From the Desk of Kelly Harmon
June 2020 Newsletter
Dear Educator,
- Kelly Harmon, Randi Anderson, & Ashley Taplin
Mathematical Learning
By Ashley Taplin
As we close out this unconventional school year, I am proud to be part of a resilient, creative, and passionate profession of education. I have been challenged, yet inspired, as we all have been exploring new platforms and strategies to grow our practice and engage our learners in this time of distance learning. As we part for summer, I wish you time to relax and recharge, and hope the ideas below can be some simple, yet enriching, ways to continue students’ and our own mathematical learning in between the well-deserved days of break.
Mental Math
Mental math is one of my favorite ways to develop students’ fluency and computation skills. In the classroom, I used to do “Mental Math Mondays” as a warm up to bring us back from the weekend and refocus. I think this could easily be implemented in our last few weeks of distance learning through a live video or recorded for students to do on their own. Here’s how it works: Tell students to put all materials away such as pens, pencils, or calculators and not to talk; not to say things like “wait, wait” or “ahh I lost it” (they will do that), because it’s all about listening and processing. Tell students when you are done, and only then, to raise their hands if they got the answer (mine tend to just blurt it out at the end which is sometimes okay too, if they can’t control the excitement!) Now, call out a series of operations starting with a single number. I just make it up as I go and calculate in my head as I say it, but you can create the series if you want before and read it off.
Example: take the number 25, add 5, divide by 3, double it, divide by 4, add 2, square it, add 3, subtract 10, divide by 2, subtract 1. Did you get 20?
Online Community #MTBoS
Summer Game Ideas
By Randi Anderson
Summer is a great time to connect with your kids through playing games. Games are a brain changer! Jane McGonigal's book Reality is Broken, gives us insight into why games are powerful. She says that games are an escape from reality and challenges motivate us.
Logical Thinking Games
Games are great to use to get students engaged in logical thinking. Logical reasoning is an important skill for students to use in all content areas. Here are some games that promote logical thinking for students ages 5 to 18.
Mastermind
Guess Who?
Sequence for Kids
Word Games
BananaGrams
Apple Letters
Boggle
Summer Enrichment Ideas
By Randi Anderson
- Play in the sprinklers
Go on a Scooter Ride
Build an obstacle course
Camp out in the backyard
- Play Water Balloon Lift Off!
- Play Scrabble
- Clean out old toys to donate
- Learn a magic trick
- Have a jump rope competition
- Camp out in the backyard
- Learn the Continent Song
- Create a time capsule for 2020
- Play frisbee with a family member
- Make a giant slip-N-slide
- Organize a birthday or celebration drive by parade for a relative or friend
- Go on a bike ride
- Create a Resume
Reading Games: Making Literacy Fun
9am to 10:30am CST )1.5 hours earned)
Online
$25
In this interactive session, you will learn ways to engage students in reading, spelling, and vocabulary games, both in the classroom and virtually! You will leave with games to play and to recommend to parents.
Increasing Student Learning & Teacher Clarity Using Learning Targets
9am to 10:30am CST (1.5 hours earned)
Online
$25
Learning targets are a best practice for establishing teacher clarity and ensuring students close the daily learning gap. We will explore ways teachers create standards-based learning targets for a unit of study. We discuss the theory of action for creating and using learning targets, including what is, and is not, a learning target and the impact on students and teachers.
Utilizing Number Talks to Develop Mental Math Abilities
June 25, 2020
9am to 10:30am CST (1.5 hours earned)
Online
$25
Engage students in daily number talks that help them practice computational skills and develop mental math strategies, perfect for Guided Math. Learn how to develop standards-specific number talks that incorporate student interests and cumulative review of the math standards.
Register Online
Bring a Training to Your District!
Kelly Harmon & Associates
Email: randi@kellyharmon.net
Website: www.kellyharmon.net
Phone: 817-583-1290
Twitter: @TexasLiteracy