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Laura Dearing Elementary School
Laura Dearing Elementary School
3rd Grade ELL | Las Vegas, Nevada | 2007-2009
This was my first year of teaching; my very first class!
I made sure EVERY student had a classroom job each week. It's important for everyone to feel like they are an important part of the community. They also were help accountable for their choices using the clip chart.
I had a clothes line in the back of my room where each student had a picture and a clothes pin to hang a piece of their work that they were proud of. They could change it as often as they liked and understood that it wasn't necessarily about posting the A work, but more about the effort they put into it.
We were a family! This was during the pizza party that my mom flew out to give them for reaching their goal.
Because I never learned to memorize my multiplication facts, it was integral for me to instill the importance of doing so to my students (to have easier access to more difficult math concepts). Below, you will see the Math Fact Program I put together for our 3rd grade team.
Each day, we spent 1 minute on math facts. We started with +/- 0 through 10 and then moved on to x 0 thorough 10. When they mastered a set, they had to publicly track their progress here.
Then they got to add an ingredient to their ice cream sundae. I participated with them to model the importance of continuous learning even as a teacher.
After everyone in the class mastered a specific fact, we added a scoop to our wall. This created a sense of team. If someone was stuck on a number, a classmate would quiz them during their weekly "May Do" time.
Once a week, we'd practice as a class by playing Around the World. A student would start by standing next to another. Whoever gives the product the fastest would move on to the next class mate. The winner would have to beat every other classmate to conquer a state. They'd decide what state, I'd write their name on a post it an place it on the class map. It was a great motivator!
Once a month, we'd come together as a grade level and have our students challenge one another. The winning class would get to keep the trophy. Guess whose class kept the trophy? P6! The speed of the team mirrors the speed of the leader. I'm competitive, so they were competitive! #AllWeDoIsWin
Our reading block was intentionally structured to help increase their english language acquisition. We practiced fluency with the same passage in pairs over the course of the week. Their goal was to increase their words er minute. Their partner tracked the words they mispronounced each day and helped them with them. At the end of each day, students used the fluency tracking chart to identify where they stopped reading each day.
Differentiation was also key to the success I saw with them. I did guided reading daily and customized their Must Do's and May Do's based on what they needed the most support with.
We also used the QAR strategy to help with making connections to the texts we read.
We loved writing! My third graders left me writing thorough 5 paragraph essays. I used thinking maps to help them develop their thoughts and modeled for them what their writing should look like. They were required to submit a final draft of a piece of writing each month. Below is what their progress looked like over time.
Countdown to the state test using the place value chart.
Vertical number lines are excellent for visual learners. It's easier for them to think about rounding up or down when the tool used is created that way.
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