Hockey!

 

I truly believe this quote speaks to both educators AND students.  I've always liked this quote and am finding it to be particularly true right now.

My school is a Project Based Learning (PBL) school. PBL is hands-on, inquiry based learning! While creating their projects, our students learn reading, math, social studies, and science – but they also learn to problem solve, to speak and write with clear expression of their thoughts, and to collaborate with others.

In previous years, their projects have mainly centered around the rainforest.  (There was one year they focused on zoo animals.)  This year, my students have decided to go in a completely different direction and combine three things into one for our big project!  They will be:

1.    Turning our room into a movie theater (complete with popcorn!)

2.    Writing / producing / filming a movie to show in our movie theater.

3.    Learning about hockey as that will be the theme of our movie!

My students became interested in hockey when we were learning about motion! (Force, push, pull, friction, etc…)  I used hockey as an example when explaining a little bit about Newton’s Laws of Motion.  They were hooked. They wanted to see some hockey clips so I showed them clips of my favorite player, TJ Oshie from the Washington Capitals! :-)

Ever since, they have asked each day, “Can we learn more about hockey today?  Can we watch more hockey videos?”  To say they are excited is an understatement!  That excitement SOARED when I created a hockey rink in my classroom!

Note:  I love hockey and the Washington Capitals are my FAVORITE team!  Having said that, I know I don't know everything about hockey!  (I've done a lot of research and have asked my husband lots of questions - he knows way more than I do!) I also reached out to the Washington Capitals organization to see if they could help out in learning about hockey.  They have a hockey school program which will be coming out to my school next week.  They will be teaching the students about hockey and will be donating supplies as well.  

We've been reading a lot about hockey to help us prepare for our script writing.  Up through yesterday, the students learned:

• They play on an ice rink. 
• They use a hockey stick to hit the puck. 
• A shootout is what happens if there is still a tie after overtime 
• If a player does something they shouldn't they are put in the penalty box 
• The person (or people) who passes the puck to the player who scores gets a point in hockey for an assist. 
• An unassisted goal is when a player gets the puck from the opposing team and scores a goal without help from their teammates. 
• Players lose points too. 
• A hat trick is when a player scores three goals in one game. 
• There are three different positions in hockey: goalie, defense, and forwards. 
• The goalie is the last line of defense. The defense makes sure the other team doesn't score. The forwards try to score. Each position can play the other position.
• Players visualize in their heads.

The students have also been learning the names and numbers of the players on the Caps team!
(I know there is more they've learned, but there is so much I just can't recall it all at the moment!)

The students have asked some great questions throughout this learning process.  Last week, one of my girls asked, "Mrs. Lynch, can girls play hockey too?"  I exclaimed, "OF COURSE!"  I then told them how one of the 2nd grade teachers at our school played hockey.  They were AMAZED.  I asked that teacher if she would come in for a few minutes and talk about her hockey experience.  She said she would!

She came today and did not disappoint!  This teacher, (I'll call her Mrs. M,) created a flipchart about girls playing hockey AND brought in her hockey bag - which had her jersey, padding, helmet, mouth guard, hockey stick, and skates!  She told them what everything was for and answered many questions about hockey.

After she left, we talked about the things they had learned.  Then I told the students about the hockey game last night.  The Capitals played the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.  I told the students about the Captain for the Capitals, #8, Alex Ovechkin.  We reviewed how players earn points.  I then told them that last night, Alex earned his 1000th career point!  Of course they wanted to see a video of the goal that earned him that point.  Yes, we watched it!  They were amazed!

Then they had a little sidebar conversation where they were talking about who is the better player, Ovechkin or Oshie!  I said that each player has their strengths and they all work together to help the team win!

Now, my students are well aware of the fact that Oshie is my favorite player.  They asked how he played and the following happened:
Me:  I'm a little upset with Oshie.
Students: Why?
Me:  He had 3 penalties last night!
Students all gasped!
Me:  I have a question for you:  If he had 3 penalties, and was in the penalty box for 2 minutes each time, what was the total number of minutes he spent in the penalty box?

I gave the students some think time before asking for the answer.  One of my boys said "6" and when I asked how he got his answer,  he said, "Well, first I added 2 + 2 and got 4, and then I added 2 more and got 6."  We then went over other ways of finding the answer - including multiplication!  (The looks on their faces when I told them that was a 3rd grade skill was PRICELESS!)

Next, I brought up the stats from last night's game!  I went over what each category stood for.  (I also told them I had to research a lot of these because I didn't know what they meant!)

G - goals
A - assists
+ / - how many points they had
SOG - shots on goal
MS - missed shots
BS - blocked shots
PN - penalties
PIM - penalties in minutes
HT - hits
TK - takeaways
GV - giveaways
SHF - shifts
TOT - total time on ice
PP - how much time on ice during a power play
SH - how much time on ice during a penalty kill (short handed)
EV - how much time on ice when it was full strength (5 on 5)
FW - faceoffs won
FL - faceoffs lost
% - the percentage of faceoffs won

After discussing those categories, we looked at numbers for the Capitals.  We started by looking at the numbers for Karl Alzner (#27.)  Let me tell you, my students impressed me so much when interpreting the data!  I was AMAZED!  They truly understood what they work looking at!  After Alzner, we looked at Oshie's stats (of course,) and then Ovechkin's.  Again, they did a great job interpreting the data.

After that, I let them see all of the players' stats.  I asked them to tell me what they noticed and they noticed a lot!  Who had the most shifts, who scored the most goals, who had the best faceoff percentage, and so much more!

Next we looked at the stats for the Penguins.  The students IMMEDIATELY noticed that in the +/- column, the Penguins either had 0, -1, or -2 points!  They couldn't believe it.  I asked why they thought those players had -1 or -2 points.  They answered correctly:  "They were on the ice when the Caps scored!"  (SO PROUD!)

Now, up until this point, I had not told the students who won the game.  I then asked, "Based on what you've seen from the stats, which team won?"  They enthusiastically shouted, "THE CAPITALS!!!!" When they asked the score, I said, let's look at the goals column and figure it out!  They did a great job!  (By the way, the Caps won 5-2.)

We threw in addition and subtraction (1 digit AND 2 digit,) time, skip counting, and multiplication!
I was AMAZED with what they picked up today!!!

Truth be told, I was (and still am) so happy and proud, I could cry! :-)

Just like in the picture I posted above, the students and I are learning so much!  I can't wait to see what else we learn!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Stacey~

Rainforest Project 2016

WOW!
It's been way too long since I've updated my blog!  *I feel like this is something I've said numerous times in my blog.  I think I just felt so tired after working all day, that I didn't have the energy to blog.

Back in January, I begged for help to fund my Donors Choose project which was all about the rainforest project my students were going to work on.  That was fully funded, and now, our rainforest is complete!

As I mentioned in that post, I had huge expectations for how the rainforest was going to look this year. I think my students and my principal thought I was crazy when I told them what I wanted.  Even though I kept my parents updated via class dojo, I don't think they realized just what their kids were getting into!

My students busted their butts on this project.  Let me explain just what we did.

It all started with a flipchart and research packet.  I created a flipchart with 62 rainforest animals that my students were going to study.  I went through the flipchart with them several times.  I created a research packet with information on all of the animals and made copies of the packet for my kiddos.

We started doing research in small groups. We would read the information together and the students got to pick the information they thought we needed to highlight.  This was taking very long and we were starting to get short on time, so for about two-three weeks straight, we researched whole group.  No joke: we finished researching the last animal up until 2 minutes before dismissal time.  They were so excited when they finished, they started cheering!

After finishing our research, we started making animals, trees, flowers, etc...They had the option to use any and all of the materials I had in my room. 

The kids decided where they were going to put everything.  It turned out better than I ever could have imagined!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!  (If you'd like a video your, click here.)

The students gave tours to over 20 classes in our school!  It was awesome!  They did an amazing job and I'm so proud of them!  Their parents were ecstatic too! 

Thanks for stopping by and again, I apologize for the delay in getting this up!

~Stacey~

Start of the school year!

WELCOME BACK!!!!

I apologize for not blogging in forever!
Back in June, I actually started drafting my post about our rainforest and I never finished it!  I'll try to recap it later, but for now, it's classroom reveal time!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my students and I wanted to share my pictures with you!

Bulletin Board

Book corner

Book corner wall

To see the video tour, click here.

I am so pleased with how everything came together this year!  (Thanks to M & N for helping me!)

This is the first time I'm starting off the year without desks. (I didn't implement that until the end of September last year.)  I wanted my parents to be informed about what a deskless classroom is, alternative seating choices, how my room is run without desks, etc...  I created a letter for them.  To see that letter, click here.  To see my post about my deskless classroom from last year, click here.

I will have to update that letter as I just had a Donors Choose project funded for six hokki stools for my room! :-)

I hope you all have a wonderful school year!
Thanks for stopping by!
Stacey

Rainforest Project - I could use your help!

Image taken from here

My mind always has a bunch of tabs open!  It's a wonder that I actually get anything done.  You would never know it if you actually looked at my to do list though.  I feel like for every item I cross off my list, I add 3-5 more items.  Something that has been on my to do list for awhile now is updating my blog. I am horrible at updating my blog.  I really am.  I LOVE sharing things with you, but at least one of several things happen. 

1.  I forget to take pictures.  (I really need to hire someone to be in my classroom all day just to take pictures! )

2.  I have no energy to do anything.

3.  I get distracted by something else.

4.  I don't have the time to devote to make my entry what I want it to be.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't know what to write about.  I actually have a list of topics I've wanted to share with you!  They will be shared eventually, but I have something else on my mind this evening.

 

Image from here

I'm not going to lie - I love the topics we cover for the 3rd quarter!  There's a geography project on Brazil for social studies and taking care of the earth for science.  Two of the books we use are The Great Kapok Tree and Just a Dream.  These books draw my students in and really make them think.  Then the questions start flowing.

What is a rainforest?

What animals live in the rainforest?

Why are people cutting down the trees?

What happens when all of the trees are gone?

What can we do to save the animals?

What can we do to save the trees?

Those are just some of the amazing questions my first graders have asked me over the years.  They really enjoy learning about the rainforest.  One of the first years I taught this unit, my students created a rainforest mural which was proudly hung up in the hallway.  They did a great job with it and I was proud of them.  But I wanted more!

Our rainforest grew from there.  The next year my students created a rainforest that took up our entire side of the hallway.  (One of the other 1st grade classes participated in that as well.)  Here are a few pictures from that year.

The kids added a writing component to the rainforest that year.  If you look closely, the animals have facts on them.

Once again, the students did a great job, but still, I wanted more! 

The next year, this is what happened.  It was bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed it would be!  I loved it!  They learned so much!  They were excellent tour guides!  They jumped several levels in reading!  All of it was amazing!  I truly felt like my students and I had maxed out our rainforest potential.  My students loved this project so much!  The day we took everything down was a very sad day for all of us!  They didn't want to take down their rainforest.  "Mrs. Lynch, it's like we're cutting down our rainforest!  We can't destroy our rainforest!"  (I love the connections my students make!)

Last year's class chose not to go the rainforest route.  Instead they created a zoo.  While I was sad to not partake in the rainforest project, I still enjoyed what my students created and how much they learned.  It also gave me a bit of a *rainforest* break that I didn't realize I needed.

Enter the 2015-2016 school year.  The year that I went deskless.  The year my students want to create a rainforest again.  Hmmm......deskless classroom + rainforest = BIGGEST RAINFOREST YET!

This year it will not only be all along the walls, but all OVER my room. We're talking trees, plants, bushes, flowers, etc...coming up from my floor. Rainforest animals in the trees. A path for "tourists" to walk on. It will be easy to set up since I don't have to move desks out of the way! I can just see it in my brain!

 

In order to have all of the supplies we need, I put up a Donors Choose project. Donors Choose is a fantastic website where public school teachers can post projects for things they need / want in the classroom. I've had 5 projects funded on Donors Choose in less than 2 years.  It is a FANTASTIC resource and I highly encourage all teachers to use it!

If you, my fantastic and loyal readers, could please donate to my cause I would greatly appreciate it.

If you could also please share the link with your friends and family, I would appreciate that too.

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/art-supplies-for-rainforest-project-bas/1843303/?rf=link-siteshare-2016-01-teacher-teacher_788062&challengeid=219803

I love the rainforest.

I love exposing my students to the rainforest. I love opening their eyes to this amazing wonder.  I love the questions they ask. 

I love how one student asked me with the most serious tone in her voice, "Mrs. Lynch, can we please take a trip to the rainforest?"  When I told her it was too expensive and too far away, she exclaimed, "Well I am going to go there one day!"  I told her I believed her!

Thank you all for your love and support and I will keep you posted on our rainforest journey!

Have a great evening!

Love,

Stacey

 

Shut Up and Dance With Me

Image from here, edited by me!

I can imagine what you must be thinking....

"A song title?  One that says shut up?  What in the world?"

I'm right there with you, but there is an educational related story in there, I promise! :0)

My students were working quietly on a fun activity.  They had been quiet for so long, that I put on Kidz Bop Radio for them to listen to.

"Shut Up and Dance With Me," started playing.  I didn't say a word.  Any of them could tell you that shut up is not a nice thing to say.  "It's a bad word, Mrs. Lynch!"

I wanted to see what my kids would say / do.

They started singing along and I just waited patiently.  They get to the shut up part and one of my girls sings quite loudly, "BE QUIET AND DANCE WITH ME!!!!!"

I lost it!  I laughed so hard - she laughed too and continued singing it with "be quiet!"

Then I sat back and thought about it.

In her mind, "shut up" is  a bad word. 
She knew she shouldn't say it. 
She knew that we only say nice things in my class.  (We're bucket fillers, not bucket dippers.)
She knew she wouldn't be singing the correct lyrics, but she didn't care.  She took a risk.
She wanted to make it more friendly, so she did. 

You go girl!

Teaching involves more than just teaching curriculum.

We get into things like life skills, manners, and respecting others

Teaching is also about creating an environment where students feel safe enough to take risks.

This girl wanted to use her manners.  She wanted to show respect to me and her classmates.
She wanted to take the risk to say the right thing, even though no one else might say it with her.  She didn't care.  

I'm proud of her. :-)
Plus, it was an adorable moment! :-)

I guess I'll be singing "Be quiet and dance with me" from now on!

Until next time! :-)
~Stacey~