Video: Stupid in America

@katiecouric: "Waiting for 'Superman'"

Waiting for "Superman"

Using cootie catchers to teach math!

Visit this web site to check out how to use cootie catchers to teach mode, mean, median and range!

Math Map

This math map can be used to teach about parallel lines, intersecting lines, perpendicular lines, a variety of angles and geometric shapes.

Multiplication Tables Using Your Hands!

6x6 through 10x10 tables. So cool!

I survived my first year of teaching!

All praise be to Allah SWT, I survived my first year of being a 3rd grade Islamic Studies, 5th and 6th grade science teacher!

It has been a wonderful and stressful journey for me. Although I wish I was more prepared for the enormous workload involved, I would not trade this experience for anything in the world. Starting November 2012, I took on my most challenging career path ever, and came out stronger in my faith and more self-confidence.

Every teacher at the school had been tremendously supportive towards me. They have generously shared their insights and wisdom with me whenever I approached them. They are truly my lifesavers.

Truthfully, I would not be able to take on the responsibility as a teacher if my husband had not supported me throughout these last few months. He had stepped in to take care of our children while I was busy preparing PowerPoint slides, typing out test questions, grading papers and making foldables.

Here are some things I tried in the classroom and they worked well:
1. Fill a bucket
2. Twitter board for students
3. Using Bill Nye videos and teacher created worksheets for science classes
4. Survivor Science (last few weeks of school)
5. Foldables
6. Game board design as a group activity (last few weeks of school)
7. Classroom jobs
8. Curriculum based readers theater for science (last few weeks of school)

Here are some things that I wished I had more time to implement in the classroom:
1. Junkyard War
2. Better organization for paperwork
3. Whole Brain Teaching
4. Team building activities

I hope that I will next school year, I will be better at communicating students' academic performance and behavior with their parents. One issue that always haunt me was how to communicate effectively with parents and guardians. This may be due to my own perception that parents hold on to their biases when a teacher approaches them about their children.

I am thankful to Allah SWT for the wonderful experience to connect with my students, and I am looking forward to next year's teaching assignment.

Video: Dancing the Place Values

(left hand stretch out) Who is on the left? HUNDREDS!
(right hand stretch up) Who is in the middle? TENS
(right hand stretch out)Little ONES is on the right!
(point index finger at teacher) Sing the song all day and night.
(move to the left) Hundreds, Tens and Ones (Clap, Clap)
(move to the right) Hundreds, Tens and Ones (Clap, Clap)
(Partners hold hands and twirl) Round and round, over and over
Hundreds, Tens and Ones! (Clap, Clap)

Video: Teacher Tipster (Place Value Song)

Video: Place Value to Millions

Video: Super Base (WSHS Math Rap Song)

Video: Teach Me How To Factor (WSHS Math Rap Song)

Video: Gettin' Triggy Wit It (WSHS Math Rap Song)

Video: All I Do Is Solve (WSHS Math Rap Song)

Video: Do The Quad Solve (WSHS Math Rap Song)

I'm So Much More Than Just A TEACHER

I'm So Much More Than Just A...

TEACHER

I am a counselor and psychologist to a problem-filled child,
I am a police officer that controls a child gone wild.
I am a travel agent scheduling our trips for the year,
I am a confidante that wipes a crying child's tear.
I am a banker collecting money for a ton of different things,
I am a librarian showing adventures that a storybook brings.
I am a custodian that has to clean certain little messes,
I am a psychic that learns to know all that everybody only guesses.
I am a photographer keeping pictures of a child's yearly growth,
when mother and father are gone for the day, I become both.
I am a doctor that detects when a child is feeling sick,
I am a politician that must know the laws and recognize a trick.
I am a party planner for holidays to celebrate with all,
I am a decorator of a room, filling every wall.
I am a news reporter updating on our nation's current events,
I am a detective solving small mysteries and ending all suspense.
I am a clown and comedian that makes the children laugh,
I am a dietitian assuring they have lunch or from mine I give them half.
When we seem to stray from values, I become a preacher,
But I'm proud to have to be these people because-
I'm proud to say, "I am a teacher."

- By Stacy Bonino

Article: 5 Steps to an After School Game Club

5 Steps to an After School Game Club
by Ryan Sturm

Source: http://www.g4ed.com/index.php/resources-for-teachers/537-5-steps-to-a-game-club

Do you love games? Want to share your love of games? Do you like working with kids? Maybe you should consider starting an after-school board game club at your local elementary, middle or high school. Over the last three years I have run a board game club at my local elementary school and it has grown to be one of the most popular after-school activities in town. Kids sign up session after session and new recruits keep signing up to the point that the club often has a waiting list.
School-age kids and parents are dying for a high-quality structured social activity afterschool that is an alternative to sports. In addition there are so few people out there who are aware of the THOUSANDS of great games that have come out for kids and families over the last ten years. Starting a game club at a local school is a powerful way to not only spread and share a hobby that you love but also to develop much needed social skills and to positively affect your community.
If you think you might like to start your own club, I would like to share my suggestions for tips on starting such a club in the hopes to motivate you to take on this valuable endeavor. It will include some of the basics to get started, some suggestions for good games to use and some basic management tips. It’s all here in my five easy steps to starting your own after school board game club.

Step 1 - Contact your local recreation department.

Though you could run the club on your own, it will be much easier to get assistance in registration, securing facilities and promotion that is available to you at a very low cost from your local rec department. Discuss with them the possibility of starting such a club and details such as facilities it could be located at, registration costs and times. I suggest a reasonable amount to charge for the club is $5 per session or $20 for a four week session. Also keep your club size small, especially to start. Having ten to fifteen students is plenty to work with for your first session. Hopefully you can also work out the possibility of using a space within a school, such as the school library, to hold the club.

Step 2 - Promote your club.

The best way to do this is to visit classrooms in the school the club will be located in (get prior permission from the school principal). If you know someone who works for the school or is involved in the school, contact them to make this connection. I will tell you from experience that the endless flyers given out in schools do not capture the attention of the kids; they usually just get shoved into a backpack. But walk into a class with a box full of cool looking games the kids have never seen before and they will rush to go sign up.

Step 3 - Gather games to use for the club.

Using games from your personal collection is a way to start, but be aware that any game you use for the club will probably get banged up and it’s likely you may lose some pieces; it just comes with the territory. If you are committed to this endeavor you should plan on investing 100-200 dollars in games to be used solely for this club. You should be able to cover this with the first session’s registration fees and use the games for years to come.
I recommend shopping at an online specialty game store for a wide selection of board games at discount prices. It is good to have some familiar “classic” games in the club but it is also important to introduce kids, and perhaps yourself, to what’s new in board games. Also consider asking local businesses, online game stores and game companies for donations for games to use for the club.
While shopping for games for your club, endlessly repeat this nine word motto in your brain; I am buying games for children, not for myself. It is critical to pick age-appropriate games for your club and err on the side of too simple rather than too complex, the students need to be able to play the games independently. Don’t let your own personal game biases decide the games you decide to get for the club.
My club is mainly made up of Fourth and Fifth graders. I have found that some of the most successful games that I have used fit into the following three categories;

• Party Games - Apples to Apples is the classic here but variations on it are popular as well. I recommend looking into the games Likewise, Last Word, The T-Shirt Game and Blurt. Also be sure to familiarize yourself with the new party game sensation, Werewolf.
• Adventure Games - Games that capture the imagination are always popular. Some games that fall into this category include Incan Gold, Forbidden Island, and if you can track down copies of the out of print games Dungeon, Heroquest, or Heroscape you will have simple but fun games kids will want to play again and again.
• Card Games – Card games have the advantage of being affordable and typically having simple rules. Some favorites in the group include; dexterity games Slamwich and Halli Galli, Zeus on the Loose, Sleeping Queens and Duck, Duck Bruce.

These suggestions are appropriate for upper age elementary students, if you are starting a club with older or younger students you may need to choose games that are more or less complex.

Step 4 – Establish and put into place two rules.

The two golden rules I use for my Board Game Club and discuss at the beginning and end of each session are;

• Play the games in a way so that everyone has fun – This involves knowing and following the rules, Staying focused on the game, playing at an appropriate volume level, showing good sportsmanship and making consensus decisions on the games that are played.
• Treat the game materials with the utmost respect – This means only using the game pieces for playing the game, treating materials carefully, making sure all players clean up and all pieces are put away the way that they are found.

Clearly go over these rules at the start of the first session and at the end of the session discuss concrete good and bad examples of play, behavior and taking care of the games that you and they observed.

Step 5 – Facilitate each session so all club members have fun.

Your job will be to constantly teach new games and circulate to make sure game rules and game club rules are being followed. Here are some strategies I have used to facilitate getting games started with large groups:

• Have games with multiple copies so that you can teach once and have all of the students “fishbowl” around watching one group play. Then all students can go play the game.
• Explain 3-4 games with simple rules at the beginning and have students rotate through.
• Use a “passport” system in which students earn “points” as they play different games with different players.

With time your job should get easier as the students should be able to be the “teachers” of the games. The kids will come to know more game rules and your expectations for how games are to be played.
But I have to be very honest with you. Starting and running a club like this is a lot of work and takes a lot of energy. It is so much more than just sitting around playing games with kids. It is not for someone who wants to just play games or make a little extra money. Running a game club requires someone with a lot of enthusiasm and energy, for it is ninety nonstop minutes of teaching game after game and constantly moving from table to table checking in to help students play the games correctly and play games using good social habits.
But when you do get a chance to step away and take a breath and see the environment you have created, you will see a large group of kids all engaged and caught up in the magic that only games can create. When the students leave the club with big smiles on their faces talking with their friends about that amazing or hilarious game they just played and some of them turn to you and look you straight in the eye and say, “Thank You!” You will know that you have succeeded in sharing something special with those kids and that your love of games has been instilled in them.
You will know that all your efforts were well worth it.

---

Ryan Sturm is an elementary educator of ten years and a game aficionado. For the last several years Ryan has run an afterschool boardgame club at his elementary school. Ryan is passionate about finding positive ways to use board games in the classroom as well as ways to use his background as an educator in promoting the hobby of board games

After School Game Club

This school year, I am planning to sponsor an after school game club for DD1 and her classmates, Allah SWT willing.

Last school year, when I was the first grade assistant teacher, I observed that students were so focused on getting their classwork done during the school hours that they had no time to socialize in a positive way. I thought that having a game club would be a fun and positive way for students to interact with one another. This would also be an opportunity to introduce kids to classic board games that are both fun and educational.

Here is a list of board games that are suitable for middle schoolers:

Board Games for Middle school
Source: http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/2137/middle-school-game-club

Apples to ApplesApples to Apples has won numerous awards including "Party Game of the Year" by Games magazine and "Mensa Select" by Mensa International. And for good reason: it involves quick thinking, humor, and strategy. For teens, the game teaches them to think about how different things can be compared to one another and how analogies are formed. One of our criticisms is that although the game states that it is designed for ages 12 and older, many of the subjects are clearly for older teens.

The Settlers of CatanThe Settlers of Catan from Mayfair Games is an award-winning strategy game where players collect resources and use them to build roads, settlements and cities on their way to victory. The board itself is variable, making each game a little different from the next. Each round of The Settlers of Catan is intended to keep three or four players ages 10 and above engaged for up to 90 minutes.

ChrononautsWhat would YOU do with a Time Machine? Would you stop the sinking of the Titanic? Prevent the assassination of JFK? Kill Hitler before WWII? These are just a few of the possibilities in Chrononauts, the award-winning card game of time travel. To win, you must change history at key points called Linchpins, so that history transforms into the Alternate Reality your character calls home. You can also win by collecting a specific set of Artifacts, such as a live dinosaur, the Mona Lisa, and an unpublished Shakespearean play. But be careful - if you create too many paradoxes, you could destroy the entire universe.

Carcassonne: Hunters and GatherersThis is a Klaus-Jurgen Wrede game in the Carcassonne line. It has new graphics, a new set of components, a theme set in the Stone Age, and new rules to match the theme. As in Carcassonne, players place tiles and put game figures on them, but with different strategies and results. Players have figures that can represent hunters, gatherers, or fishermen and place them in meadows, forests, or on rivers. They also have huts, which can be placed on rivers or lakes and are scored at the end of the game as are the hunters. Gatherers and fishermen are scored when forests or rivers are completed. There are special forest tiles that give the player who plays a tile completing a forest an extra tile laid of special tiles with special features. Players will like this game that features the tile-laying and token placements of Carcassonne with many new twists. The game is for 3-5 players ages 8 and up and takes about 60 minutes to play.

PitchCarPitchCar is at the same time a game of dexterity and a game of racecars. Superbly manufactured this wooden game -- made up of 16 portions of circuit: 10 curves and 6 straight lines -- lets you to construct ten different circuits over 12 feet long. Choose one of the 8 cars build your circuit and flick your finger to propel your racing car. Follow the best trajectories by using the guardrails but watch out because your opponents are gunning for you. Entertaining and family oriented PitchCar will enchant players of all ages.

ClansThe game is set in late pre-history, a time of transition -- when our distant ancestors, who had struggled and barely survived for ages in very small nomadic groups, began to feel their lives would be more secure and less arduous if they formed larger groups. This led to the formation of the first villages. Clans has easy rules, but is very challenging. the players try to distribute their huts so they score often and large numbers. But they must keep their color secret from their opponents... Players: 2-4 Ages: 10 and up Playing Time: 30 minutes

RoborallyA frenzied race filled with computer driven chaos! At the far end of the galaxy lies a fully automated grid-widget factory. As one of the factory's eight redundant super computers, you have a lot of responsibility and even more free time. When boredom creeps into your circuits, you and the other computers have a little fun at the factory's expense. Pulling defective robots out of the maintenance bay, you pit them against one another in a destructive race across the dangerously cluttered and ever-changing factory floor. One robot will wind up in the winner's circle the rest go on the scrap heap. The game is for 2 to 8 players. It takes about an hour to play.

Pirate's CoveShiver me timbers! Join pirates on a treacherous treasure island for a Pirate's life adventure. Players match keys to get compass, parrot, jolly roger and treasure chest cards - which help you in your treasure hunt for gold coins. The first pirate to reach the ship with six gold coins wins! For 2-4 players.

BohnanzaBohnanza, a card game from Rio Grande Games is about planting, trading and selling 11 different kinds of beans. Players try to collect and plant various types of beans to sell for gold. There are always new beans to plant and each player has limited growing space. To avoid planting unwanted beans, players trade amongst themselves in an effort to plant the bean of highest value and collect the most coins. Comes with 154 Bean Cards, 7 Third Bean Field Cards and a rule booklet. Imported from Germany. For 2 to 7 players.

Chess

Checkers

MancalaThe goal of each player is to collect the glass beads in his or her mancala (the big cups at each end of the game board). Begin your game by filling each cup (except mancalas) with 4 beads. A player then picks up beads from a cup and redistributes them, one at a time, into other cups around the board. A few simple rules govern which cups a player can drop a bead into and when a player's turn is over. Collect the most beads in your mancala to win the game! Then, fold the glass beads inside the game board and slip the board into a convenient storage box. Beads won't get lost! Oak-finish, hinged game board unfolds to 5-1/4x17-3/4. Includes 48 clear glass beads and instructions for basic game. For 2 players.

SequencePlay a card from your hand, place a chip on a corresponding space on the game board when you have five in a row, it's a Sequence. Learn to block your opponents - remove their chips. Watch out for the Jacks, they are wild. With a little strategy and luck, you'll be a winner. Contents: Folding Game Board, 2 Decks of Sequence Cards, 135 Playing Chips and Instructions. For 2 or more players, ages 7 and up.

A Game of ThronesKing Robert Baratheon is dead, and the seven kingdoms brace for war. House Lannister, whose daughter Cersei was Robert's queen, claims the throne for her young son Joffery. From the Dragonstone Isle, Stannis Baratheon knows that Robert was not the true father of Joffrey, and rightfully demands the throne for himself. One the Oron Isles, House Greyjoy is about to embark on a second rebellion, but this time with a much grander goal. In the north, House Stark gathers its strength to defend what is right, and in the south the wealthy House Tyrell harbors an old ambition to sit on the Iron Throne. As armies gather and ravens fly, a clash of kings is inevitable. Based on the best-selling novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, the A Game of Thrones board games by Fantasy Flight Games lets players take control of one of the great Houses of Westeros and embark on a epic struggle to claim the Iron Throne. Immerse yourself in a game of clever planning, careful allocation of power, diplomacy, and the exciting flavor of a Song of Ice and Fire. Along with the games board and rulebook, there are over 370 game pieces included.

Puerto RicoEach player utilizes different roles -mayor, captain, settler, trader, prospector, craftsman, or builder to score the most victory points with their colony. Players can act on every turn of the game, allowing them to choose between shipping goods for points or building an impressive city. Players must manage their colonists, erect a variety of buildings, build up their plantation, and sell or ship goods. With dozens of options, Puerto Rico is a streamlined game that can be played in about an hour and handles up to five players. 

EvoCreated by Philippe Keyaerts, Evo is a game of conquest in a hostile environment. To win, you will have to acquire gene that will allow you dinosaurs to improve (survive enemy attacks, face various climates or even lay more eggs, for example) in fast-paced auctions. But be careful: don't spend too many mutation points in the auctions, because the winner of the game will be the player with the most of them at the end!

Tongiaki300 AD: The Polynesians embarked on daring sailing trips and explored thousands of Pacific Islands. Driven by overpopulation and a desire for adventure, they set forth into the unknown on simple catamarans called Tongiakis.

YinshThe players each start with 5 rings on the board. Every time a ring is moved, it leaves a marker behind. Markers are white on one side and black on the other. When markers are jumped over by a ring, they must be flipped, so their color is constantly changing. The players must try to form a row of 5 markers with their own color face up. If a player succeeds in doing so, he removes one of his rings as an indication that he has formed such a row. The first player to remove 3 of his rings wins the game. In other words, each row you make brings you closer to victory -- but also makes you weaker, because you have one less ring to play with.

Castle RiskEach player starts out with one castle on the game board. Your objective is to capture all your opponents' castles, so that you are the last player remaining in the game. This Risk variant is played on a map of Europe and introduces cards such as the Spy, General, Marshall, Diplomat and Admiral. Besides recruitment cards, your reinforcements are a function of occupied territory and captured enemy castles. Created by Philippe Keyaerts, Evo is a game of conquest in a hostile environment. To win, you will have to acquire gene that will allow you dinosaurs to improve (survive enemy attacks, face various climates or even lay more eggs, for example) in fast-paced auctions. But be careful: don't spend too many mutation points in the auctions, because the winner of the game will be the player with the most of them at the end!

Tongiaki300 AD: The Polynesians embarked on daring sailing trips and explored thousands of Pacific Islands. Driven by overpopulation and a desire for adventure, they set forth into the unknown on simple catamarans called Tongiakis.

YinshThe players each start with 5 rings on the board. Every time a ring is moved, it leaves a marker behind. Markers are white on one side and black on the other. When markers are jumped over by a ring, they must be flipped, so their color is constantly changing. The players must try to form a row of 5 markers with their own color face up. If a player succeeds in doing so, he removes one of his rings as an indication that he has formed such a row. The first player to remove 3 of his rings wins the game. In other words, each row you make brings you closer to victory -- but also makes you weaker, because you have one less ring to play with.

Castle RiskEach player starts out with one castle on the game board. Your objective is to capture all your opponents' castles, so that you are the last player remaining in the game. This Risk variant is played on a map of Europe and introduces cards such as the Spy, General, Marshall, Diplomat and Admiral. Besides recruitment cards, your reinforcements are a function of occupied territory and captured enemy castles.

Quote for the Classroom

Source: solutions-ink.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Fabulous Cooks

This past week, the kids prepared fabulous meals for all of us. I am glad that they are getting more confident cutting vegetables and fruits with a blunt wavy knife.

Mon - Baked fish patties, pan fried potato and cucumber salad
Tues - Macaroni and cheese (made from scratch!)
Wed - Grilled cheese sandwich and milkshake
Thur - Tom Yum soup with grilled chicken and rice
Fri - Thai red curry chicken with rice

Allah SWT willing next week, we might focus on more stir fried dishes since we will be exploring China's dishes and history.