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It’s time for another Monday Must Reads! Thankfully, it’s a much less hectic Monday than last week due to the fact that the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Ceremony has come and gone. In case you missed it on Twitter, I didn’t win. And, I’m completely okay with that. The winner is a fantastic and inspiring lady, and I’m certain she is perfect for the job of OK ToY! I’m 100% at home in the classroom (the same cannot be said for giving speeches on a stage!), and I’m super excited that I will get to continue teaching in the classroom next year. Otherwise, how would I come up with ideas to blog about?!?
Division Vocabulary
Mrs. Riley shares a graphic with different division-related vocabulary. For the past few years, I’ve taught my students about the word “vinculum.” But, “obelus” and “virgule” are new to me!
Density Word Wall
Ms. Lindley has one of the coolest word walls I have ever seen. How awesome is this density display?!? If you’re a science teacher, it’s worth checking out her twitter feed to see other science word walls!
Polynomials Project
Sarah DiMaria shows students the usefulness of polynomials by having them plan a trip for an unknown number of people!
Whiteboard Paint
Anna Vance used whiteboard paint on her cabinets to make more space for her students to work around the classroom. Awesome idea!
Z-Scores Puzzle Activity
Michelle Russell engages her students in solving for z-scores by challenging them to complete a small puzzle. This makes me wish I was teaching stats this year!
Solving Equations Dry Erase Template
I’m a big fan of using dry erase pockets in the math classroom! So, I’m super excited to see this solving equations chart shared by Lori B. Knox.
MATH = LOVE RECOMMENDS…
I cannot imagine teaching math without my dry erase pockets! They instantly make any activity more engaging and save me countless hours at the copy machine since I can use the same class sets of copies year after year.
Here are my current go-to recommendations:
Hands-On Angle and Transversal Lesson
Shaun Carter combined painters tape, laminated letter cards, and magnets to create an engaging-hands-on geometry lesson about angles and transversals.
Self-Check Station
Madelyne Bettis empowers students to take control of their own learning in the classroom by providing a self-check system.
Hands-On Mobiles
For the second year in a row, I have had my math concepts students make mobiles using construction paper and stickers. When I shared a picture of this year’s mobiles, Andrew Gael shared his own project he does with students that definitely knocked my socks off. Andrew has his students make different shapes, fill the different shapes with different numbers of beans, and create an actual mobile! I. Am. Impressed.
Line-Up Activity
Mr. Fredericks put a twist on the classic line-up structure. Students had to put themselves in order according to their guesses without talking!
Four Color Theorem Game
David Butler comes up with the coolest activities for his weekly 100 Factorial events! I’ve seen the four color theorem plenty of times before. But, I’ve never seen it turned into a competitive game!
Zero Zeros Task
David also created a very interesting problem called “Zero Zeros” that I need to spend some time thinking about!
Piecewise Functions with Doughnuts
Need to teach piecewise functions? Susan Russo has you covered with an awesome real-life scenario to motivate your graphing. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!
Lines, Segments, and Rays Candy Activity
Kathryn Kubena has a way of appealing to your sweet tooth and making you wish you taught geometry all at the same time. The idea of using marshmallows as points and candy corn as arrows is BRILLIANT.
Vocabulary Party
Rick Barlow gets his students up and moving around the classroom while practicing their vocabulary. I love everything there is to love about his vocabulary party idea! Can’t wait to try this in my own classroom! Check out his blog post here with more details!
Illustrating Discrete vs Continuous
Need to teach the difference between discrete and continuous? Meredith Purser had the great idea to bring some props to class!
Data Collection Activity with Rye Grass Seeds
Laura Vogel brings graphing data to life by having her students GROW their own data. Yes, I want to be that kind of teacher! #teachergoals
Distributive Property Combo Meal Stickers
Years ago, I blogged about using fast food combo meals to teach the distributive property. Stephanie Goldberg took it up a FEW notches by having her students build their own combo meals with the most adorable stickers I have ever seen.
3 Actionable Norms for the Classroom
Joe Cossette shares posters of three actionable norms he plans on implementing in his classroom this year. I think we should all aspire to follow these in our own classrooms.
Until next week’s post, keep sharing your classroom awesomeness!
Creative Undertakings
Wednesday 11th of October 2017
Thanks for the updates!
Mary Ellen
Monday 25th of September 2017
Thanks for the shout out! We use these symbols every single day - who knew they had a name!? It is like discovering why night is spelled "night" and not the other way around due to Old English writing and modern pronunciation.