on race for a given year.  They will work in a group of 4 to create a histogram with the data that they are given.  Each group is given a different year and they must draw their histogram on a large piece of paper.  I will put the histograms up around the room and the students will be required to walk around the room and write down comparisons and contrasts and at least 1 piece of information that they found interesting.  We will then discuss what they wrote down as a class.  Next I will give them the average test scores of 17 year olds for 12 different years based on their race.  They will be required to create a box-and-whisker plot for each race’s set of data with a partner.  All of the box-and-whisker plots will be drawn on the same piece of paper so they can compare the scores between all of the races.  I will check that their box-and-whisker plots are correct and then individually they will have to write a minimum of a paragraph about what they can infer from the box-and-whisker plots. I will have them read their paragraphs at the beginning of class the next day so we can discuss their findings as a class.

Menendez, R. (Director). (1998). Stand and Deliver [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Warner Home Video.

Occasional Paper

“I hate math.”  “I was never good at math.”  These are usually the responses that I get when people find out that I am a math teacher.  What I truly find comical though is when I get told my math is wrong by people who do not know I am a math teacher.  It has happened several times involving calculating tip and discounts.  This always frustrates me because not only do I teach percentages as a 7th grade math teacher but it makes me feel like the public school system has failed in teaching the students how to do basic everyday math.

As a manager at Monkey Joe’s I have to close out birthday parties.  Each birthday party has a host, basically their waitress, that can accept tips.  Just a few months ago I was closing out a birthday party and asked the customer if he would like to leave a tip for his host, to which he responded that he would like to leave 20%.  His bill was $150 so I told him that would be a tip of $30, bringing his total bill to $180.  Normally our customers pay the bill and that is that.  This customer however told me that I was wrong.  I proceeded to orally explain to him that 20% of $150 would be $30 since 10% is $15.  He still continued to tell me I was wrong.  My boss is of course standing behind me trying not to laugh.  I didn’t want to be rude but this customer just wasn’t getting it.  I tore off a piece of receipt paper and wrote down the steps that I had done in my head as I walked him through each step...just like I would have one of my 7th graders. 

Situations like this really have me worried about the future of our students.  Several restaurants have even started to include the suggested tip amount at the bottom of their receipts.  Is math really that difficult that so many people need help in calculating an appropriate tip that it now needs to be done for us?  Our math text will usually try to grab the students’ interest by including problems involving potential interests and hobbies but they hardly ever involve situations where the students will actually use the math.  Why do we not require a more real world applicable math class or at least a more real world applicable text?

My Teaching Years

The school that I teach at strongly advocates for literacy in all core subjects and we attend several professional development seminars each year on all of the different strategies that we can use.  Surprisingly as someone that loves Math, English was always my second favorite subject. However I still dreaded these seminars to begin with because I could not fathom how I could possibly teach literacy and get through my entire curriculum.   Fortunately I learned that it was more about implementing different strategies to teach and convey the math concepts than actually adding an additional curriculum.  My favorite literacy strategy is called C.U.B and it helps my students to decipher and interpret word problems.  The C stands for circle the important numbers, U stands for underline the keywords that tell you which operation to use, and B stands for box the question.  I have my students use this strategy for every word problem.  All of my tests are short answer, whether it be simply showing their work mathematically or writing their steps out in words.  As I learned over the years, it takes practice to improve any skill.  If we want our students to be productive citizens then they need to practice skills they can use in the real world.  As a math teacher I know how important math is for these students but I also realize how important literacy skills are as well.

My mom instilled in me my love for reading while Mrs. Powell and my college freshman English professor improved my writing skills and taught me to appreciate the importance of all literacy skills.  I love to hear about what my students are reading and I almost always end up reading the same books.  I want to be able to show my students as much enthusiasm for both math and reading as my mom has shown to me throughout the years.  I want to challenge my students to think outside of the box and to enhance their reading and writing skills as well as their math skills.  My mom, sisters, and myself are always exchanging books and I try to read whenever I get a spare moment.  I am sure I am not the only one whose husband enjoys playing video games with his friends and if you take anything away from this blog...take that time to read a good book, make a list, or write in your journal!  

North Carolina State University

I don’t know what it is about me and freshman English classes but they have been the most influential in my literacy growth.  After my freshman year of high school I continued to get A’s in all of my English classes...until my freshman year of college.  I received a B on my first paper and I immediately went to my professor’s office hours to figure out where I needed to improve.  He of course gave me some great ideas and I applied them to my next paper.  Unfortunately I received a B on my next paper as well.  I went right back to his office and wrote down more areas where I could improve my writing.  I took all of them into consideration and applied them to the next paper that he assigned.  And again I earned a B!  I was at a complete loss.  I went to his office hours again because I was determined that I was not going to let Mrs. Powell down.  I was going to earn an A.

I wish I could remember my professor’s name but I will never forget what he said to me that day. He asked me if I was use to getting A’s to which I replied for the most part that was true.  He then preceded to state the obvious, “But now you are receiving B’s”.  I would have never guessed what he was about to say next though.  He told me that that was the exact reason he wasn’t giving me an A on my papers.  He explained to me that he wanted me to change things up a bit.  He wanted me to stop writing my papers as if he was the one reading that was them.  He wasn’t looking to see if I could simply regurgitate facts and form my own opinions.  He was looking to see if I could step outside of the box and have a deep enough comprehension of the subject to make inferences and connections.  Once again my writing skills were put to the test.  I by no means think that I have perfected my writing skills but I have seen how they have been influenced and have improved over the years to adapt to what was being asked of me.

High School English

Although I have always been an avid reader I have never thought too much about my own writing style.  I preferred not to focus on it because I have never felt like writing was one of my strong suits.  I made A’s in my middle school English classes but so did all of my friends.  I still would not consider myself an excellent writer but I definitely feel like I have improved over the years.

My 9th grade English teacher, Mrs. Powell, was an older woman with a lot of spunk.  She had ridiculously high expectations and challenged me more than I had ever been challenged before.  I will never forget her class...it was where I earned my first B.  I was so determined to prove to not only her but to myself that I could earn an A.  

I unfortunately had to do the very last project of the semester on my own because I had missed class the day that everyone had chosen partners.  (I was more upset about missing class and not having a partner than the fact that I had spent the day getting a cast put on my ankle.)  We had been given a book to read and were required to create a presentation of some sort that involved every type of writing that we had covered that semester.  This was not your typical “book report”.  We were not just spitting out facts into a nice presentation.  I decided to do a scrapbook of all of the major events that had occurred in my book. On each page I included pictures of the event and one of the required writing formats.  I literally wanted to cry when I turned it in because I was so afraid that I had failed to meet both of our expectations.  I ended up receiving an A on the project and Mrs. Powell actually pulled my mom aside at lunch to tell her how amazing my project was.  She even kept my project as an example for future classes.  In that one single accomplishment, Mrs. Powell made me feel like I had finally figured it out.  I had actually enjoyed that project and I no longer had the same disdain for writing as I had in the pas

Elementary School

I went to Guy B. Teachey Elementary school once we moved to North Carolina. The school had a reading program called Accelerated Reader that I of course was interested in. We got to choose from a variety of books and then all we had to do was go on a computer and answer a few questions about the book that we had read.  My mom would have me summarize and discuss with her every book before I would take the test.  I made a perfect score on almost every AR computer test.  That was when I realized not only did I enjoy reading but I was actually pretty good at it.  I was reading all of these amazing books and I was comprehending them well enough that I could answer almost any question that was thrown at me.  My favorite books that I read, even still to this day, were Tuck Everlasting and Harry Potter.

When I was in  Middle School our local library held a reading contest every summer to see who could read the most books.  This obviously appealed to me because not only do I enjoy reading but I am highly competitive. I made sure I was in the “Top 3 Readers” during all three summers that I participated.  I was reading so many books each summer that I eventually had to start reading books that were outside of my normally preferred fantasy/mystery genre.  This prepared me for all of the books that I would have to read throughout my educational career. If we are all being completely honest with ourselves, most of our teachers did not require the most interesting of book choices.

Early Childhood

Just to give you a little background about my family….both of my parents earned a bachelor's degree right after high school and my mom completed her Master’s degree shortly after I was born. My mom is currently a math teacher at Asheboro High School and teaches night classes at Randolph Community College. Although my dad did not pursue the same career, he put just as much emphasis on the importance of a good education as my mother did.  It was understood that I would work hard and go to college.

My mom read to me every night growing up.  I would not be surprised if my mom read to me every single Dr. Seuss book that had been written at that time.  She absolutely loves to read and her enthusiasm was contagious.  She had me sounding out words and reading on a 2nd grade level before I had even started Kindergarten.  I went into Kindergarten knowing the entire alphabet and could write out my full name (Elizabeth is not an easy task for a 5 year old incase you were wondering).

My mom instilled into me a love for reading at a very young age.  My house was filled with books from the day I was born and I still to this day enjoy reading for pleasure.  I of course didn’t realize then that my mom was actually preparing me for years to come. I can honestly say that I don’t think I would enjoy reading as much as I do now had my childhood not been focused around books.

A Little Bit About Me....

• My name is Renee Adams Tysinger.

• I am in the Masters degree program at UNCG.

• I teach 7th grade math.

• I cheer on an adult cheerleading competition team.

• I love reading the young adult novels that my students recommend.

• My favorite book series is Harry Potter.

• I love to travel.