Kahoot! Great Formative Assessment Tool

I was introduced to an app this past summer that I thought my students would enjoy a great deal. It was easy to use, which is a high priority for reaching all learners. It was a lot of fun, a necessary ingredient for any middle school classroom, and it was definitely competitive. I wrote the app down in my notes, but with all the numerous new ideas I wanted to try out, this one didn't come to mind, until...

One of my math classes is learning to add and subtract with integers. This is their first foray into the crazy world of positive and negative numbers, and sometimes they look at me like I've lost my mind. Who can blame them? Imagine hearing for the first time that you can take a negative number and subtract another negative number and end up at a positive number. Seriously!?! Negative ten subtract negative fifteen and end up at positive five? -10-(-15)=5 Let's just say it's taken many days of discussion, concrete examples, repeating the rules, and I really think they will believe me soon.

In all seriousness, I wanted some data to look at that would give me a clear picture of each child, but I wanted it fast. After all, I need to make quick decisions based on this data. So I pulled out my ace in the hole, a game called Kahoot! On my computer, I created a series of 5 integer addition sentences and 5 integer subtraction sentences for the game. My students used their iPad to chime in (sort of like a clicker). The timed questions were displayed on an overhead screen using my Apple TV. Students needed a game pin number to enter the game. Other than that, they didn't need to enter an email address or create a password. Easy, right? Answer correctly, you earn points. Answer fast and correctly, you earn more points. Once everyone has responded to the question, each player will know if they answered correctly. Immediate feedback! A leaderboard shows the top five players/scores at the end of each round, leading to high engagement and fun competition.

Best of all, when the game ended, I downloaded a spreadsheet that listed for each child: number of correct answers, score, and a color-coded list for each question. Correct answers were highlighted in green and incorrect answers in red. It also listed the score received for each question and the amount of time it took to answer the question.

But wait, it gets even better! Because the game was only 10 questions and the students really loved it, we took it twice. (Their motivation: beat the winner of the first game. My motivation: See if they improved from the first game.) I was very pleasantly surprised to find only one student's score remained the same, while the other fifteen students improved their scores, some rather dramatically.

I've witnessed many positive aspects to using Kahoot! in the classroom. I will be looking for other ways to incorporate its use, maybe some peer discussion questions or for learning a small number of facts quickly. A detailed tutorial for creating a Kahoot! game will be coming soon.

Example Kahoot! question

A Letter to My Students - You Are A Genius!

Dear 6th Graders,

My name is Tricia Mayer and I will have all of you in my math class this year. I will have about half of you in The Leader in Me class and about a third of you in Religion class. I've been thinking about you all summer! No, I haven't thought of you individually, but I've been thinking about you as a class and what we will accomplish this year. I've spent a lot of time thinking about the amazing sixth graders who are about to enter my classroom.

I've thought about how I can challenge you. I've thought about embracing your differences. I've thought about how to help you with your weaknesses. I've thought about how to increase your strengths. There is one thing I know for certain:

You Are All Geniuses!

Your inner genius is about to come out. This is my tenth year of teaching, so I've worked with many geniuses. Every year, genius after genius, it's amazing! I can't wait to meet the genius in you!

Think about YOUR genius. What are you an expert at? What do you enjoy? What can I learn from YOU? How are you going to change the world? If you don't know yet, don't worry, we will discover your genius together! I can't wait to share my genius with you and for you to share your genius with me and your classmates!

Mrs. Mayer

A Letter to My New Students - You Matter!

Dear 6th Graders,

Before you step into Room 123 to begin the new school year, I want you to know something important. You Matter! It's only two small words, but this short phrase carries one large message.

Maybe it seems strange to have to tell somebody they matter, but people often go through life feeling like they are not appreciated or not noticed. So I am here to tell you, I will notice you when you are in our classroom. I will appreciate and be thankful for having you in our classroom. You Matter!

Some of you I have never met before, and some of you I already know by name. But, the message is the same for each and every student. You matter to me! You matter to many people - your family, your friends, your teachers, everyone. Take a moment to think about the people who matter to you. Chances are YOU matter to them too.

YOU are the reason I became a teacher! YOU will make a difference in my life, just as I hope to make a difference in YOUR life.

Summer is almost over and I am so excited to begin this new school year. I can't wait to get to know you better as we begin this experience together.

I hope to see you on Monday, August 18 when you visit school and drop off your supplies. Let the adventure begin!

Mrs. Mayer

Surviving and Thriving: Reflections of a Sixth Grade Teacher

This blog has been inspired by the challenges set forth by Todd Nesloney (@TechNinjaTodd) in his Summer Learning Series. I am very excited to be a part of this Professional Development experience and loving the connections I am making with people all over the world. Part of this week's challenge is to make time to reflect, to gather my thoughts so I can grow and learn and make changes for next year.

R is for Renew

Though I could spend all summer reading novels just for fun, I've learned it's in everybody's best interest if we use moderation. Yes, I will definitely find plenty of time to renew my spirit and soul by spending lots of time with my family and my good friends. We will spend one week this summer in a cabin with family and many a sunny day on our boat. But, I will also make time to renew my mind. So far I've accomplished this by taking the CVCS Summer Institute class where I learned about numerous apps that I can use in my classroom next year. There are some very cool things I can't wait to do with my students! I have also been completing challenges for the Summer Learning Series. One of my favorite challenges was reading the book Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. It is also motivating to connect with other educators on Twitter.

E is for Engage

Speaking of cool apps I learned about at the Summer Institute, I want to incorporate many of them to increase student engagement in my classroom. I know if students are having fun, they will want to come to class and will be motivated to engage in learning. I am looking forward to using these apps and websites: Kahoot!, iBooks Author, Twitter, Prezi, ShowMe videos, Remind, Tellagami, QR Codes, and Aurasma (love this one!) to name a few.

F is for Favorites

What lessons did I teach this year that went really well? When did I see a high level of engagement from the students in my classroom? What lessons would my students consider to be their favorites? Some of the best lessons came from collaborating with my team; those times when we created interdisciplinary units around a specific theme. For instance, our students take their standardized tests in the fall. It can be stressful to spend a couple of hours each day testing in silence. We use the rest of class time doing a hockey unit. Students are assigned to a hockey team and given their position on the team. They travel in teams to complete tasks - creating their team chant, a flag, and use their iPads to take a team picture. All week long they learn everything there is to know about hockey - how to check box scores, the calls a referee makes, statistics about mass and volume, geography about different teams. Each day we gather together to get the official ESPN-like update on stats and find out team matchups for the day. At the end of the unit, a couple of hockey players from the Waterloo Blackhawks visit to talk and answer questions. Everyone loves the hockey unit! We also do an amazing Iditarod unit in February and March.  

L is for Lean Forward

I need to remind myself from time to time to lean forward, to make progress. What steps can I take now to help me reach my bigger goals? I would love to write a book, but I get stuck in a cycle thinking about the things I don't know how to do, so I never get started. But, if I never get started, how will I ever get published? Which leads me to the next one...

E is for Execute Changes

Don't be a bystander. Take action! 

C is for Challenges

Looking at some of the challenges I faced this past year, I try looking at them as opportunities to grow. Working with challenging people, whether they are students, parents, other teachers, anyone really...these are opportunities for me to be a better teacher. These are times when I need to pause and reflect before I take action. Think before responding. Be considerate of the opinions of others and never crush anyone's spirit.

T is for Technology

I am so lucky to teach at a brand new school in a 1:1 environment. I need to continue to make improvements each year and use the technology we have. Be fearless. Working towards thriving, not merely surviving! 

Creative Geometry Maps Assessment

We have completed a Geometry chapter from our textbook that covers the basics and includes a lot of vocabulary. The material starts easy (points, lines, line segments), but it gets complicated (vertical angles, adjacent angles, complementary angles, supplementary angles, the sum of the degrees in any polygon)... It proved to be difficult material for sixth-graders. After giving the textbook chapter test, I searched for an alternative test that would be a creative outlet for students and let them prove their understanding of the material in a unique way. I came across the idea for a Geometry Map Project at this site. Rather than have students create a three-dimensional scene, I opted this time to have them create a map on graph paper. Check out the results for yourself; here's a sampling. Awesome work!

Leader in Me ~ 7 Habits

Recently our school hosted a Community Leader in Me Day. We invited members of the community to participate in learning about the 7 Habits and witness our student leaders in action. What an amazing sight to see my sixth grade students taking such leadership roles! They took care of refreshments, directed people to rooms around the school, ushered people from groups that were too full to ones that needed more participants. And the list goes on and on... They are amazing leaders! Here are some pictures taken from that night.

Helping with refreshments

Teaching about being proactive

Talking with community members

Directing people to their rooms

To get my room ready for this event, I added a few new items to my walls and windows to freshen up the atmosphere. The theme for my room is "Begin With the End in Mind." I focused on knowing where we want to go and having a plan to get there. So, I used transportation to illustrate this point. For instance, my daughter, Jaime, drew a compass to remind us that we need to head in the right direction to achieve our goals. She also drew a car next to a phrase that says, "Small changes can make huge destination differences."

Jaime also made me a hot air balloon with the title, "Leaders Rise to the Top!"

I handed out puzzle pieces to students that I had cut out of a poster board. It says Begin With the End in Mind. Once students decorated their individual pieces, I assembled the puzzle and glued it together. Here is the final result.

Behind my 7 Habits Tree poster I added a map to remind us we need to know the direction we are headed and have a plan to get there. We added a three-dimensional touch with some tissue paper flowers.

Overall, we had a very successful event. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the continued student leadership in our school.