Not That I Really Had The Time...

But I created a review activity for my students. And I must say I am super proud of myself.

I have been trying to get away from just giving them review problems in worksheet form, and getting more creative about how I give them problems.

For CSAP Review I used the math dominoes (idea curtsey of Amy G), it was a hit in my Pre-Algebra class and with most of my Geometry students.

I also used a index card review, where a card

had 1

problem on the front and the answer to the previous card on the back. I don't remember who's blog I saw this on, but when I can find it (i.e. remember) I will give credit to them for the idea. This worked GREAT in 3 of my 4 Geometry classes. The 4th class is a huge class, and honestly, nothing works for them. I could put $1M in

front of them, 24 large pizzas and all the soda and candy a kid could want, and someone (if not 10 of them) would complain.

I'll post my versions in another post (probably sometime next week...SPRING BREAK '11, OH YEAH!)

But tonight I created a review activity for the Transformations & Symmetry unit. I got this idea from Miss Cookie. I created a puzzle from scratch!!

I got a quote from a website with math quotes, and then I used problems from the resource master from my text book. And here is the

final result:

I AM REALLY PROUD OF MYSELF!!! NOW I AM GOING TO BED!

FACEBOOK...anyone use it?

Well, Duh...everyone uses Facebook, right? Exactly why I want to use it in classroom, but I don't know exactly how to go about it.

There is a FB page for 'Educators using Facebook', but I really haven't found too many answers for the questions I have. I did find a post on someone else's blog titled 'Facebook in the High School Classroom', which had some good points, but as far as setting up a classroom page, I have some more questions.

These are my questions:

1) I currently have a FB page, where I DO NOT accept friend requests from students. Can I link a classroom page to my current login without my students having access to my personal page?

2) I don't want access to my students' pages, is is best to set up a Fan Page where my students can 'Like' the page? Mainly I just want my posts to come up on their newsfeeds.

I feel like I have more questions, I just can't think of them right now.

Scribing - A tech based instructional strategy for the math classroom.

For being a NCTM member I get the magazine "Mathematics Teacher". In the February issue there was a great article about using a tablet PC in your classroom for instructional time.

The article discussed the advantages of giving the tablet to a student and allowing them to be scribe for the day, which, hopefully, will increase discourse in your classroom.

I WANT ONE!!! I am not sure where or how I am going to find the money, but there has to be a grant out there somewhere for math teachers to use technology in their classroom.

My concern with using this is...I am afraid to give up control. I know, that sounds dumb and over-baring. Most students have a hard time staying organized when they are doing their math work, I think it is important to model for them, just to help them stay organized. But is this too much? Is this what the student meant when she said that I "over teach"?

Another concern is that the "advanced students" typically do not show all their work and have a hard time explaining themselves in class. They get frustrated when I slow them down and ask them to clarify their response; usually this means to give in a complete sentences. So what will happen when they are the scribe? Will they slow down and take responses from their classmates or will they just buzz through, which will then cause me to not allow them to be scribe.

Will my mid level students embrace this?

How do I get my lower level students to participate, i.e. be scribe, without putting their math skills in the spot light?

But regardless, I WANT ONE, and I am going to find a way to GET ONE!

I NEED A BREAK!

It has been 11 weeks since Winter Break. I am exhausted. Wait I am not sure that exhausted can truly describe what I am feeling. And we still have 2 weeks until Spring Break.

I need something to pick me up. I need something to pick up my kids.

CSAP Prep...Need Some Creativity!

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon, really wanting to go skiing, but the idea of driving 50 miles to ski just a few runs is not logically. So instead I am trying to make a CSAP prep packet.

I don't really just want to hand the kids a bunch of released items, but I am not really feeling very creative. CSAP is in two weeks, and I have to do something!

The first district I worked for had an assessment program that each month the students would take. When I left I printed out a bunch of grade 9 and 10 problems that are aligned with CSAP standards. So I have a lot more problems then just the released ones from the state, but what to do with them...