Table Cards for Cooperative Learning Activites

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to attend the #ASCD15 conference where I was introduced to Kagan Structures.  Upon returning home, I attended a full day training on cooperative learning and since that time, I have planned an upcoming training of 2 days of professional development with Kagan.  After attending two different trainings, it's official...I am hooked!  I absolutely love the interactivity and engagement the structures provide and the organized method of grouping students. I tried some of the ideas at our recent 6th grade day and the structures helped keep everyone focused and on task.  Plus, the kids really seemed to enjoy them. (Bonus!!!)  Part of the organization with Kagan Structures occurs as students sit in groups of 4's.  To help facilitate activities and discussions, it is helpful to have table cards.  I made a set in our school colors.  Download the red and blue version or choose the editable file to customize your own:)

pdf or editable Publisher file

ACT Prep: Basic Algebra Skills

For the past 7 years, when I haven't been working my day job, I have been tutoring for the math portion of the ACT.  I absolutely love helping students and celebrating with them as they reach their goals for college and scholarships.  For me, tutoring is one of those things that I think that I would keep doing even if I won the lottery today.  I find it that much fun...seriously! :)
As I have tutored, I have noticed that students tend to miss the same problems repeatedly.  I can tutor 10 students in a week and 7 of them might miss the same problem on the practice test.  We work on the problem type during the session and again at the end of our appointment, but I also like to begin the next session with a similar problem.  It is helpful to have frequently missed problems ready to go either for a tutoring or a traditional math class.  So, today's #Made4Math is just that...a quick 2 question quiz "ready to go" to practice frequently missed Basic Algebra skills. Enjoy!

Link Student-Created Videos to Study Guide w/ QR Codes

I am so excited to share with you this week's #Made4Math post, because it is not something that I made at all...it is something created by StuDEnTs (I just helped facilitate)!!!  If you have read for any length of time, you know I love projects in which students create videos to explain the ins and outs of solving a specific problem.  We have created math projects filmed as a silent movie, stop motion animation, and just plain old screencasts.  In fact, there is not a week that goes by in which students are not required to utilize technology to demonstrate learning, because I truly believe...

you learn 95% of what you teach, even if you are teaching to an audience via video.  So, to prep for the college Trig final this year, I handed students a 20 question Study Guide and taped a sheet of paper with a table numbered 1-20 to the classroom door.

I invited them to sign up to demo one of the questions on the Study Guide...with a partner, of course (to hold their phone).  The students, now pros at explaining mathematical "how-to's" and "why's" eagerly volunteered to explain a problem (well, let's be real for a moment...these were seniors about to fly the coop so, I offered bonus points - something I rarely, if ever do - to everyone who actually spoke and demonstrated their mathematical prowess in the video).  It was amazing to see how quickly the students volunteered to explain how to work a problem of their choosing!

The students uploaded their videos to You Tube (something else they learned this year) and then shared the link via a Google Form.  I created a QR Code  of their link using QRStuff and took a screenshot of the code (it also let's you save the image if you want).

I inserted the image into the corresponding square of a clean copy of the original table numbered 1 - 20.

The QR Code Table was shared with each of the students and updated regularly until all of the student videos were added.  It has always been a dream of mine to be able to hand students a Study Guide and a sheet with links to relevant student-created videos to support their studies.  So, this was my year!!!  I really had students sitting in class wearing earphones and using a cell phone to scan QR codes to watch their friends explain math problems.  It still makes me smile in July!

Analog Twitter Wall

For the last 7 years, I have served as both assistant principal and dual enrollment math teacher.  I have loved doing both, though at times I have wondered how effective I was in either position when each seemed to vie for my time and energy.   About 6 months ago, my principal started advertising for my math position, not because I wanted to hang up my teaching hat forever, but because he wanted me to do a few different tasks during the upcoming school year.  So far, a replacement has not materialized and with only 23 days to go until a final decision must be made, it looks like it might be me again.  So after clearing my walls of anything blue or polka dotted a little over a month ago, I am facing the real possibility that I may be moving my stuff out of son #1's room and back to A-5.  Which leaves me wondering what will I change when I go back?
     I normally start the school year with "About Me in 140 Characters" using Wiffitti, because I have been teaching students both in a face 2 face setting and via video conferencing.  I created the assignment to introduce the kiddos who were sharing the same virtual classroom, but if I go back into the classroom, I know that the principal has me only teaching in a face 2 face environment. Since I want to stay with the assignment, but my situation will be different, I thought I might try an analog wall after being inspired by Two Guys and Some iPads. So, for this week's #Made4Math post, I picked up a pack of sentence strips at Dollar Tree and made the graphics I would need to create my analog Twitter space.

Of course, I had to start with the adorable blue bird which set the color scheme for the rest of the graphics

and then I made the little "t" to glue to the ends of the laminated sentence strips.

The tag line for the space is, "What's on your mind today?" (well, besides the obvious...math!!!)

I will definitely use it for the first assignment, "About Me in 140 Characters", but I am thinking about leaving it up for a few weeks to see what the students will do with it - all the while modeling appropriate tweets:) I/m feeling accomplished...it is the beginning of July and the first bulletin board is done!  Oops!  Almost forgot...here is the publisher file for customizing.

#Made4Math: Dice Game

Last week was a whirlwind for me.  I attended the Ron Clark Academy (RCA) 3-day National Conference and then our school's annual Curriculum Camp.  My mind is spinning and I have yet to process it all!  So, for this week's #Made4Math post, I opted to start with the simplest idea I heard this week which was shared by Adam Dovico of RCA, the dice game.  In the true spirit of #Made4Math, I hit the local dollar store this weekend to purchase 4 packs of dice and came up with one concrete concept with which to use them.  First, let me say that I normally DON't do worksheets ever, ever, ever, but I made an exception because I looooovvvved the Dice Game idea.  It works with any age and any subject!

What you need:
One die  per two students (or the Dice app downloaded to each student's phone), one pencil per two students, and one worksheet for each child

How to play:
1.  Divide students up into groups of two.  The goal of the game is to complete the worksheet before your opponent does.  Though, when described to our staff by Mr. Dovico, by design there is rarely, if ever, a winner.

2.  Give both students a worksheet (perfect for test review, multiplication review, factoring practice...literally, anything!!!).  Hand one student the die and give the other student the pencil.

3.  Count down for the game to begin.  When the game starts, one student grabs the pencil and begins work on the paper, while the other student begins rolling the die hoping for a "6".  The student rolls the die repeatedly until a "6" is rolled.

4.  After rolling a "6", students swap the die and the pencil.  The student with the pencil works on the independent practice worksheet until his opponent rolls a "6".

5.  Monitor students' progress as you walk about the classroom.  Allow the game to continue until students get close to completing the worksheet, count down for the game to end prior to anyone actually winning, so that there will be a sense of urgency next time you play.

For this activity, I focused on second semester's Trigonometry class, because my second semester could use an infusion of fun.

Word doc or pdf

 I created practice problems to review finding other trig functions given one value and the quadrant, but the idea could be used anytime and anywhere!

#Made4Math: Alien Invaders

I am so excited to get back in the swing of #Made4Math Mondays.  This makes 2 in a row for me!!!  It has been too long and ideas have been rattling around in my head for months.  This project is a spin off of Splat!, in which students use flyswatters to swat the correct answer to a factoring question.  In Alien Invaders, students will use laser pointers or flashlights to select correct answers!  Hopefully, the kids won't notice the similarities since one will be played in the Fall and the other in the Spring.  For Alien Invaders, I started out by creating my own creatures, so that I was not infringing on others' artwork (I'm never sure about appropriate use of  published stuff).

Being a middle aged woman, somewhat removed from little boys and aliens,

I looked to the internet for some inspiration.

The nicely shaded ones were created by true artists.

Mine were done using Promethean's ActivInspire and a bunch of shapes (feel free to improve them and then share with me:).  For this game, I will tape the aliens sporting answers to the ceiling, arm the students with death ray beams (laser pens or flashlights), prepare a stack of questions, flip the lights off and let the fun begin.

Alien Invaders

  I have created this version for trigonometry to reinforce the (x, y) coordinates of significant angles on the unit circle.  I have tutored kids from all over and noticed very few students have a good handle on being able to rattle off the sin 150 degrees or the cos 315 degrees (not that this is an important life skill, but it does prove particularly useful in trig class).  A few years ago,  I found the "Trig Hand", which I use instead of having students just memorize the entire circle.  It reinforces the importance of quadrants in determining the sign of trig ratios and reference angles.  I made Alien Invaders to practice evaluating the trigonometric ratio (without a calculator) using the trig hand, but this could be adapted to fit any question and answer scenario.

The students will be divided into four teams.  Two teams will compete against each other at one end of the room, while the other two teams are battling it out at the opposite end (so that everyone gets a turn quickly). With the lights off, I will call out a question like the sin 225 and students will use the laser pointer (flashlight) to identify the correct answer before their opponent.  

Like Splat!, I expect this to get ReALly noisy, ReALly quickly, but if they are yelling about math, I will be okay with that...and hopefully, so will the teachers in neighboring rooms.

Made 4 Math: Celebrating Black History Month

 Disclaimer: This post was actually drafted in February, but due to my pesky need to have everything 'just right', I didn't publish it because I couldn't find pics of the activity.  As the year draws to a close, I wanted to share it, because it was really fun and it is something I will continue this summer as I create Math Questions of the Month for the 2013-2014 school year.

 I am so excited to share this week's #Made4Math idea, because it motivated tons of random kids to do math problems for something other than a grade!!!  In fact, students were literally running down the hallways (sorry, Principal Dean:) to check their answers...okay, I promised the "first one with the correct answer" a candy bar, but all of the others were curious just to see if they worked the problems right.  Yay, score one for the Math Department!!!

     So, let me back up...every February our school celebrates Black History Month through a program filled with songs and praise dances. This year, the event organizers asked departments to furnish a Fact of the Day honoring an African-American who made significant contributions in each content area.  The facts were read during the morning announcements. Each department was responsible for only one day of the week and since we were out one week for Winter Break, each department had to furnish only 3 facts for the month.  The math department's day was Thursday.

     As the first Thursday rolled around, I knew I wanted our's to be different, interactive, and contain something about math.  I researched African-American mathematicians and stumbled upon Benjamin Banneker, who, besides studying engineering and astronomy, wrote math riddles in his personal journals.  Very cool and the inspiration for our 'math facts' announcements.  I wrote the announcements introducing Mr. Banneker and then included a math riddle at the end.  Here are a couple that we shared:
Announcement 1:  Benjamin Banneker, American scientist, author and mathematician, was a self taught inventor and engineer. After studying a neighbor's pocket watch, Benjamin Banneker constructed a working wooden clock that kept accurate time for 50 years.  Assuming there a 365 days in a year, how many minutes did Mr. Banneker's clock tick? Be the first to A-5 with the correct answer and win!

Announcement 2: Last week, we introduced Benjamin Banneker, a son of a former slave, who was born on a farm near Baltimore. From books loaned to him by a neighbor, Banneker taught himself surveying, astronomy, and mathematics. Later, he published several almanacs of his own containing astronomical observations.  He also kept a journal.  In his diaries, Banneker wrote mathematical puzzles, one of which we are featuring today.  So here is the math question of the week:  A farmer had $100 to spend on 100 animals.  If bulls cost $5, cows cost $1, and sheep cost a nickel, how many of each type of animal was the farmer able to purchase?  Be the first to A-5 with the correct answer and win!

I created table tents featuring the math riddles for each of the cafeteria tables in case someone missed the details during the morning announcement (I figured the students might as well do math while eating their fish sticks).  Finally, I created a candy bar wrapper which was wrapped around a giant candy bar and given as a prize.

Next year, Math Question of the Month...something to work on this summer:)

       The first person with the correct answer won the Banneker Bar and everyone else received coupons for a free hamburger at the local fast food restaurant near the school.  Truly, kids ran to my classroom to check-in with their answers.  If the answers were incorrect, it provided me with an opportunity to ask them to explain their mathematical thinking and help redirect them to the correct answer.  I loved seeing students that are not in my class this year and watching them get excited about solving problems.  So why should math facts make the announcements only in February?  Why not throw in a challenge question randomly through out the school year?  I promise, it's fun!!! 

Made 4 Math: Totally Awesome Prizes

This week's #Made4Math: Totally Awesome Prizes was made up on the spot...out of the blue...off the top of my head and it was oh, so much fun:)  One of my favorite ways to review for a test other than a Study Guide is to use dry erase boards.  Now, that doesn't mean I don't like to use student clickers or cell phones, but some days I just prefer the dry erase.  Too often, I tell the students that I am awarding make believe points with make believe prizes (lame, I know.)  This week, I thought it would be fun to award real points and have real prizes for the students to "buy" after the review.  But where to get the prizes for ALL of my students without spending tons?  This is where this week's #Made4Math came in...I simply asked the kids to bring in a "White Elephant" prize, something from their home, locker, or car that was cool, but that they didn't want anymore.
I had baskets with point values on them in which students could place their items.  Items were valued as the students wished with none of the prizes valued for more than the potential points available during the review session.  They brought in everything from a pink flamingo pen to a wooden nesting doll (which surprisingly someone wanted). I added in candy, items from local colleges, and hand sanitizer compliments from the school counselors.  We had plenty of items in each category and the students scouted out the prizes before class started.
Our tests typically have 25 questions that count 4 points each with partial credit awarded for work demonstrating a partly right answer.  I used tickets from Dollar Tree to represent the number of points their response might have been awarded had it been written on the test.  Red tickets represented full credit at 4 points, green tickets counted for 3 points, and yellow tickets were 2 points each.  I had questions (and answers) prepared for Review Day which i wrote on sticky notes and hung on the whiteboard and I placed strips of each of the colored tickets on the students' desks.  As the students showed their answers on the dry erase boards, they were awarded a point value.  The students pulled off the correct ticket from one of the strips on their desk.  The students pulled tickets with great integrity probably because they are juniors and seniors and the prizes were....well, let's just say the six pack of Reese's that cost a whopping $1 was considered a top win:)
     Several students stopped by the next day to tell me how much fun they had (working math problems) on the Review Day.  They weren't alone; I had fun, too.   We laughed alot on Review Day...at the prizes we brought and the prizes we picked...but with the laughter they relaxed about their second "College test" and they identified and corrected misconceptions.  The test grades were the proof...13 out of 20 made A's!!!

Made 4 Math: Geting Our Groove On

This week is Homecoming at our school which brings dress up days, senior activities, lots of enthusiasm and the unique challenge of keeping students moving forward academically in the midst of the week long celebration.  Our senior students are in class for only two days this week and their minds are on their community service/fun day, kings' and queens' presentation, and of course, the big dance - the inspiration for this week's #Made4Math project.  Tomorrow, we will GeT OUr GrOOvE oN in math with RM Easiteach's Dance to Advance and their Dance, Dance, Revolution-like mats.  I've used the RM Easiteach software to create a matching game focused on graphs and their equations.

The RM mats work as directional mouse pads and are controlled by students stepping on them to select a correct match to the problem displayed in the center of the screen.  I have 8 dance mats which I will connect to 4 computers.  Students will play two at a time to try to achieve the highest score by correctly matching the most functions to their corresponding graphs.  I plan to use a "dance-off" bracket to determine the winner in hopes of getting in some extra practice disguised as friendly competition.

 I was able to customize the game board quickly.  For the graph choices, I uploaded pics that were created in my Promethean ActivInspire software.  I inserted images of the functions as well, so that the equations would be clear and easy for the students to read in the fast pace game. (I didn't want funny syntax to slow them down.)

I love that before the game begins students can select the background and the music.  I know that it is silly, but somehow I would like to think I could  match graphs better if I were at the beach:)

Made 4 Math: Walking Word Bank

This week's #Made4Math project is the Walking Word Bank for Inequalities and Interval Notation; though itt may be a bit of a misnomer.  The the Walking Word Bank does not actually include words, but it does include walking!  My friend, Colleen, shared the idea with me this afternoon and I loved the idea of having the kids moving about the room and talking about math. So, I rushed home and was able to create this in a matter of minutes (literally, it is as quick as it takes to type the problems and answer sets). The up and out of the chair activity begins as the students are greeted by the instructor at the door and are tagged with either a problem or solution adhered to each of their backs.  

Each student is given a table with the names of those sporting the math "problems".  

Students copy the problems from classmates' tags and work to solve each equation.  The solution is recorded in the column next to the corresponding problem.  The students write the name of the classmate with the matching solution.  If a matching solution cannot be found, the students know to re-check their calculations. Super simple!  We try it tomorrow:)

Made 4 Math: QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Ok, you know I love my QR Codes.  I have used them for a little bit of everything, but this is my first QR Code Scavenger Hunt and I can't wait to see the students' reactions!  This #Made4Math activity was designed to get kids out of their chairs...way out!  We are going outside (which makes me a bit nervous) and we are using our BYOD cellphones in public (which makes me A LoT nervous).  Before the activity, I plan to send a quick email to my principals (2 campuses/2 principals) to let them know what we are doing and during the activity, each group of students will carry a hall pass (included in the project file) complete with a brief explanation of the task and necessary supplies (specifically, the cellphone!!!).

Planning the activity was quick and easy.  I started with 7 quadratic equations for solving ranging from pretty basic to completing the square with a leading coefficient other than "1".  I entered each problem into QRStuff to create the codes.

QRStuff was easy to use with the text elements (math problems).  I like the way the equations show up immediately on the students' phones when I select "embed text into code as is".

As always, I used Promethean's trusty ActivInspire to take screenshots of the QR codes and pasted the codes into a Publisher document for printing purposes.  I will tape the codes in various places on campus, though you could just as easily keep this hunt within the confines of the classroom. When students scan the code using a QR Reader like i-nigma and BeeTagg, they will immediately see this:

After working the problem, they will use the answer choice key to be directed to the next location. I made 6 variations of the key so that the groups will not be moving from location to location in a specific order.

If by chance a computational error occurs and the students end up at the wrong location, the code they find will advise them to check their work again.

A few codes were added that create a "twist" in the hunt (I am trying to re-connect with my inner sense of fun and adventure:).  One reads, "Oh no!  Into your plans, someone has thrown a wrench.  The real clue can be found beneath an outdoor bench."  (I think they will like it...)

Never one who likes to be confused on the "day of", I included the location on the codes so that I will know where to post them. We will try it this week and I'll let you know how it goes:)

Math imPossible: Part Deux

I was so excited about last week's Math imPossible online scavenger hunt.  I worked hard.  I planned.  I included audio and video and still the result was... less than sizzling.  Not that it was bad, but it turned out that page after page of math problems didn't yield the same excitement I imagined (but honestly, I thought 5 pages with 2-3 problems per page packaged as an online scavenger hunt style was hardly unreasonable for a review practice).  So why write about it again?
Well, one, because I fixed it and two, because I think it is important to reflect.  Regardless of how long I've been teaching, everything doesn't always work out the first time.  It is important to remember, I can't give up.  I can't quit trying new things.  I must continue to push the envelope.  I must re-evaluate.  What worked?  What didn't?   Don't sweat what didn't work...just fix it.
So, where did I miss the mark?  The fun-ness factor fell sharply after the initial discovery that our class website had been hacked.  But for that one moment of discovery, emotion was high!  The kids faces when they saw our regular site bearing the symbol of the hacker was priceless.  They bought in. They were hooked.
After they began working through the math problems though, the activity became more like an online worksheet (NOT what I was going for!).  I could see the enthusiasm waning as they worked their way through the website, so I asked a few kids what they were hoping for when they started the Math imPossible adventure.  Some suggested QR codes. Some wanted to run around the school.  Some thought the clues should be presented differently (the clues were obtained by playing "Guess Who" with only 5 questions).  All great suggestions and all feedback was appreciated!  Why? Because I want to get better.  I want them to have a positive emotional reaction to math, so that they don't dread it or fear it, but actually look forward to it.
This week's #Made4Math project is Math imPossible: Part Deux.  Better and Improved.  I kept Page 1 featuring the Powtoon video and activity explanation.

The clues were changed from the "20 questions/Guess Who" format to photos displayed after each correctly worked problem set.  Now every year, the culprit will be a senior boy with brown hair who plays sports (sorry, future students).

I added two "get up and move" opportunities.  In one, they run to the flag pole to get a key code which will virtually "unlock" the next picture clue.

In the other "get moving", they head to the library to scan a QR code clue which will reveal the color of the culprit's hair. (The QR clue was created with QR Code Kaywa.)  I hope "running wildly through the school" will add the fun factor the activity initially lacked (and yet, not get me fired!)

On the last page, I changed the actual "guess" process from entering the suspect's name in Rafflecopter to a Google form with a digital feel.

The initial activity was academically sound; the content was spot-on, no typos, not too hard, not too easy.  But if I work hours on a project, I want it to sizzle, not fizzle.  By making a few tweaks, I think this might just do it.  I'll get feedback again from my students and make adjustments as needed.  If this works (fingers crossed), expect an Amazing Race in my near future:)