Jeanne from Kirtland, NM teaches Quadratic Equation Through Song

During the week of August 10th I was pleased to work with two great groups of teachers.  During the first great session in Kirtland New Mexico, one of the high school math teachers agreed to demonstrate how she uses music by singing the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.”

Teachers at Ranches Academy and Rockwell Charter HS Sing Testing Strategies!

Then I spent two awesome days in Eagle Mountain Utah with the teachers from Ranches Academy and Rockwell Charter High School.  On day two, I presented, “Memorization and Test Taking Strategies”. We talked about testing strategies and three groups of teachers agreed to share the songs they brainstormed to remember testing strategies.  Thanks to Sara, Kayla, Allie, Jamie, Stacy, Melanie, Angela, Dorothy, Tiffany, Tammy, and Sue (I hope I got everyone’s  name right) for being courageous enough to let me film them to share with the world!

 

The following rhyme explains how to approach multiple choice questions on a standardized test:

First do the easy.

Then do the tough.

Quickly guess the difficult stuff.

Focus on multiple choice, they say later come back to do the essay.

Cross out answers that don’t make sense.

You’ll be done in no time, w/out being tense.

 

Watch your time and you’ll be fine.

Easy first, then the worst.

Guess the rest try your best.

Multi-choice then your voice.

Please don’t shirk, check you work.

 

Easy

Difficult

Guess

Multiple choice

Essay

Cross out wrong

 

Starring: Donna Barone, Tammy Weaver, Carissa Capwell, Kathleen Teay, Brent Herzog.

 

 

To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star….

 

Calculate the time you need.

If you do you will succeed.

Easy questions first, they say

Difficult next is the best way

Multiple choice before essay

Guess the rest and end your day.

 

                                                                      

W=whisper C=chunk P=paraphrase D= draw it S=snapshot M= mnemonic

 

Time                               (draw a clock)

Easy                              EZ

Difficult                        E=Mc2

Guess                            ????

Multiple choice            ABCD

Cross out                       XXXX

 

 

To the tune of Frere Jacques….

 

Calculate time, calculate time

Easy first, easy first

Do the harder questions next

At the very end just guess

Then you’re done, have some fun!

 

Time for testing, time for testing

Easy first, easy first

Then we do the hard ones

Quickly guess the others

Then cross out, then cross out

 

How to manage time.  To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat…

 

Try the easy questions first

Don’t waste too much time

Spend more time on harder ones

And you will do fine

Save the essay for the last

You can make it fun

List ideas before you start

Write a sentence for each one.

                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m testing for my next level in Kung Fu in a couple months and one of the requirements is to memorize quite a bit of information from the Kung Fu Members Handbook. Memorization has never been easy for me. I think that’s why I have so many strategies in my seminars to help students memorize information. I’ve used the strategies myself with tremendous success and have found students surpass all expectations (their own and those of their teachers) when they use memorization strategies.

One of my favorite strategies is using good, old fashioned flash cards. I’ve almost always used standard flash cards for study and have handwritten the questions and answers using color, pictures, and mnemonics to help me or my students remember. This time, I wanted to try doing them on the computer and taking advantage of colored fonts, san serif -fonts, photos, etc. Then I could print them out and enhance them by hand if I wanted to. I believe that many times students don’t create flash cards to study from because they hate to write them out. So, this seems like a motivating avenue to explore.

 The first step is finding out if there are any online resources for creating flash cards. I found some that I thought were not only heartening, they were helpful and effective. The first link I came across was written about a daughter who helped her mom remember words and people after a stroke. I had never considered that implementation of flash cards. So, consider how many ways we might use an age old technique like flash cards for study to help others.

Create Flash Cards in MSWord by Dian Chapman (for her mom): http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=289. This site allows you to download a free MSWord Template for flashcards. This is what I was originally looking for on this quest. Sure I could have made one up myself, but how many times would I have to mess with the dimensions before I got it right? I figure, why reinvent the wheel. Someone else must have done it. Well, Dian did.

This next website has flashcards for ESL; however, the flash card instructions are generic and can be used for any subject. If you are looking for ESL flashcards you can make your own or pay for access to their ready made cards. http://www.eslkidstuff.com/flashcard_printing_instructions.htm

Flashcard Exchange dot com is the site that helped my daughter get through her advanced placement courses in high school. One wonderful benefit we discovered was that if you type in the title of a text book, you might find ready-made flash cards made by another teacher or student! This site has a feature that allows you to download flashcards onto a PDA! I might consider this option. Then I can study anytime anywhere discretely with my PDA phone! http://www.flashcardexchange.com/

And then there’s Quia, a site that allows you to create flash cards, games, activities, etc. www.quia.com

And finally, Microsoft’s website has templates for flashcards and designates exactly which Avery product fits the dimensions.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102530781033.aspx

 Enjoy making flash cards and seeing your students increase their test prep success!