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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Shut yo' mouth!

This week's Learn Me Good comic strip is reminiscent of something that I actually heard in class this year.


Face palm, times ten

Today I was working with one of my students who acts a lot dumber than I really think he is.  We were going over the concept of addition with regrouping.  He had drawn a picture which showed 7 ones and 6 ones being added in the ones column.  He had moved all 13 ones down to the ones' answer spot.

I told him that there were too many ones to go there and that we needed to regroup.  So I asked him how many ones we needed to put together to make a ten.

His reply:  Five?

I said, "Think about the name of the place value.  It's the TENS place.  How many ones do we need to make a TEN?"

With more certainty this time, he answered, "Three."

I finally went and grabbed the base-ten blocks, which we had worked extensively with yesterday, to show him that three ones actually did not make a TEN.

Monday, September 24, 2012

But... That's really good!!

Last week, progress reports went out, and shortly thereafter, I got a note from a parent.  To sum up, it said that the mother was "very concerned" with her daughter's low grade in math. It went on to ask if there was anything she could do to bring that grade up from a 91 to at least a 95.

I conferenced with the girl today and told her, "91 is REALLY good!"

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Personal Financial Literacy

Someone pointed out to me that there was a brand new set of learning standards on the Texas Education Agency website, so I took a look. In addition to being MUCH more specific, and as one teacher put it -- "high schoolish" -- there is THIS
section at the end:

Personal financial literacy. The student applies mathematical process standards to manage one's financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security. The student is expected to:

(A) distinguish between fixed and variable expenses;

(B) calculate profit in a given situation;

(C) compare the advantages and disadvantages of various savings options;

(D) describe how to allocate a weekly allowance among spending; saving, including for college; and sharing; and

(E) describe the basic purpose of financial institutions, including keeping money safe, borrowing money, and lending.


I can't WAIT to teach THESE concepts!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Weekend progress

The good news is that I Coulda Caught That Pass is sitting at #1 on the Kindle ebook nonfiction sports football (American) list. WOOHOO!!
 


The not so great news is that it hasn't cracked the top 1,000 overall free book list.
 


I blame Oprah.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Football Freebie!

My new book -- I Coulda Caught That Pass! (a true story about fake football) -- is FREE today and tomorrow on the Kindle!

Please grab a copy and pass the news on to your friends!

http://www.amazon.com/Coulda-Caught-story-football-ebook/dp/B00993KPL8

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Updates

Several posts of note today:

Conversation during science time:
Me: Thomas Edison invented the first machine that could show movies.
Student: DVD?!?

 Uh, no...


There's nothing like a Code Brown in the hallway as I'm enjoying my lunch of leftover chili...  Yummy!

There are several new mounds of surface material (straw, or bark, or whatever) on our playground. Yesterday, one of my girls asked, "Why are they putting that stuff on there if we don't even get to use it this year?"
Good question!!! Enjoy, neighborhood kids and wandering vagrants!!!


I think the oddball lady who lives across the street from the school is going to have to be a character in the next book. This afternoon at dismissal, she was peeking through her window with a camera!!
No idea what for, but I posed and mugged for the camera for a while...   

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

I Coulda Caught That Pass!

It's almost here!  The final touches have been put on my fantasy football book, just in time for the NFL season to begin.  My book is called I Coulda Caught That Pass!  (a true story about fake football), and as soon as I get my proof copy and am sure the cover looks as good in print as it does on the computer screen, I will make it available world-wide!

I do realize that not everyone is into fantasy football, or even real football.  So this book will not be for everybody.  But hey, other than the dictionary, what book really IS?  However, I hope it will appeal to lovers of sports AND humor as they mix well together.

Here's the cover and the blurb!  Look for it to be released soon!



There is something to be said about fantasy football.  That something is that it is not for everybody.  Those who love it, love it.  Those who hate it, hate it.  Those who don’t care are called spouses.

The name alone conjures up a hybrid image of ESPN and late night Cinemax.  But no, this fantasy is not of the erotic type.  It is fantasy in the sense that it is the only way most of us would ever be even remotely involved in professional athletics.

The first recorded season of fantasy football occurred in 1976, when a young man named…

OK, you know what?  I have no earthly idea when fantasy football officially started, and I really have no inclination to look it up.  That’s not what this book is about.  You aren’t going to find the history of the game here.  You won’t find advice for how to start your own league or tips for drafting a dynasty.  You definitely will not find any ways to sharpen your managerial skills.  In fact, there’s a good chance you won’t find any skill at all in this book.

Instead, what you will find is an inside look at one fantasy football league.  A fly-on-the-wall perspective of ten scrappy managers/everyday Joes – more obsessive than some, less obsessive than most.  A touching story of one triumphant champion and nine complete losers.

Prepare to step into history.

And by “history,” I mean “completely unspectacular events that have happened in the recent past.”

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Need a Kleenex?

I'm a little late posting this week's Learn Me Good comic strip to the blog.  For you guys who were anxiously anticipating it, I apologize to both of you...