Now is the sad, sad day we have been dreading. Day three of CUE Rock Star La Jolla. Luckily, there is still a lot to learn today. There is no doubt that you will walk away from this day with a new mindset and some amazing new skills to bring back to your school. That being said, let's see the schedule we have lined up for this amazing day!

Shred Sessions start at 9:30 am- 10:00 am
Session One starts at 10:00 am- 12:00 pm
Session Two starts at 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm

• Best Use of iOS Apps in a 1:1 iPad Classroom with Jo-Ann Fox 
• Blending Learning to Improve Student Writing with Scott Moss
• Game-Based Learning with Kahoot with Laura Spencer
• Integrating Technology into the Common Core Standards with Krystle Miller    
• Making Their Brains Hurt(in a good way) Inquiry-Based Learning for Deeper Understanding with Adina Sullivan                                                                                                              
• Redefine the Classroom with Flipped Learning with Reuben Hoffman and Dan McDowell
• Rethinking Class Time with Jennifer Roberts
• SAMR SLAMR with Julie Garcia
• Say What? Common Core Speaking and Listening with Leigh Murrell
• Screencasting How and Why with Kevin Fairchild
• WTF? Why Teach Failure? with Jeffery Heil

And that is a wrap for all of the sessions at CUE Rock Star La Jolla! So many great sessions and I will be keeping you in the loop via Twitter and this blog sharing anything that goes down during the Shred Sessions, anything that goes down at lunch and beyond. All of the information will be compiled into a Storify at the end of each day as well. We can't wait to have you join us for these three amazing days!

See ya there, 

Day two is all about STEAM! Presenters will take the day to talk about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics otherwise known as STEAM along with showing you ways you can use your favorite tools to incorporate STEAM into your own classroom. 

Like the first day, each session will be repeated twice so that there is again, no FOMO ;) I forgot to add in yesterday that the day always starts with a Shred Session where presenters battle it out to get you excited about their sessions. 

Shred Sessions start at 9:30 am- 10:00 am
Session One starts at 10:00 am- 12:00 pm
Session Two starts at 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm

Below is the eduawesome sessions that will be going on for day two and much like day one, you don't want to miss out on these amazing sessions! For a look at their presentation, click on the  presentation link below and check out the "Session Web Page" button.

• A Perfect Pairing- Integrating English Language Arts and STEAM with Krystle Miller
• Capturing Creativity with Mobile Photography with Reuben Hoffman and Dan McDowell
• Coding Throughout the Curriculum with Scott Moss 
• Google Earth, Your New Math Manipulative with Adina Sullivan 

• Let's STEAM our learning: 20% Projects in the classroom with Jeffery Heil
• Make movies in the classroom full STEAM ahead with Leigh Murrell
• Sketchnoting in the STEAM Classroom with Jo-Ann Fox
• Teach Like Pythagoras, Learn like the Jetsons with Julie Garcia
• Using Online Simulations for Inquiry Learning with Kevin Fairchild
• Writing and Presenting in a STEAM Classroom with Laura Spencer
• Writing for Technical Subjects with Jennifer Roberts 

Woo hoo! Day two is going to be so exciting, I can't wait to see this train go full STEAM ahead. That ends the corny STEAM jokes for the day. Be sure to click on the presenter link to check them out and don't forget to chat with us during the conference! 

See ya there, 

I have never been one to stay super organized and that includes my multiple inboxes. That is...until I stumbled upon Unroll.me. This website is amazing and will change your inbox forever.  

Every time you go to just about any retail store they always ask for your e-mail address. Don't you love getting those great coupons especially when you really need them? What about when you get them every single week? Maybe you are too busy to unsubscribe or maybe you are like me who suffers from fomo on those great deals when I really need them. Well, unroll.me has answered your inbox prayers. 

When you sign up for unroll.me, you can not only save those fabulous deals but you can even unsubscribe from those annoying e-mails you get day after day. When you first sign up you simply put in your e-mail and it gives you the list of all websites you are subscribed to. From here, you can decide to do the following: Add to Rollup, Unsubscribe, or Keep in Inbox. Then once a day like magic, all of the items you decided to add to your rollup appear in one beautiful e-mail. I can now take a quick look at all of my steals and deals instead of archiving them like I normally do. 

Ever had a crazy ex, junk mailing grandma, or just wanted to block someone? Unroll.me also allows you to block specific contacts that are driving you nuts. The insanity is gone! 

Now what happens if you delete your rollup in your e-mail you ask? Unroll.me has your back and you can go into the archives to find the missing e-mail. You can also go and find a previously unsubscribed website and resubscribe to your desire. Also, you can decide do you want your rollup morning, afternoon, or evening as well as a grid form or list form. 

I have used this will all of my e-mail accounts and will never go back to the old way of getting my inbox cleared out. I get to keep all of my favorite subscriptions and sanity as well, what more could I ask for?

Have questions about Unroll.me? Feel free to comment below and I will be happy to assist. You can also check them out on Twitter and Facebook as well. 

Happy Rolling Up! 

I remember the first experience I had with differentiating in a classroom and man was I horrible at it. Three weeks after graduating college I was put into a second grade inclusion classroom with students who had already had three...yes three teachers before me. It wasn't easy and I got a lot of support from my team. In those six months that I was there, I learned that differentiating isn't easy but is necessary for every child. 

Now enough of that, what I'm sure you want to know is how am I making it work now? Now differentiating is easier for me, while it is still not flawless, I have developed a system that has worked for me. Be forewarned, we don't do math rotations every single day. If my kids are struggling with a concept, we do it whole group and just nix the rotations. 

Back to the rotations.... I'm sure that most of us have heard of the Daily 5 Reading and if you haven't, it is essentially a different way of looking centers and you let the students have their own choices. Really cool stuff if you ask me. I use the ideas from Daily 5 Reading to create my own version of Daily 5 Math. As you know, I am super geeky so of course there is technology included. 

When first starting out, I assessed my students using a variety assessments; AIMS Web M-Comp, 3-minute math quiz, Discovery Education Assessment, and my own simple observations. Once I had decided where my students were at when it came to math, I created the sacred chart. Students were grouped depending on their scores from all of these different assessments. Once the groups were made, the fun began! 

Typically, we do a Number Talks for the first part of our math session. My kids sit on the floor while I write a problem for them on the board for them to do mentally. After that, we usually go into a mini-lesson of what we are learning this week. This can range from 5 minutes to up to 20 or so. I just gauge where my kids are at and some days we end up skipping our math groups because I feel that they need more time. 

On the days that we do our math groups my students have four rotations: Meet with Ms. Boucher, Sumdog.com (Computers), Math Worksheet/Math Facts, and Math Games.

When going on Sumdog.com (Computers), the students get to play for 10-15 minutes participating in contests, reinforcing their core skills, or practicing the standards that I have picked for that lesson. I can go onto Sumdog and decide how long I want my lessons to last as well as what standards I want my students to work on. 

Meeting with Ms. Boucher is the most flexible of the four rotations. We will usually do a math problem in our math notebook (and more recently using the Educreations Application- Free on iTunes) and then reinforce the mini-lesson that we did that day. My students in the past two sessions have learned how to use the iPad and have even recorded their own math problems. (If you would like to see examples, please feel free to contact me).

Math Games come from K-5 Math Teaching Resources and are easy to use. Each game is linked to a standard, has instructions, and even has the materials needed for the games. The kids love to play these and have 2-3 games to pick from each week. 

Math Worksheet/Math Facts can be done independently or with a partner, this is really when the students show what they know. The math worksheet is whatever we have learned about that day and should only take 5-10 minutes. I wanted to keep all of my rotations under 15 as I have 11 boys who are bored after that amount of time ;)
When they are done, my students do Math Facts which is just flash cards that I have made out of construction paper. They get a new set every 2-3 weeks, one to keep at home and one set to keep at school. 

After I have rotated with all of my students, they get ready to transition into the next subject. I have found this system to work much better than typical lecturing and doing everything with the students. When learning a new skill like we did this week, I kept the students at their desk majority of the time and we used manipulatives and went through each problem together.

I am not opposed to doing this when needed, but I have found that I can really see where my students are struggling when they come back with me that I never want to go back to the old way. I love my math groups, I love the technology used, and I also love the independence that my students are learning. 

How do you structure your math time? What works for you and what doesn't?

First off, I apologize for not putting up a blog last week and being a few hours late this week. I had family in town and forgot to post before they came in. 

Secondly, I had such a great time at the EMU (Educational Meet Up) sponsored by CCSD last week and can't wait to attend another one! Check it out and join us if you are a CCSD teacher, you won't regret it! 

Anyways... enough of that awesomeness (It's a word right?) and on with the show! Here are 5 things (applications, websites,  etc.) that have changed the way that I teach both in and out of the classroom. 

1. Twitter- This has to be the greatest thing to happen to me as a teacher. I have been on Twitter since 2007 with a personal account and I had seen the articles on using it as an educator. I just didn't have enough time or interest to sign up as an educator. I finally did thanks to a push from Jon (aka ipadsammy) and am so glad that I did! There are so many great people on Twitter that have helped me out.. the list is too long to count. I have built up my PLN (Professional Learning Network) and they have helped me from getting free books to teaching me about different educational events and even Skyping with Mrs. Moses(@MoTechChef)! I would love to keep going on but will have to save it for another post... On to the next one! 
2. ReadWorks- Readworks has saved me so many times when it comes to teaching reading. Readworks is free to sign up and has awesome lesson plans for each grade level. They also have novel studies to go along with the older kids. One of my favorite things about Readworks is that each lesson plan has a book to go along with it. What if you don't have the book? Well Readworks steps in and gives you a list of multiple books to use. They also provide you with a script to use, worksheets, and answer keys to go along with the lesson. This is a great tool for new and old teachers alike. 
3. Sumdog- I love using this in my classroom and so do my kiddos! Sumdog is an online game where your students can practice reading, writing, and mathematics. While you have to pay for the reading and writing, a good portion of the math games are free. This is great for students at any age, is very addicting, and very user friendly. My class ended up purchasing the year subscription for mathematics, reading, and writing. We couldn't be more excited. Sumdog allows the teacher to control the learning of their students, and it also figures out what level the student is on to keep them engaged. This is a teacher and student favorite in my class. 
4. Geddit- While it is hard to use Geddit in my own class, I think that this is a great tool for teachers looking to assess their students during a lesson Geddit allows teachers to understand the learning confidence of the student right there. This is not only free but great to use for those educators who are working in a 1:1 classroom. The best part? It works across all devices so you can start that B.Y.O.D. day right away! It is super easy to use and the the man behind Geddit is always accessible on Twitter! Check out Justin here. 
5. K-5 Math Teaching Resources- This has to be the one of the best resources for math games ever (along with Teachers Pay Teachers). Here, teachers can find their grade level and standard easily, then print the games all for free. The games are really fun and engaging for the kids and they all align to CCSS. I usually put my games in page protectors so that the kids can write on top of them with whiteboard markers and ta-da! Instant engagement, differentiation, and it only took me 20 minutes to prep. This is a great edition to add to your must have list. 

So there you have it, my list of 5 things that have changed the way I teach. There are a TON of resources out there and there are a lot more that have changed the way I teach. I hope that these 5 are diverse enough to get you started thinking about doing cool and exciting things in your classroom

Keep on searching the internet and share your favorite websites with me!

Have a great rest of the week and don't forget to share your favorite resources with me, I can't wait to see what you use in your class!