My Story, My Mission

Hey y'all!

I'm Elaina, better known in the social media world as The Classy Teacher.

I am blessed to get to teach my very favorite thing of all the things.

Seventh Grade Math!

But believe it or not, math as not always been my favorite.

See, I was never the best math student.  I made good grades but only because I could regurgitate what the teacher said.  I could follow some steps like no one else!  The problem was I never really understood the why or the how of math.  

Fast forward to college where I was busy getting my degree in middle childhood education with an emphasis on language arts and social studies.

I told myself and anyone who would listen that I planned to NEVER teach math or science.  They were not my thing.

Ha!

That one came back to bite me.

My first real teaching job was 7th and 8th grade Science.  I didn't want to apply.  My husband told me to do it because it was a good school.

I worked in that district for six years and loved every minute of it.

I learned a lot and grew as a teacher under the leadership of some of the best administration I have ever worked for.  She gave me chances to teach a variety of things and figure out who I was and where I belonged.  

In those six years I taught 7th and 8th grade Science as well as 7th grade Social Studies, English, and Math.  

Guess which two were my favorite?

Math and Science.

Never say never, right?

When I left that district I got a job teaching 5th and 6th grade Math.  

I've been teaching Math ever since and that was six years ago.

When my principal first approached me about teaching math I thought she was crazy.  I explained that my math was not my forte.  

Know what she told me?

"That's why you'll be great at it."

I know what it is like to sit in a math class and feel like the teacher is teaching in a foreign language.

 Because of that, I knew I wanted my classroom to look and feel differently than those math classrooms I was in as a student.  

I didn't want my students to dread coming to Math class.

I wanted Math to be fun and engaging.

And not scary!

I believe my students would tell you that I have accomplished that goal.

It's taken me time to learn.

It's taken more great administration believing in me.

Now, I'm constantly dreaming about and looking for new activities to get my students doing math and talking about it with their peers.  I've learned that middle school students love them some stations.

Stations are NOT just for elementary.

I've discovered my love for a good digital activity.

Scavenger Hunts are among my favorite ways to review!

People say "They don't teach math the same way they did when I was a kid."

I think that's a good thing.  I wish my teachers had made math more interactive.  It would have helped me be a better student.  

Math doesn't have to be scary.

It doesn't have to have a bad reputation.

Math can be fun!

Math can be a student's favorite class even when they might not think it's their best content area.

That's my mission.

Let's make math fun while deepening student understanding.

Let's encourage our students to be problem solvers.

Let's give our students opportunities to make mistakes and then grow from those mistakes.

Want to grab some engaging activities for you students?

Snag some freebies by clicking the picture below.

Five Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

I used to think elementary when I heard someone talking about math stations.  Four or five years ago a mentor of mine taught me that math stations are not only doable in middle school, but middle school students still love them.  

And y'all I haven't looked back since.

I love me some stations.

What does this have to do with  QR Codes?

When I first began implementing stations I was on the hunt for activities that students could work on without me holding their hand.  QR Codes was one of those activities.

By adding QR Codes to my task cards students are able to check their answers on their own.

No more, "Mrs. Weaver, is this the right answer for #2?"

QR Codes have freed me up to work with small groups.

I have found that this type of activity also encourages students to take ownership of their learning.  Could they just scan the code and have the answer?  Absolutely.  But what do they learn from that?  This is the type of conversation we have often when we first start doing task cards with QR Codes.  Students are encouraged to do the work before scanning and then if they make a mistake and come up with an incorrect answer they are encouraged to figure out their mistake on their own.

I love seeing the growth in my students over the year using these task cards.

Quiz and Test can be scary words for students.  If I can assess my students without using those two words or without making it feel like an assessment?  Well I'm here for that.

Plickers is a great formative assessment tool.  When I first started using Plickers a few years ago it was free.  Sadly you now have to pay for the full version.

But don't let that deter you.

You can ask up to five questions at a time using the free version.  This still works perfectly as a warm up or an exit ticket type activity.  

If you have never used plickers, here's a quick run down of how it works.

Students each have an unique qr code that they use to answer multiple choice questions.  You use your device to scan the qr codes to record answers.  It's immediate feedback for everyone.  You can read more about them in this post I wrote a few years ago.

Classroom Documentation...there's a fun topic.

You can use QR Codes to help you with documentation.  I love this idea from Preppy Zesty Teacherista.

Have students scan a QR code to document no homework, or leaving the classroom for the bathroom or nurse, or being tardy.  The options are endless.

Want to get students excited about a free pencil or a fun little eraser?  And I'm talking Middle School students.

Amp up the anticipation of rewards with QR Codes.  

Students love the anticipation of not knowing what little reward they will receive.  I find it fun to watch them act like they know or remember each QR code.  Most of these rewards cost me nothing and students seriously love it.  It's a game of chance.

Last but not least, use QR Codes to help your students study and prepare for an upcoming assessment.  When you make that study guide, add a QR code to it that links students to a helpful youtube video.  

You could even have your students find the videos for you.  

When they get home and need a little extra help on that one problem, they can scan the QR code and watch a video that explains how to solve the problem.

Do you use QR Codes in your classroom?

How do you use them?

HOW TO CREATE A QR CODE