STEM in the Classroom
Students use engineering framework to ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve upon their design solutions. They are presented with a challenge that stretches their mind to use critical thinking and collaboration to be able to solve a problem. These experiences build a deeper understanding and tie together a variety of concepts including science, technology, engineering, math, and literacy. We try to begin with a literary, both fictional and nonfiction, text to build their background on the subject. Students are then able to showcase their creativity within the constraints of the challenge.
Class Economy... Presented at NCDPI Personal Financial Literacy Workshops in Winston-Salem and Greenville
Class Economy is a program that I began in my classroom to help meet the needs of my students for Personal Financial Literacy and Classroom Management, while accomplishing standards in Math, Social Studies, and Language Arts. Students take on the full time job of... being a student! In addition to their everyday requirements, students may apply and interview for a variety of classroom positions, become a tenant in the classroom, save their money for rewards they want to achieve, become a landlord, help their peers, and collaborate to become more financially responsible citizens. In a classroom of 21st century learners, they need to know the skills they already have, qualify them for positions that will pay them money. On the other hand, they also need to know the role that they play in the economy. View the following Prezi to see some of the ideas and concepts used in my classroom economy.
Fluency Friends
Fluency Friends is a program that was created by Ms. Czerney and Ms. Pridgen. All of last year we talked about how there needed to be more collaboration between students across grade levels, and an opportunity for Kindergarten students to have friendly faces in the older grades. This serves as somewhat of a mentoring program as we build bridges between the two classes. Students work together to improve their reading, writing, and math skills. Each week, students are able to pair up and work on a specific skill. The fourth graders are learning to read fluently and focus on tone and voice in their reading. It is also great to see them take on a leadership role in teaching younger students, especially with technology! Kindergarteners are able to practice that technology with one-on-one attention, while improving their academic skills! Overall, it has been a very successful, keeping learning as the primary focus in all that we do!
Fluency Friends Segment begins after the first 10 minutes
Fluency Friends Segment begins after the first 10 minutes
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