Friday, December 19, 2014

Girl Scouts, Goldiblox, and Girl Power

Something amazing happened recently. I asked one of the sixth graders I tutor to tell me what she was interested in...and what she asked to get for Christmas. 

Her question: Why is everything that is made for girls pink and glittery?

Her answer: I want Goldiblox. What exactly is that, you ask? Watch the videos to find out.

This is your brain on engineering

Inspiring the next generation of female engineers - Debbie Sterling, creator of Goldiblox
We did some research and she not only learned that females across the world tend to make less than their male counterparts in the same position, are more likely to be illiterate and less likely to graduate high school. They also are a lot less likely to become engineers or take jobs in STEM / STEAM fields. 

One way to combat this? Encourage females. Educate males. Challenge gender roles.


Another way to help out? Instead of buying girls play food and dress up clothes, try out Goldiblox. They also have an interactive website to play around with.


Goldiblox website

Next, get girls involved with coding. This year, my students participated in The Hour of Code sponsored by Code.org. 

Watch the video (can you spot the celebrities?)




Finally, consider enrolling your girls in Girl Scouts or join / create a Girls on the Run club.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Words their Way

 
As I was getting ready for the upcoming school year and looking for videos to show my student teacher how Words Their Way works, I came across this:


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BUNDLE-Automatic-Spelling-Inventory-Templates-1092641

Now I'm not a fan of sitting there and highlighting every single letter that a student got correct - it's a waste of time when you've got 25 to correct. I typically circle or highlight what they got wrong instead to save ink and my sanity. Plus, I often have a wide range of spellers and need to use at least 2-3 of the inventories throughout each of the 3 benchmark assessments we give during the year. That's why I like this product. It pretty much does it for you once you enter the words as your students spelled them. Check it out!


If you aren't familiar with Words Their Way and want to see what it's all about so you can challenge your kids and differentiate their spelling, head over to the videos on my class website!