WHAT?! (Little treasures I found/read about today)

WHAT?  I enjoy reading math teacher's blogs. Really, I'm a long-time stalker lurker.  I really learn a lot.  Today, there were two posts that I am going to steal use right away.

1.  My Three Favorite Word Shortcuts for Math Teachers by Insert Clever Math Pun Here (Meg Craig).  How could I not have known about these before? She provides a short little video and walks you step by step how to activate math shortcuts, making your own shortcuts and a quick way to get to the "old" equation editor.  In a word, AWESOME!  
2.  Noticing and Wondering about Systems of Equations by Palmer's Ponderings (Tina Palmer). My students do okay with systems, but there are quite a few that struggle with them. I love the noticing and wondering and how it she set it up for each question and I also like the "box" method she uses for organize the problem. I'm getting ready to start review sessions for our Algebra EOC (state mandated test), I can't wait to use this with my students.  I'll let you know how it goes.

 What gems have you found on your favorite blogs that you've used successfully in your class?

I need a place to keep track of all the awesome things I find out in blogosphere.  I'll start here.

Crazy Math Teacher's Filing Cabinet of Warm Up Activities.  This site has tons of ideas I've been wanting to try from the MTBOS folks.

MTBOS by MsMathWiki can be found here.

Algebra's Friend is here.

Mr. Kraft's Virtual Filing Cabinet is here.

I Speak Math is here. 

Angela W's A Photo in the Day in the Life is here. 

Take it to the Limit is here.

Pinterest Help!

Okay Middle School Math Blog Pinners... I have a question. How do I set up the photos on the blog so they will pin?

Made 4 Math Monday

I have really been enjoying all the Made For Math Monday posts (thanks @pamjwilson and @druinok)
I'm WAY behind. But here's what I got... For the past several years I've kept the supplies my students use every day in shoe boxes under their desk. They held up pretty good (I've replaced one or two each year), I can quickly see what supplies are missing and refill as needed. The down side is they are noisy (lots of training so the students can do it quietly) and the students also

use it for a trash bin (which, I guess it okay, but it gets gross after a while).

Before

This summer, my good friend and one of the amazing 8th grade science teachers at my school came up with the idea of using the notebook pencil pouches. The pencil pouch is attached to the bar section of the desk. Both versions contain the supplies we use most. Mine contain highlighters, tape, glue stick, and scissors.

After

I know as teachers we have to pick our battles. I don't mind lending pencils, but I do mind when I don't get them back and see them discarded in the hallways -- right after class and that makes me crazy. I saw a p

encil holder on Pinterest that I knew I needed.Here's my version:

Board and stickers from Hobby Lobby. I attached the clips with those staple things that keep cords attached to the wall(?). Found them at Home Depot. I also used laminate film under the sign to keep the pencils from marking up the wall.

Now, I can tell at a glance if all the pencils are returned. I get my pencils from Atlas Pen and Pencil Company, For Teacher's Only. I get the misprinted pencils for less than $8 a gross.

Whew! My first post with probably too many pictures. Can't wait for next week's Made 4 Math Monday's posts!

New Blogger Initiation..

How many times can I start posting?  I think the answer is somewhere close to infinity.

I've joined Sam Shah's invitation to join in the New Blogger Initiation to just do four posts.  As I have said before (I think) I'm a MAJOR lurker and I steal  use lots of ideas from all the blogs and pins on pinterest I follow.  We'll see.

And Once Again...

I want to keep up with this blog. I really do.  But you know things get in the way.

This summer, I'm stressing thinking about our new TEKS (learning objectives) that are scheduled to start during the school year of 2014/2015. I know it's two years away, but I also know that some of those items are going to make their way onto our state mandated test (STAAR). I AM kinda disappointed to see that scientific notation is still one of the objectives we need to teach. I can hear the student's questions already.."When are we EVER going to use this." It's an interesting little notation (to me), but I've NEVER used it except to teach it. I guess I need to do a little more research and see if there's any real life use (besides being a scientisit).

Working On
I'm working on notes for next year for my regular and Pre-AP Algebra I students.I want to do more foldables (sneak more info on one page) to free up room for vocabulary, reflections in their notebooks.

Anyone have a template already set up to type out and print a layered book?

Reading
Making Content Comprehensible for Secondary Enligh Learners, The SIOP Model by Jana Eschevarria, Mary Ellen Vogt, and Deborah J. Short
99 Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model by Jana Eschevarria, and Mary Ellen Vogt
The SIOP Model for Teaching Mathematics to English Learners  by Jana Eschevarria, Mary Ellen Vogt, and Deborah J. Short

I Am So Stealing This....

Jason Buell(Always Formative) wrote about Positive Deviants and Don't Break the Chain idea for the Soft Skills Convention hosted by Riley Lark at Point of Inflection. Riley's thought was to use the

conference [as] a great opportunity for us to share the way we bring out the shy kids in our classes, handle teasing, build confidence, create opportunities for leadership, and acknowledge the beauty and importance of the blossoming lives for which we are responsible.

It's a great conference that I look forward to each Satudary when the new "sessions" are posted.

One of the many things I'm stealing adopting and adapting is the idea I got from Jason. Students basically WANT to be good students I (we) can't just tell students what we want. They need to see it, do it, practice it. So here comes the Positive Devients. Positive Devients are examples of students doing what you want.

Things I'm Thinking About...

Test Deconstruction
Minute to Win It Centers
Sum of Three
Energizing Brain Breaks

Try Something New For 30 Days?

Model some skill everyday Whatever I assign, I should model its creation in front of students. As teachers, we should model a piece of writing or the construction of an equation from scratch so that the students can see our thought process as we progress from blank page to end result. To paraphrase Kelly Gallagher, "Don't just assign, teach."

We have been reading Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov. My assistant principal has challenged us to try a new technique from the book each week. I had been thinking of trying a technique from the book for MONTHS (since we got the book as a book study last school year 09-10) but have I done it? Not really. I DO use some of the techniques, but they tend to be the ones I am comfortable with.

I feel challenged now, to Try Something New For 30 Days.

What is something new you are going to try for 30 days?

The CIA and Problem Solving

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day contained a link:What Does The CIA Say About Problem-Based Learning?

I'm feeling a bit of déjà vu here. We do some problem solving in class – okay, yea with very mixed results (a lot of frustration on my part). But these questions are very familiar. Here is a couple:

*Why is it necessary to solve the problem?
*What is the unknown?
*What is it you don’t yet understand?
*What is the information you have?
*What isn’t the problem?
*Is the information sufficient? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
*Should you draw a diagram of the problem? A figure?
*Where are the boundaries of the problem?
*Can you separate the various parts of the problem? Can you write them down? What are the relationships of the parts of the problem? What are the constants of the problem?
*Have you seen this problem before?

I agree with Larry, attributing the list of questions to the CIA may just make the problem questions and their answers more appealing to my eighth graders.

After thinking and reviewing these questions again, I see the same questions can be applied to classroom management. Da-a-ang. I'm going to use some of these questions to help me with classroom management and the rigor of my classes. I'll let you know what I come up with later.

Check out the whole article at BHH Labs here.