Teacher Week - 5 Fun Facts About Me!

I'm constantly learning new things as I venture into blogging! Today, I learned that this week is Teacher Week over at Blog Hoppin'. Monday's post is:

5 Fun Facts About Me!

I'm a little late to the game, since it's 11:30 on Monday evening, but I wanted to join in, so here it goes!

1. I'm Getting Married!

I'm super excited to get married in May on Memorial Day weekend. I met my fiancé when we were in high school. I absolutely couldn't stand him when we first met, but obviously he grew on me! We dated for 5 1/2 years before getting engaged on Memorial Day weekend, 2014. We've had a two year engagement because we had a lot of other things going on {moving to MD to start teaching while Jon was still in PA, Jon moving down to MD and starting a job}, but we're finally getting close! :)

My fabulous coworkers!

2. I LOVE My Job!

I'm sure this goes without saying for most of the people reading this, but I truly love everything about my job! I was super lucky to be hired at a wonderful school mid-year, two months out of college. I could not have imagined working with such a wonderful administration and staff. I am a special education resource teacher {the only one at my school}, so I get to work with all the students with IEPs in K-5. I think it's the perfect job because I get to see and do a little bit of everything. 

3. I Just Started Grad School!

So I'm not sure if this actually counts as a fun fact; I'm not feeling too fun about it yet! I just started my masters program in Educational Leadership and Administration, which will take 3 years since it's a part time program. I'm taking a research class currently, so it's not overly exciting. However, I'm looking forward to learning more about the education field in a different light! It will be great to have more career options for down the road. :)

That's me in the orange!

4. I Teach Dance Fitness!

I've been a dancer since I was four years old. I just can't get enough! I've done a ton of different styles, but hadn't danced seriously since high school/college. When I moved to my current city, I found a WONDERFUL dance fitness studio and started doing hip-hop/latin dance. Luckily, they allowed me to complete some trainings with them. Now, I'll be teaching my own class starting in September. I'm super excited to start out this new adventure.

I'm the one wearing the red jersey :)

5. I Played Rugby for 6 Years!

When I started college, I went to a bunch of activity meetings so I could maybe meet some people and stay busy. I decided to attend a rugby information session just for the heck of it. It was one of the best decisions I made in college! I played for four years in college, and for an addition 2 years with a club team in Maryland. I recently stopped playing due to grad school, but I hope to be able to play summer 7s rugby in the future again!


So there you have it! There are 5 fun facts about me. Remember, check out Teacher Week at Blog Hoppin' to see some more fun facts from other fantastic bloggers!

-Georgia

Classroom Pictures - BEFORE

August 24, 2015
I am officially back at school for inservice week! Here are some "before" pictures of my classroom. My classroom is an L shape, with one section for working with students and the other section for my computer, filing cabinet, and desk.

*Here's a quick tip for making your classroom ready for summer: cover all of your surfaces and bulletin boards in plastic table cloths! It was a thousand times easier than trying to cover everything with paper. I think I used three from the dollar store for my whole classroom. Such a time saver!*

The above picture shows my classroom as you enter the room. I use this area for instruction. I typically have 1-4 kids in my classroom at a time. I use the closer small group table as my math center and the small group table in the back as my reading center. Looking at this picture, my "teacher area" is behind the wall on the right.

Above is my area! This contains my printer, computer, filing cabinet, and desk. I don't like to have students back here because it's not easily seen from my door. This past year, I left it pretty plain as it was my first full year in the building. This year, I hope to decorate it and spice it up! :)

Here's the view of my reading center from the filing cabinet area. Below is a picture of my math center from the reading center.

That's my room before I set up! I will be sharing pictures of my fully set up classroom this weekend or early next week. I typically don't see students for at least part of the first week of school, so I get a few extra days to finish up the odds and ends.

Do you have any great ideas for my oddly-shaped room? I would love to hear them! I'm slightly obsessed with rearranging my furniture at least once a year. Send some suggestions my way!! :) This school year will be unique for me because I'll only be spending four months in this classroom before my whole school packs up and moves to a holding school for 18 months. So I'm going to make it look the best I can for these four months!

-Georgia

Please, No More Math Minutes!

It's a common sight in many of the elementary classrooms I visit: kids racing to complete a certain amount of math problems in under a minute. Math minutes are part of many elementary classes to assess students' fluency in basic facts. Some students are able to easily progress every week and do well with the "pressure" of completing 20 or so problems in a minute. As a special education teacher, I know many students are not able to keep up with these probes.

Many of the students I work with dread math minutes. For kids with learning disabilities, math minutes can be nearly impossible. For some kids, knowing that they only have a minute to work stresses them out to the point where they can't process the problems in front of them. For others, they simply can't solve 20 problems in a minute. I used to tutor a 3rd grade student, "J". J was stuck on the "x2" math minute for THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. That's right. For 38 weeks, J was made to attempt the same math probe. For 38 weeks, she was unsuccessful. It was heartbreaking to see her face drop when she showed me her work from the week. Over the course of the year, J came to hate math, partly because of these math minutes. Without a doubt, she (and most of my students) understands the concepts behind multiplication (or whatever basic operation they're being assessed on). But because of their learning disabilities, it's tough to process 20 problems within a minute successfully. Consider what you're actually assessing and the effects on your students' confidence. Is it actually important that they solve 20 problems within a minute?


I'm sure some of you are thinking, "But I need to assess their fluency!" I agree with you! After all, it's part of the Common Core standards. But nothing says that math fluency = solving 20 facts within one minute! I made a minor tweak to this assessment in my classroom that has made a world of difference. Instead of putting the timer on for a minute, I put a stop watch on the board. When a student is finished with their probe, they bring it up to me so I can write down the time it took the student to complete it. The goal, instead of finishing in a minute, is to beat their previous time. You wouldn't believe the excitement I get from my kids who HATE regular math minutes. It's such a confidence booster for them, because it allows them to complete each probe. It's also less stressful for them to compete with themselves than competing with other students. When they're able to complete the probe, I can actually see what they're getting stuck on or what problems they don't know instead of getting a half blank sheet because they couldn't finish in time. It's a win-win situation!

What do you think about math minutes?
-Georgia