I was sitting at home with family thinking about all of the things that I'm thankful for because you know it was Thanksgiving. It has been awhile since I posted on here, and I felt that it was a great opportunity to talk about the past few weeks. The main thing I want to get across is that I have so much to be thankful for. From my family to my job, my life has been truly blessed. This post isn't necessarily going to be just about school, but rather about what's on my mind.
First, I want to talk about my family. I feel like my family is that annoying All-American family. We all like each other and get along. My brother is a college athlete. My sister is on the drill team and involved with her church and various honor societies. My parents have been married for over 25 years now, and then there's me. I have been fortunate enough to play sports my whole life and got the opportunity to play in college. I've graduated college, and have this amazing job. There honestly really hasn't been a huge flaw. I can't tell you how amazing that is and how thankful I am for that. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging because I'm not. It is just amazing to look back over the years and see the many blessings God has given us. I know that not every family situation is a lucky as we are, and again I'm so thankful. Each family dynamic is unique, and I love the family that I have.
Next I'll actually talk about teaching. I have officially made it to Thanksgiving break with all of my kiddos still alive, haha. I can't even believe that it has already been a little over 3 months. The past three months have been incredible. I may just be the naive first year teacher, but I love my job and I wouldn't want to do anything else. Of course, not every day is perfect, and I don't leave thinking wow today was awesome. There are going to be those days that you come out exhausted, but it is how I handle those days. After having a day like that, I try to come back the next day determined to make it better than the day before. It's a simple mindset, but it works for me. My students are pretty awesome in their own right, and I'm so lucky that the majority of them love coming to my class and actually want to participate. I know there are some teachers out there that don't have that luxury. That just tells me that I have to make the most of the eagerness of my students and really strive to have them grow. Though some days they drive me crazy, I can't wait to see their little faces when I get back on Monday.
Finally, I don't know if I would survive without the people that I work with. I've said this before and it won't be the last time, but the group ladies that I work with are truly incredible. I still feel like I don't belong with them, and I'm just trying to keep up. The team that you work with is so vital in whether you not you enjoy your job. I am blessed to get along with all of them, and love coming to work everyday knowing they're by my side. Not only do I have the greatest team, but I have the greatest principal. I'm willing to argue with you about that if you think otherwise. The environment that she creates at school is, in her terms, "fabulous". There is so much fun going on, but there is no shying away from learning. Yeah it can be crazy at times, but we go right back to learning. She puts an emphasis on you gotta work hard to play hard, and I couldn't agree more. I also had my first PDAS evaluation by her, and I was extremely nervous. It's intimidating to have someone come into your class and watch you do your thing. Long story short, she made not such a stressful thing, and her evaluation was pretty good. It's always nice to have reassurance that what your doing is working, and that they like having you work at their school. I'm thankful that it's over though!
This week off came at a great time. It was just the perfect timing to get rejuvenated to go back for the next three weeks and knock them out before Christmas break. There are many things that I have to be thankful for, and I thank God everyday for all the blessings that he has given me. I'm very fortunate to have a great job and family, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Talk About A Crazy Week...
This week was packed full of things that I had to get accomplished.
First off, it was Red Ribbon Week. This means that there was a different dress up day each day of the week. If you know me at all, of course I dressed up as everyday! It was always exciting and cool to see how the kids showed up to school. The best day was Friday when it was Circus themed costume day. I dressed up in a Minion pajama suit. It had to be circus themed, so I bought a rainbow wig, rainbow suspenders, and rainbow bow tie. I looked good, just saying. It was so funny walking around the school seeing the kids reactions. We even had a costume parade where each grade displayed their costumes. It definitely made for a crazy day.
Second, it was conference week. I had the pleasure to get to meet with my students parents. I was really nervous about this because I had never had one before. I think as the week went on I finally settled in a knew what to do. There were definitely some interesting meetings to say the least. I also had a couple of parents that didn't show up to their scheduled time. I think the conferences went better than I had imagined they would. I think I will be more comfortable next go around. Hey... I didn't have any parents yell at me or really have any complaints. Overall, successful.
Lastly, it was Marquette Family Dance week. I got to dance with my sister last year, and I was lucky enough to get to dance with her again this year. We had rehearsal after school on Monday, and I didn't practice again until rehearsal the day of the game. I wasn't very prepared to say the least. Dancing is not my thing, and I was a little worried about performing in front of thousands of people. Halftime came and went and I only messed up twice on the dance. My performance could have been better, but I'll live. The thing that really got me the most was when the dance ended. I went to hug my sister, and that's when she buried her head into me and started to cry. This killed me. She's leaving in 9 months, and it is going to be incredibly sad. What I thought was going to be a simple hug turned into a release of emotion for the departure that lies ahead. I'm going to miss her like crazy, and I'm pretty sure she is going to miss me.
I would say by the end of the week, I had nothing left in the tank. Turns out I had to find something because I had the Marquette 5K Saturday morning. I'll keep this part short. I don't recommend running a 5K willy nilly that you haven't even prepared for. My legs are hating me for sure!
First off, it was Red Ribbon Week. This means that there was a different dress up day each day of the week. If you know me at all, of course I dressed up as everyday! It was always exciting and cool to see how the kids showed up to school. The best day was Friday when it was Circus themed costume day. I dressed up in a Minion pajama suit. It had to be circus themed, so I bought a rainbow wig, rainbow suspenders, and rainbow bow tie. I looked good, just saying. It was so funny walking around the school seeing the kids reactions. We even had a costume parade where each grade displayed their costumes. It definitely made for a crazy day.
Second, it was conference week. I had the pleasure to get to meet with my students parents. I was really nervous about this because I had never had one before. I think as the week went on I finally settled in a knew what to do. There were definitely some interesting meetings to say the least. I also had a couple of parents that didn't show up to their scheduled time. I think the conferences went better than I had imagined they would. I think I will be more comfortable next go around. Hey... I didn't have any parents yell at me or really have any complaints. Overall, successful.
Lastly, it was Marquette Family Dance week. I got to dance with my sister last year, and I was lucky enough to get to dance with her again this year. We had rehearsal after school on Monday, and I didn't practice again until rehearsal the day of the game. I wasn't very prepared to say the least. Dancing is not my thing, and I was a little worried about performing in front of thousands of people. Halftime came and went and I only messed up twice on the dance. My performance could have been better, but I'll live. The thing that really got me the most was when the dance ended. I went to hug my sister, and that's when she buried her head into me and started to cry. This killed me. She's leaving in 9 months, and it is going to be incredibly sad. What I thought was going to be a simple hug turned into a release of emotion for the departure that lies ahead. I'm going to miss her like crazy, and I'm pretty sure she is going to miss me.
I would say by the end of the week, I had nothing left in the tank. Turns out I had to find something because I had the Marquette 5K Saturday morning. I'll keep this part short. I don't recommend running a 5K willy nilly that you haven't even prepared for. My legs are hating me for sure!
Sunday, October 25, 2015
1 Down, 3 To Go
Nothing like ending the week with a 9 week party with two of your four team members not there. Little chaotic, but we all survied haha! This week ending marked the end of the 1st 9 weeks. I can hardly believe that I already have already completed 9 weeks. It seems just like yesterday that I was sitting in my First Year Teacher meetings.
I feel like the past 9 weeks have been a success. A whole lot has happened in such a short period of time. There have been times where I have been super stressed, but I would say for the most part that everything has been pretty good. I have made it a point to do exciting things for the kids in class. I feel like that most of them are enjoying math (as much as a 4th grader can). I have learned that there are times that you are going to have to adjust on the fly, but everything is a learning experience thus far. There are things that I have really enjoyed doing that I will definitely do again, but there are definitely things that I am going to have to change next time around.
This week coming up is packed full of stuff. It is Red Ribbon Week which means a different dress up day throughout the week. There is Fall Ball Frenzy where the teachers are playing the parents in a softball game. That is going to be crazy fun. There is also the Marquette Family Dance on Friday. I have two practices during the week that I have to go to. Oh and not to mention... It's conference week. I have to meet with all of my homeroom kiddos parents. I am super nervous about that. I can talk to kids all day, but give me their parents and boom I'm deer in headlights. I just gotta relax, and take it one parent at a time. It's going to be a busy week, but I'll get through it and do the best that I can at everything that I do.
The first 9 weeks has flown by, and it is safe to say that I love my job. I love the kids, the people I work with, and my school. All of us put together really make of The Greatest Show on Earth. You would be hard pressed to find a school that is more passionate and enthusiastic about it's students having a great learning experience.
I feel like the past 9 weeks have been a success. A whole lot has happened in such a short period of time. There have been times where I have been super stressed, but I would say for the most part that everything has been pretty good. I have made it a point to do exciting things for the kids in class. I feel like that most of them are enjoying math (as much as a 4th grader can). I have learned that there are times that you are going to have to adjust on the fly, but everything is a learning experience thus far. There are things that I have really enjoyed doing that I will definitely do again, but there are definitely things that I am going to have to change next time around.
This week coming up is packed full of stuff. It is Red Ribbon Week which means a different dress up day throughout the week. There is Fall Ball Frenzy where the teachers are playing the parents in a softball game. That is going to be crazy fun. There is also the Marquette Family Dance on Friday. I have two practices during the week that I have to go to. Oh and not to mention... It's conference week. I have to meet with all of my homeroom kiddos parents. I am super nervous about that. I can talk to kids all day, but give me their parents and boom I'm deer in headlights. I just gotta relax, and take it one parent at a time. It's going to be a busy week, but I'll get through it and do the best that I can at everything that I do.
The first 9 weeks has flown by, and it is safe to say that I love my job. I love the kids, the people I work with, and my school. All of us put together really make of The Greatest Show on Earth. You would be hard pressed to find a school that is more passionate and enthusiastic about it's students having a great learning experience.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Take PRIDE in Your School
It's been a couple weeks since I've blogged. There really hasn't been too much to blog about prior to this past week. The unit we're currently working on is Adding & Subtracting Whole Numbers & Decimals. I feel like the kids are getting the concept, and so I wanted to do something that was kind of fun.
Everyone loves money and eating, so I created what I call the Menu Project. The kids are responsible for creating their own menu with the food items that they want. They have to price the items, but they have to include decimals. The cool part is that they are actually making their menus with pictures and everything. Once the menus are made, then the kids will "dine" at other groups' restaurants. Groups will come to your restaurant, and the kids are responsible for calculating the total cost of the bill. They also have to calculate how much change they owe their "customers". So, the kids are still practicing working with decimals, but this way its more exciting and relevant to them. They were so excited when I told them they got to choose whatever food they wanted for their menu.
It was really cool to see the menus the kids came up with. One group did a Rangers themed menu, and all their items were named after actual Ranger's players. The creativity behind that is awesome. Some groups have amazing drawings in their menus, so it was very cool to see the artistic ability of some of my kiddos. When they finish their menus, they all run up to me and are so eager to show me their menus. They were all extremely proud of what they had come up with. This upcoming week we will "eat" at the restaurants, and I am very curious to see how it goes with the kids behavior and their ability to work with decimals.
A fun thing that happened this week was on Thursday during Adopt an Athlete. JM comes on overhead and says you have 15 minutes to find whatever you can to dress your teacher up as a clown. My first thought is, I have no clown stuff in my class. Well that didn't stop my kids. She said go, and they all took off. Everyone is running around and throwing things at me left and right to put on. With the lack of clown stuff, I was pretty impressed with what the kids came up with. All the teachers headed to the cafeteria where we are shown off to the whole school. She shows off each teacher one by one, and I was pretty happy with the cheers that I got. My class represented well. I ended up winning the competition (didn't really deserve too...) and my kids won a popcorn party. It is just really cool that I work at a school that loves to do such exciting things, but everyone is back to work as soon as it ends. We definitely work hard to play hard at McA. I definitely take pride in my school, and I love working there!
Everyone loves money and eating, so I created what I call the Menu Project. The kids are responsible for creating their own menu with the food items that they want. They have to price the items, but they have to include decimals. The cool part is that they are actually making their menus with pictures and everything. Once the menus are made, then the kids will "dine" at other groups' restaurants. Groups will come to your restaurant, and the kids are responsible for calculating the total cost of the bill. They also have to calculate how much change they owe their "customers". So, the kids are still practicing working with decimals, but this way its more exciting and relevant to them. They were so excited when I told them they got to choose whatever food they wanted for their menu.
It was really cool to see the menus the kids came up with. One group did a Rangers themed menu, and all their items were named after actual Ranger's players. The creativity behind that is awesome. Some groups have amazing drawings in their menus, so it was very cool to see the artistic ability of some of my kiddos. When they finish their menus, they all run up to me and are so eager to show me their menus. They were all extremely proud of what they had come up with. This upcoming week we will "eat" at the restaurants, and I am very curious to see how it goes with the kids behavior and their ability to work with decimals.
A fun thing that happened this week was on Thursday during Adopt an Athlete. JM comes on overhead and says you have 15 minutes to find whatever you can to dress your teacher up as a clown. My first thought is, I have no clown stuff in my class. Well that didn't stop my kids. She said go, and they all took off. Everyone is running around and throwing things at me left and right to put on. With the lack of clown stuff, I was pretty impressed with what the kids came up with. All the teachers headed to the cafeteria where we are shown off to the whole school. She shows off each teacher one by one, and I was pretty happy with the cheers that I got. My class represented well. I ended up winning the competition (didn't really deserve too...) and my kids won a popcorn party. It is just really cool that I work at a school that loves to do such exciting things, but everyone is back to work as soon as it ends. We definitely work hard to play hard at McA. I definitely take pride in my school, and I love working there!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Kid At Heart
This past week was a good one. It was one of those weeks where I look back and realize how blessed I truly am.
First off... It was the second time for Fantasy Football. I can already see the kids getting really into it. Most of the students were asking me if they could switch players to better ones. They were looking at their stats and realizing that certain players were getting more points. Mental math was happening and they didn't even realize it. It was extremely cool to see the kids so engaged and excited for Fantasy Football. I do have to mend the broken hearts of those teams that don't have a win yet, but hey, it's a long season.
The week definitely ended with a bang. Field Day! As a student, I loved field day! I was just as excited as my kids were about it. Field gave me an opportunity to not only see the kids in a less strict environment, but also for the kids to see me in the same way. I was able to act crazy, and run around and have fun with them. I'm a big kid at heart, and I think my students really got to see that Friday.
Little recap of the events...
First event was the tug-of-war. Team Mouton escaped victorious! Of course I was screaming and hollering like a big fool, but it was awesome. We came in second in the next event, which involved spelling. It wasn't our strong suit, but we did pretty well. We then broke up into different teams to play multiple games. I was running around cheering on each of my teams trying to motivate them. It seemed to work because we won two more events. Unfortunately we lost to WA's class in the relay... Of all classes to lose too... The overall winner for field was my class. We had the most victories. I don't care what anyone says, haha!
There was also water events with slides and a dunk tank. You know I climbed up on the dunk tank, and got drenched from head to toe.
It was just an all around fun day, and I was so exhausted by the end of it. Looking back on it, I know this was the job God intended for me, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than this amazing school with my amazing team. It's great to have a team where we all get along and work so well with each other. We all tailgated before the Aggie game yesterday, and if you're seeing your coworkers on the weekend then you know you like each other. I am very blessed, and so grateful for this wonderful opportunity!
First off... It was the second time for Fantasy Football. I can already see the kids getting really into it. Most of the students were asking me if they could switch players to better ones. They were looking at their stats and realizing that certain players were getting more points. Mental math was happening and they didn't even realize it. It was extremely cool to see the kids so engaged and excited for Fantasy Football. I do have to mend the broken hearts of those teams that don't have a win yet, but hey, it's a long season.
The week definitely ended with a bang. Field Day! As a student, I loved field day! I was just as excited as my kids were about it. Field gave me an opportunity to not only see the kids in a less strict environment, but also for the kids to see me in the same way. I was able to act crazy, and run around and have fun with them. I'm a big kid at heart, and I think my students really got to see that Friday.
Little recap of the events...
First event was the tug-of-war. Team Mouton escaped victorious! Of course I was screaming and hollering like a big fool, but it was awesome. We came in second in the next event, which involved spelling. It wasn't our strong suit, but we did pretty well. We then broke up into different teams to play multiple games. I was running around cheering on each of my teams trying to motivate them. It seemed to work because we won two more events. Unfortunately we lost to WA's class in the relay... Of all classes to lose too... The overall winner for field was my class. We had the most victories. I don't care what anyone says, haha!
There was also water events with slides and a dunk tank. You know I climbed up on the dunk tank, and got drenched from head to toe.
It was just an all around fun day, and I was so exhausted by the end of it. Looking back on it, I know this was the job God intended for me, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than this amazing school with my amazing team. It's great to have a team where we all get along and work so well with each other. We all tailgated before the Aggie game yesterday, and if you're seeing your coworkers on the weekend then you know you like each other. I am very blessed, and so grateful for this wonderful opportunity!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Success!
Last time I posted, I was writing about introducing Fantasy Football. I have been waiting until after we had finally done it in class. The whole week I was so excited and ready for it to be Fantasy Football Friday. I compiled all the necessary stats, and had it all ready to go for when the students walked in. They all knew what day it was, and I could tell that they were excited.
Overall, I thought it was a great success. There was a brief period where they had to be reminded how to calculate their score, but that was expected since it was the first time. As the weeks go by, I think the process of calculating the score will become much easier and more of a routine. It was cool to see the kids get so excited when they found out they won, but that was quickly masked by the sorrow of the losing team. Many teams wanted to ditch the players they picked, but I told them give it another week because Fantasy Football is basically luck. That didn't cheer them up much...
With the help of Miss A, I had made four anchor charts with the teams logos printed out on them to show the number of wins each team has. I decided to place football stickers for each win that the teams earn. Once I found out who won each game, I placed a sticker above their logos. The kids were so amused looking at the charts and seeing all of the logos. I'm glad that I have something set up in class so that they can see the progression throughout the season.
I already can't wait for this Friday!
Second topic is we had our first test today. Our first unit was over Place Value, and I had heard in summer training that this was a difficult topic because it introduces them to decimals. I was a little nervous about what the scores would be on the test. My feeling going into it was that most of my students seemed to be understanding the material, but had that nervous feeling in the back of my mind. I graded all the tests before I went home. The results were awesome. I have around 85 students, and all but three of them passed. The scores I did have were all relatively in the 80's and 90's. I had multiple 100's. Tests scores aren't the only way to judge a student's success, but it is a good feeling as a teacher to see that your students pass the test. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I was very happy with how the results. Of course this is only just the beginning, and I have a long way to go. This was a good start, and I can't wait to build off the progression each student has made thus far.
On a side note...
We had a parent conference after school with the team. One funny little takeaway. The mother told us that her child rated his teachers from favorite to least, and I was the least favorite... My initial reaction was wow I can't believe she just told us that. It was then followed by her saying that there was a disclaimer... it was because of the subject that I teach, math. I knew people didn't like math but wow. However, two people in the meeting with us were quick to step up and have my back. I thought it was really fun. Hey, you win some you lose some. I'm not going to let it stop from impacting my students!
Overall, I thought it was a great success. There was a brief period where they had to be reminded how to calculate their score, but that was expected since it was the first time. As the weeks go by, I think the process of calculating the score will become much easier and more of a routine. It was cool to see the kids get so excited when they found out they won, but that was quickly masked by the sorrow of the losing team. Many teams wanted to ditch the players they picked, but I told them give it another week because Fantasy Football is basically luck. That didn't cheer them up much...
With the help of Miss A, I had made four anchor charts with the teams logos printed out on them to show the number of wins each team has. I decided to place football stickers for each win that the teams earn. Once I found out who won each game, I placed a sticker above their logos. The kids were so amused looking at the charts and seeing all of the logos. I'm glad that I have something set up in class so that they can see the progression throughout the season.
I already can't wait for this Friday!
Second topic is we had our first test today. Our first unit was over Place Value, and I had heard in summer training that this was a difficult topic because it introduces them to decimals. I was a little nervous about what the scores would be on the test. My feeling going into it was that most of my students seemed to be understanding the material, but had that nervous feeling in the back of my mind. I graded all the tests before I went home. The results were awesome. I have around 85 students, and all but three of them passed. The scores I did have were all relatively in the 80's and 90's. I had multiple 100's. Tests scores aren't the only way to judge a student's success, but it is a good feeling as a teacher to see that your students pass the test. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I was very happy with how the results. Of course this is only just the beginning, and I have a long way to go. This was a good start, and I can't wait to build off the progression each student has made thus far.
On a side note...
We had a parent conference after school with the team. One funny little takeaway. The mother told us that her child rated his teachers from favorite to least, and I was the least favorite... My initial reaction was wow I can't believe she just told us that. It was then followed by her saying that there was a disclaimer... it was because of the subject that I teach, math. I knew people didn't like math but wow. However, two people in the meeting with us were quick to step up and have my back. I thought it was really fun. Hey, you win some you lose some. I'm not going to let it stop from impacting my students!
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Fantasy Football Fridays
So I know it's not officially the end of the week, but I was strongly encouraged by one of my team members to post this on my blog.
I think most people know that I love sports, and if you spend 5 minutes looking at my classroom you can figure that out. I have loved sports my whole life, so I wanted to incorporate sports as something fun for my classes. With it being football season, it was an obvious starting point. I was sitting at home Sunday night, and I was trying to think of a way to incorporate football into my class. It dawned on me that I love doing fantasy football, and there is so much math involved with that. It's clearly more complex for 4th graders to be able to do, but I was determined to think of a way to simplify it. So this is what I came up with.
I started off by asking the kids what they knew about football and the different positions. They would answer, but I made sure to emphasize the different positions (QB, RB, WR, etc). Following that, I showed them my actual fantasy football page that I do with my buddies. The description I gave was that fantasy football is a way to live out my dream of being an NFL even though I am so retired and way to out of shape to play anymore. I talked about all the different players that I had drafted, and how the point projections work. There are three main ways the points work in fantasy football:
1. Yards - Whether its passing, rushing, or receiving yards.
2. Touchdowns
3. Turnovers - Interceptions/Fumbles
I told the kids that their tables groups are going to be their teams. They are in charge of their team, and the players they pick. First, we had to figure out what their team names would be and what logo they would choose. It was funny to hear the names they came up with. I love the Minions, and a lot of them wanted to name their team something with Minions. That makes a guy feel good, ha! After setting up our teams, they were going to pick three different positions: Quarterback, Running back, and Wide Receiver. I had compiled a list of the top ten players at each position. I have a spinner in my class, and had a member from each group spin for the order of the draft. They would look at the list, and they had a limited time to choose a player. It's funny to see some of the boys have an idea of who players are, and then the majority have no idea who any of them were. They picked each position, and kind of felt a little worried about the fact they had really no idea who they picked. I decided that I would go team by team and show them the players that they had chose! It was cool to hear their reactions to the pictures of the players. Like, "Oh he looks really good!" or I even got, "Oh, he's kinda cute!"
The next step was to show them how they were going to score each week. This is math class, and there should and will be math involved. The points are all based on the yardage gained, number of touchdowns, and number of turnovers. They picked real NFL players, and so we are going to use their real stats from their games each week. I set it up like this:
1. 1poinst/yard gained
2. 10 points/touchdown
3. -10 points/turnover (turnovers aren't good)
We went over a practice scoring. I made up numbers, and we worked out how many points each player would have earned. I made sure that they knew the steps involved in the scoring process.
Now why is this fun for them? Well in real fantasy football, you compete against another person or team to win that week. So in class, each group will go up against another group trying to win each week. I'm going keep track of the wins each team earns. I will have anchor charts on the walls with their team names and logos. I'll turn this into a dot plot with the numbers of wins they earn throughout the season. I told them this is going to last all football season, and that's until January. The team that wins the most games will earn a reward of some sort. I haven't decided, but I was thinking like an ice cream party or something. I've got until January to figure it out, ha! The kids like the mystery. They seemed really excited about, and even the girls seemed excited about football. I heard them talking at lunch about going to class,"have you been to math today?!" It's awesome to hear that they are excited to come to math class.
Fantasy Football Friday is going to be apart of my classroom for years (I hope), and I am so excited to get started with this next week! I think this is truly going to be a fun way to end each week, but still doing math at the same time. Hopefully they see it as something fun, and not something that is just more math.
I think most people know that I love sports, and if you spend 5 minutes looking at my classroom you can figure that out. I have loved sports my whole life, so I wanted to incorporate sports as something fun for my classes. With it being football season, it was an obvious starting point. I was sitting at home Sunday night, and I was trying to think of a way to incorporate football into my class. It dawned on me that I love doing fantasy football, and there is so much math involved with that. It's clearly more complex for 4th graders to be able to do, but I was determined to think of a way to simplify it. So this is what I came up with.
I started off by asking the kids what they knew about football and the different positions. They would answer, but I made sure to emphasize the different positions (QB, RB, WR, etc). Following that, I showed them my actual fantasy football page that I do with my buddies. The description I gave was that fantasy football is a way to live out my dream of being an NFL even though I am so retired and way to out of shape to play anymore. I talked about all the different players that I had drafted, and how the point projections work. There are three main ways the points work in fantasy football:
1. Yards - Whether its passing, rushing, or receiving yards.
2. Touchdowns
3. Turnovers - Interceptions/Fumbles
I told the kids that their tables groups are going to be their teams. They are in charge of their team, and the players they pick. First, we had to figure out what their team names would be and what logo they would choose. It was funny to hear the names they came up with. I love the Minions, and a lot of them wanted to name their team something with Minions. That makes a guy feel good, ha! After setting up our teams, they were going to pick three different positions: Quarterback, Running back, and Wide Receiver. I had compiled a list of the top ten players at each position. I have a spinner in my class, and had a member from each group spin for the order of the draft. They would look at the list, and they had a limited time to choose a player. It's funny to see some of the boys have an idea of who players are, and then the majority have no idea who any of them were. They picked each position, and kind of felt a little worried about the fact they had really no idea who they picked. I decided that I would go team by team and show them the players that they had chose! It was cool to hear their reactions to the pictures of the players. Like, "Oh he looks really good!" or I even got, "Oh, he's kinda cute!"
The next step was to show them how they were going to score each week. This is math class, and there should and will be math involved. The points are all based on the yardage gained, number of touchdowns, and number of turnovers. They picked real NFL players, and so we are going to use their real stats from their games each week. I set it up like this:
1. 1poinst/yard gained
2. 10 points/touchdown
3. -10 points/turnover (turnovers aren't good)
We went over a practice scoring. I made up numbers, and we worked out how many points each player would have earned. I made sure that they knew the steps involved in the scoring process.
Now why is this fun for them? Well in real fantasy football, you compete against another person or team to win that week. So in class, each group will go up against another group trying to win each week. I'm going keep track of the wins each team earns. I will have anchor charts on the walls with their team names and logos. I'll turn this into a dot plot with the numbers of wins they earn throughout the season. I told them this is going to last all football season, and that's until January. The team that wins the most games will earn a reward of some sort. I haven't decided, but I was thinking like an ice cream party or something. I've got until January to figure it out, ha! The kids like the mystery. They seemed really excited about, and even the girls seemed excited about football. I heard them talking at lunch about going to class,"have you been to math today?!" It's awesome to hear that they are excited to come to math class.
Fantasy Football Friday is going to be apart of my classroom for years (I hope), and I am so excited to get started with this next week! I think this is truly going to be a fun way to end each week, but still doing math at the same time. Hopefully they see it as something fun, and not something that is just more math.
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