Station Rotations in Math: One Month Update

On August 22 of this school year, Mrs. Allen and I began a new way of delivering math instruction to our 6th-Grade students at Pepper Tree Elementary.  First, we decided to treat the 29  students in each of our home rooms as one math class.  Second, we chose to open the divider between our adjoining rooms to create a large open area for learning.  Then rather than grouping students by performance level, we decided to group heterogeneously.   We wanted all students to help each other reach goals.  We wanted to decrease the idea that only a few students have the ability to succeed at math.  We believe that all students can and will acquire proficient math skills.  Finally, we settled on eight groups of 7-8 students in each group.  

Mrs. Allen would deliver the direct instruction to each group as they rotated to her.  The other groups we had designated were:  GO Math online work (2 different groups),  a group challenge station, an explore center, a prove it to me rotation, and then there were groups using Khan Academy and Prodigy.  I would like to give an update on challenges and successes we have seen over the first 19 days of school.

GO MATH ONLINE:    The information that Go Math online provides Mrs. Allen and me is useful.  We can see quickly which problem students are missing which allows us to talk about that the next morning before beginning our rotations for the day.  Also, the students are getting immediate feedback about how they are doing on a math question.  For instance, if a student answers a question incorrectly, they get a message saying Try Again.  If they miss again, the program shows them the correct answer and then allows them to try another question similar to the one they just missed.  At the end of online practice tests, the students get their results right away.  We are allowing the students to redo these practice tests up to 10 times.  One challenge has been that we are finding that not all students are completing the entire online assignment in a timely manner.  I will discuss modifications to our program at the end of the stations review.

GROUP CHALLENGE:  We set this station up as choose the challenge.  The students have the following activities to choose from:  KenKen puzzles, board game creation, tennis tournament design, and other math logic type problems.  We have been pleased with the collaboration in most of the groups.  One group has created a great game about absolute value.  Other groups have taken an interest in solving 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 KenKen puzzles.  They are working their way up to the more challenging 6 X 6 puzzles. There have been some challenges in this station as all students learn to listen and work together without being told directly by the teacher what they need to accomplish.  We do not mind this struggle as we feel it is important that all students learn to work together and produce results without constant adult guidance.

EXPLORE:  In this station, students are watching instructional videos that give real-world applications of the skills they are learning, or the videos are serving as introductory material for the math concepts they will be practicing or have been practicing.  These are links that we curated over the summer for each module with the addition of Edpuzzle videos that focus on specific concepts we want to reinforce for the students, such as Greatest Common Factor.

PROVE IT TO ME:  This station's purpose is to allow the students an alternative way of showing that they understand the standards taught.  Currently, each student is using Google Slides to demonstrate what they know about the standards in Unit 1.  There are 11 slides that the students will create using images, words, videos, etc. to explain the concepts.  We envision this expanding into a more creative station as the year progresses.  We would like to see students create books, videos, songs, newsletters, and so on to prove they've got it.  This group has been the most challenging because the students have never been asked to show their reasoning this way, and again they are waiting to be told what to do.

KHAN ACADEMY- We are using this station to reinforce Module skills.  For instance, in module 2 we are teaching the students the idea of Least Common Multiple and Greatest Common Factor.  We have used Khan to have students go to the 6th-grade math section of Khan to explore the videos and practice sets for Properties of Numbers.  Some students are having trouble demonstrating on task behavior for this center.  By that I mean let's say it is a 20-minute station.  We would expect the students to have 15 or more minutes recorded for that day.  We are finding some students have less than 10 minutes.  It makes us wonder what happened the other 10 minutes of the station.  It is our goal to reduce this off task behavior as the year goes on.  We like the fact that Khan gives us a daily report of activity, a report of students struggling with skills, a report of concepts mastered, and a report on skills that need to be practiced still.  It is one more source of data that Mrs. Allen and I can use to inform our instruction.

PRODIGY- The majority of students love playing this game.  We have set the skills the students will practice as they play for the week such as rational numbers, factors and multiples, and absolute value.  When they demonstrate a certain level of mastery, the game offers questions in other areas.

MRS. ALLEN- This center is for the students to receive direct instruction on the various math lessons.  The students take notes in their math journals as Mrs. Allen demonstrates and explains the concepts.  This station just reinforces the value of direct face to face instruction with a small number of students. 

After reflecting on successes and challenges over the first 19 days, Mrs. Allen and I have come to the conclusion that eight stations were just a little too many at this time.  Therefore, we have opted to go with six groups of 9-10 students.  We would want students to have more time with Go Math problem solving.  With that in mind, we have eliminated Prodigy as a regular station at this time.  The students will be allowed to choose this activity upon completion of Go Math activities and completion of other station expectations.  Also, we have suspended the use of the Explore rotation at this time.  We will add some of these videos to our morning video routine.

I have to say I am pleased with how the math program is shaping up.  I am enjoying working more directly with Mrs. Allen to help our students.  We meet every day after school to discuss daily progress and to make plans for the next day.  I should note that we are allowing the computer programs to grade all math work whether it be a Google form assessment, a Go Math online lesson, Prodigy, or Khan.  Without having to grade daily math assignments, this is allowing us more time to consider the needs of each student daily. 

Homework: The Elephant in the Middle of Elementary School

17+ years of giving homework. That works out to about 2,500 days of disappointment that 100% of my students did not turn in homework assignments. I'm sure there are a variety of reasons for why these students didn’t complete their homework such as I didn't understand the directions, I was busy taking care of my younger sibling, I had a game, a dance recital, music lessons, and so on and so on.

A more important question I’ve come to ask myself lately is why I have been assigning homework? The answer, if I am honest, is because I'm a teacher and isn't giving homework expected? I’ve reasoned with myself that I have to teach the students to be responsible, allow them time to do extra practice, and I should help prepare my students for the next grade level's workload.  However, when I examine these reasons, I’m not sure they stand up to scrutiny.  Let's look at each of those reasons in more detail.

First, homework teaches responsibility. After 17 years I have come to the conclusion that doing homework does not teach a student to be more responsible than any other activity they could do outside of school. In fact, I would argue that playing a sport, learning to play an instrument, being in children's theater, or following through with household chores teaches a child just as much if not more responsibility than completing homework.  Being a member of a sports team encourages an individual to be responsible to teammates, coaches, and themselves. It is an athlete's responsibility to follow the coach's directions to improve their ability. It is the athlete's responsibility to put in extra time practicing skills they need to improve on to become a better player. Also, athlete's learn time management because they are expected to be at practice and games at a designated time.

Secondly, homework allows for extra practice to improve skills. Of all the reasons for giving homework, I would agree with this the most. However, what I have learned is that not all students have the opportunity to receive adequate assistance or tools needed to complete their homework accurately.  What good is it to assign practice for a student that cannot do the assignment independently? If the student cannot do the work independently and he does not have someone who can provide support it can be harmful to the student.  Sure they can wait to get assistance the next day at school, but now they will have two days of work to complete.  On the other hand, what good is it for a student to complete the same assignment as everybody else if they have already mastered the skill?  Furthermore, a homework assignment that often takes the average student 1 hour to complete may take another student twice as long. What I have seen is that the student that does not complete the assignment is punished in the form of lower grades. That lower score has nothing to do with one's ability to demonstrate an understanding of the material, but rather indicates that the student has not jumped through the teacher's homework hoop.

Another reason I have given for justifying homework is that the next grade level was assigning homework, so I needed to help prepare my students for that workload. That sounds great in principal. Of course, I want my students to be well prepared for the workload of Jr. High, but I am no longer sure this is valid. If assigning homework in the previous grade is working then shouldn't all students that were 5th-grade students now be submitting assignments promptly as sixth-grade students? It isn’t happening, and I have to ask why do I consistently have 10-20% of my students not completing their homework?  Didn’t they practice that workload the previous year?

So, what would I have students do instead of homework? Students should read. They shouldn't read to complete a reading counts test or to fill out a reading log. They should read for the sheer pleasure that comes from losing oneself in a great book. I can sense some individuals saying, but students need to be held accountable for their reading. Then I would argue that we need to restructure our instructional time during the school day to increase the amount of time a student reads in class. Does it matter where a student does the reading? What is the difference between reading 30 minutes in class or 30 minutes at home? I just know that for some students when reading becomes a requirement rather than something to enjoy it tends to put a damper on wanting to read. On a personal note, I loved reading up until my sophomore year of high school when the books I read became my teacher's choice. Now, I still read the books as assigned, but there was resentment. I was completing these books because I had to. Now as an adult, I have rediscovered my joy of reading. Let's look at what we are doing to our students. Let's not squash the joy of reading.

Next, parents should have more control over how a child spends their time away from school. Many parents are not even finished with their work day until 5 pm or later. One parent still has to come home and prepare dinner.  Then parents don’t often just take a deep breath and relax.  No, now they will be rushing to make that 6 pm practice. Then when finally home after 6:30 exhausted from their work day they then often assist a child or two with some part of a homework assignment.   The student has already practiced educational skills for 6 hours that day.  I will no longer take precious moments from a family's dwindling time together. I will not add more stress than already faces every family today. With more "free time" a child may explore and use their imagination. Below is a clip entitled "cardboard adventures." After watching this, it should leave no doubt to the learning that can come from imaginative play.

In closing,  I may not be on the "right" side of the homework debate, but I would rather error on the side of trying to create an environment where students love coming to school, love spending time with their families, and look forward to growing as individuals.  If a family truly wants homework for their child, then I will work with them to meet the needs of that student and family.  However,  I will leave a student’s home life and the pursuit of passions to the guidance of their parents.  

Textbooks to Chromebooks 18- WeVideo

One of the 6th-Grade electives offered at Pepper Tree is videography.  The tool we are using to teach basic editing skills is WeVideo.  We are not experts in using this tool yet, but together the students and I have made good progress in utilizing this program.  The minimum system requirements as listed in the WeVideo manual are:

• Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10 is supported.
• Chromebooks and ChromeOS are supported
• Mac OS X Yosemite (10.10) is the optimal Mac version to use.
• Limited support provided for Linux distributions with chrome installed

WeVideo recommends that users use Google Chrome as the internet browser as it keeps flash updated to the most recent version for the client at all times.  Students can set up free accounts by going to wevideo.com/sign-in .  However, it should be noted that maximum storage monthly storage may not be adequate if the students use Wevideo frequently.  Also, only the WeVideo Education accounts include collaboration options. 

As the administrator of a WeVideo account you will have the ability to invite and manage members. You may then set permissions for all the users and define them by role.  You may also set up and manage groups.    According to the WeVideo manual these are the following methods for inviting members to the education account:

• You can manually invite members by sending them your unique account code or link.
• You can sync selected members from your Google Domain or Office 365 domain OR
• You can import a CSV file with the member details.

Once the students are set up they will be ready to get started creating their first video.  Here is what you will see after clicking on Create New:

Students will upload media from the following social sites or from media saved on their desktops:

The staff at Wevideo have put together quality tutorial videos for how to edit your videos.  So rather than explaining every step for creating a video at this time,  it would be better to let the creators demonstrate the process.

Here is an example of a video created early last year in our first videography class.

If you aren't sure WeVideo is the right tool for your class I would recommend that you sign up for a free trial and give it a try before making a final decision.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 17- Kahoots

Kahoots is an extremely fun way for the students to take formative assessments or to review for assessments.  In order to set up a Kahoot the first step is to go to https://getkahoot.com.  After signing up for your free account you will get the following screen:

Then you will either choose a quiz, discussion, or survey to create.  You can also search the public Kahoots to see if there is already something that has been created that meets your needs.  If you choose quiz this is what you will see:

After filling out the initial information click Ok, go to start entering questions:

This what the screen will look like when you enter questions.  You must select a correct answer for each question:

When you are finished entering questions click save in upper right hand corner and you will be taken to this screen:

Clicking play will give you this screen:

When clicking on Classic if there is a preview video it will begin playing.  The students will see the Game Pin to join your Kahoot on the screen.

So now that you have your Kahoot created you are ready to see the excitement  in your class as students compete to get to the top of the leader board.  Enjoy!

Textbooks to Chromebooks 16- Grammarly

I started using Grammarly with my students because, other than spelling, there wasn't  a grammar check built into Google Docs.  I had the students add this extension to their Chrome Books which then allowed them to copy their writings and insert them into Grammarly.
Grammarly then assessed their writing for critical and advanced issues. Students saw the critical issues and recommendations for correcting the issues.  However,  only the paid version gave recommendations for advanced issues referring such things style and word choice.  However, Grammarly did underline advanced errors for mistakes and then we could discuss possible changes to fix these issues.
I  purchased the paid version for myself because it gave me access to corrections for contextual spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, style, plagiarism, vocabulary enhancement and access to professional proofreaders.  I also received a weekly report from Grammarly indicating areas that needed the most correction.
While Grammarly isn't fully integrated with Google Docs at this time the fact that the documents can be copied and pasted into Grammarly does offer a way for students to check their writing.
Also, Grammarly works in other programs such as email and Blogger.  Now I have no excuse not to send an email to a colleague or parent that is free of errors.  I would recommend looking into adding this extension to see if it can aid in improving your students' writing.

Textbook to Chromebooks 15- Khanacademy.org

The last month of the 2015-2016 I signed my 6th-grade students up to use khanacademy.org.  This is a free program.  I was trying to move to a blended learning model and I needed self-directed learning stations for the students to work on the same math skills that I was trying to introduce in my direct instruction groups.
 I knew that I found the instructional videos in the Khan academy library to be helpful to me personally so perhaps it would be beneficial for my students as well.  That is why I opted to try khanacdemy.org with my students.  So after students received their username and password they could log in to work on the assigned topics.   In the 6th-grade mission, there are 126 skills for the students to practice.  As they practice and master more skills the students could earn badges.  The students could work their way through the mission independently or work on specific topics.  I chose to have the students work on specific skills so that when I checked progress daily I could see what skills they were mastering or struggling on.  Here are the topics that are covered in Khan Academy for the 6th-Grade curriculum:

When the student clicked on a topic they got more choices to work on specific skills.  For instance, these are the choice of activities under Properties of Numbers:

When the student clicked on the first lesson, Least Common Multiple, they view a video(s) about Least Common Multiple (note:  students could click on the transcript to get a written record of what was being said)

Once the student finished viewing the video, in some cases they would watch another video on a new skill or at the bottom of the list is a circle with a star in it and the student would practice the skill to show mastery.

This is what the screen looked like if they have reached the practice part:

As they worked on the topic I received  reports either saying the topic was in progress, the student needed encouragement, or if they had completed the topic the student's progress was recorded as skill mastered or struggling.

Now, I am looking forward to using khanacademy.org over an entire school year to see how much my students' skills in  math will improve.

From Textbooks to Chromebooks 14- Prodigygame.com

My 6th-grade students loved playing Prodigy last year to work on math skills.  The students create an avatar and then through quests and battles their character starts to level up.   The game has a Pokemon feel to it as the characters that the students capture will evolve as they get stronger.   Here is a screen shot from the initial tutorial that students will see about wizard battles:

You will also be able to keep track of how students are doing on specific standards as they play the game.  The reports that are provided are very helpful.  There are four options for reports as seen in the image below:

There are also three options for game play:  1)  students can be given specific assignments with up to 25 questions per assignment, 2)  teachers can use the planner to assign a standard for as long as you would like the students to practice that skill;  3)  you can just let students play and the game will progress the students through the skills as they master them.  In this option you will also be given  diagnostic results which will provide you with a grade level equivalency.  To use this last option you do not have to do anything.  The students would just enter your class code and start playing.

Assignment Screen

Planner Screen

After the teacher has created an account you will receive a class code.  Students will be able to sign up in these 3 easy steps.

Finally,  it should be noted that parents may link their email to their child's prodigy account and they will then receive updates on how their child is doing on the standards.

Textbook to Chromebooks 13- Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle allows teachers to assign a video for students to view and respond to as it is playing.  This program allows you to place markers at various points in the video where you can add comments or questions.  The students will need to respond to the question before continuing with the video.   One of the great things about Edpuzzle is that the program is linked to Classroom Google.  So after students are signed up for Edpuzzle, when you make an assignment in Edpuzzle the assignment will show up on the student's Classroom Google home page.   One choice teachers have for making assignments is to a project where you would select a concept you are working on in class.  Then you would set the goal of the project for the students.  Next you would provide any instructions/criteria,  such as how long do you want the video, should there be any questions added or annotations.

Project Assignment

This is a How To video that my students were assigned to help them learn about Edpuzzle.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 12- Tour Builder

I learned about Tour Builder at the 2016 CUE Conference in Palm Springs.  I am fascinated by the possibilities that this opens up for student learning.  It seems to be a mixture of My Maps and storytelling capabilities.  Imagine for a moment rather than having students read a chapter in their American history textbook about the Oregon Trail what if they could recreate the journey by dropping pins along the trail.  Not only can they drop the pin but they can set the zoom to street level to get a feel of the geography of the area.  Then on each slide where they have dropped a pin they could search for multiple historical images about that area.  A student could also find multiple historical videos on YouTube about that part of the trip and insert  them on that slide as well.  Finally, the student could enter text discussing each part of the trip.  Perhaps these entries could even be in journal form to replicate one that an actual pioneer may have written.

Another possibility that jumps out to me is how Tour Builder can be integrated with literature.  For instance, in Walk Two Moons, the students could follow Salamanca Tree Hiddle's trip with her grandparents to Lewiston, Idaho, to visit her mother's grave.  This would help students follow the main events in the story while allowing them to capture important character revelations at each stop.

In addition,  rather than having students color in maps or fill out blank maps with countries, why not turn their Tour Builder into a World Scavenger Hunt.  You could give clues about an event that took place in the historical era you are studying.  The students then could practice their research skills to see how quickly they can find the answer based on that clue.  Have the students drop a pin and then add images, video, or text depending on what you want to accomplish.  In the end, you can have students share their Tour Builder with you, and now you have a formative assessment about their research skills, the knowledge of the era you are talking about, and their ability to locate places around the world.

Click here for a quick scavenger hunt that was done in class to introduce Tour Builder.  Click here for a tutorial on how to use Tour Builder.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 11- PearDeck

Pear Deck is an app offered by peardeck.com.  Pear Deck is a valuable interactive formative assessment tool.   By using Pear Deck, I can see all students' responses at once.  Knowing which students are grasping the material being taught and which students need extra help is powerful.  It is important that students do not continue to practice concepts incorrectly, and Pear Deck allows me to see this question by question.  So how does Pear Deck work?

1)  Add the Pear Deck app from the Chrome Web Store

2)  When you open Pear Deck, you will see a button in the upper right-hand corner called "Create a New Deck.

3)  You will then be presented with two choices:  Add a new slide to create from scratch or import a Google Powerpoint, Google Presentation, PDF, or another Pear Deck

4)  By clicking on add a new slide, you will then get a screen where you will enter the title for the slide and then you may add an image, text box, a list, or a YouTube video.

5) When adding a slide on the right panel, you will see the word Normal under the slide.  You will see a drop down menu.  If you click on this, you can change the type of slide you're creating.  These are your choices:
                              A.  Draggable Slide
                              B.  Freehand Drawing
                              C.  Multiple Choice Slide
                              D.  Free Response:  Text
                              E.  Free Response:  Number

6)  Once you have finished entering the questions you want for your formative assessment, you can then click on Start Presenting.

7)  The students will see a code to join, and they will enter this code by going to peardeck.com/join

8)  During the presentation, as the teacher you will be given various choices along the bottom of your screen:  Show student responses(on the projector students will only see responses, not student names),  lock responses (after a certain period of time you may lock the responses so students cannot make changes after seeing the responses projected),  ask question again (after reviewing the question you could have the students respond again),  or ask  a quick question (perhaps as you were presenting a new idea came up.  You may ask a question on the spot for the students to answer).

9)  After the presentation, you will be given the opportunity to save your results so you can keep track of how the students did on this specific assessment.


10)  Also, there are three add-ons for Pear Deck that you may find helpful
A)  Google Classroom: if activated you will be able to invite Classroom classes to Pear                       Deck sessions, fast and easy
 B) Classroom Climate: if activated you can invite students to think and reflect on the                         learning process.  You can get a sense of how mood is affecting the lesson
 C) Takeaways:  if activated you can publish a Takeaway Google Doc for each student                          that contains every Pear Deck slide and the student's response.  These will be created in                        your Drive and automatically shared with the student.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 10- Coding

At this year's CUE conference in Palm Springs, Hadi Partovi gave a keynote presentation about his vision for increasing diversity in Computer Science courses.  For instance, Hadi points out that only 22% of students taking the Advanced Placement Exam in high school are girls while individuals of color make up only 13% of participants.  With those bleak statistics, Hadi and his brother Ali started an initiative to make changes.  At his keynote, Hadi spoke about the Hour of Code.  So on the Monday after the conference, I returned to my classes at Pepper Tree Elementary and had every 6th-grade student participate in the Hour of Code.  Currently, there are 8 coding modules students could choose from.  When students completed the module they were given the opportunity to print out a certificate verifying their participation.  We had the students add their certificate to their Google Drive.  However,  I allowed my students to continue past that one module and they were given the chance to do as many as they wanted.  Several of the students loved working on programming skills. Some even stretched themselves and began to actually write code rather than just drag the coding blocks.  There are also curriculum options for educators including a 1- day free workshop to learn how to present the curriculum to students.  Below are two screenshot images from the code.org web page:

Textbooks to Chromebooks 9- Edublogs

The ability to communicate one's thoughts and opinions is a vital 21st-century skill that students must develop. With the prevalence of social media, it only makes sense that educators tap into this by giving students an opportunity to find their voice. It is with these ideas in mind that I started having my 6th-grade students blog last year. I did not want students to just respond to a chapter that they read or to argue the causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire. I wanted them to blog about something that they cared about. So, with that freedom, students created a wide array of blogs on gymnastics, movie and book reviews, specific animals, gaming, baseball, football, basketball, fashion, YouTubers, music, and so many other topics. Some students even expressed their thoughts about school rules they thought were unfair. I did not open their blogs to the public as I was concerned about privacy, but it was open to their peers to read their blogs and leave comments. I monitored the comments for appropriateness. Students need to learn to disagree on opinions without being hurtful. Every Monday, the students would add a new post to their blog. They needed to have their post completed by the end of the week. When students submitted their post, it would come to me first to review prior to being published. I have to say I feel this was one of the most important tasks the students did last year. Here is a screen capture of the various options available. I chose to pay for the CampusPress option.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 8- LucidPress

LucidPress is an online app that allows users to create documents with multiple pages.  It is an app that is free for teachers and students.   Students can easily log in using the sign in with the Google option.  Once they log in, students can either work independently or they can collaborate with a team.  Students can invite other students to collaborate by using the invite button.  There are templates for students to choose from which allow them to easily drag and drop textbooks, add images, YouTube videos.  I used this app to have students create "Grammar Books," but the options are much more powerful and limitless. For instance,  I can definitely see making state reports a more interactive product.  Another possibility is a classroom newsletter that summarizes student learning or where students report on various topics in a newsletter or magazine format.  Here is an image of documents created using LucidPress.

Student sample from 2015-2016 school year:

Textbooks to Chromebooks 7-Screencastify

One of the best tools that help students create content and then share with others is Screencastify. Screencastify allows students to create their own tutorials during the school year.  Screencastify is a video capture program for Chrome.  It can be installed from the Chrome Web Store.   By pressing record students are able to capture their tab, webcam, or desktop.   Using Tab option students will be able to record the tab they currently have opened.  It does not switch to other tabs.  If students use the Webcam choice it will record students face as they talk.  If they choose desktop the students will be able to record and open various tabs as they talk.  Screencastify is free for up to 10 minutes per video with an embedded Screencastify logo.  However, you may want to consider upgraded licenses for educational institutions.

                                                                                                                                 






Here is a student example about sales tax, discount, and percent of a number.  The students used Google Draw to create the restaurant bills.

"The Great Monster Exchange"

Last year the 6th-Grade students participated in a project called "The Great Monster Exchange." This project was inspired by the work of the creators of  the monsterexchange.org.  In the past this was where one school would send directions to another school to try to make a drawing that matched the original and vice versa.  I changed it up by using Google Drawing and Google Docs.  Each student either hand drew their monster or used the Google Drawing tools to complete the task.  If they hand drew the monster, they inserted a picture of it by clicking on insert in Google Draw and then taking a snapshot of their drawing.  Next, they inserted a textbox below that saying it was the original.  Then in Google Docs they wrote detailed instructions on how they created their monster, and they shared their directions with a student from another class period.  The person that received the directions then did their best to make a copy of the original drawing without ever having seen the original.  When they were finished with their drawing they shared their drawing with the original artist with a view only share setting.  I didn't want changes made after the fact.  The original artist then inserted the copied drawing next to their original with the directions they sent below the drawings. Student comments such as, "I guess I should have been written more clearly with my directions," was common.
Here are the directions I gave the students in Classroom Google:

Textbook to Chromebooks 6- Prezi

Think of Prezis as powerpoint presentations on steroids.  Prezis allow for more dynamic presentations.  The graphics and movement of information in Prezi is outstanding.   The program allows you to embed videos, music, images, and text seamlessly.  Prezi has many templates you can choose from if you do not want to create something entirely from scratch.    Prezis are great for collaboration and multiple users can add information at the same time.  Here is an example of a Prezi I created summarizing a chapter from Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess for a staff meeting.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 5-GoogleKeep

Another great app that we discovered late in the school year last year was Google keep.  There are several great features of Google keep that could be beneficial to teachers and students.  First,  you can create a checklist of things that need to be completed.  I don't know about other people, but I find that I am more efficient when I make a list.  There is a sense of satisfaction in checking off that box saying I completed a task.  It is great when I see everything on my list crossed off.  In fact, we feel this feature is so beneficial that we will be using this as our "Student Planner" instead of purchasing planners for students to write in.  Second,  you can set reminders for a specific date & time.  Third,  parents can stay informed about a student's schedule because the Google keep may be shared with others.   In addition,  Google keep can actually be used as a notebook since there is the ability to take notes, label them,  and archive the notes.  Think how great that would be to never lose those important notes and to keep with you anywhere you go with just a click on your phone or laptop.    There is also the ability to make recordings or to insert images.

Textbooks to Chromebooks 4-Glogster

Today I would like to discuss Glogster.   Glogster is a combination of blogging, social media, and digital creation.  The students can use an educator code to join or they may be signed up by the teacher.  There are 60 templates to choose from which made this a little easier for students to create their first glogs.  These multimedia posters may be set to private or public.     After choosing a template the students will have options to enter text, images, audio, video, graphics, and data.  I found Glogster to be a helpful tool for allowing students to either summarize their learning or in the creation of material to teach others.  We didn't start using Glogster until April of last year.  A year subscription for a secondary edition license, 125 student licenses, cost $95 per year, but we purchased it during a discount special for $38 for the first year.

Glogster in 90 seconds

Sample Glog

ELA Online Resources

I was recently asked by a 1st-grade teacher what would be a good resource to spend their donation of $1,200.  While quality headphones with microphones might be most beneficial for first grade for recording things such as fluency  I decided to start looking into what is available online in the area of ELA.  Click here for a table summary of what I have come up with so far.

From Textbooks to Chromebooks 3-Classroom Google

One of the most useful apps in helping to transition from textbooks to Chromebooks was Classroom Google.  We found the quickest way to sign students up for each our periods was to provide the students with the join code for each section.  Once students were added to the classroom section, it became very easy to share information with all the students at once through a post or announcement.  Also creating assignments and sharing with students is a lot easier than the morning wrestling match you sometimes have to compete in with the copier machine.  It is as simple as clicking on the large Blue Circle in lower right corner of the screen. Let's say you select an assignment.  First, write a title for the assignment.  You may add instructions if desired.   Then select a due date for your assignment.  You then will notice you can add attachments to the assignment from various sources:  1) you can upload a file;  2) you can attach an item from Google Drive;  3)  you can add a youtube video, or  4) you can attach a link.  If you choose to attach something from Google Drive, you will be given the choice for students to view the attachment or to edit the attachment.  Right next to these four options is the best thing about Classroom Google, the ability to select more than one class at the same time.  So, if you were going to give the same assignment to multiple class periods, you do not have to create this assignment more than once.  Just check the boxes next to the classes that you want to receive that assignment.  Finally, click on assign and all students in those classes will receive that assignment.  Then when the students complete their assignment, they will turn in their work.  As the instructor, you may give students feedback individually as they turn in their assignment.  It should be noted that you do not have to wait until students turn their tasks in to give feedback. You have access to work in progress that you may also comment on for each student.  What could be better than immediate feedback for our students?  The use of Classroom Google has been significant in decreasing reliance on printed copies and the traditional textbook.

From Textbooks to Chromebooks 2-Thinking Maps

Yesterday I introduced our first year of going 1:1 at Pepper Tree Elementary.  I mentioned that I would follow up with a discussion of how each of the items was used in our classrooms.  We started by introducing the main apps of the Google Suite.  During the first two weeks of school, we used Drawing, Slides, and Docs in get to know me activities.  In addition to going 1:1 we also wanted to begin using  Thinking Maps.  We decided to introduce a different thinking map each day to have students tell us about themselves using Google Drawing and/or Google Slides.  Here is an example of a circle map using Google Drawing to "define" themselves.  Next, we introduced a bubble map for them to describe themselves.  That was followed by a double bubble map for them to compare/contrast themselves to a friend.  We continued with the same general idea until we finished covering the rest of the thinking maps: tree maps, brace maps, flow maps, multi-flow maps, and bridge maps.  After completing the maps, we then used Google Docs to have the students write an essay about themselves.  Click Here for an example.

From Textbooks to Chromebooks

Last year at Pepper Tree Elementary 5th and 6th grade went 1:1 with Chromebooks.  This is how we integrated this increased use of technology in 6th grade.  First, we continued our adoption of a middle school schedule.  We all taught one block of math daily and PE twice a week.  Then each of the 6th-grade teachers taught a subject. Here is how we broke up the responsibility for the rest of the subject material:

         Mrs. Allen-Reading  & Theater
         Mr. Bjelland-Social Studies  & Speech/Debate
         Mrs. Sperling-Writing & Dance
         Ms. Robinson-Science & Art
         Mr. Hammond-Computer Literacy  & Videography
         Mrs. Whipp-Band (Monday & Tuesday 1/2 hour each day)
         Mr. Bell-PE (50 minutes every Wednesday)


We wanted to have a computer literacy class to teach specific skills that could then be utilized across all subjects.  For 15-20 minutes every day in computer literacy class the students worked on improving their typing skills.  We used typingweb.com  to teach students proper hand position and fingering technique.  We felt this was important to improve student accuracy & speed when typing papers and working on other projects that required typing.  In September average student rate was 24 wpm.  By May, the average wpm increased to 49.  Then for the rest of the daily class period, the students were introduced to various apps that they could choose from to complete work in other classes.  Here is a list of the apps and/or websites that the students learned about during the school year.  I will talk about each of these items and how they were used in each of the other classrooms in future posts and will provide student samples.

1) Google Docs                                                                                
2) Google Slides                                                                                
3) Google Sheets                                                    
4) Google Drawing                                                  
5) Google Keep                                                      
6) Classroom Google                                              
7) Glogster                                                              
8) Prezi                                                                    
9) Screencastify                                                      
10) Lucidpress      
11) Edublogs
12) Code.org
13) Peardeck  
14) Tourbuilder
15) Edpuzzle.com  
16) prodigygame.com  
17) khanacademy.org
18) Grammarly  
19) Kahoots                        
20) WeVideo                                           
21)  Spheros with blockly

Visual and Performing Arts

During the 2015-2016 school year, Pepper Tree Elementary's sixth-grade teachers implemented a new Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Program.  We wanted to eliminate the situation where students that were in the band were missing instructional time.  So last year we created electives that coincided with the band instructional time.  This instructional period became known as VAPA time.  The students chose three different VAPA classes for the year if they were not in the band.   The students could choose from the following courses:

                     1)  Art 

                     2) Videography

                     3)  Dance

                     4)  Theater

                     5) Speech/Debate

                     6) Band (year long course).

VAPA was a great experience for the students as well as for the teachers.  Students did not miss instructional time, did not fall behind in class work, and all students got an opportunity to pursue activities that they found interesting.

This year we will continue to offer VAPA, but with one less choice.  We will not have theater this school year as we have one less sixth grade teacher.  

Station Rotations in Math

This year, Mrs. Allen and I will be sharing math instruction responsibility for our sixth-grade students.  Our goal is to empower students to become more independent learners.  It is our intention to use a blended learning model where there will be a mixture of teacher directed instruction and self-directed learning.  We will be encouraging students to make choices in how they demonstrate their understanding of math material.  It is our intention to open the divider between our two classrooms to create a much larger learning space.  We will use Station Rotations as a method for introducing math concepts to students this year.  While the students will be assigned to a teacher's roster, they will flow between the two classrooms based on activities chosen.  Here is how we are setting up our rotations:





1)  Mrs. Allen will do direct instruction groups of no more than 8 students while other students are in self-directed learning stations.  It is our goal right now that every 8 days, the students will meet with Mrs. Allen three times for concept introduction or reinforcement.

2) I will work with the other self-directed learning stations. I will the coach on the side going from station to station assisting students, asking questions regarding their learning, and challenging to think deeper about the math concepts we are trying to teach.

3) Based on daily and weekly progress reports from sites such as my.hrw.com,  khanacademy.org, and prodigygame.com, and direction instruction groupings will help determine our ongoing instruction for each unit.


We want  students to show curiosity, communicate understanding clearly,  collaborate, and to increase their critical thinking during math time.  We want our students to enjoy math more than when they began the school year.  It is our belief that these things will be accomplished through the use of technology, in class group projects, and face to face time with their teachers. We are will be using  Hyperdocs to outline the math work for the students.  Here is our plan for student work in  Unit 1.