Extra Cash - Apps & Sites for Earning Cashback

I don't know about you but everything is costing so much more nowadays.  Every penny I save helps!  Here are a few of the sites and apps I use on a regular basis to supplement my income and cut down on my expenses.

5 Simple Tips for Teaching Online

Keep it Short

15 to 20 minutes otherwise students will start to tune out.  No different than in the classroom :) 

Record Yourself

Its important that your students feel 'connected' - Be a part of the recording! Not all students will be able to be online at the same time as your 'class' but still need to see you!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Students learn in multiple ways!  Make sure you reach all your students by posting task instructions in the recording as well as linked to your online classroom that they can 'read'.

User Friendly

'Open' programs such as Google docs are accessible to ALL. Everyone does not have the same access to the same technology.  Some of my students had to use their smartphone or only had a PC but no microphone or webcam.

Engaging

hook your students with some fun, engaging interactive activities.  My students just loved the classroom vocabulary game Knoword, and Drawasaurus

Covid 19 & Teaching Junior High

 OMG!  I am so exhausted.  I thought that when schools transitioned to online learning last March I had never worked so hard in my teaching career.  Do NOT get me wrong teaching online was mentally and physically exhausting.  The exhaustion resulted from being in front of a computer 5 six hours a day, attempting to create engaging learning tasks that students would enjoy and possibly be interested in learning from home.  One of the major issues was technology!  Many students were attempting to learn from home using their phone.  Maybe students had access to a computer but it was being shared with their siblings and they could not be online at the time my classes were scheduled.  Others were online but could only communicate through a chat box as they did not have a microphone or webcam.

Then there was another technology issue.  Programs.  Word docs don't transfer to Google docs easily - the formatting gets messed up.  Or if teachers posted a pdf assignment students could not type on it.  Teachers were sharing, sharing and sharing.  Someone (I wish I could remember who it was) came up with a solution to the pdf issue.  Text boxes.  We edited the pdf documents so that students could type in a text box.  This was a great solution but time consuming.

OK, I do not need to relive March to June.  My eyes have now recovered. I had some rest in the summer and am now back in the classroom.

Math Games for Junior High

Easiest way to assess whether a student has "got it" is to have them play a game.

Squares & Roots Squares & Sq Rts Square Roots Perfect Squares Square Root Flash Cards Matching Square Roots Virtual Squ Rt Tic Tac Toe Square Root Calculator Rates, Ratios & Proportions All About Ratios Helping with Ratios Ratios & More Ratio Stadium Ratio & Proportion Game Ratio & Proportion Every Day Math

Fractions, Decimals & Percents Fraction Pairs Game Fraction Model 1 Fraction Model 2 Fraction Pair Game Comparing Decimals Percents Percentage Math at the Mall Ratio – Percent Game Decifractator Chopper Wheel Of Fortune Decention Conversion Practice Fraction Decimal Conversion Conversions Dice Table Pie Chart

Meeting the Needs of All Students - Is it Possible?

One Size Teaching Does NOT Fit All

I have spent the first month of the school year getting to know my student's names, their likes and dislikes, laying the cornerstones of building a relationship with them to facilitate a learning environment.  I have collected the beginning of a series of varied assessments to get a 'snapshot' of each student's level. 

Diving into the Data
Baseline diagnostic scores, classroom observation, assignments, and quizzes have provided a picture of my students academic strengths and weaknesses.  This information combined with Special Education Coding and Attendance records provides a more complete frame of reference for planning lessons that encompass the accommodation of a variety of learning needs aka gaps in student's prior learning through personalization and differentiation of learning. 

Wow What a Handful!  It really is.  Looking at the data how does one meet the needs of all students?  This is what I struggle with!  I am not a miracle worker and can only do so much.  This is a scary picture.  With the high number of students below grade level it would be advantageous to have an Educational Assistant in the classroom but unfortunately this is not the case.  Designing lessons and activities that will meet the needs of all the students is going to be a challenge and will take a great deal of time.


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	Grade	Class Size	At or Above Grade Level	1-2 Yrs Below Grade Level	2+ Yrs Below Grade Level
Class A	8	30	16	5	9
Class B	8	27	11	6	10
Class C	8	27	21	1	5
Class D	9	28	17	3	8
Class E	9	27	15	5	7
Class F	9	27	10	5	12

Junior High Math Teacher - The Weekend is Mine! NOT LOL!

Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding jobs going!  More often than not I am the recipient of condolences when people learn that I teach Math to Junior High students.  My response is one of laughter and thanking them.  I have to be totally honest, there are days when I wish I was retired (I chose to become a teacher after my own children were finishing elementary school and have been teaching for almost 20 years).

Teaching is not an easy job and one has to really really want to be a teacher.  The hours are long but the rewards are great.  Making a difference on a child's life however small whether its the joy on their face when they finally 'get it' or the relationship and connection built enables one to impact an 'at-risk'  student's life.  These moments make all the difference.

Here it is Saturday morning and I will be spending most of the day creating seating plans for my 6 classes now that I have a general idea of my students' classroom attitude, effort and behaviour.  When I have the seating charts completed I have assessment to enter into the grade program then I will be analyzing the baseline data from a Math Assessment to not only learn more about their Numeracy skills but as a planning/grouping tool for future lessons.

Sunday is mine (I hope)

Does Teachers Pay Teachers Pay?

Is it worthwhile posting to TeachersPayTeachers?

I have used resources from the wonderfully talented and creative contributors to Teacherspayteachers.com site off and on for a few years.  My first foray was the result of needing something for my 'unknown' substitute teacher to do with my junior high students.

I am not a believer in 'putting a movie on' or 'playing games on computers' when I have a substitute.  I have found over the (many) years that my students think of puzzles, mazes, code-breaker or colour by number activities as fun rather than 'learning' or review.

Teacherspayteachers certainly made life a bit easier in creating my sub plans as I found a fun resource (Engaging) that connected to the current unit of study (Curriculum related); and came in a variety of levels (Differentiated).

My Turn?

Time is always an issue but over the years I have received requests to share (highest form of praise in my books) tasks that I have created.

Dabble time!   

I started my TeachersPayTeachers journey just two months ago.  Before a month was up I received my first Congratulations SOLD! email.  Here is a link to my store!

Sales are trickling in, I am not making much money after the commissions etc but it is rewarding when someone purchases my creation.