Today is President's Day and the students have off...
I am in a training learning new ways to teach Math and how to do it using technology. I am hoping that I will be able to keep up with my blog more from now until the end of the year.
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything in our class.
Thanks,
Mrs. Chapman
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, August 22, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
A Mix of Session Material
There were a few sessions I went to that didn't provide enough information in them to do a full post on, so I figured I would cram all of the random things here...
1) Are these two figures both quadrilaterals?
ACTUALLY, YES THEY ARE!!! Weird Huh?!?! They aren't when you consider what we teach at the 7th/8th grade level as the definition of a quadrilateral, BUT, the higher in math you get, you find out that they are. They are quadrilaterals because if you take the very middle of each line and connect them to form quadrilaterals, then they are quadrilaterals. See below.
2) STAAR Gazing:
TABS, TEAMS, TAAS, TAKS, STAAR - It's all about "Closing the Gap" and making students more and more intelligent as the test gets harder and harder each time.
Go to the TEA website for all updated STAAR information.
3) It's not what YOU know, it's about asking better questions and getting more and more information from the students. Helping them achieve what you want them to achieve.
Thanks everyone!!! :)
1) Are these two figures both quadrilaterals?
ACTUALLY, YES THEY ARE!!! Weird Huh?!?! They aren't when you consider what we teach at the 7th/8th grade level as the definition of a quadrilateral, BUT, the higher in math you get, you find out that they are. They are quadrilaterals because if you take the very middle of each line and connect them to form quadrilaterals, then they are quadrilaterals. See below.
STRANGE TO ME!!! But I had to share! :)
2) STAAR Gazing:
TABS, TEAMS, TAAS, TAKS, STAAR - It's all about "Closing the Gap" and making students more and more intelligent as the test gets harder and harder each time.
Go to the TEA website for all updated STAAR information.
3) It's not what YOU know, it's about asking better questions and getting more and more information from the students. Helping them achieve what you want them to achieve.
Thanks everyone!!! :)
Math Curriculum Make-Over
Dan Meyer
@ddmeyer
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/
dan@mrmeyer.com
http://camt11.mrmeyer.com/
First off I just want to say that I got to see his original speech during lunch and it was AWESOME!!!! I want to be him when I grow up! LOL! :)
There are 3 Acts to a Movie/Play, you should have 3 Acts to your Lessons too...
The Three Acts Of A Mathematical Story
Act One - Introduce the central conflict of your story/task clearly, visually, viscerally, using as few words as possible.
Leave no one out of your first act. Your first act should impose as few demands on the students as possible — either of language or of math. It should ask for little and offer a lot. This, incidentally, is as far as the #anyqs challenge takes us.
Act Two - The protagonist/student overcomes obstacles, looks for resources, and develops new tools.
So it is with your second act. What resources will your students need before they can resolve their conflict? What tools do they have already? What tools can you help them develop?
Act Three - Resolve the conflict and set up a sequel/extension.
The third act pays off on the hard work of act two and the motivation of act one.
If we've successfully motivated our students in the first act, the payoff in the third act needs to meet their expectations.
Conclusion - Many math teachers take act two as their job description. Hit the board, offer students three worked examples and twenty practice problems. As the ALEKS algorithm gets better and Bill Gates throws more gold bricks at Sal Khan and more people flip their classrooms, though, it's clear to me that the second act isn't our job anymore. Not the biggest part of it, anyway. You are only one of many people your students can access as they look for resources and tools. Going forward, the value you bring to your math classroom increasingly will be tied up in the first and third acts of mathematical storytelling, your ability to motivate the second act and then pay off on that hard work.
He explains in a little more depth: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=10285
Take a Photo or one minute video & show it to your class & get them interested!!! They will want to know what the end of the story is, or what it is all about!
Try it out on your PLN first...Post to Twitter with #anyqs - tag = This means people will ask you questions, it's the same thing for the classroom. You want the students asking the questions. Lead them, don't tell them. Let them DISCOVER!!!
Example:
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8153
More examples: http://camt11.mrmeyer.com/2011/06/11/three-act-math/
This guy is AWESOME!!! Definitely following him now! :) You should too! :)
@ddmeyer
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/
dan@mrmeyer.com
http://camt11.mrmeyer.com/
First off I just want to say that I got to see his original speech during lunch and it was AWESOME!!!! I want to be him when I grow up! LOL! :)
There are 3 Acts to a Movie/Play, you should have 3 Acts to your Lessons too...
The Three Acts Of A Mathematical Story
Act One - Introduce the central conflict of your story/task clearly, visually, viscerally, using as few words as possible.
Leave no one out of your first act. Your first act should impose as few demands on the students as possible — either of language or of math. It should ask for little and offer a lot. This, incidentally, is as far as the #anyqs challenge takes us.
Act Two - The protagonist/student overcomes obstacles, looks for resources, and develops new tools.
So it is with your second act. What resources will your students need before they can resolve their conflict? What tools do they have already? What tools can you help them develop?
Act Three - Resolve the conflict and set up a sequel/extension.
The third act pays off on the hard work of act two and the motivation of act one.
If we've successfully motivated our students in the first act, the payoff in the third act needs to meet their expectations.
Conclusion - Many math teachers take act two as their job description. Hit the board, offer students three worked examples and twenty practice problems. As the ALEKS algorithm gets better and Bill Gates throws more gold bricks at Sal Khan and more people flip their classrooms, though, it's clear to me that the second act isn't our job anymore. Not the biggest part of it, anyway. You are only one of many people your students can access as they look for resources and tools. Going forward, the value you bring to your math classroom increasingly will be tied up in the first and third acts of mathematical storytelling, your ability to motivate the second act and then pay off on that hard work.
He explains in a little more depth: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=10285
Take a Photo or one minute video & show it to your class & get them interested!!! They will want to know what the end of the story is, or what it is all about!
Try it out on your PLN first...Post to Twitter with #anyqs - tag = This means people will ask you questions, it's the same thing for the classroom. You want the students asking the questions. Lead them, don't tell them. Let them DISCOVER!!!
Example:
Burning Man
October 6th, 2010 by Dan Meyer
Click the image for full size. You have to see it full size.
1. What questions perplex you about this photo?
What's the perplexity score here?
3. What information would you need to answer the question?
Nevertheless, here are two images that are interesting, if not useful also:
4. Submit your work.
I knew we wouldn't have time for this. Here's the Evernote page, though, where Colin Graham posted his work:
5. Show the answer.
[BTW: Though the photo is clearly timestamped 2009, various commenters have outed themselves as serious Burning Man attendees to tell me that this is 2010's photo. I have adjusted the news clipping accordingly.]
1. What questions perplex you about this photo?
What's the perplexity score here?
davidwees: How many people there?We went with:
Peter: how many people are there?
Roz: How many people?
schwartz: is it bad that i want to know the area of the shaded regoin?
JG: How many rows can be added until the circle touches the pentagon?
Colin (@ColinTGraham): How was it built and measured out?
Sam Critchlow: what/why is the gap between the pentagon and the circle
JG: How much area is added on with each additional concentric circle?
Sam Critchlow: or what is the total open space area
Chris: how many more people to complete the circle?
Colin (@ColinTGraham): what's the significance of the pentagon
Nick Hussain: how many more people/dwellings (?) could be added if the circle was completed?
JSR: what's at the center?
Colin (@ColinTGraham): how many sectors if the circle was complete
davidwees: How many people are there?2. What is your guess? What is a number you know is too high / too low?
JG: Average number of people in each rectangular regionDavid's response is right on point:
schwartz: people per square something
davidwees: I think we can estimate people per square
schwartz: radius of part circle?
Barb: Was admission charged? If so, who sold the tickets? They could give a ballpark figure
Colin (@ColinTGraham): is each sector evenly divided and how many sit in each of the eleven concentric rings?
davidwees: and get the scale from the size of the tracks shown
Roz: we definitely need scale
davidwees: so I think we could get a pretty good estimate without much more informationYou don't need anything more here. (I wonder what it takes to get students comfortable with imaginary units, as in "the radius of the circle is 500 burningmans," etc.)
Nevertheless, here are two images that are interesting, if not useful also:
4. Submit your work.
I knew we wouldn't have time for this. Here's the Evernote page, though, where Colin Graham posted his work:
5. Show the answer.
[BTW: Though the photo is clearly timestamped 2009, various commenters have outed themselves as serious Burning Man attendees to tell me that this is 2010's photo. I have adjusted the news clipping accordingly.]
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8153
More examples: http://camt11.mrmeyer.com/2011/06/11/three-act-math/
This guy is AWESOME!!! Definitely following him now! :) You should too! :)
Smart Phones / Smartboard
Irving ISD
Danielle Clements
Danimclements@gmail.com
Check out "Technologic" by Daft Punk - It's pretty cool. She had it playing while people were walking in!
TEACH - Savy!
Technology
Enhansing
Academics from
Classroom to
Home
Pre-Lesson (Collaboration)
Interactive Presentation
Post - E-Learning
Follow-Up
Google Docs / Calendars:
Living Breathing Documents
Collaboration Tools
Can be used anywhere in the world
Great SmartNotebook Features for the Math Classroom:
Dual Page Display
Screen Capture
Eraser
Lines
Shape Recognition Pen
Magic Pen
Properties
Pin Page (great to use with dual page)
Measurement Tools
Record Video (great to leave for a sub, ISS Students, or a way to differentiate)
Math Tools (have to purchase, but check out YouTube Videos on them...they are awesome)
Gallery Essentials in the Math Classroom:
Pictures (graphs, circles, 3-D Figures)
Tools (Protractor, Compass, Ruler)
Games (Manipulate Graphs, Battleship to Learn, Timer)
Activities (Multiple Choice Questions, Categorize/Match with Vortex, Flip Tiles to find answers)
Google Voice: (I'm SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS)
You can create a text/calling phone number that you can use from your own cell phone without giving out your cell number to parents and students.
You can text students reminders, give them a number to text when they have questions, you aren't tethered to your desk in the afternoon to use the school phone to make parent phone calls to.
Goes to regular cell phone though!!!
Want to create my own permission slips though for the beginning of the school year based on all the technology that I want to use in and out of class for the school year. ANOTHER "TO DO" in the short time between now and school....Need to make myself a LIST! :)
Here's Danielle's Permission Slip...
Danielle Clements
Danimclements@gmail.com
Check out "Technologic" by Daft Punk - It's pretty cool. She had it playing while people were walking in!
TEACH - Savy!
Technology
Enhansing
Academics from
Classroom to
Home
Pre-Lesson (Collaboration)
Interactive Presentation
Post - E-Learning
Follow-Up
Google Docs / Calendars:
Living Breathing Documents
Collaboration Tools
Can be used anywhere in the world
Great SmartNotebook Features for the Math Classroom:
Dual Page Display
Screen Capture
Eraser
Lines
Shape Recognition Pen
Magic Pen
Properties
Pin Page (great to use with dual page)
Measurement Tools
Record Video (great to leave for a sub, ISS Students, or a way to differentiate)
Math Tools (have to purchase, but check out YouTube Videos on them...they are awesome)
Gallery Essentials in the Math Classroom:
Pictures (graphs, circles, 3-D Figures)
Tools (Protractor, Compass, Ruler)
Games (Manipulate Graphs, Battleship to Learn, Timer)
Activities (Multiple Choice Questions, Categorize/Match with Vortex, Flip Tiles to find answers)
Google Voice: (I'm SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS)
You can create a text/calling phone number that you can use from your own cell phone without giving out your cell number to parents and students.
You can text students reminders, give them a number to text when they have questions, you aren't tethered to your desk in the afternoon to use the school phone to make parent phone calls to.
Goes to regular cell phone though!!!
Want to create my own permission slips though for the beginning of the school year based on all the technology that I want to use in and out of class for the school year. ANOTHER "TO DO" in the short time between now and school....Need to make myself a LIST! :)
Here's Danielle's Permission Slip...
Mini-Projects That Tap Into The Right Brain's Creativity
A&M Consolidated Middle School
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
Math & Science are usually Left Brain, but so many students are BORED in class because they are RIGHT BRAINED!!!
Let them CREATE...Think on their own!!!
Neumonic Devices:
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally could become
Please Eat More Donuts At Shipleys
Integer Project:
Have the students DRAW their own picture and then WRITE a story about the picture.
Very RIGHT BRAINED!
Fractions & Decimals POETRY?!?!
Really? Poetry in MATH??? Why Not? You don't have to create it! THEY DO!!! Have your students write poetry about a math topic. No, all poetry doesn't have to rhyme either. Just make sure that their final product is actually correct math. Just because it rhymes doesn't make it correct math! :)
Coordinate Graphing Calculator Project:
Why not have them take a drawing of their own or a picture of THEIR choosing and create it on the calculator? It's a great way for them to get more familiar with the calculators and with graphing. If they don't do it correctly....the picture won't turn out correctly either. This can be a very time consuming project though, so make sure to either allow them time in class OR let them come after school and use the calculators for those students who don't own their own (since they are pretty expensive).
The Pythagorean Spiral:
I really think I will be doing this one this year because they turn out pretty amazing looking!!! I think they would be a great addition to the hallways at GJHS and there aren't a TON of projects that you can display out in the hallways in the math department.
And yes, they have to do the MATH & they get to DESIGN it and COLOR it!!!
Linear Equations in SONG:
Slope Intercept form of y = mx + b to the tune of the YMCA??? "Y" Not? Or why not create a song to any of the other concepts in math? Have your students make their own song, record it and present it. http://www.lassmath.com/y-mx-b-song
Quadratic Formula in SONG:
Another Song?!?! Why YES!!!
http://youtu.be/79F2QxpjBz0
The Quadratic Formula as Pop Goes The Weasel! :)
Analogies:
Analogies aren't just for the SAT & English classes anymore!!! Why not have students come up with Analogies for MATH!!!
Have the students not only come up with the analogy, but also with the pictures to support it.
Any other ideas? Why not tap into that unused area of the students' brains and make them think outside of the box. It will make it way more FUN for them AND get them to learn ideas that they might not have! :)
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
Math & Science are usually Left Brain, but so many students are BORED in class because they are RIGHT BRAINED!!!
Let them CREATE...Think on their own!!!
Neumonic Devices:
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally could become
Please Eat More Donuts At Shipleys
Have the students DRAW their own picture and then WRITE a story about the picture.
Very RIGHT BRAINED!
Really? Poetry in MATH??? Why Not? You don't have to create it! THEY DO!!! Have your students write poetry about a math topic. No, all poetry doesn't have to rhyme either. Just make sure that their final product is actually correct math. Just because it rhymes doesn't make it correct math! :)
Why not have them take a drawing of their own or a picture of THEIR choosing and create it on the calculator? It's a great way for them to get more familiar with the calculators and with graphing. If they don't do it correctly....the picture won't turn out correctly either. This can be a very time consuming project though, so make sure to either allow them time in class OR let them come after school and use the calculators for those students who don't own their own (since they are pretty expensive).
I really think I will be doing this one this year because they turn out pretty amazing looking!!! I think they would be a great addition to the hallways at GJHS and there aren't a TON of projects that you can display out in the hallways in the math department.
And yes, they have to do the MATH & they get to DESIGN it and COLOR it!!!
Slope Intercept form of y = mx + b to the tune of the YMCA??? "Y" Not? Or why not create a song to any of the other concepts in math? Have your students make their own song, record it and present it. http://www.lassmath.com/y-mx-b-song
Quadratic Formula in SONG:
Another Song?!?! Why YES!!!
http://youtu.be/79F2QxpjBz0
The Quadratic Formula as Pop Goes The Weasel! :)
Analogies:
Analogies aren't just for the SAT & English classes anymore!!! Why not have students come up with Analogies for MATH!!!
Have the students not only come up with the analogy, but also with the pictures to support it.
- Border = Perimeter
- Land Mass = Area
- Box = Surface Area
- Puffs Cereal = Volume
Turn a topic into a Picture:
Dr. Rich Allen & Wayne Logue have a WHOLE BOOK of these ideas. Here are TWO.
#1: DOG
#2: Quadratic Equation in Pictures
Any other ideas? Why not tap into that unused area of the students' brains and make them think outside of the box. It will make it way more FUN for them AND get them to learn ideas that they might not have! :)
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