Do your students struggle finding common denominators when adding and subtracting rational expressions? I created this finding common denominators activity a few years ago when I was teaching Algebra 2. I found that my students needed plenty of practice identifying what the least common denominator should be before we ever spent time practicing how to …
I can count on one hand the number of Mondays that I have taught since the pandemic began in 2020. When we returned to in-person instruction in the fall of 2020, we adopted a calendar of Distance Learning Mondays where students would complete their lessons asynchronously each Monday. The high school I teach at kept …
The animal-shaped pentominoes puzzles I have been putting out on a weekly basis have been a huge hit with my students. This elephant pentominoes puzzle was no exception! Can you arrange a set of twelve pentominoes to form the shape of an elephant? Previously, my students have tackled the Terrier Pentominoes Puzzle, the Penguin Pentominoes …
It’s been way too long since I put together the last volume of Things Teenagers Say, so I thought I would remedy that issue. This is my regular round-up of the crazy and memorable things I hear my students say in class. Things Teenagers Say Me: Hyperbola is such a fun word to say. Hyperbola, …
It’s been a rainy Monday full of prepping to attend an ACT training tomorrow and analyzing our spring ACT benchmark data as a math department. I thought I should take a bit of time today to put together a new volume of Monday Must Reads. Can you believe I’m getting close to reaching 100 volumes …
This parent graphs of trig functions clothespin matching activity has been in the making for multiple years. Several years ago, I discovered a Parent Graphs of Trig Functions Worksheet from Robyn Wolfe of Carlisle Schools. Overview of Activity I used the worksheet with great success in my pre-calculus class, and I remember writing a note …
I use these classifying triangles by angles and sides notes with my pre-calculus students as part of our first unit of the year which covers mainly geometry review. Especially with the pandemic, I have to spend quite a bit of time reviewing geometry before we can jump properly into trigonometry. I have my students fill …
Years ago, I created this fraction war card game to give my math concepts students practice comparing fractions by finding common denominators. How to Play War War is a common card game that is typically played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The deck is shuffled and divided evenly between two players. Players …
Today feels monumental for some reason. It’s the last Monday before Spring Break. The rest of the school year always seems to fly by after Spring Break, so it almost feels like this is the point in the school year where I’ve “made it.” I’ve survived another year of teaching. The end of this school …
I’m continuing the theme of sharing a weekly pentominoes animal puzzle with this week’s terrier puzzle. My students who tackled last week’s penguin pentominoes challenge were super excited to see a new animal puzzle to take on. Can you arrange a set of twelve pentominoes to form the shape of a terrier? I discovered this …
This Little Ones and Big Ones Puzzle was a huge hit with my students last semester. I appreciate the simplicity of this puzzle. Even though there are only four different puzzle pieces, this is actually four different puzzles in one! Select any of the four shapes (say, the rectangle). Try to fit your four pieces …