OMG! Outstanding Math Guide

I had a really great time this past week at the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center.  As usual, I came away from the conference inspired, encouraged and eager to implement some of the things that I learned.  Each session that I attended was great.  However, one that really excited me was entitled "Outstanding Math Guide- Common Core".  If you are into graphic organizers, and foldables as much as I am, you really need to check out their website.  The presenters are a group of teachers from Douglas County, Georgia.  They have absolutely taken graphic organizers to the next level.  I have created many foldables myself, so I truly appreciate all of the time and effort that these teachers have put into their product.  For $37.00, I purchased a book that has foldables for my entire 8th grade curriculum that are organized and differentiated at three levels.  The book is accompanied by a DVD that includes how-to videos and digital versions of each organizer.  I can't wait to get back to school on Monday to share with the other Math teachers in our system!  They have products for grades 4 - 9.  Check it out and see what you think...
OMG! Outstanding Math Guide

Sets of Real Numbers

When teaching sets of Real Numbers, I have always used a Venn diagram to help the students visualize the relationships between the subsets of numbers.  However, this is the first year that I used a Venn Diagram with the subsets nested horizontally as opposed to vertically.  For some reason, the kids really got the concept quickly.  I expected my honors students to move quickly through the lesson but not necessarily my inclusion classes. What a pleasant surprise!  I think this horizontal layout helped them to see how the numbers on the Real number line are related to the sets of  Integers, Whole and Natural numbers.  My, what a difference a small change can make in getting the concept across.  Here is the fold-able that we glued into our "Math Bible".

Front of fold-able

Class examples on the back side of the fold-able

The sets of numbers defined on the back side of the fold-able.  We used an accordion fold and glue the bottom 1/4 of the page into the book.

Back page

Front page

Help! Remediation of Integer Operations

I am currently in my 3rd year of teaching 8th grade mathematics after teaching four years at the high school level.  During the first year of teaching 8th grade, I came to the realization that the majority of my students did not understand the concept of integers and operations with them.  The truly sad part of this is that almost every 8th grade concept that I teach depends on that understanding. Solving equations and inequalities, finding a rate of change from a table of values, rules of exponents, finding probabilities of compound events, and solving systems of equations are some of the concepts that are directly affected by the students' lack of understanding of integers.  I have no doubt that their 7th grade teachers taught the concept thoroughly.  I have been reflecting on this for the last three years since it directly affects my students' success in 8th grade.  I find that I devote a great amount of time reteaching integers so that my students can comprehend the concepts that are in the 8th grade standards.  Why do students have such a hard time with the this?  Is it because of its abstract nature?  Are their 13 year old minds not developed enough yet?    In an effort to help them, I give concrete models such as movement on the number line, colored chips, etc instead of just repeating rules that they memorize but do not understand.  Recently, I found these resources ( http://ow.ly/dUyXD and http://ow.ly/dUz5a ) that I feel would be beneficial.  I would really like to hear from other teachers who teach integer operations and have found something that works for their kids. What works for your students?  Do you have a different approach to this concept?  Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated and shared!

New Year, New classroom

I have been very inspired by things that I have seen or read from many people I follow on Pinterest, Twitter and blogs.  This summer, I have spent a lot of time in my classroom, (90+ degree heat - no air conditioning in the summer!) preparing my room for the upcoming year.  I have always tried to have my classroom organized, clean and welcoming but this is the first year that I have theme decorated!  This just does not come naturally for me.  So thanks all those who have shared great ideas and inspired me to do something out of my comfort zone.  I did not realize how much fun it would be and how excited I would be for the new year to start.  Here are some of the projects that I have completed.  It is still a work in progress and I will update as I add new things. I welcome your comments and suggestions.  Here is to a great new year in 8th grade Math room 218!

My desk - When I moved into my room two years ago, I was offered this small metal desk  that  was rusted , dented, had drawers that would not open and closed correctly and chipped laminate on the top.  The first year, my husband straightened out the dents, painted over the rust and fixed the drawers.  This year, I Mod Podged the desk top with wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby and had a piece of plexiglass cut to fit.  I also Mod Podged the sides with material from same store.  I love it !!!

My desk sits beside one of my white boards.  I have put the chalk tray to good use.  Now I have color coordinated binder clips at the ready!

Behind my desk sits my only bookshelf.  I made a no sew (as I am not a sewing kinda girl) curtain  to cover  the front.   It looks neat and keeps the dust off of things on the shelves.  I used a tension rod to hold it in place.

Above my desk, the ugliest clunker of a T.V. / VCR combination is mounted to the wall.  What else to do but to cover it with and inspirational poster and add some coordinated border?   Out of sight, out of mind.

 

I Mod Podged my file cabinet with wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby.  To get a clean look, I removed the hardware first 

 

To coordinate with my file cabinet, I used the same wrapping paper on an old plastic drawer system.  Now I know where all my markers and highlighters are.  Notice the clipboard hanging from a Command hook.  I Mod Podged wrapping paper, scrapbook paper and added ribbon trim to several cheap cardboard clipboards that I use around the room.

       

The front of my room.  My extra large Smart Board :) :) :).  The computer cart on the right was found in a junk room on another hall.  I covered the top with vinyl tablecloth that I bought by the yard from Walmart  

On the left side of the Smart Board, I have my behavior chart and a small white board that I purchased from Walmart.  I used a coordinating boarder around the board to cover the plastic frame.  I write the daily standards and essential question here.

On the right side of the Smart Board is the class birthday wall.  This set, as well as all borders, labels and cards that I used can be found here:  http://www.creativeteaching.com/c-524-bw-collection.aspx   Not only is it important to recognize students on their special day, but one of the big concepts of 8th grade Math is Functions.  Birthdays are a perfect IRL example of a function...everyone has exactly one.

       

 The small table is an old student desk with the legs cut down.  I covered it with  table cloth material  bought by the yard from Walmart. I folded a pleat at each corner and stapled in place. 

This book shelf is the first thing that you see when you enter my room.  It was made for small paperback books.   The shelves are so narrow that I didn't use them the first two years that I was in this room.  I finally found these white ice bins in Walmart that are just the right size to fit on the shelves.  The bins are covered with extra material from my desk and are used to store markers, colored pencils, rulers, etc.  I attached wrapping paper to the back of the shelves using double sided tape. 

My white boards are bordered with black and white shipping tape from Walmart and coordinating black and white pennant boarder.

     

Assignments Board:  The left board is for the daily classwork agenda while the right board is for daily homework assignments.  I sectioned off the board using shipping tape from Walmart.  When the students come in to the room, they can see what homework is due and pages/concepts we'll cover each day.   Absenteeism is an issue for some of my students.  When they return from an absence, they can view the assignments that they missed.   

 In an attempt to teach students to take good notes, use them as a resource, and have something for parents to look at, I have started using a modified version of the Cornell Notes System.  I used two poster sized sheets of notebook paper taped together to resemble the marbled composition books that the students are using.  Most of them are doing a great job with their "Math Bibles".

Above my assignments board is the class word wall.  The little owls have small clothes pins hot glued to their feet.  I will clip the word card to the owl's feet.  

  

These no sew curtains were made from clearance picnic table clothes from  Hobby Lobby.  The mini blinds have a coordinating border hot glued to the valance. 

New life was added to an old Math poster with green bulletin board paper and black border.  

The back door to my classroom is the perfect place for my Pi poster.  I used shipping tape to secure it to the glass. 

The student table was Mod Podged with the  material from Hobby Lobby.  The skirt was hot glued to the table and trimmed with ribbon.  

This pencil sharpener from classroomfriendlysupplies.com is my favorite addition to my classroom this year.   The only design flaw is that it does not mount to the wall.  It was clamped to my student table but it got really messy when the students emptied the shavings tray.  

My wonderful Hubby made a small shelf and mounted  it to the cabinet.  

For absent students, work for each day is placed in the folders. 

Lowes nail aprons work great to store clickers (student response system) that the students daily, calculators, scissors and glue sticks.  

Each desk is labeled with a clicker number and a laptop number.

My First Blog!

So this is where it all begins.  After months of being inspired by others' blogs, I am officially starting my own blog.  I would first like to thank my 13 year old son, Caleb, for his assistance and direction in getting my blog set up.  But I also need to thank him and his older brother, Jacob, for inspiring me to learn new things.  Both of my children are immersed in the world of technology.  One being a sophomore in an IT program at Georgia Southern University and the other a consummate user of technology.  Much of what I have learned about current technology I learned from them at the dinner table.  These two keep my husband and I on our toes!

I am currently teaching 8th grade Mathematics in a rural, low SES school district in Eastern Georgia.  Although I now feel that the classroom is exactly where I was meant to be, I did not start my mathematics career with teaching in mind.  I have a BS in Theoretical Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science.  After being a stay at home wife and mother for more than 12 years, I went to graduate school and earned a M.Ed. in Secondary Education along with my initial teaching certification.

Now in my 6th year of teaching, I am very interested in honing my teaching skills, defining my style, and improving my effectiveness in the classroom.  I feel that one way to acheive these things is to reflect on the happenings and issues in my classroom and school.   So please bare with me as I begin my journey into blogging.   My hope is that with time my blogs will be as inspiring and thought provoking as some of the incredible posts that I have read from other bloggers.