Tick, Tick, Tick

This time of year feels like a race against the clock.  So much to teach and review with the state test looming.

I’ve noticed that some of you are already testing.  Ours will be the first two weeks of May.

This week ticked by.  There was no school Monday.  I had a school business sub on Thursday.  Then I taught an intervention class on Saturday.

I think the challenge of this time of year is to still try to relax and have fun.  (Ha!  Easy right?)

I found myself Friday teaching a lesson about percents to a group of students that were staring at me blankly.  I’m asking a question that should be a given, something that’s been asked and answered several times this year.  No response.  Maybe I’m filling up their brains with too much?  Maybe it’s all slipping away?  They needed something to remember.

“When you want to convert a decimal into a percent, how many times do you move the decimal?”

Silence.

“Ok.  How many of you have seen Madagascar?”

Suddenly they are full of things to say.

I don’t know how this came to me, but aren’t those the best bits of inspiration.

I played the video.  We held up our fingers and counted to two every time they said, “Move it, move it.”

For the rest of the day, every time we had to move the decimal, we’d say, “Move it, move it.”

“When you want to convert a decimal into a percent, how many times do you move the decimal?”

Now they yelled out an answer, “Two!”

I want to congratulate Erika, Rachel, and Deneise on winning my 300 follower giveaway!  Look for emails from me.