CANDY CORN DATA COLLECTION

It's that time of year when those delightful yellow, orange, and white tidbits of pure cavity-producing candy are in abundance everywhere you look. Yes, it's candy corn!

Halloween, candy corn, math, student engagement....it's a natural combination! How do I keep the kids focused on learning when there is all of this outside excitement? Let's bring it into our lessons.

For the next few days, we'd like to gather some data  to use for math class next week. Please help us out and respond in the comment section with answers to the following questions:

1.  How many candy corns do you think are in the container?
2.  Do you like candy corn?

Thanks, in advance for helping us out! We'll report the results soon!

MTBoS Mission #2: To Tweet or Not to Tweet

This week I've dipped my toe into the Twitter water with my MTBoS Professional Devlopment crew.  I am still figuring out the platform for following, being followed, and making an effort to contribute to conversations. Still need someone to tell me how to figure out the schedule for the #chats.

I love the feeling of connection and personal contact with these mathy folks who inspire me to be a better math teacher.  It's very similar to the feeling I used to have in the "old days" when we teachers would actually go to the Teacher's Lounge and have conversation while eating lunch. (I spend my lunches in my room working with the kids.)  I miss having others with whom I can bounce around new lesson ideas.  I am the only sixth grade teacher at my school and don't share a lunch or planning time with the seventh and eighth grade math teachers so math talk is pretty limited at school. I do have a fabulous principal who is a former high school math teacher - I can always talk math with him but we know how limited his time is.

This week I jumped in with comments for a few new friends but it just doesn't feel natural to "interrupt" a conversation with people who really don't know me yet.  What I have found this week is a professional community who is willing to support me in my adventures as a math teacher, who share incredibly similar experiences, and who are eager to expand their skills and SHARE!

Now, to Tweet or not to Tweet?  I'm overwhelmed with the volume of messages every day. I don't know when these folks sleep!  LOL  I only have a "dumb" phone so my use of Twitter is limited to my computer at home.  I'm going to keep at this challenge and find my niche.  There is a wealth of ideas and support here. 

If you hear some faint chirping...it's not a cricket, it's me trying to find my way through the Math Twitter Blogosphere!

SERENDIPITY and ESTIMATION 180

I have begun using Andrew Stadel's Estimation 180 web site with my students. This is an area of number sense that many students could use practice, and this is the perfect way to get their estimation brains in shape. Andrew is one of the new faculty on my Professional Development Staff through the Math Twitter Blogosphere! Super creative and....in a word....TALL!

                                                    Click here to go to Estimation 180

In these lessons, students use the context clues in a photograph and their prior knowledge from lessons to make estimations. They are able to find out the actual measurement and see other students' estimates on the site.  I have given my students a sheet to fill out to record their estimates and the difference between their estimate and the actual answer. For some reason, the kids LOVE this! They especially love being able to get the exact answer.

Yesterday I decided to expand the lesson a little and was rewarded with some surprises along the way. After the students made their estimates I asked them to write their estimate on a piece of paper.  I then had them line up around the room from the shortest estimate to the tallest estimate. Those were the only directions - I just let them figure out the rest while I sat back and watched. One brave soul asked, "Where do we start?" and all I said was, "You'll figure it out."  And they did!

 

 My reward for not orchestrating their every move was the satisfaction of seeing their problem-solving skills in action - all the natural leaders, born teachers, and bosses of the future stepped right up. They were totally engaged, listened to each other, and completed the task of lining up without one single suggestion from me. Proud moment...

 

We then took the opportunity to talk about the range, mode, and median of a set of "live" data. Totally unexpected part of my lesson but it was one of those teachable moments I couldn't pass by. 

  

 Now for the serendipity....if I hadn't expanded this lesson with the lining up from least to greatest, I would never I have seen this...

In every class several students wrote their estimates for feet and inches as a decimal: 6 feet 2 inches was written 6.2 feet.  It never occurred to me that this misconception might come up in the writing of measurements!  Great opportunity to get this tackled - I'll be on the lookout today for anyone writing their measurements in this manner.

Changing my methods of teaching is sometimes a huge stretch for me.  Teaching an old dog new tricks is always possible.  There is no one monitoring these moments except for me (and now, YOU!). These moments are my rewards. The serendipity of learning new things is what drives me every day.  The inspiration of my Professional Development Staff keeps my passion for teaching and learning alive in the face of budget cuts, lack of technology, and the endless paperwork. 

Thanks, Andrew, for a great site that has opened up to so much more for my students and myself! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MISSION MTBoS: The Math Twitter Blogosphere

One of the best parts of technology is the ability it gives us to connect with people. I have found a whole new community of peers through joining this challenge. While it is a bit scary to put yourself out there for (literally) the whole world to see, it is exhilarating to be inspired and supported by others

who are on the cutting edge of mathematics education reform.  While I'm not getting much professional development at ALL in my own district, these amazing teachers are my gurus, colleagues, mentors, and fellow explorers into the new frontier I've entered.  After nearly 34 years of teaching, I've found a home with the BEST of the BEST! If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself!

 

http://exploremtbos.wordpress.com/

Museum Math

While in Pittsburgh, I visited the Heinz History Museum as well as the Carnegie Science Center. (I know....it's a VACATION...what's up with the educational tour?)  Lots of math to be found at both of these places.  Here are some of the treasures....

 

 

MISSION1 - Power of the Blog

I'm stretching my skills and comfort zone.   I have joined a fun, inspiring 8-week challenge - Exploring the MTBoS. I have accepted the first mission. Jump in, head first, step into the scary void. I am new to all of this but I'm looking for growth.  Hang on...it's going to be a wild ride.
Some ideas I have rolling around in my brain for development...of course while I'm on fall break...the teacher brain doesn't stop....

Penny Wars will be starting at my school. This will be a fundraiser pitting the three grade levels against one another. Who can fill a 5-gallon water bottle with the most money? What can we do with this?  Estimate how many pennies it would take to fill it by counting pennies in smaller volumes. Estimate how much each student in the sixth grade would need to bring to fill the bottle.  There's got to be more we could do with this. 

The invasion of the 40-foot rubber ducky in Pittsburgh!  My brain is racing with questions of ratios and technical difficulties of maneuvering under the many bridges around the city!  I think sixth graders might find it fun....what do you think? Where can we go with this?