BJU Press Blog

Let’s RRRRead!

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For years our school used a reading program promoted by the community to encourage our students develop a love for reading. Although I really appreciate the program and support from the community, sometimes the stories or characters promoted by the program do not line up with a biblical worldview. So last year some of our teachers and the administration, developed and launched a new reading program just for our school. It’s called Let’s RRRRead.

With a theme that ties in with our school mascot, Liam the Lion, the program runs for five weeks during the third quarter of the school year. Students in each grade level have to read a certain number of minutes to reach their reading goal; the number of minutes differs by grade level. (Students in K-4 and K-5 can also be read to by parents.) The goal for third grade is fifty minutes a week. And each week that students meet their reading goal, they receive a book sticker to put on their Let’s RRRRead button.

image of a button that says "let's rrrread"

One interesting part of our program is that along with meeting the weekly goal, there is also a class goal of getting 100 percent class participation. The students may read for as long as they wish, but they get no extra credit for reading over the 50 minute goal. Each student who meets the reading goal all five weeks gets to attend a special event with Liam the Lion. The third-graders typically go on a picnic with Liam during their lunchtime.

Last year, they also received nachos at the picnic. For the class that has the highest percentage of participation, there is a trophy for the students to display in their classroom. We keep track of class percentages by charts that are posted in our main hallway.

image of three charts to record reading progress

The reading program has been a great success. And lots of fun! We have had great participation, and the kids have really enjoyed it.

How do you help your students develop a love for reading?

We “Skitched” It!

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For our most recent cycle of learning centers, I decided to teach the students how to use Skitch – Snap. Mark Up. Send.  It’s a very versatile app from Evernote; I was first introduced to it during a technology conference I attended this summer.  Recently, I was reminded of it, and I decided that my students would use the photo labeling aspect of Skitch. So on the first day, I had the kids find hidden pictures using the Highlights Hidden Countdown™–Duo app. They saved their work to the Camera Roll on the iPad®. Then on the second day, they used Skitch to import the pictures they had saved on the Camera Roll  and to label the hidden items in their pictures. The second day, they used Skitch to label the parts of a physical map.

a map of the United States pointing out examples of lakes, rivers, mountains, and oceans
©freeworldmaps.net

The third day, they labeled the continents and oceans on a world map.

Each time they finished labeling a photo, they simply emailed it to me with their name or student number in the subject line. I wrote a reminder on the whiteboard: “Please don’t forget your name or # in the subject line!” One student who wasn’t paying attention, raised his hand and asked, “What does that sign (#) mean?” Another student quickly answered, “Oh, that’s just a hashtag!” I get a kick out of how techie my third graders are! Many students really enjoyed this activity so much that they went on to label different photos during their free time using the iPads. So this app was definitely a success for our class.

Have you used Skitch before? (The possibilities seem endless!) I’d love to know how you have used it with your students.

A Technology Treat

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I was so excited about having iPads® in my classroom this year. We have enjoyed using them in many ways, and now we have an even bigger opportunity. Through the generous giving of students’ parents and the community, our school now has a portable iPad lab. I can now plan activities in which every child in my class has an iPad.

We just started the third quarter, and my class has earned a “treat” for getting six big ice-cream scoops. (If you missed my post about positive reinforcement, you can find it here.) With it being wintertime, I usually do something like hot chocolate and an indoor snowball fight. But since we had the new iPad lab, I thought the kids would enjoy doing a special activity using those.

An iPad Scavenger Hunt

I first saw this idea on a blog post from EdTechWorkshop. The children take the iPads outside and go on a nature hunt. Since the temperatures outside were hovering around freezing, I decided to modify the activity and make it an inside hunt.

The kids had to take six photos.

girl holding a tablet

Then they took the photos and imported them into the Pic Collage app. This app allows you to make a collage from digital photos. It includes different layouts, backgrounds, text options, and even stickers to decorate with. The stickers were a big hit with the kids! My class had a wonderful time choosing their items and making collages.

You can download and make your own version of this iPad classroom scavenger hunt by selecting the image below.

technology scavenger hunt document
©Mrs. D

I think it was a great technology treat. And the best part—it was sugar free!

Have you ever used technology for a reward for your class?

U.S. Presidents: Where Did They Come From?

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red and blue graphic that says Presidents DayApril 30, 2014, will mark 225 years since George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States. The nation has had 44 different presidents during those years. Many of these men began their careers as lawyers, soldiers, or politicians. But I was curious to find out what some of our presidents did before they entered the political arena. So I went to whitehouse.gov and did some research. I read the bios available for all of our presidents and found three different presidents that, in my opinion, had interesting beginnings.

Andrew Johnson

a painting of President Andrew Johnson
Official Presidential portrait of Andrew Johnson by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

President from 1865 to 1869, Johnson was born into a poor family in 1808. As a boy he became a tailor’s apprentice. Eventually, he moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, and opened his own tailor shop. While there,  Johnson married Eliza McCardle. He would eventually participate in debates at the local school there, aiding his speaking skills.

James Garfield

a painting of President James Garfield
Official Presidential portrait of James Abram Garfield by Calvin Curtis/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

His term shortened because he was assassinated, Garfield “was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1831.”1 As a young man, he worked with canal boats. In 1856 he graduated from Williams College before going to work for the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Ohio. Eventually, Garfield was elected to the Ohio senate; he went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming president.

Herbert Hoover

a painting of President Herbert Hoover
Official Presidential portrait of Herbert Hoover by Elmer Wesley Greene/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

President from 1929 to 1933, Hoover worked for many years in China as an engineer. He and his family were still in China when the Boxer Rebellion occurred and helped their Chinese neighbors during that tumultuous time. Hoover would continue to help in other countries as World War I began. Eventually he became president, and his presidency would be marked by the Great Depression. These are just a few of the presidents that I found who led interesting lives before their political careers began. I must admit I found those who were born in Ohio to be the most interesting—but that could be my Ohio-born bias. That said, I think it’s good to know that many of our presidents had a strong work ethic that led to their presidencies and helped them while in office. To me, that legacy makes honoring them important on this Presidents’ Day.

How do you observe Presidents’ Day?

1. James Garfield. Whitehouse.gov. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesgarfield (accessed: January, 24, 2014).

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Look Who’s Poppin’ Facts

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Every year when the math coordinators meet, the main concern from grade level to grade level is that the students have not properly mastered their math facts.

In third grade, we try to encourage improvement of math fact speed through our “Look Who’s Poppin’ Facts” math contest. The great thing about this contest is that each child can improve at his own pace.

At the beginning of the contest, the students are given a sheet of 64 addition facts with sums through 18. They are given one minute to complete as many as possible. The result of this first try becomes the child’s base score.

Throughout the quarter, it is our goal for the children to improve their base scores by a total of 15 each. A reward is given each time a child improves by five. For example, if Hailey starts with 18 in a minute as a base, her next goal would be 23. When she reaches 23, she gets a small prize, and the next goal would be 28. If she improves as hoped, by the end she will be able to complete 33 in a minute.

image of a wall with facts on it

In the past we have encouraged parents to practice math facts with flashcards or use various websites to help. This year I discovered XtraMath. I came across it on Stephanie’s blog, Third Grade Thoughts.

The first thing I love about it is that it’s free. Also, there are great videos to help you get your class started. The flier you can print out from their website makes it easy to let parents know what’s going on. Plus, you can see every time your students log in and practice!

So if you have a child who is not really increasing in speed, you can check and see how much he’s working on the facts. And the best part is that the kids love it—definitely a win-win!

What have you done to help increase your students speed on math facts?