More Posters

A few more posters to round things out....

DIVIDE BY ZERO
This one I got from Sarah Hagan again but also added a third poster with the question "divide by zero?" as found on Elissa Miller's blog.


PETALS AROUND THE ROSE
This is such a great problem! See this Math=Love post. I'm going to use it my first Friday this year (on Friday's class will start with an interesting non-routine problem - with "Figure it Out Fridays").  The blank pages shown will be filled in with names as students crack the puzzle. I hope they are all honorable and honest about this puzzle and don't share how to do it.  And if all goes well, I'm going to do the membership cards.

SUPER POWER
Again, another Math=Love inspired poster. I printed this on 11 by 17 paper on our color copy machine in the school library. Right above my desk. Love it!

Pi Poster
This one is actually from Teachers Pay Teachers, but it was a FREE download. (I'm sorry - I just don't like the idea of teachers paying teachers - we are all putting out our own money for things and sharing things and borrowing ideas - don't charge each other, just don't share if you don't want to give it for free. Or at least I wish people stopped pinning stuff that isn't free - that being said TPT does have some good free stuff! and you can sort by price).


TYPES OF ERRORS
This is great too - see this blog post on Math=Love ideas and cool musings on this.


Finally this is just outside my classroom door - I found this multiple places on pinterest. Such a great idea and here is it specific to mathematics. I hope the students are inspired when they see it!


And you can find all these in my folder here.

My Classroom

The first day of school is upon us and my room is (basically) all set.

Here are a few views of my classroom:

Student Desks

I have 6 sets of 5 with class sizes ranging from 14 (very low level, mostly special education students) to 26 students. I've got these all set with composition notebooks and handouts for the first day for my first class.

My Desk Area

And I have a nice counter behind my desk where where I organize things, keep my tea thermos & have plants.

Absent students

This is always a challenge. You are trying to get class started and a student comes up to you and asks what they missed when they were absent yesterday. I point to this hanging file holder. There is a hanging file for each class. When a student is absent I put any worksheets (with their name on it and the date they missed, more than one sheet is paperclipped together) in their block. I might also put a post-it note on the worksheets with a reminder to take a quiz or get ISN notes from someone.

The bins to the right of the absent files are for extra worksheets or materials from any given class. I always copy extra so they go here until the end of the unit. Then they get recycled (or in the case of ISN materials I save them in a folder in a drawer for that unit).

ORGANIZING!

Also on my counter are some things for organizing. This blue organizer has my paper in it. There are slots (on the left) containing different types of graph paper, plain white paper and lined paper. On the right I have some copied ISN materials for the first day (table of contents and a ton of Frayer diagrams on the bottom right). On top are photocopied inserts for the ISN. On the right are ones I'll use for Algebra One and on the left for PreCalculus. I did ISNs in my classes last year so know what I'll be using for the first unit in both so made the copies before the copy machines got overworked and jammed (happens every year at the start of school). 

Next to this is a clear area for my ISN supplies. Since I have six tables of groups of desks I have six baskets, one for each "table". Students learn pretty quickly to grab their basket if it is not already on their table, especially if they see "TOC" on the white board (table of contents). And they return them to this spot at the end of the block.

I organize my paper for ISN foldables in hanging folders, genius idea! Thank you (Sarah? not sure where I saw this last year).


My class set of graphing calculators also go in a draw in this bin that clearly labels each calculator with a number. Each student has a calculator number they can borrow (although we only have twenty calculators and most of my classes are over twenty. But there are always a number of students who bring their own and don't have to sign one out).


Graphing calculators are sadly the extent of our technology these days. I am going to try to incorporate desmos in my classroom this year, but I don't have a smart board to do this, only an LCD for projecting images.

Classroom Posters (mostly adapted from others!)

It's wonderful to see all these great poster ideas that other math teachers have created/borrowed/adapted and have put up in their classrooms.

Here are some that I have borrowed/adapted/created and have posted in my classroom! Students start school tomorrow so I'm all set with some nice new & fresh decorations. Sometimes I think my classroom can be a bit over-decorated, but I really like all the messages on my posters. And there are some blank spots around the room! I posted some new ones, and even have some other new ones in process not blogged about yet here. Will do another post once everything is set. But for now - poster round-up for 2015.

First of all - posters can be found in this file HERE.

Here is what I have posted - some old & some new!

RUBRIC on my BACK WALL

General expectations of what good math looks like. Something for students to think about. (all are laminated which caused a bit of a glare in the picture taking, oh well).

Math Practice Standards

 On one closet I post them all (printed for use from our department chairperson)

And then on another cabinet I post ones I seem to emphasize more than others. Especially when we are doing performance tasks.

PI ON CLOCK 

such a clever idea!  Again found on Sarah's blog. And she found it elsewhere. Love how ideas weave through all these different math teachers. I run "pi day" at our school, so I like this little year 'round reminder!

BE AWESOME

Idea from Rockstar Math Teacher blog, adapted.

Here is it in context - by my door (notice my cute little lav passes....those are just silly enough that students don't lose them).

WWSDS

Love love love slope dude, have used the video for years. But this poster idea came from the math=love blog, Sarah Hagan's creative twist, thank you!

Classroom Rules

I'm of a mindset that high school students know how they are supposed to behave in school so we don't have to spend time brainstorming how they should behave etc. It also helps that I am entering my 27th year of teaching so am a scary looking old lady (LOL) which naturally makes class management so much easier than it was when I was closer in age to my students. But I do like having colorful little reminders around the room about how they should behave (note my Garfield "Please & Thank You" poster by my front door.). Here are some other posters I put up around the room to reinforce good behavior. The first one I've had for a few years and can't find the source (sorry!) and the other colorful one can be found HERE. 

The one under the welcome sign is on my front wall bulletin board. This is the bulletin board that I post schedules, notices and general information for students. I haven't finished posting items yet but this is what the whole thing looks like so far:

Yes that IS Pythagoras in the upper left corner of my whiteboard!

Growth Mindset

We have a full bulletin board display that is modeled on Sarah Hagan's bulletin board in our math hallway. I took some of the growth mindset phrases and printed them out and posted them in my classroom:

Mathematical Quote Posters

These are on some of my cabinet doors. Yes I got them from Sarah on Math=Love. I'm fortunate that our copy machines print on 11 by 17 paper and our school library has a laminating machine (and color copier).

Right Side Reflect

The general set up of my ISN notebook (especially in Algebra One) is to have the left hand side be for LEARNING (often with some teacher directed foldable work with process, definitions and/or examples). The right hand side is devoted to student reflection. Not open-ended but specific activities or examples for them to do that go with the learning they did on the opposite page.

http://frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-series-think-about-it.html

I want to do a better job in maintaining this "right side reflect" vs "left side learning" set up. 

This can be a balancing act. Of course, there is the time limitation within the classroom lesson time. But I've found that the "right hand reflect" works just as well the next day as a warm up activity. Sometimes concrete reflection the day after the learning takes place is a great idea - it gives students a chance to do some practice (homework) and time to consider what they've learned.

My other limitation is space. My Algebra One class meets every day for 82 minutes and we cover A LOT of material. I found that we only had about 12 pages left in our 100 page composition notebook at the end of this last school year (my first year fully integrating ISNs in my Algebra One class). That does not give me much wiggle room. 

http://doodlesinvigorate.com/2014/06/12/

Plus I want to keep the "right side reflect" fresh for students and not just have them work examples. And guess what beautiful thing I stumbled upon when sorting through some blogs that I read. This post from "i is a number" Interactive Notebook Left Side Assignments (she does her left side for reflection). Wow!  Yay!

So at the risk of shamelessly just copying her ideas - here is a list of different ways to have students reflect in their ISNs regardless of which page side they do this.

1.       Comic- Draw a comic strip that is clearly related to the topic. 

2.       Correct an Error- Choose a problem where you made a common (but not obvious) mistake.  Side by side, show the incorrect solution and the correct solution.  Explain the error and how to correct it or avoid it.

3.       Dear Granny- Explain the math we learned today so your granny could do it!

4.       Dear Teacher- Write a letter proving how much you understand about the topic. 

5.       Diagram- Create a diagram for the concept including visuals and words. 

6.       Flashcards- Create a set of flashcards on the topic and store them in a pocket on the page. 

7.       Foldable- Make your own foldable.

8.       I’m a Good Mathematician- Journal about how you’ve demonstrated one of the eight Standards of Mathematical Practice recently.

9.       In the Real World- Show how the topic is used “in the real world” and not just in math class.  You may include articles in the news, connections to science, art, etc. 

10.   KWL Chart- This three-column chart lists what you know about the topic before the lesson, what you want to learn about the topic, and what you learned at the end of the lesson.

11.   Matching/Card Sorting- Given a set of cards, match them in groups or sort them into labeled categories.    You may make your own cards if the teacher doesn’t supply cards for that lesson and store them in a pocket so you can study from them.  Include answer key.    

12.   My Mnemonic- Write your own mnemonic memory trick (PEMDAS for “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” is an example of a mnemonic).

13.   Pick Four- Clearly write out four practice problems from homework or classwork with correct solutions and all work shown. 

14.   Poster- Make a mini poster that summarizes the concept. 

15.   Practice Worksheet- Fold a regular-sized worksheet in half and attach just the top edge; the whole paper will stay tucked inside the notebook but can be unfolded easily.  Choose three distinctly different problems to work out on the page and explain why you chose those three. 

16.   Shrinking Notecard- Write notes on a topic on an index card, condense the information onto a regular square Post-it, then condense it again to a small Post-it.  The small Post-it should contain the most important information on the topic.  Store in an envelope or attach all three to the left page. 

17.   Sing Me a Song- Change the lyrics to a well-known song to teach this topic. 

18.   Student Created Problems- Make a set of problems on your own and solve them.

19.   Two-Column Problem- Choose a new example problem to complete.  On the left half of the page, solve the problem.  On the right half of the page, write in words the steps you’re using to solve the problem.  

20.   Venn Diagram- Compare and contrast two topics.  This is a great way to connect a new topic to a topic we learned earlier in the year or to highlight the differences between two methods of solving a problem. 

21.   Visual Vocabulary- Draw the vocabulary related to the lesson.  Use minimal text and very specific illustrations to get your point across. 

22.   Weave a Web- Design a web or concept map for the topic.

23.   You must be Mistaken- Choose a problem in which you made a procedural mistake, not just a calculation error.  Explain the misconception you had, tell what made you understand, and show how to solve the problem correctly.  

Some really great ideas here! Thank you very much Kathryn! I definitely am going to use some of these to get the students reflecting more creatively.  

http://csshumanitarians.blogspot.com/

Get ready to yell BINGO - a great game adaptable to any topic, subject

https://templebethorr.org/2013/09/07/get-ready-to-yell-bingo/

This is a simple, easy to use game that kids love and can be used for any topic, grade or subject area. You just need to have 25 questions that are relatively quick to answer and have a short answer that is easy to display. I use it for high school math. I've used it to review one topic (solve equations) or as a more comprehensive review (whole unit or even final exam review).

Basic Game Process

You display questions that have a specific problem number, students solve and display answers. If they get that problem correct they shade in that problem number on their prepared bingo "board". Five in a row, they yell BINGO. Write their name on the board and keep playing with the class (I allow two wins per person so the winner keeps playing). Play until you want to be finished (allow a few minutes to have students clean up, put away supplies and get prizes).

Teacher Prep and Set up

You don't need bingo markers or special bingo boards. I find it useful to have a class-set of individual whiteboards with markers & erasers.  I like the ones that have a coordinate plane on the back so when one of my questions has a graph for an answer it's easy to display the answer accurately.




Ahead of time I prepare 25 questions with their answers. You do this simply with a list of questions. I've done this game in an impromptu manner by printing out a kuta math worksheet such as this one and using those problems (this worksheet only has 20 questions but you really don't get to all 25 questions in a game, so just renumber some of them so you have some numbers over 20 in your problems).. Or I often plan ahead by having a bingo powerpoint prepared with all the questions (and display it using the LCD player in my room - about as high tech as our school gets). You need the questions to be numbered 1 through 25.

I also print out a bunch of handouts of the "bingo boards".

Have students help you hand out all the supplies. I tell students to have a pen/pencil for creating bingo board and a highlighter for highlighting their squares when they get an answer correct. I have a large container of class highlighters so I have enough for every student to use.

Getting the Students Ready

Once you handed out the supplies you need to have students prepare their bingo boards (see worksheet above). They randomly number the squares with the numerals 1 - 25 (or label one space as "free" and number 1 - 24). Caution. They should write the numbers in order but randomly place them in different spots. I've seen kids randomly choose numbers in the 1 - 25 range as they write but then invariably get stuck and can't figure out what number(s) they are missing or repeat a number.

okay really hard to write numbers using a mouse on my computer....

Playing the Game!

Now you just display the questions. I usually display them in a power point using my LCD but you can write them on the board or just read them.  Be sure you clearly display or communicate the problem number. I also keep a running list of the problem numbers we already completed.

Here's a sample problem slide from a PowerPoint game:

Students do calculations and answer on their individual whiteboards. I have them put the boards facedown on their desk. I have a time limit but I'm kind of informal about it. Pretty much everyone finishes around the same time. Once everyone is mostly finished I say "10 more seconds" and then after that "times up". Once I say times up, I check answers.

The students all raise their boards with their answers displayed. (picture not from my classroom)

http://www.osacademie.nl/10/onderwijs-inspiratie/verboden-om-je-vinger-op-te-steken/

And I do a quick, "yes", "yes", "yes", "no" - pointing at boards, possibly saying names. I do this quick and students put down boards, erase them and shade in the number of the problem on their bingo card.

At the same time I also display the answer slide on my PPT.

Be sure to record the problem number - I create little boxed in area in the upper section of my whiteboard off to the side and just write "Problem Number" and keep a running list there. This is helpful for checking.

How to Win

You decide what is going to be a winning action - 5 in a row, 4 corners, whatever you decide. Of course communicate this to students.

When someone yells BINGO, you have the student recite all the problem numbers in their bingo row and you verify with your problem number list. Then I write that student's name on the board and resume playing. For prizes I use small pieces of candy, fun pencils, fun stickers, etc. 

I love this game! and so do my students. It can be used in so many situations. And it's easy to set up and use. I hope you enjoy it and would love hearing back from people if they use it.

Here are all the files together with some sample bingo PowerPoint.

Stupid Questions

https://604talesofteaching.wordpress.com/tag/stupid-question/

There is no such thing as stupid questions in math class.....I have the above quote in my class information sheets and I encourage students to ask questions, come for help! As Tia Ramos said in her blog post on "Tales of Teaching" There is no such thing as a stupid question.  

As an instructor or student, how many times have you heard that phrase…”There is no such thing as a stupid question”?  I  have said this phrase many times lecturing an introductory workshop.  The reason why I say this phrase is to decrease anxiety in the classroom and encourage students to ask questions.  Many students don’t ask questions in fear of looking stupid or being made fun of by the instructor.  As instructors, we pose this phrase because we want our learners to feel safe and foster that positive learning environment. We also want our learners not to be afraid to ask questions.

Definitely check out her blog post - she cautions against praising questions asked by students and quotes an on-line article by Ginsberg There are No Stupid Questions But...

I quote her observations

 In this thought-provoking on-line article, “There are No Stupid Questions, But…“; the author states that “teachers need to be neutral when responding to a student’s question”. This means the instructor should not give praise to a learner for asking a question.  For example:  A student asks a question.  The instructor gives the student a praise such as “Great question!”.  Ginsburg (2012) states “How could a positive comment like “great question” deter students from asking questions? Simple. If some questions are great, then by implication others are not great. And it’s inevitable that kids will be reluctant to ask questions if they think their questions may not elicit our praise. From their perspective, then, there are indeed stupid questions”.
I have used this phrase many times in my class to encourage questions from learners but have not really considered my actions and it’s implications.  By judging/evaluating the learners’ questions, it actually creates a negative learning environment.  That’s correct.  The positive learning environment that I have been trying to create is ruined by my praise of saying “Great question!”  Even though my intent was pure, the psychological message I am saying to my learners is there are stupid questions if you’re question didn’t garner a “great question” praise.  It’s no wonder learners don’t ask questions in class!  It is because they are intimidated and are fearful of asking a stupid question.
So you can see instructors have to be cautious with praise.  Praises also create extrinsic motivation for learners which robs students of learning values, beliefs and attitudes.  Extrinsic motivation can create situational compliance where the student only learns subject matter for praise rather than independent self-directed learning.  Instructors need to promote intrinsic motivation where the focus is put on the actual learning process.

A simple “Thanks for your question” provides a quick neutral response to the student, which validates their question without evaluating their question. As Ginsburg (2012) states, ” For students to learn to their potential, they need to feel free to ask questions and share their thoughts. And they’ll never feel such freedom unless we as educators value their input rather than just evaluate it”.  

Interesting food for thought!  So this school year I need to amend my "great question" into 

"Thanks for your question"

This makes sense, I like it, I will certainly try to remember to do this!

Of course this is always another side to each viewpoint - here is an interesting blog post by Terri Eichholz  "Actually There is Such a Thing as a Stupid Question" - in her viewpoint it is most often asked by the teacher! Here are some of the stupid questions that she thinks teachers ask

“Weren’t you listening when I gave the directions?”

“Why do I hear people talking?” 

“Could you please speak up?”

“Does that make sense?” 

And her favorite stupidest question ever:

“From now on, when we blow the recess whistle, would you boys please hold your balls?”  I only said it once – back when I was a 5th grade teacher to a bunch of students who kept dribbling basketballs while in line.  Yep, dumb.  But definite proof that stupid questions do exist. 

I am guilty of her first one quite a bit:
 “Weren’t you listening when I gave the directions?”
Or some variation of (such as I just went through all that, weren't you listening? with students around them being exasperated too). But reading over Ms. Eichholz's post I need to read between the lines of their question because

 If a student is asking me about something I just went over, he or she either didn’t hear it, can’t remember it, or doesn’t understand it. 

Good point - it's not always that they weren't listening. There's a good chance that they didn't understand and I need to figure out what is going on but asking them some questions.

 And the other one I recognize is

“Does that make sense?” When I ask a whole group this question, of course no one is going to shout out, “No, that was completely confusing!”  One solution is for me to talk less, so they have less to decipher.  When I do need some immediate feedback, I try to employ student response systems like Socrative or good, old-fashioned thumbs up/thumbs down.  The best way to tell, of course, is to take a good look at my audience.  If you know your students, you can pretty much tell by the looks on their faces if they “got it” or not.

But I do try limiting that as a whole group question and it is a good idea to do the thumbs up/thumbs down or thumbs wavering response for a quick gauge of understanding.  

And a final (short) post worth looking at is "There is Such a Thing as a Stupid Question, Stupid" by Megan Walsh. She considers that teachers are to blame for this problem with these comments (referencing comments by Art Graesser, a University of Memphis psychology professor and Oxford researcher):

And we, at least in part, have teachers to blame for our poor inquiry skills. Kids are naturally curious — why? how? what would happen if? — but educators don’t much encourage such intellectual aimlessness. Instead they want kids to know the answers to who, what, when, where — or so-called grill and kill questions. “Our school systems have removed curiosity from kids,” Graesser says. “It’s not socially sanctioned to ask the questions that actually matter.”

That may be because teachers know they don’t have all the answers. Or because they don’t want to derail their lesson plans. Graesser’s prescription for the stupid-question epidemic is that teachers present students with dilemmas that are based in genuine uncertainty, where they can be co-explorers in the search for knowledge.

 (emphasis mine)

A tall order and a little daunting when we consider how much we need to cram into our days to cover all our curriculum. So maybe we can't do it every day, but we can try to do this. And it's a great way to introduce new concepts in general and performance tasks that use a variety of skills. Limit the information you give students, pose a dilemma to them (how would we simplify this expression? How could we solve this problem?). Allow some brainstorming. Let their creativity and curiosity take over.

Who knew there would be so much in the simple sentence "There is no such thing as a stupid question"! 

Treasure Hunts

This is a fun activity that can be used over a variety of courses and grades. It doesn't just have to be math. It doesn't just have to be secondary school. It's also a very simple premise and doesn't require a lot of technology. I know there are some great treasure & scavenger hunts out there that have students search for things on the internet. This version is super low-tech. Which is great if your school doesn't offer much technology for students to use.

Basic Premise

Students go around the room and solve problems found on little problem cards that you have posted around the room. They have an answer sheet that you provide them with and on which they record their answers. They solve all the problems and check the answer sheet with you. You can create treasure hunts with as many or as few questions as you want (I would not do fewer than 8, it's not worth effort for less than that).

Here's the Twist

Every problem card has a question on it and an answer in the upper left corner (see sample below):

Notice the polynomial in the upper left corner says "Previous Answer"? Every card has a problem and an answer on it. The answer doesn't match the problem on the card. It goes with some other card around the room. What order the students solve all the cards is dictated by where they find the answers.

How students "play"

Students have an answer sheet and they start recording answers in the first blank. They pick ANY card posted in the room, I encourage students to start in different places so the whole class is not all in front of the same card. Then they FIND the answer they got on a card around the room. They solve the problem on the card that has their answer under "Previous Answer" and so on.

Here are some answer sheet samples:

What's the teacher doing?

The first time your class does this can be tricky so you want to be right there with them as they solve to help them find their way around. I zero in on the students that I think might have some trouble with the directions. 

Once your classes seem to get it, it's still a good idea to walk around the room with the answer key to check answers as needed. You will hear "I can't find my answer anywhere". Usually it IS in the room and they are not looking hard enough. But you can double check if their answer matches anything on the answer key - if it does, tell them to look around. If it doesn't match something on the answer key I have them bring me to the problem card they just solved to see if I can give them a few hints.

How do students "win"?

They need to have all the correct answers in the correct order and depending upon the problems you posted, they have to have work to support their answers. Beware of students who just copy answers from someone else saying they "worked together".  Or students have all the correct answers but not in the correct order (this happens when they go around and copy the "previous answers" on their answer sheets without doing the work.

Modifying

I have had students who cannot handle the walking around and commotion this activity involves. Two years ago I had a student with autism who was very stressed by this activity but wanted to do what everyone else was doing and stay the room. So for that student I printed out a list of the problems and a separate list of the answers (all jumbled up) and gave them an answer key and they did their own quiet treasure hunt at their seat. Don't use this for lazy students*, only for students who need modification for their special needs. *(occasionally you'll have a student who will whine about having to get out of their seat, once you get them moving around they usually enjoy themselves).

Checking answers

When the first few finish up, it's easy to check them as the rest of the class is working. Here's how I check efficiently - I see what their first answer is, find it on my answer sheet and then follow the order on my sheet from there to check the rest of theirs (hope that makes sense).

Once the floodgates open they all want to be checked, so I take all the sheets and check them over as students work on a group individual activity for a few minutes. Or you can check them and hand them back the next day. I do give prizes. Sometimes a small piece of candy, sometimes stickers or fun pencils. But all the problems must be correct and in the correct order (with work shown).

Sounds Great, how do I make one?

HERE is a basic template for you to create your own. The first slide has some instructions for you:

And HERE are all the documents together - answer sheets, sample treasure hunts, etc.