Applying an Algebraic Rule

As part of CMP3, there was a unit project that suggested enlarging a picture using an algebraic rule applied to the coordinates. The standard it was addressing was recreating a drawing of a different scale. I thought that I would give it a try.  So the process began.  I decided to pick different pictures for the students to do, approximately 15 different ones.  1st period, I had them download the picture, put the grid on the picture and print it.  What a disaster.  2nd period, I had them start their grid while I printed pictures with grids on them already.  Much better!

Each student had to choose either to enlarge or shrink their picture.  Majority picked enlarging which was fine with me!  Next thing they had to do was start to create their grid.  We used big paper and marked off at each centimeter and connected the dots.  This also took way longer than expected.  Not for future self, buy large graph paper!  Once the grid was drawn, it was time to start identifying coordinates on their original image, apply the geometric rule and graph their new point.

For some this went well, others, needed some help.  I would say that by the end of it, 99% of students were able to this independently.  As you can see below, each student had their original picture and their coordinates on hand while creating their masterpiece.  It was a combination of both of these that allowed a student to be successful. 

Here is a picture of a completed shrinking.  I love it!

Overall I would say the was just ok.  To improve, I would have had graph paper already in the desired large size and had the pictures ready to go from the beginning.   With these changes, I think that it will go a lot smoother!

I finally put these up in the hallway.  I will snap a picture soon and post it here!

Homemade Presents!

My Auntie Terese said, "You and Jason work so well together.  You think of things and he makes them!"  It is kinda true.  So this past Christmas, I was stumped at what to get my Dad and Stepmom.  So here we are, 3 days before and it finally hits me, a growth chart!  Why was this the perfect gift?  Well, they have been measuring my nieces on the wall, behind the coats and if they ever move, this will be lost forever!

So Jason and I went out to Owl Lumber in Lombard.  We (really him) picked out some great wood.  We bought a total of 3 pieces of wood to his mom and my aunt could also get one, eventually.  We had no idea how this was going to go so we went to work in the basement.  Jason made the board flat and square with his joiner and plainer.

It was not time to test out how we would make the marks so it looks like a giant ruler.  Really funny that this is like using a scale factor!  Each inch was going to look like 1 foot on the wood.  Jason got out the router and we picked some different size bits out and tested.  We decided that the 1 foot marks should be the longest (2.5 inches) , then the half foot (2 inches) , quarter foot (1.5 inches) and each inch (1 inch) would be the shortest.   We had found success!

So now it was time to mark the board and go for it!  We had to set up a straight edge that I held while Jason used the router.  It was quite the process but it worked!

Now that the router part was finished, we could clean it and put a clear coat on it. For the numbers, I went to Home Depot and bought 4" address numbers.  It looks so good!

Best Christmas present ever!  Now the kids can be measured forever and ever.  I can't wait till my nieces are measuring their kids on this growth chart!

Math Chat lead by Students!

Over the past three years, I have learned that getting students to discuss math is sometimes more important than anything else.  I always encourage students in my classroom to talk to each other about WHAT they are thinking and WHY.  Today, in my last math class of the day, it happened and it was a dream come true!

The warm-up on the board was a question about Mr Rey's bank account.  He had a balance of -26.00 and deposited some money and ended up with a balance of 23.00.  I pulled this question from our fall benchmark test and thought I would see how they did.  They had 4 options to choose from.  A. $3 B. $23 C. $43 D. $49.  I instructed the students to justify/prove their answer.  Students talked talking to each other at the table clusters then before I knew it, students were talking to each other across the room!  I made a quick decision, pulled some tables together and made one large 'conference' table as the kids called it.

The things that I noticed that students were doing...
- Speaking up for kids that were too shy to share
- Silent leaders surfacing
- Little to no off task behaviors
- A sense of group and ownership
- Explanations beyond the, "I picked C" solutions
- Students asking other students to explain
- Modeling of real life problems/discussions/solutions

When I felt that they were at a point where they had come to a general consensus, I stepped in and summarized the behaviors I listed above.  Then we went on to present our findings.  This group of 13 kids had 5 different ways to solve this one multiple choice problem!  I was so proud of them and what they had accomplished without even knowing it.   Needless to say, GEMA had to wait but this was too good of a teachable moment to pass up!

Ever have something like this happen?  Till another day!

Katie

Cordobas and Dollars

I just got back from a trip to Nicaragua (which was AMAZING!) but what stuck out the most to be was that I used math EVERYDAY!

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Isla de Ometepe, Volcan Conception

The currency in Nicaragua is Cordobas (which I will call 'cords' for short).  The exchange rate was 26 to 1, that is 26 cords to 1 US$.  Most the most common rate used was 25 cords to 1US$.  

My collection of 'cords' on the last day of my trip!
Holy money bags ;)  

If you exchanged ALL of your dollars to cords right away, well you were fine but to put the dollars you brought with you to good use, you could pay with dollars and receive cords as change.  Also, you could pay partially in dollars and the other in cords.   Confusing at times but completely justifiable using math.  

So why was math so important on my trip?  Well, it was my basic skills that I used the most.   Although I would like to say that I trusted the math of the locals, I didn't at all.  Many times their trusty calculator was incorrect and if it wasn't for doing the math in my head, I may have never realized it!

If anything, I have yet another reason to back up the importance of basic skills AND not relying on a calculator to give you the 'answer'.  Students always ask 'When are we going to use this?' and state 'I will always have a calculator with me'.  This is why in my classroom that I continue to stress the importance of basic skills and numerical reasoning.  What do you stress in your classroom? 

Ahhh Summer Vacation!

It is currently day 6 of summer vacation, it's raining and I am running out of things to do!

So far, I have booked a wedding venue, volunteered for a 5K, read a book at the pool, hosted a wedding shower, cut the grass, edged, replanted various plants, cooked (yep!), watched 7 episodes of Orange is the New Black on Netflix (I highly recommend it), completely tore apart and organized my room upstairs, booked a 2 week trip to Nicaragua for July and done exactly 2 loads of laundry.  What am I supposed to do now?

I really wish it wasn't raining is the moral of this whole story!  Till another day here is a really cool dude!


Scott Flansberg is so good at math that Regis Philbin gave him the nickname “The Human Calculator!” His expertise is not limited to a couple types of functions either; he can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and even do square and cube roots - all with lightning-fast speed and precision. Scott holds a Guinness World Record for his ability because he was able to add the same number to itself more times within a period of 15 seconds than a person could do with a calculator. He claims that he would be even faster but for the fact that he cannot articulate the answers as quickly as he can calculate them in his head! 

Watch Scott beat the pants off a group of college math professors in this video: 

Is this the End or just the Beginning?

 My 8th graders graduated on Tuesday night and I miss them greatly already.  I have spent the past 2 days scheduling the current 6th graders and can't help but think ahead to next year.  I have found my mind wandering, focused on how can I make my lessons better!

I have to remind myself that it is still 3 months away and that I need to take time some for myself but then I think, HOLY COW 3 months to prepare!  Never the less, to settle my battle, I have started to come up with goals.

Goal 1:  Incorporate STEM.  I know it seems like a buzzy term right now but what I want to incorporate are the ideas and the exposure to my students.  The idea that math is related to other subjects often times stumps my students.  How could it be?  Well dudes and dudettes, it is related to other things!  The other part of STEM that I like is that my students would be exposed to math in real life.  I know that math is everywhere and slowly everyday I have attempted to share this with kids but if I can make the solid connections with engaging and high interest activities that focus on the process standards for science, align with the CCSS for math and the SAMR model, it's a win win for all!

Goal 2:  Tweak my SBG practices.   As this was the first year I followed the SBG model changes need to be made.  There are some things that I really liked such as students could show progression and I knew exactly where every student's strengthens and weaknesses were at a glance but there were things I didn't like either.  I need to figure out a better way to show that I care about homework but to emphasis that it is practice and get the kids to be intrinsically motivated to do it as opposed to extrinsically motivated by rewards.  This is a big one!

Goal 3: Let students help in the classroom.   I can admit that I have a hard time letting kids to things in the classroom because I may be slightly a perfectionist.  Slowly over the past two years, I had a group of students that knew this about me that helped me out and did a fantastic job.  Now that those beloved 8th graders will be replaced by unsuspecting 7th graders, this makes me panic! So, I promise to myself to create 'Classroom Jobs' so that students can take ownership of the classroom.  I also promise to not redo a job at the end of the day because students won't benefit from that!

Goal 4: Learn to really do the Rubik's cube.  I can do it about halfway but I would really like to dazzle the new kids by completing it without aides.  In addition to the 'cool' factor associated with this(yep, kids still think it's cool!), it sparks interest in transformations which relates back to incorporating real like mathematics into the classroom!  Double Bonus.

I will update my goals as I continue on into the summer.  Do you have any goals for next year?  I would love to hear about them.  Thanks for reading!

Building Great Math Lessons!

As a middle school math teacher, I am constantly trying to engage my students in real life problems that will captivate students.  It is much easier said than done.

Being a 'young' educator I constantly put pressure on myself to produce lessons that are above and beyond.  Sometimes I fail but I also succeed.

In the past year and a half of educating I have realized a few things
1. It is ok to go to bed without completely figuring things out for the next day
2. It is ok to take some time for yourself on a week night
3. It is ok to rely on the professionals for ideas of lessons
4. It is ok to fail because through these failures, you grow.

In addition to the 'it's ok' list I have learned a few things it's not ok to do.
1. It is NOT ok to not be prepared.
2. It is NOT ok to wing it on a daily basis
3.  It is NOT ok to constantly rely on others for YOUR teaching
4.  It is NOT ok to allow mistakes to become habits (a lesson my principal taught me)

So what makes me think of this over spring break?   Procrastination of planning my next unit? Ignoring the gaping holes in the 'kitchen' walls during a complete remodel?  Knowing I have to tutor in a little over an hour?  Having yearbook to design when only the front cover is done?  Well, yes to all the previous questions and some more.

This year, I stumbled upon Robert Kaplinsky's website and my life(and teaching) have been transformed ever since. The things he comes up with are amazing resources for a teachers and are amazing activities for students. It addition to Robert's lessons he also has some pretty great 'blog friends' as I call them.  The blogs that he follows are just as great as his.  If I had never found this resource, my list of does and don't probably would have never come about.   I highly recommend that any middle school educator checks out Robert and his friends.