Return of the Stacking Cups!

Wow!  What a great day!  Today we did the stacking cup activity again. (See August 29 Blog Post)  This lesson is so amazing and gives me such incite on the learning level of my students.  Their thought process was completely different than last year's students.  Now, this may have been to my directions or lack or directions, but it was so cool to see the answers they came up with and what their thought process was of getting to that answer.  Here are some pictures of students engaged in the problem.

CTR our new motto!

This school year I will begin my 16th year of teaching middle schoolers!  When I began getting my room together I decided I was tired of all of my old posters, rules, decorations and needed some change in the classroom.  Of course, one of my favorite websites these days is Pinterest so I used it to help me come up with some new ideas.

My first new idea to implement is my class motto..."CTR: Choose the Right!"  I could give the students a list of all these rules about being on time, being respectful, coming prepared, but isn't it really all about doing the right thing and making good choices?  I stressed making good choices a lot at the end of last year and this motto is really what I want to teach the students.  I don't want my class to just be about making right choices to be a good student, but making right choices to be a good person.  Here is a picture of my new motto:

 

My second new addition to the classroom is another sign I saw on Pinterest.  I tend to be a very strict teacher on the outside and I definitely keep my students on task in class.  However, the more I teach, the more I love and care for my students and I don't think they get to see that side of me.  I truly mean each of these statements on my sign and I hope my students this year will feel more comfortable coming to me with questions and knowing that I really am on their side.

 Here's to a great year!!