Maria Benzon’s Weblog

MS Learning Centers

Posted by: mbenzon on: December 18, 2008

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Do you want to set-up Learning Centers in your middle school classroom? Well, I am on that quest (although I don’t have a classroom anymore). I want to be able to create 10-15 minute learning centers for small group interventions. Below are some sites I will be looking into for more information. I will keep you posted as to what I’ve done and its successes and areas of improvement.

Middle School Learning Centers Ideas via Dialogue
http://www.middleweb.com/MWLISTCONT/MSLcenters.html

MS Math Ideas & Links: http://www.middleweb.com/CurrMath.html

Tags: Learning Centers

Math Ideas and Problems for Grades 4-8

Posted by: mbenzon on: December 18, 2008

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http://www.ri.net/schools/Johnston/iss2001/math.html

There are great ideas and problems for kids to solve. Lots of links to other sites!

Great Compound Exercises

Posted by: mbenzon on: December 18, 2008

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1-Leg Squat & Reach

One Leg Squat and Reach

Place an object on the floor about 2-3 feet in front and to the left of your left foot.

Balance on your left foot; raise your right foot off the ground.

Slowly bend your left knee and lower your torso.

Reach forward with your right hand and touch the object.

Maintain your balance by extending your right leg slightly.

Be sure to keep your left knee over your left foot.

Touch the object, pause, and return to the start position.

Maintain a slow and controlled movement throughout the exercise.

Repeat the exercise 5-10 times. Switch feet and repeat on the other side.

Complete 2 sets.

Advanced:

Because shoes offer additional support, you can increase the difficulty of this exercise by performing it barefoot. This engages the small muscles of the foot and ankle that stabilize the ankle and maintain balance.

You can also hold a small, 5-8 pound dumbbell in your hand as your reach forward and slowly reach out to the left as far as you can go, pause 3 seconds and then slowly return, switch hands and reach to the right.

Lunge w/ a Twist

One Leg Squat and Reach

Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.
Hold a medicine ball (optional) in front of you with elbows bent about 90 degrees. You may want to begin this exercise with no weight and build up your strength over time.
Step forward with your left foot into a lunge position.
Be sure to keep your left knee over your left foot; don’t twist at the knee.
From your torso, twist your upper body to the left. Then, reach across your left side with your arms out-stretched. (Think of pointing to the left from your belly button).
Maintain a slow and controlled movement throughout the exercise.
Slowly return your arms to center and step back from the lunge to an upright position.
Repeat the movement to the other side.
Perform 5 to 10 times on each side. Complete 2 sets.

Advanced:

Turn this into a Walking Lunge with Twist by performing the exercise as you walk forward 10 steps.

Info from: about.com

Tags: Exercise Fitness

Follow Up to HISD Math Science Summit Session

Posted by: mbenzon on: February 12, 2008

In: For Teachers
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I want to thank all the Summit participants who attended my session on Creating a webpage/blog. Because we were in a bit of a rush at the end, I wanted to give you some follow-up information.

1) If you have questions, please contact me at mbenzon@houstonisd.org.

2) In order to make changes to your blog, you will need to sign-in first. Go to wordpress.com and enter your username and password. After you’ve signed in, click on your blog name and you should see your website with the dashboard above.

3) Please send me an email when you start to get your site off the ground. I’d love to see what you’ve done!

Happy Learning!

maria