I have a bad habit of complaining about things. To work on this, I’ve been trying to consciously notice what I complain about and attempt to make a difference somehow. I used to complain about how homework wasn’t accomplishing what I wanted it to. Instead of continuing to complain about it, I decided to do …
Holidays
The other day on Twitter, I saw this idea posted. I embedded the tweet, so you may have to wait a moment for it to load. While you’re waiting, it’s a picture of acrostic poems in the teacher’s lounge with adjectives to describe each staff member. I saw this idea and immediately decided it would …
Today’s poster is another idea stolen from Annie Forest that I can’t wait to put up in my classroom! She posted about decorating her classroom for Pi Day, and I decided I needed to steal one of her ideas to decorate my classroom EVERY day. Want more ideas for Pi Day? Check out this round-up …
As student council sponsor, I get to play a large part in organizing our Veterans Day Assembly. My student council students are responsible for hanging up decorations and cleaning up the gym after the assembly. Here are some pictures I took over the years of how my school decorated for Veterans Day. It is my …
Today was a kind-of snow day. We had school, but the majority of students left early. This led to my principal letting me leave early so I could make it home safely. I decided I should use a little of my extra time to try and write up a few blog posts. During my first …
Check out this collection of engaging and informative videos to show your students on Pi Day! I also had planned on showing some pi day youtube videos, but I showed up at school to realize that my school had decided to block youtube all of a sudden. So frustrating! Another video I wished I had …
All you need for this “Seeing Pi Activity” is a tube of tennis balls. Which value is greater – the height of the can of tennis balls or the circumference of the can of tennis balls? The answer might surprise you or your students! I closed out each class period with an activity called Seeing …
Where does your birthday appear in the digits of pi? This fun pi day activity makes a fun contest that requires absolutely no skill whatsoever. Whose birthday appears the latest in the digits of pi? My mom picked up some boxes of nerds candy for me during Valentine’s clearance time, so I gave them away …
Bring some musical fun to your Pi Day celebrations with these Pi Day songs! First hour, I gave my students the option of singing The Pi Song which is to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?” My students did not want to participate. So, I made a fool of myself and sang the song …
This tossing pi activity generates the digits of pi after collecting data from tossing toothpicks on a sheet of paper. Students will be shocked at the results! Here are the instructions: Ideally, this activity, also known as Buffon’s Needles, is used to reach an approximation of pi. Some of my group’s approximations were much more …
Looking for a fun way for students to discover the mathematical meaning of pi on Pi Day? Check out this cutting pi activity that involves scissors, string, and circular objects from around your classroom. First hour, we did a cutting pi activity. Students looked around the room to find circular objects to trace. Then, they …
Looking for a fun activity for Pi Day? Read on to learn about how I host a digits of pi memorization contest in my high school math classroom. Several days before our Pi Day celebration, I informed them of the upcoming holiday. Most of my students had never heard of pi day before. I invited …
I’ve got an icosahedron ornament balls tutorial to share with you today. These ornaments are super easy and fun to build with just twenty circles, glue, and some ribbon. These ornaments can be made for Christmas or really any time of year! I actually had a guest teacher for this lesson. My sister is studying …
I was super impressed by the tombstone projects I found in a science classroom while attending my very first EdCamp. I would love to implement this project in my classroom to help students study famous mathematicians. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with #edcampTULSA, but I’m definitely glad I went! I still need to …
Today I passed out my Parallel Lines Math Valentines that I made for my students with pixy stix. I found the card online via Pinterest. You can download your own copy of the card at love2learn2day. I downsized them to be closer to the size of a typical valentine. Thanks to my paper chopper, …
I want to share a Keep Change Start Stop Reflection Form I created to help both my students and I reflect on the past semester and prepare for the new semester. Tomorrow is the first day of our second semester! And, I’m so excited! If you would have asked me on Sunday if I was …
Since today is Valentine’s Day, I want to share the mobius strip activity I did with my students. I told my students that I had wanted to get them each a Valentine. But, I went to Wal-Mart, and they didn’t have any mathematical valentines. So, I handed each of my students a strip of colored …
Universal Letter Writing Week 2013 This week, my math classes are celebrating Universal Letter Writing Week. Universal Letter Writing Week takes place during the second week of January. I had originally wanted to make this a student council project. My student council officers, though, were less than thrilled with the idea of setting up a …
Today, in Algebra 1, we had a snowball fight. My students had never done anything like this. Well, for that matter, I hadn’t either. This idea originated from Kate’s blog as a first day of school getting to know you activity. Well, we’ve been in school almost a month, and I teach at a very …