Coding in the Elementary Classroom!

Omg y'all...I usually try to blog on Saturdays, but I totally missed this week.  But for a VERY good reason!  I was at a workshop all day.  A fantastic, amazing, and best of all FREE workshop!

Look how happy me and the teaching bestie are to be at this workshop (even on a Saturday)!  We were trying to get a selfie in front of the fountains during lunch.....obviously we are not good selfie-takers!  :)

Have you ever heard of the technological divide?  It basically refers to the difference between areas or individuals that have access to technology and those that do not.  Working in a heavily Title 1 school, I see the consequences this has on our children and families.  For just one example, parent communication is extra tough.  It is hard to even get a hold of many parents because they are constantly changing phone numbers, they don't have internet access to sign up for things like ClassDojo or email me when they need to, etc.  I would say (rough estimate) that about 80% of my students do not have internet access in their home.  Therefore, my students do not have the 'natural' access to technology that other students may have.  On top of that, I have ZERO and yes I mean ZERO technology in my classroom.  Not even a classroom computer or two.  And we have no computer lab, so my students do not get it there either.

This is a huge concern to me--if students are not getting something at home, I feel we must get it to them in school!

I feel technology is SO important because it is everywhere in our society, and it is only getting bigger and better.  So I think it is important for students to not only be able to use it to 'play' on the internet or talk on the phone, etc., but to know at least the basics of how this technology works.  Heck, I'm a grown adult and I have very little knowledge of the inner workings of a computer.  If I restart and it still won't work, I am pretty much out of ideas on how to fix it!  Lol, sad but true.

So long story short, I somehow stumbled upon this workshop called Code.org (I'm honestly not even sure how).

I was instantly interested because I love any and ALL things that incorporate technology in the classroom.

The workshop was run by a group called Science Pioneers, and one of their missions is to get this coding program into schools at an early age so students realize they CAN code and it is not such a scary, out of reach thing.  (I know I certainly felt that way.)

Now do we think every student is going to grow up to be a 'coder' or in the computer programming field?  Not necessarily.  Do we teach writing because we think every student will grow up to be an author?  Or teach math thinking every student will go into a mathematical field?  No, but we want them to have the basic skills and knowledge so that they know that is an OPTION for their future.  The point is there are SO many jobs in this field and we want students to know they CAN if they WANT to!  Coding also teaches critical thinking, problem solving, math skills, logic/reasoning, collaboration, and other skills that are critical for students in all areas of life.

On top of this being a brilliant idea to bring coding into schools, they also brought it in the most easy, fun, and engaging way!  I swear, a teacher must have made this program or something....it starts very basic and is scaffolded so well.  It also turns it into a game to make it fun for students.  There are Angry birds, zombies, Frozen, Minecraft, and lots more.  Seriously, it could not be more engaging!!

So here is the gist of what I got in this fabulous workshop:

So far there are 4 levels:

Course 1 starts all the way with kindergarteners (which is awesome for me!), and the courses take you through middle school age.  They are supposed to add more courses for high school by this summer.

On your teacher account, you add all of your students.  They can then work at their own pace through the puzzles. Here is an example of a puzzle from Course 2:

My mission was to make the Angry Bird get to the pig.  So under the 'when run' I drug over 2 'move forwards'.  I can then push 'run' and it will run the code so I can see what it does.  If it works, on to the next puzzle, if it does not, I need to 'debug' or find the error in my code and fix it.

It starts off very simple like this and then slowly introduces students to things like loops, conditionals, and other more 'complicated' coding features, such as the one below:


For this one, I needed my zombie to get to the flower.  To do this, he had to turn right, move forward, and move forward again.  He needed to repeat that whole sequence 3 times (which is what a loop--the pink-- is).  I totally sound like a coding genius right now, don't I??  ;)

I promise I knew none of this before last Saturday, so if you are getting a little lost just hang with me....

While the students are working on puzzles at their own pace (differentiation anyone??), you are incorporating 'unplugged' lessons.  These are lessons you can teach, such as card games, dice games, songs, etc. that teach and reinforce the coding concepts without actually using the computer.

Alright, now are you ready for the best part yet??  Not only is the workshop (training) free to you as an educator, but they also send you home with ALL SUPPLIES needed to start teaching!  They give you a little 'swag bag' to go home with that day:

 I'm feeling pretty official now ;)

And it includes an instructor's manual for all the 'unplugged' lessons!

You then sign up for them to mail you the supply kit you want, depending on your grade level.  So I am stalking the mail patiently waiting for my supply kit for Course 1 to arrive!  So excited!!!

Is there any better word to a teacher than FREE??  Not many!

Now my only challenge is to get technology in my classroom (computers, ipads, anything!) so my students can fully participate in the program.  For now, we may have to solve the puzzles together on my laptop while I project it.  I am determined to find a way to make this opportunity happen for my students though!  They deserve it!!  And I just can't stop thinking of a couple specific boys who I have had to work very hard to engage and capture their interest this year that would be SO into this!

To sum up--if you have not checked out code.org, you and your students are missing out!  :)  If you head to their website, there is a place where you can search your area for free workshops!  They have them all over, so I am sure there is one near you soon!  I highly recommend going!

I would love to hear from anyone who currently uses this in their classroom!  Leave me a comment below with any words of wisdom or how it is going for you and your students! :)

How I Implemented Flexible Seating In My Classroom For LESS Than $50!!

Happy Saturday!!  I hope this post finds you relaxing over your 3 day weekend!  And for some of you northeastern teachers, I hear many of you get A WEEK off over President's Day?!  Extremely jealous teacher right now.  We just get Monday off, but I'll take what I can get :)

Today I thought I would share something that I have gotten a lot of questions from teachers about when they hear I have tried it this year.

First off, I love trying new things in my classroom!  I think that is one of the things I love most about teaching--there is always something new to learn or try!  I couldn't get bored if I tried.

I try new things often, but every year I usually have one new idea I implement that works so well that I wonder how I ever lived without it in the first place!  This year that was flexible seating!

I had toyed with this idea for a couple years actually.  I always saw it used in upper grades though (like 4th and up).  While I thought it was brilliant, I had doubts about if I could implement it in my kindergarten classroom.  How on earth would I manage that with 25 kindergarteners??  Where would we keep our supplies?  Would they be able to handle to the responsibility of so much choice in their first year of elementary school?  What about all of our cut/paste projects?  And finally (the kicker for all things teaching)--how on earth would I afford to try it?

I did not want to do a Donor's Choose or write a grant for something I was not 100% sure I would continue doing.  I was worried that I would not like it or it would not work in my classroom and I would want to switch back to traditional seating.

But for better or worse, I am the type of person that once I get something started in my brain (especially something that I think could potentially help my students), I just can't stop it.  I have to see it through--I NEED to try it out!

So I set out on a mission to find a way to try flexible seating on a teacher's budget.  I searched online, stores like 5 Below, Wal-Mart, and of course, MY BFF Ikea!  After much research, I realized I could probably get more than enough different seating options for my classroom, while not spending a million dollars.  So here I am to show you how I tried.....

Through my research, I found the most bang for my buck at Ikea (aka heaven on earth).  Soooo I bribed my boyfriend (there is a Jack in the Box right next to Ikea) into taking a trip with me one evening.  Here is what I walked away with:

These awesome stools!  They are only $5 each, very sturdy, and come in a few different colors.  I got 4 black ones for my classroom.

I also got 2 of these pillows for only 1.99 each!  I got black pillow cases that were 1.99 each as well.

I got 4 of these pillows too--they were 3.99 each.  They have several colors too but didn't have black so I had to settle for gray.

So for all of that, I only spent about $48 dollars!  (Ok, so that is technically not ALL I walked out of Ikea with, but that is all that was related to my flexible seating mission--I have no self control whatsoever in that place.)

I did already have these 6 crate seats that were at my small group table, as well as a teeny tiny coffee table that I had inherited from my grandma's house.  And I had a classroom set of clipboards I had purchased from the dollar store over the years.  So these contributed to my flexible seating options.

It took roughly an hour and a half one evening (with the boyfriend's help) to transform my classroom.  And here is the final 'in use' product!

As you can see, I left one table 'regular' with chairs at it that the 2 girls are sitting in.  There are 2 kids at my U table on crate seats, 2 in the very back corner on their knees at that coffee table I covered with a zebra table cloth for now (until I can get it painted--it is perfect size, but uuuuugly!)

You can also see a few boys that chose to work on the floor in different areas, and then one boy sitting on a pillow working at the lowered table--we just took the legs off of it and it's perfect height for them to sit at!

It's hard to tell, but the boys on the very right are sitting on stools at a trapezoid table.

There are more students behind me and to my left that could not fit in the picture.  A couple of them are just standing using the top of a shelf as a table.  In fact, this has become a favorite spot for some of them--to just find a shelf to stand at and work on.  And that cost me NOTHING and needed no rearranging!  They also enjoy just grabbing a clipboard and spreading out on the floor somewhere--again this cost me nothing!

As for supplies, I switched from community 'table supplies' back to having individual student crayon boxes in their cubbies.  This way they can just grab their supply box and go sit wherever they choose.

I will do a more detailed post on the management and my personal review of how it is working in my classroom very soon!

I hope this inspires you and gives you a good starting place if you are toying with the idea of flexible seating!  And if you have any tips or deals for more seating options, please leave me a comment, I would LOVE to hear them!
  

Help Your Students Count to 100!

Hello hello!  I hope this post finds you having an excellent weekend!  I don't know about you, but I am ready for Superbowl Sunday with yummy food!!

But before game time, I thought I would share some tips and tricks with you!  Today's topic:

I know this seems to be one of the simplest Kindergarten standards--to be able to count verbally by 1's and 10's to 100.  I say seems to be because in my years I have found that many students really struggle with it.  So I am here to share some tips and tricks I have implemented along the way!

One of the reasons I find this hard to teach (and learn) is because there are only so many times you can sit and rote count to 100 with a 5-6 year old right??  BORING.  I know if I am bored then they are definitely over it.

So here are a few free and easy and even FUN tricks I have learned along the way!

#1:  For the strugglers, the trickiest part for them is always the next '10'.  They get to 29 and say 'uhhhh....'  I prompt them with 30 and they fly all the way to 39, then another 'uhhhhh'.....and so on.  So one thing I have started doing when we count is holding up a finger for what decade we are on.  So as we count up to 10 I have zero fingers up.  When we get to 10-20, I have 1 finger up, when we get to the 20's I have 2 fingers up, 30's I have 3 fingers up and so on.  This helps when they get stuck at the next decade.  For example, when they get stuck at 39, they see me put a 4th finger up prompting them to know the '40's' come next.  This also helps when writing numbers--however many fingers I have up is what the number starts with--20's start with a 2, 30's start with a 3, and so on.  I have found this really helps!


#2:  We also count every day during our morning calendar time so to make it a bit more fun I started using the chant cards we use when we practice sight words.  Each card has a silly way/voice to count in.  Each day we pick a card and practice counting in that silly way.  The kids LOVE it making them actively engaged!  Their favorite is probably the Volcano--for this one, we start really quiet (whisper) and get louder with each number until we reach a '10'.  So we whisper '1, 2, a little louder for 3, 4, 5, regular voice for 6, 7, loud voice for 8, 9, and explode (YELL) for 10!  Then we start back at a whisper for 11, 12, and repeat the same pattern.  These are a part of my sight word sets (so they say to 'say and spell' on them) but like I said we use them for counting too!  Click here to download for free!


#3:  Another thing we play is what we call the '100's Game'.  I honestly can't remember where I got this from or if I made it up or what.....but I do know the kids enjoy playing it!  They ask to play all the time.  It's very simple:  Just have your students stand in a circle.  Choose one to start and they number off.  First students says 1, next says 2, next says 3, etc.  Anyone who gets a '10' sits down.  Last person standing is the winner!  If we get to 100, I just start back over at 1 and we count until we have a winner.  You can also do this having them skip count by 10's!  So simple and fun!  *You could even make this harder for older grades...counting by 2's, 5's, etc.


And now that you know a few of my tips and tricks, let's move on to how I motivate the students to WANT to be able to count to 100!  I introduce to you......The 100's Club!

Again--so simple!  (Are you seeing a pattern in my teaching style here??  Simple+Fun=Win!)

All I do is post the 'Miss Murphy's 100's Club Sign'.  (Mine is on our classroom door.)  When students can count to 100, I post their picture with a speech bubble next to it.

They want SO badly to be on the door!  I catch them asking their friends that are already in the 'club' to help them practice during recess or early finisher time and I have parents telling me their student wanted to practice at home so they could make it in the 'club'! 

If you want to implement the 100's Club in your room just click on the picture above!  It will open in PowerPoint and you will just need to add a text box for your name.  To make it easy, when I take my first day of school pictures of my students I print an extra copy and keep in a baggie for this, along with the speech bubbles that I have printed on colored paper.  This way, when a student makes it into the 100's Club, I can just grab their picture and a speech bubble and tape it on our door. 

I hope these ideas help you and your students have fun while learning!


Now off to watch some football and enjoy some delicious snacks!!

Happy 100th Day of School!

Hi all!  I hope everyone had a fabulous last week of January!  Mine was very fun, but very exhausting!!  Like an in bed by 6pm kind of exhausting!  #teacherprobs, right?

It was a very eventful week in our classroom!  One of the most awesome things happened--last Monday my class was featured on the local news!  The reporter heard we do Flexible Seating in my classroom and wanted to do a story on it.  He called at 8am and asked if he could come to my class to which I said of course!  He was there by 9am and we were on the 6pm news that night!  Talk about spur of the moment!  But my students LOVED it  :)  I will be writing a more detailed post about how our flexible seating is working in the near future!

Another fun day this week was the 100th Day of School!  I look forward to this every year because the students have so much fun with it!  And we teachers may have just a little too much fun with it as well.....

I seriously love my work family :)

And not only did the teachers have fun dressing up as 100 year olds, but my students KILLED IT this year in their costumes!

Why are babies/kids dressed up like elderly people SO stinkin' funny to me?!  I couldn't quit giggling the entire day.


But probably the best part is this year I did ALL NO PREP activities!  We prepped for the entire day in less than 10 minutes.  Teacher WIN!

Here's a peek at some of the fun we had!

We did this coloring page for morning work:

Of course the first thing we had to do was make crowns so we could wear them all day!

Some fun writing prompts:

A counting by 10's cut and paste:

One of my favorites--the 100 Part Monster!  This is a great direction following activity and each students' turns out so unique!

We also made some counting by 10's puzzles.  I printed these on cardstock and had the students color and then cut on the lines.  They were so excited to create their very own puzzle!

And the fan favorite--100 Piece Trail Mix!  We just can't have a true 100th day celebration without it!  I pour each of the foods onto small plates and the students come get 10 pieces of each to put on their ten frames.  When their mats are full, we count by 10's to 100 and eat our Trail Mix! 

They also loved getting their wiggles out with the Fitness Challenge!  We crossed off each exercise as we completed it. 

**Side Note:  This teacher is out of shape!!!  :)

We had more to do but we ran out of time!  All of these activities and even more (100 year old costumes excluded) can be found in my 100th Day NO PREP Pack!  Click here to check it out!

And just because you are AWESOME for reading this post, you can also download a few of the sheets for free here!

Have a good week!!