Well - today was the first day of CAMT. I knew that it would be super busy going into it, but WHOA! This is totally insane! There are sooooooo many people and some of the best workshops fill up quickly and there are so many things to buy.
Today, I went to several sessions
1) Guided Math - this is such a cool concept and I got to see how a third grade teacher in Denton puts it into practice! I've been toying with this idea for awhile because I enjoying teaching in small groups and feel like I'm more effective in my teaching and that my students gain more out of it. Coming from a lower background before this past year - I noticed that it's not really done in the middle/upper grades. I was super excited to see someone use this method and tell me how to implement it. One of my team members went to a different training on the same subject and LOVED it too! So - I think this might be a route we go. It helps with differentiation and with the kiddos - I believe it's totally the way to go!
2) Build It! Draw It! Talk It! Write It! - I got in line for this one about 45 minutes before it was supposed to start. Yep - and I was still like 20 people back - little did we know there was also another line forming on the other side of the door! This one was about a program called Understanding Math. This breaks down the math concepts and shows the kids pictorial models. I wasn't expecting this to be one where they were trying to sell me something, but we do get a free trial of it and the guy said it was only like $30 for a license - I'm a little skeptical about that part, but we'll see.
3) Drill Like a Champion - with
Kim Sutton - OH MY WORD! I absolutely LOVED this lady!! She was cracking me up! I've used some of her activities in class and her wording and the songs from Ron Brown so I was super glad I was able to see her in person. Her energy and love for math was invigorating! I plan on using her Drill to Thrill book to teach our facts this next year. One of the coolest things about her is the fact that she puts ALL of her convention and training stuff up online for you to download and use! WHOA! I mean this lady does these trainings and sells things at her booth, but is totally okay with you downloading the stuff on her website to use. What an awesome lady and blessing that is!!
Those were the only workshops I went to today because of the pacing and the people!! BUT - I did go to the exhibits to see all the stuff people were selling and WHOA!! I have a new favorite thing I found. It's calling
FACEing Math. The kids start with a blank circle and you give them a page that has directions with problems on it. There are 21 total problems. It gives the kids a math problem and then tells them two options to pick from their answers and they draw that piece. On the back, the answers have them color the page certain colors. SOOOOO the kids are doing math - yet drawing pictures at the same time (see the example below)
My thinking is that this would be something great to use with Guided Math!!
I have enjoyed spending time with my 3rd grade math teammates and one of our 4th grade math buddies. We are all going to different things so that we can share other ideas with each other!! This conference is so much fun and can't wait to go to my trainings tomorrow. Tune in to hear more about what we did and some of the cool products that we learned about.