It's a SUPER Day in the Library!

We had our Superhero/Supervillain Day in the Library this week!  There are so many movies and TV shows now related to "supers" that I thought it would be fun to celebrate both sides!  That, and I had a superhero day last year which was pretty successful, but didn't want to repeat too much.  Well, next week is a repeat - Minecraft - but that's by popular demand!

I just can't believe how fast the summer is going by!  We got our teacher back to school letters yesterday!  Yikes!  Our teachers report back August 1 and kids start August 10.  As I told one person, it's not that I dread teaching or the kids coming back, it's the getting up at 6am every day!  I am NOT a morning person!!!!  I hope you enjoy the pics!  Most of my ideas came from Pinterest, of course!  It was nice, though, that most of what I used are things I had around anyway - electrical tape for the "laser maze", hoops for the obstacle course, the "Disk Drop" game and the bean bag toss...the kids really enjoyed themselves! I think the top two were the Super Strength, Agility, and Obstacle Course!

Superhero Academy.....At the Library! Summer Session #3

Wow, I had the BEST turnout for Superhero Day!  I had over 20 kids show up, and I have to say, sooo glad I had set up so many active stations!  I don't know if the timing was right - that vacations were over, boredom was setting in, I wasn't competing with Bible School - not sure, but from what some of the kids told me, Minecraft coming up on the 24th might be even more packed!

I'm glad so many kids showed up.  While I've been happy with my response so far, it was exciting that so many kids showed up this time and had so much fun!  I had two teachers show up with their families and they were highly complimentary of all the activities.  Each of my sessions I've tried to make so that both younger and older students will have fun and it can be enjoyed on many levels.  I am a little disappointed that my administrators haven't stuck their head in the library just to see what it's all about, but I also know they have their own summer agenda.

So, Superhero Academy started out similar to Spy Training.  It started with a welcome and suggested activity list.  Once students finished all the stations, they were invited to fill out a badge that listed their superhero name and strengths.  This time, I was able to include a photo booth, something I wanted at the other sessions but never had enough time to make.  I gathered a lot of my activities from Pinterest pages, but I've included a link to my Google Drive folder {here} so you can see what I downloaded (all free - including my planning pages and signs).  Since most of the activities were more physical, the file includes bookmarks, coloring pages, the badge (which I copied double-sided), and a few more things.  Capstone publishing had an amazing amount of pages to download, which you'll find in the file.  If you'd like to check out my Pinterest page on summer activities, you can click {here} for that.

So, pictures are worth a thousand words, right?  I'll let them show you how the day went!  Our next day, Minecraft, is coming up this Friday, so watch for me to blog about that soon!  Even my 14 year old son has said he'd be interested in coming that day! :)

Math Investigations Questions

Okay, so I am taking this online course about Math Investigations.  I am soooo trying to stay positive.  I am not a big fan of "scripted" courses.  Granted, I feel that some teachers who are starting out, it can be a big help!  However, being that I seem to always have a different set of learners each  year, I feel that sometimes Investigations makes it a "one size fits all."

Don't get me wrong.  There are some good things about the program.  For those of you who have been following me for awhile, you know I am a big fan of students being able to explain their thinking, having different methods of finding solutions, and using manipulatives!  Investigations does go along with that.

But there are things they are sorely lacking in their program.  Not to mention, they only have second graders going to tens and ones places with Place Value (our standards go through hundreds and sometimes, I even approach the thousands, depending on my group!).  There are a few other things I could nitpick, but I guess my question to you is this:  Does your school use it?  How do you implement it?

I force mine into small groups, which means I have "math workshop" everyday (sort of) with my BUILD centers.  I pick and choose some activities and frankly, if it seems to complicated, I modify it or completely change it to something I've done before the program. 

Do you send home the math games for your students and families to practice?  How do your students do with math fluency?  I realize part of the series emphasis on fluency is by gaming...but my kids simply aren't learning it that way.  

If you don't use Investigations, is there another series you use?  I've heard of "Singapore Math," but frankly, I have no idea what it's like.  I think "Saxon Math" has fallen by the wayside, but maybe there are some out there that use it as well.

For now, I'm trying to be positive with my class.  I am trying to get my answers without being too negative (and it's only been 2 sessions!).  It's through Moodle, which is a new experience for me (I've previously used Blackboard).

Okay, well, on a happier note....I used Place Value War (Star Wars Edition) with my class and they absolutely LOVED it!!!!  It's now been put into one of our BUILD centers and I have a feeling it might stay there awhile.  Funny how a lot of my kids rooted for the "bad guys" to win!

So, that inspired me to make another game...this time to emphasize fact fluency since our school is emphasizing this right now with another program.  It's one our correlate came up with, and it'll be interesting to see the results.  We did a benchmark with the kids last week where they had facts flash up on a powerpoint for a few seconds before another came.  Some of my kids did okay.  Others just stared at the screen and said nothing.  The whole time.  I felt so bad for them!

So, since Star Wars motivated my kids to learn their ones, tens, and hundreds, I'm hoping maybe some more characters might help them with some of the facts I remember struggling with as a kid (like 9+6 and 8+7).  So, here it is:

 The students have to find the planet/city/bank robbery, etc. with the sum so they can find out where the superhero will save the day!  I hope they like it!  I figure I'll make a few more, with subtraction and other things we've learned, as soon as I find time.  Nothing like having the kids give you their honest opinions!

If you're interested, you can click {here} for TpT and {here} for Teacher's Notebook (it's on sale at TN!).  I'll let you know my students' reviews next week! :)