tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71692974502671852542024-03-13T07:56:03.440-07:00Teaching Math Rocks!I love to learn and talk about math and education.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-10347656835894710542014-02-03T08:26:00.000-08:002014-02-03T08:26:00.540-08:00The Work of Teaching - Dr. Deborah BallI had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Deborah Ball speak in person. She is a very fascinating lady and incredibly smart. I think what I liked most about her is her ability to say it like it is in a very understandable way. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrwDM4ejNqs&feature=youtu.be">Here she shows a group of lawmakers</a> that teaching isn't as easy as everyone would like to think it is.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nrwDM4ejNqs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-77208885142430091092014-01-31T08:06:00.001-08:002014-01-31T08:07:19.313-08:00Snooooow much snow!If any of you have seen this particular article...I can say it is completely and totally true for my southern part of the country.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/map-how-much-snow-it-typically-takes-to-cancel-school-in-the-us/283470/">Snow Required to Cancel School</a></div>
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I especially like when it says: </div>
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Clarification: The lightest green says "any snow" but also includes merely the prediction of snow.</div>
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The local school districts have called off school for the past four days. Here is a picture of my backyard today:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c1E1DacygXg/UuvJtFsS7_I/AAAAAAAAANY/FQ4vq96XB0E/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c1E1DacygXg/UuvJtFsS7_I/AAAAAAAAANY/FQ4vq96XB0E/s1600/photo.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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If it wasn't Friday, my money would be on no school tomorrow either.</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-80024166121095071592012-09-23T11:36:00.003-07:002012-09-23T11:37:46.691-07:00Vocabulary Card SortI am always looking for ways to make boring vocabulary a little less
boring. Here's what my intern and I did last week. It turned out
better than I expected and so I figured I would share. This took two 45
minute periods.<br />
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1.) The students worked with me to fill out a basic vocabulary sheet. I
already had the definitions typed in the boxes. The students had to fill
in the words and the pictures. I had 28 words total otherwise I
probably would have had the students write the definitions,
as well. <br />
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2.) I then typed up squares with only the vocabulary words in them--one word
per square. The students were arranged in pairs and cut out all the
words. When they were finished they had 28 individual word cards on
their desks.<br />
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3.) The students were asked to complete a card sort. They had to take all 28 vocabulary words and put them into categories.
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">They created the categories</span>.
They were allowed to use the vocabulary sheets from day #1 to help. I
gave them the following guidelines: (a) must have at least three
categories (b) at least two words per category
(c) must be academic categories<br />
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4.) The students worked diligently to arrange their cards. I walked
around and questioned/challenged some of their choices. They were made
to
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">justify</span> the choices they
made. When they were satisfied with their categories they made titles
from blank squares. They arranged them neatly on their desks. I came by
and took a picture with my iPad.
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ty_CRW9920/UF9WSmXS7UI/AAAAAAAAAHU/1trhTQMlH-Y/s1600/vocab3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ty_CRW9920/UF9WSmXS7UI/AAAAAAAAAHU/1trhTQMlH-Y/s320/vocab3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
5.) They had to choose one of the categories and write a paragraph using
all the words within that category. (This was a good idea but I
probably needed better instructions for the students because not all of
them produced quality paragraphs.)<br />
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6.) They taped their categories together and hung them on the wall. I
plugged the iPad into the projector and the partners presented their
categories to the class. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O-orIYteUgw/UF9WVLUIOcI/AAAAAAAAAHc/QrTCEiuDXaA/s1600/vocab5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O-orIYteUgw/UF9WVLUIOcI/AAAAAAAAAHc/QrTCEiuDXaA/s320/vocab5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-87037245131501057832012-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:002012-01-09T17:54:03.997-08:00Let's Talk Math<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Last semester I left off
with graphing lines. By the time the semester was over, *most* of my students “got
it”. However, by the time January rolls around most of them forget everything
they learned before Christmas. So today I wanted to do an activity that
reminded them about first semester but guided them towards second semester. </div>
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Of course, they were
shocked that I was the <i>only</i> teacher
in the entire building that was actually making them do work today. Apparently
most teachers decided to spend this day as a free day discussing holiday events….riiiiiiiight. Anyway, my plan consisted
of: bell ringer, multiple representations match-up activity, and then graphing
practice.
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<b>Bellringer: </b></div>
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1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>What is the slope-intercept form?</div>
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2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>What letter represents slope?</div>
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3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>What letter represents the y-intercept?</div>
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4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>In
your own words, explain how you would graph a line that is in slope-intercept
form.</div>
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I was pleased with the results
from the bellringer. Most of the students could at least answer the first three
questions. Quite a few were able to come up with <i>something</i> for the fourth question. We talked about it and then
moved on to the activity.</div>
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<b>Activity:</b></div>
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My room is arranged into 6
groups of 4 desks each. I cut out 6 word problems with matching equations,
tables, and graphs. I attached each separate part to an index card. When I was
finished I had 24 index cards with either a table, a graph, an equation, or a word
problem. I had the cards all shuffled up and I gave each student an index card.
(Some of the students were absent so I had a community pot with the extra
cards.)</div>
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The word problems were
designated a specific group and seat number (each group has seats #1-4). The rest of the cards had to stand up and
then walk around and find the group they belonged to. If they were correct, the
word problem, equation, table, and graph would all represent the same
information. </div>
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After about 10 minutes the groups were happy with their choices. At that time I told seat #1 that they were the reporter for the group. I gave the teams 7 minutes to talk about their choices and come up with a thought out explanation for why each piece belonged to the group. At the end of 7 minutes, I had the reporters from each group stand up and take turns sharing out. </div>
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I really loved the share out portion of the activity because I was able to see which groups really understood things like "In the table the y-intercept is represented by...and you find that in the graph by....and the equation shows that...and the word problem says..." It was great!</div>
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I'll definitely use this type of group/team work again. The reporting out at the end is what truly made this activity shine...and it got the students talking MATH on day #1!!</div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-38524414581186577552011-12-03T18:37:00.001-08:002011-12-03T18:49:28.254-08:00Desk DilemmaDesks--ugh. Most classrooms at my high school come equally equipped with them. Perfect for making those nice, straight, make-me-want-to-to-snore rows. I miss my tables. The first school I ever worked at had tables in all the classrooms. Each table was able to seat 4 students. It was so wonderful for student discussion and collaboration. The desks just make me want to cry--or be boring. But I prefer to not be boring if I can help it.<br />
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Recently I decided to make the best out of my desk dilemma. I put them in facing pairs and then put two pairs relatively close together. So if I squint my eyes and turn my head sideways then it almost looks like tables. It will do for now. For the most part it accomplishes the same goal. <br />
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How do you arrange your desks the facilitate discussion and collaboration?Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-81502645157689094462011-11-15T17:20:00.001-08:002011-11-15T17:50:56.290-08:00Vocabulary-->Taboo!Last Saturday I planned my week out in detail, as usual. It is highly unlikely that my week will go exactly as planned. However, I like having at least a framework for my week early on. It saves me time in the long run. Anyway, that is only partially the point. Yesterday afternoon I was reminded about a short assembly that was set to happen during one of my classes. Well, call me crazy, but I teach the same thing all day long. Yes, that's right. Four times a day I teach the exact same lesson. Soooo, with the assembly taking up only one of the four classes, I had to make a quick decision: go with the plan and get my classes off schedule or improvise!<br />
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<b>Enter:</b> Math Vocabulary Taboo! I had heard about this before but I wasn't exactly sure how to play or what to do. So here is how it went in my room. I quickly made 10 sets of index cards (enough for 10 pairs). The index card had the vocabulary word and then three words/phrases that were not allowed to be used a.k.a. the "taboo" phrases. (They also couldn't use the actual vocabulary word or spell or say "starts with" or "rhymes with"...that all made it too easy.) For example:<br />
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<b>Slope</b></div>
<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li>slanted</li>
<li>steepness</li>
<li>skiing </li>
</ul>
I moved the desks into pairs (similar to speed dating). I gave one partner the cards they were the "clue giver" and the other partner was the "detective". For the first two rounds of the game they were allowed to use their vocabulary squares to help. I put four minutes on the timer and let them go. After the timer went off I had the "clue giver" hand the cards to the "detective". The "clue giver" switched partners and then we played another round. After two rounds they had to put their vocabulary squares away and then we played a few rounds without the crutch. I had 10 total vocabulary words and it took the students 3-4 minutes each round. I imagine the more "common" the taboo words are the harder this game is to play. My goal was to take out all the obvious/common words so that they really had to think about the word and its meaning.<br />
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It was <b>AWESOME</b>! I'm not even kinda kidding. I loved this activity and I plan to do it again for the next unit. This was higher order thinking if I have ever seen it. The kids were all engaged and having a great time trying to come up with clever ways to describe the words. I had students coming up with sports illustrations, music, kinesthetic...you name it. The kids were so very creative. <br />
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I would definitely recommend this to anyone that is struggling with finding interesting ways to talk about and teach content vocabulary.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-40880226968669179362011-11-12T15:35:00.001-08:002011-11-12T15:58:31.219-08:00ELL - Independent vs. Dependent VariablesIn my <a href="http://teachingmathrocks.blogspot.com/2011/11/independent-vs-dependent-variables.html">last post</a> I included some samples of student work (mini-posters). I decided to make a separate post to highlight the two mini-posters from my ELL students. These two students started out the semester and I was super worried about having them in my class. As best as I could tell, they weren't able to speak any English. I'm glad I was semi-wrong. Some of it was just shyness. They are learning very fast and I am quite proud of their final products for this mini-poster project.<br />
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-71690793638464935932011-11-12T14:52:00.001-08:002011-11-12T15:01:18.652-08:00Independent vs. Dependent VariablesMy class recently learned about independent and dependent variables. I found <a href="http://www.teachforever.com/2007/10/project-idea-independent-vs-dependent.html">this great idea</a> right in time. It turned out fabulously and it didn't take much time to prepare up front. I just needed some drawing paper and markers--the kids did the rest. I highly suggest you read the original post (because this wasn't my idea). However, the short version: the students came up with their own example of independent and dependent variables and then put them on a mini-poster. Below are some pictures of the final product: <span id="goog_1174043301"></span><span id="goog_1174043302"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iMPv3wB-8M/Tr76E_Y9FBI/AAAAAAAAAFk/yO2ra8T8fqw/s1600/Walther+2011-2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iMPv3wB-8M/Tr76E_Y9FBI/AAAAAAAAAFk/yO2ra8T8fqw/s320/Walther+2011-2012+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-80841186387848882122011-10-22T12:32:00.000-07:002011-10-22T12:33:38.909-07:00That's A Bunch of Crap! --math activityRecently I blogged about my love for <a href="http://www.yummymath.com/">YummyMath</a>. I downloaded and tweaked <a href="http://www.yummymath.com/2011/diapers-for-mothers-or-fathers-day/">this activity</a> and then used it in my classroom about a week ago. Basically, I changed the names of the couple, changed the title, and added new captions for the graphic to make it more interesting to my students (things like "dude" and "you trippin"...they thought it was funny.) I changed the title to "That's a Bunch of Crap!" because we aren't really close to either mother's or father's day at this point in the year. The kids instantly loved the title and so I had at least a little bit of their attention from the start of the activity.<br />
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Just as a note, we have not talked about graphing linear equations and certainly haven't talked about solving a system of equations yet at this point. We have (in the form of games) taken information from tables and put it into an equation. So I was extremely pleased to see how this turned out (even though not every poster is perfect--trust me, I do notice some mathematical/grammatical errors in some of the posters). Enjoy!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lyW9YOMllg/TqMXeVZfRBI/AAAAAAAAAFI/pCYiqiAl4VQ/s1600/100_1745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lyW9YOMllg/TqMXeVZfRBI/AAAAAAAAAFI/pCYiqiAl4VQ/s400/100_1745.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-37836293023646383162011-10-20T18:27:00.000-07:002011-10-20T18:27:27.215-07:00YummyMathSo I have recently discovered (or rediscovered, I'm not sure...) <a href="http://www.yummymath.com/">YummyMath</a>. I L.O.V.E. this website. So here is my attempt at a review:<br />
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<b>Overview: </b>The website contains activities arranged by math subject (geometry, algebra I, etc...). The activities are all relevant and pretty current. For example, the first posting today is about the <a href="http://www.yummymath.com/2011/occupy-wall-street-protest-is-growing/">wall street protests</a>.<br />
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<b>Pros: </b>Just about every time I have searched for a particular topic, I have found something usable. The activities are easy to download/edit/print. The students have loved every activity I have used so far from YummyMath. The hard work is already done. Most lessons come ready to print and implement.<br />
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<b>Cons: </b>Other than the major subject (geometry, algebra I, etc...) there isn't much organization as far as topic is concerned. As best I can tell it is arranged by date posted. Therefore, in order to find something you want to use it can take a while sometimes.<br />
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<b>Overall: </b>The good far outweighs the bad. I will continue to use YummyMath to make math relevant to my students. I would gladly recommend this to a friend.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-50652104125705707332011-08-30T12:42:00.001-07:002011-08-30T12:42:19.301-07:00Standards Quiz #2<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I finished grading my second round of standards quizzes. We just finished standard #9: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The student will be able to describe and/or order a given set of real numbers (rationals & irrationals)</i>. This quiz was much easier to grade than the first one. It only had 9 questions (3 easy, 3 medium, 3 hard) and it was all multiple choice. I made the students show work anyway. However, this saved me a lot of time. I was able to quickly skim the multiple choice responses for right/wrong and then any questions I wanted further clarification on I could just look at their work. I finished grading all four classes worth of quizzes before the day was over. I had just as much information as I did from the previous quiz and I was able to spend more time providing written feedback.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will probably do the majority of my quizzes this way from now on. The state test is multiple choice anyway, so they might as well get used to it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a side note, I used a web-based program called Discovery Ed to make the quiz. It is a service my district has subscribed to. You are able to select the course and then drill down to the individual standard. It provides a whole back on easy/medium/hard questions. The questions are remarkably similar to the state test my kids will take at the end of the year. This has saved me a TON of time this year. I can pick through my choices and have a beautiful standards quiz in a short amount of time. So thankful for Discovery Ed.</span></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-14450728169885694292011-08-25T18:03:00.001-07:002011-08-25T18:03:57.322-07:00First Stadards Quiz - GradingMy students took their first big standards quiz on Wednesday. I had no idea what to expect about grading. I didn't know how long it would take or how difficult it might be to score it correctly. So far I have finished two out of four classes and it is taking about twice as long to grade as it would have last year under the old system. However, last year I only used multiple choice tests. I could easily go through and mark off a, b, c, d, etc... This first standards quiz was strictly free response and essay. Therefore, I am not basing my "time it takes to grade" on this one assessment. <br />
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Overall, I like this system a lot better so far. The usual points or percentage systems never really made me too happy. Even though I have only graded two classes, I am pleased with the results. The kids who are currently failing are the kids who don't know what they are doing and that is a small percentage. I have one in each class right now that is failing. The rest are spread out As through Ds. The quiz scores match up perfectly, I feel, to what the students actually know.<br />
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Tomorrow I will be handing the quizzes back. The students are going to chart their own progress. They all have a "standards" tab in their binder (go me!). I will work on giving some valuable feedback to each student. I want them to know exactly what they should work on in order to improve their score.<br />
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I'm excited to give the quizzes back. I'm interested to know how long it will take for the students to really catch on to the grading system. I am sure once they fully understand it, they will appreciate it.<br />
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I'll keep you updated! As always, feedback is welcome.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-20004854284855030132011-08-20T06:18:00.000-07:002011-08-20T06:18:02.466-07:00ELL StudentsFor the first time in my teaching career I have several ELL students in my classroom. I'll admit that I really have no idea what to do for them. Two know how to speak English fairly well (enough to "get by"), but the rest only know a couple phrases. The phrases include "I don't speak English" and "I know little English". Comforting! Not.<br />
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I've been doing some research as I have been able to, but I haven't found anything that is really satisfying. Most places say to give visual vocabulary: word, picture, definition. This is something I already do, and it doesn't strike me as much "good ELL teaching" as it does just "good teaching". Other resources say to model everything. Uh, duh. And then other resources say to shorten the assignments and requirements for the ELL students. I'm not sure how that is helpful, but maybe?<br />
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The thing that really bothers me is that several times I've been told "they won't count against your AYP scores". Well, that's great...but it doesn't change the fact that I want these kids to learn Algebra I.<br />
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So for now, I am spending time translating my vocabulary into several different languages thanks to <a href="http://translate.google.com/">Google Translate</a>. I am making the students write the English version, but they have their own language side-by-side so they at least know what they are writing. I think that will serve two purposes. One, they will grow their technical English vocabulary. Two, they will be able to answer the problems I give them in class because they will know words like "simplify", "evaluate", "sum", "subtract", etc... For now, I am not doing anything with the assignments. They are staying 100% English. The only work I am translating is the vocabulary.<br />
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I really wish there was some more helpful information out there about teaching ELL students. At the end of the day, they are still students in my classroom and I still want them to learn Algebra I. Even if they don't count against my AYP. Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-6410869057912453442011-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:002011-08-11T17:42:29.441-07:001/3 Scale - SBG % TranslationI officially decided to use the 1/3 scale. I think it will better represent what the kids know and are able to do. I will be able to more accurately pinpoint their proficiency level for each standard. Here it is:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">4.0 – 100% A</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">3.67 – 97% A</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">3.33 – 92% B</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">3.0 – 90% B</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">2.67 – 83% C</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">2.33 – 77% C</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">2.0 – 70% D</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">1.67 – 67% F</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">1.33 – 63% F</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">1.0 – 60% F</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><1.0 – 50% F</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I chose not to divide the 4.0 to 3.0 range evenly because it left 3 opportunities for an A and only 1 opportunity for a B. If a student gets a 3.33 that means they are proficient and low-partially proficient at advanced content. To me, that represents B work, not A work. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Just so you know, in my district this is the grading scale we are given:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">93-100 A</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">85-92 B</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">75-84 C</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">70-74 D</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">0-69 F</div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-17413650387926387732011-08-09T08:40:00.001-07:002011-08-09T08:40:40.543-07:00Algebra I Standards List for SBG<link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5C000040%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5C000040%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5C000040%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">So after many months of planning for standards-based grading in my classroom this year, I have finally written out the standards. These are the standards provided by the state. <span> </span>I am considering merging and/or splitting a few of them. I have seen several lists that are simply “topics” and I know I do not want to do that with mine. However, the problem is that I don’t want them to be so specific that I have boxed myself into one type of problem. I also don’t want it to be so broad that I have trouble testing it all or assigning a mastery grade. If anyone has any suggestions for my list, I’d love to hear them! Also, I should mention this is for Algebra I only.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO….<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Mathematical Processes<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Interpret patterns found in sequences, tables, and other forms of quantitative information using variables or function notation.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Write an equation symbolically to express a contextual problem.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Apply properties to evaluate expressions, simplify expressions, and justify solutions to problems.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Translate between representations of functions that depict real-world situations.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Recognize and express the effect of changing constants and/or coefficients in problem solving.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Determine and interpret slope in multiple contexts including rate of change in real-world problems.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><i>Numbers & Operations<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>7.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Operate (add, subtract, multiply, divide, simplify, powers) with radicals and radical expressions including radicands involving rational numbers and algebraic expressions.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>8.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Multiply, divide, and square numbers expressed in scientific notation.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>9.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Describe and/or order a given set of real numbers including both rational and irrational numbers.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><br />
<i>Algebra<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>10.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Express a generalization of a pattern in various representations including algebraic and function notation.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>11.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Operate with polynomials and simplify results.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>12.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Factor polynomials.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>13.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Operate with, evaluate, and simplify rational expressions including determining restrictions on the domain of the variables.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>14.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Write and/or solve linear equations inequalities, and compound inequalities including those containing absolute value.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>15.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Interpret various relations in multiple representations.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>16.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Determine domain and range of a relation, determine whether a relation is a function and/or evaluate a function at a specified rational value.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>17.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Determine the equation of a line and/or graph a linear equation.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>18.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Solve systems of linear equation/inequalities in two variables.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>19.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Find the solution of a quadratic equation and/or zeros of a quadratic function.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>20.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Analyze nonlinear graphs including quadratic and exponential functions that model a contextual situation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Geometry & Measurement<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>21.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Develop and apply strategies to estimate the area of any shape on a plane grid.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>22.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Solve contextual problems using the Pythagorean Theorem.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>23.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Solve problems involving the distance between points or midpoint of a segment.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>24.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Convert rates and measurements.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Data Analysis, Statistics, & Probability<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>25.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Interpret displays of data to answer questions about the data set(s) (e.g., identify pattern, trends, and/or outliers in a data set).</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>26.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Identify the effect on mean, median, mode, and range when values in the data set are changed.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>27.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Using a scatter-plot, determine if a linear relationship exists and describe the association between variables.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>28.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Generate the equation of a line that fits linear data and use it to make a prediction.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span><span>29.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Determine theoretical and/or experimental probability of an event and/or its complement including using relative frequency.</div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-17405811323642223222011-07-19T15:06:00.000-07:002011-07-19T15:06:45.848-07:00SBG - first opinions from adminI had a meeting with my administrator sometime mid-spring semester and asked her if she would support me through implementing standards-based grading in my classroom. She gave the approval for me to go forward with planning based on what she knew of it. The plan that I posted <a href="http://teachingmathrocks.blogspot.com/2011/06/sbg-initial-plan.html">here</a> was the first write up of what I informally presented to her two days ago. I added a few details but the bulk of what I wrote stayed the same. She did not require that I keep her updated, but I have found over my years that it makes life much easier if you keep your administrator in the loop.<br />
<br />
Anyway, so I unveiled the plan and I got three questions in return:<br />
1. How do you plan to communicate the plan and its benefits to parents and students?<br />
2. What do you expect will happen to the distribution of grades? More As, Fs? Stay the same?<br />
3. How can you make re-assessment more mandatory and less invitational?<br />
<br />
I had a response for the first two, but the third one threw me for a loop. I don't have anything in place to make sure the students reassess. At this point, it is up to the student to reassess if they want to. They don't have to. Aside from staying after school (which isn't an option because I am coaching fall and springs sports) or coming in early (which very few students are willing to do)...I don't know what to do.<br />
<br />
So that is where I am at with the process right now. I am thinking about how to make the process less-invitational. I hope to come up with a plan (or "acquire" a plan hehe) that doesn't require me to spend countless more hours at the school building. Maybe an in-class arrangement? I dunno...Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117941986339375118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-17599478462179071092011-07-19T08:28:00.000-07:002011-07-19T08:28:03.800-07:00Visual - Objectives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arZ6G8JDLPQ/TiWhvvN6aVI/AAAAAAAAACw/7qWub6KpLrw/s1600/071911111937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arZ6G8JDLPQ/TiWhvvN6aVI/AAAAAAAAACw/7qWub6KpLrw/s320/071911111937.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Here is a picture of the sentence starters I use in my classroom. See my <a href="http://teachingmathrocks.blogspot.com/2011/07/objectives.html">last post</a> for the full explanation of how I use them. I made these with my Cricut because I got tired of re-writing this part every single day. I put magnets on the back so they stick to the whiteboard. Now I don't have to write as much each day. I just use bullet points for the rest of the information each day. This makes the task a little less time consuming each morning.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-56735763231153087782011-07-08T06:21:00.000-07:002011-07-08T06:21:18.479-07:00ObjectivesAt my school (and I assume many many other schools around the nation), we have to post our standards every day for each class. For several years I posted the exact standard--number and all. I got the box checked off on my observations but that is about it. It wasn't useful. This past year I used the following format and I found it to actually be useful. I was able to refer to it often. The students got used to coming in and reading it. It gave them a good idea of what to expect for the day. It was a tool that was actually used instead of just "checked off". Anyway...here it is:<br />
<br />
<b>Today I will learn...</b><br />
<b>To do this I will...</b><br />
<b>My teacher will know I learned it because...</b><br />
<br />
Simple but effective. After the first sentence starter I would put the objective in student-friendly terms. For example, "Today I will learn...how to solve equations with variables on both sides." The second sentence starter would be the actual agenda. It would list any learning activities that would be taking place during that lesson. For example, "To do this I will...take notes and then get with a partner to solve problems."<b> </b>The last sentence starter would be the day's assessment. This could range from "she will check my homework" to "she will grade my quiz and provide feedback" or even "she will ask for thumbs up/thumbs down responses" possibly "she will check our whiteboards"....you get the idea. It was the way students would know what the assessment of the day's work would be.<br />
<br />
Now that I am working on SBG, I think I like this even more. I will continue to use the three sentence starters with "kid friendly" language. However, I will add somewhere in there the learning goal number because they will have a numbered sheet of learning goals handed to them at the beginning of the year. That will make it easier for them to keep track of what they are working on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-84027109833932686412011-06-26T06:55:00.000-07:002011-06-26T06:55:30.414-07:00SBG - Initial PlanHere is what my "basic" SBG plan is after putting together four+ years of reading and research. I am finally ready to implement this in my classroom. I think... :)<br />
<br />
<b>I plan to have a general 4 point rubric:</b><br />
4- Advanced, learning exceeds goal<br />
3- Proficient, learning meets goal<br />
2- Basic, learning below goal<br />
1- Below Basic, student needs help to reach basic level<br />
0- Student isn't successful even with help<br />
<br />
This rubric I got primarily from Marzano's <i>Formative Assessment & Standard-Based Grading</i>. However, I do not plan to make a specific rubric per learning goal. I will only have the one generic rubric and just make my learning goals descriptive.<br />
<br />
I will be working on a scale to convert my 4-pt rubric into 100% scores because that is the constraint I work within for my district. For instance a 4 would be 100%, a 2 would be a 70%...etc I haven't worked out those details yet because I am not sure if I am going to make my scale increment in .5 or .33 points yet. More to follow on that in a later posting...<br />
<br />
<b>Record Keeping:</b><br />
In my "official" gradebook that gets entered electronically, I will only have one grade per learning goal and then the final exam. This grade will represent the summative score for that learning goal. So after I have written out all my learning goals for the year, it is possible that students will only have about 50 or so grades for the entire year. Each score will go into the gradebook out of 100%. So even though the students will have fewer grades than in the past, the "total points" will be about the same.<br />
<br />
I will also keep a paper record of all formative (graded) assessments that I give the students. That could be homework, bell ringers, quizzes, mini-tests, ...anything that will inform me and the student of progress towards the learning goal. These formative assessments will be crucial to the student's progress in my class. I will have to find an efficient way to provide timely feedback to each student, otherwise I think my plan is going to flop. I haven't come up with the "efficient" part yet, so that will be reserved for a later post.<br />
<br />
I really like this because it is going to completely remove "missing work" and "late work" and "zeroes" from the equation. I absolutely HATED giving a student a zero simply because they didn't turn something in...or worse yet, they turned it in but it was late. I want the grade to represent how much they LEARNED, not that they are responsible...or whatever.<br />
<br />
<b>Reassessment:</b><br />
The other key point that I want to include in the system is the ability for students to re-assess. I don't want their grade to represent what they knew in August. I want it to be (as close as possible) representative of what they currently know or learned.<br />
<b> </b><br />
That being said, I realistically I do not have time to constantly re-assess every learning goal. This part the students are going to have to take some ownership. I will have two days a week that I will be available for re-assessing. The students will only have the re-assess the goals that they are wanting to improve. They will need to give me at least a school day's notice so that I can prepare an alternate assessment for them. They will need to sign in with the reassessment log so I can keep track of who has come in, etc... I may limit the number of students that can sign up per day. That may prevent the "mad dash" at the end of the grading period. I'll have to think that through a bit more before I decide.<br />
<br />
I do not plan to put a time limit on the reassessments. If they want to re-assess a skill in April that they learned in August, that is fine with me. The only time limits I will put on them will be at the very end of the semester...I'll have to make some type of a cutoff date so I am not grading down to the last second. <br />
<br />
<b>Other thoughts:</b><br />
I really like this because if a student's grade is crappy then all they need to do is learn the material. They do not have to do hours of makeup work. They are not ever "hopeless". They just need to study up and re-assess. As for now, I do not have a way that I am going to require them to study or prove they studied. I also do not have a limit on the number of times they can reassess a certain learning goal. Both of those things may change.<br />
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Anyway, so that is what I have so far. Questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome. Stay tuned...because I'm sure it will change before August arrives.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-35173241024881570982011-06-26T06:35:00.000-07:002011-06-26T06:35:24.948-07:00SBG - In the WorksSo I have been researching SBG since I was in college getting my BA. However, I haven't had the guts to really jump in...until now. In college I read through "Classroom Grading that Works" by Marzano and that really got me thinking about what I wanted my grades to represent. I decided to research the topic a bit further and I ended up writing a million page paper on it (okay maybe more like 20 page, but it was still torture).<br />
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Then I got my first job and they already had everything laid out for how I was supposed to grade and SBG didn't really fit the formula. So I put it on the back burner for a while. Then when I moved to Tennessee, I started thinking about it again. I really wanted my grades to represent what the students actually KNEW. I didn't want any type of "responsibility" or "work ethic" or "late points" or ... anything other than content knowledge to be represented in my grade. So I kept researching and a friend pointed me in the direction of the blogging world.<br />
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If you know me, I am the type of person that would rather do something "right" than just halfway. So, I read everything I could about SBG and just kept learning. This past school year I was teaching six sections of geometry. Geometry is a math topic that I was not completely comfortable with just yet. Instead of jumping in with relatively new content and a new grading system I decided to just learn the content well and then do SBG the next year. <br />
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So that is where I am at now. I have been reading books, skyping, reading blogs, tweeting, ... anything I can think of to prepare for the implementation of SBG in my classroom. Next school year 2011-2012 I will be teaching only Algebra I. Not only that, but I will have freshmen. And not only that, but my school "loops" so the freshmen I have next year will be with me again as sophomores for geometry. I can't think of a better time to start up this system of grading in my classroom. New subject (one I know!!), new students, and new grading.<br />
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In the next post I will outline the skeleton of what I plan to do. I am sure it will change a million times before now and school starting. Comments are welcome. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-48576371351475039952011-04-03T14:58:00.000-07:002011-04-03T14:58:19.389-07:00Next year<span dir="ltr" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">There are a few things that I want for my classroom next year, but they seem to conflict with each other. I haven’t really figured out how to merge the two in such a way that satisfies each expectation individually. I hope by next school year I have it figured out a little bit more…but for now, here are my hopes for next year:</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">1. I want my grades to reflect ONLY what the students know. Whenever I see an 80% in my gradebook that should mean the student truly knows 80% of the material. It won’t indicate anything about his/her ability to turn in assignments on time (or at all). It won’t indicate how well a student can furiously copy down answers to last night’s homework before class. It will only describe what the student actually knows. Standards based grading anyone? </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">a.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><b>Fear #1:</b> I will have a lot of students fail because they no longer have the cushion of “classwork” and “homework” to absorb the shock of poor test grades.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">b. <b>Fear #2:</b> My administration will not back a system that has such a small amount of grades. I say “small” because under my school’s current policy we are required to enter a minimum of 2 new grades each week of the school year. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">2. I want my students to learn responsibility. This means: I want them to be able to appreciate and follow deadlines. I want them to be able to advocate for themselves. I want them to see the value in homework and working hard (even if it isn’t going in the grade book).</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">a. <b>Fear #1: </b>Without an actual grade in the grade book my students won’t complete my assignments.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">b. <b>Fear #2: </b>They won’t be able to learn lessons in responsibility without learning them the hard way.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">3.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>I want to be ahead on all the “paperwork”. I want to have my syllabus done and copies made before the day-before school. I want to have at least a basic “plan” for my first semester. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">_______________</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">So those are just a few things that I want for next year. We will see what happens over the summer. :)</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-71826731243261430142011-02-07T08:11:00.000-08:002011-02-07T08:11:08.652-08:00Workshop Experiences<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay finally time to write my workshop experience down. Overall, I think it went well. I think that most of the people that attended the workshop got something out of it that they could immediately use in their classroom. A few things that I walked away with:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My limited experience really humbles me when I’m speaking in front of a room full of people that all have been around longer than me. By this I mean, I have only been teaching for 3 years (4 if you count student teaching…but we won’t go there). Most, if not all, of the people that attended this workshop have been teaching well beyond my 3 years. So even though I know what I’m doing is good for my students, it was still incredibly difficult to share. I felt like what I had to say was inadequate or boring or “fill in the blank”… I was worried about what all my colleagues would think. They are math teachers. They are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also</i> experts on math content. I wasn’t just presenting an idea in front of someone who didn’t know any better. I was presenting ideas to people who were very capable of picking every inch of my ideas apart. That was scary. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My feelings were confirmed from previous posts. A lot of people had never used “discovery” or “inquiry” in a math classroom as a tool to teach new content. I took a quick poll and out of 18 people, only 2 had ever dabbled in this method. Those two had only done it “unofficially”. So I knew the information was new to most. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I need to work on my presentation skills if I plan to do this again. My face was red the entire time. So it was very obvious that I was nervous and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. The second I saw my face getting red…it just kept getting worse. Because then I was nervous and then even more nervous because of the redness…and it was just a vicious cycle.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to keep presenting. I enjoy sharing my ideas with others. I also want to get better at presenting. My goal is not to get so nervous next time. They are just big kids, right? …big mean kids! We will see. Pretty soon my survey results will be returned to me. That way I will have some data to show how I actually did…instead of just how I thought I did. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-7072323507685344252011-01-24T08:01:00.000-08:002011-01-24T08:04:30.683-08:00Group Work vs Cooperative LearningAll too often the phrases “group work” and “cooperative learning” are used interchangeably. This, in a word, is—incorrect. To me the distinction comes from what the students are actually doing while they are in the group. <br />
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<strong>Group work</strong> means that the students are probably sitting together with their desks all facing each other. They are likely discussing the math, but they are using each other more as confirmation. They work independently and then “check” with the others to see if they are on the right track. Group work can also include working on some type of larger activity. This larger activity would more than likely be a display of knowledge. For example, they might be making a poster or a presentation about a topic they just finished in class. Most often, group work does not involve the students learning something new (BEFORE the teacher has “taught” it).<br />
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<strong>Cooperative learning</strong>, on the other hand, means that the students are relying on each other to actually learn something. They are engaging in academic discussion to figure something out. Most often what they are learning is new material that the teacher hasn’t explicitly stated or an extension of a basic idea that was presented in class. In cooperative learning, students are in charge of their own learning (with a watchful teacher eye, of course). The students ask the questions to each other first. Only after they have exhausted their resources do they ask the teacher. It is critical thinking and problem solving at its best.<br />
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In my classroom, I use both. However, cooperative learning is my favorite. Please do not make the mistake of thinking they are the same! You should always ask yourself, “Would I be able to do this lesson without the students in the room?” If the answer is yes, then it certainly isn’t cooperative learning and perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it at all!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-25690053056352702022011-01-09T05:26:00.000-08:002011-01-24T08:04:14.277-08:00Unwitting CollaborationI read a lot of blogs. And by read, I really mean skim. And by skim, I really mean I only read stuff if the title looks interesting or if it has pictures or if it has been specifically recommended to me by a friend. However, there is a particular blog that I actually <i>read</i> almost every time a new post is made. This "Mrs. H" is a fabulous and creative person. One post in particular (linked here: <a href="http://mathtalesfromthespring.blogspot.com/2010/09/self-checking-practice-activity.html">Mrs. H's Star Chains</a>) I tried in my classroom. We had just finished working on properties of various quadrilaterals. Each card led to the next and when the students were done they had a full self-checked chain of math problems. It was a beautiful thing. Below are a few pictures of the finished product.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3T-4_uRI/AAAAAAAAAA8/HLScXIUXBy4/s1600/100_1625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3T-4_uRI/AAAAAAAAAA8/HLScXIUXBy4/s320/100_1625.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3agK00AI/AAAAAAAAABE/CwNzn8FSzMo/s1600/100_1626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3agK00AI/AAAAAAAAABE/CwNzn8FSzMo/s320/100_1626.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3h5ZNMaI/AAAAAAAAABM/CeiUx4IBEH8/s1600/100_1629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MvRNaO8vr6Q/TSm3h5ZNMaI/AAAAAAAAABM/CeiUx4IBEH8/s320/100_1629.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169297450267185254.post-84593009240074286672010-12-14T16:21:00.000-08:002010-12-14T16:21:40.309-08:00Special Parallelogram Investigation<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/45293590">Special Parallelogram Investigation</a><br />
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The link above *should* take you to a page that has the actual .pdf file of the investigation. I am pretty new to uploading things to Sribd. In fact, that is my very first document to ever be loaded to Scribd. I am hoping that it works out.<br />
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This also happens to be my first official "math" post. I have been dabbling in the blog world for a while now. I have about a million different people that I follow. I hope to maybe gather a few followers (although I'm not holding my breath). <br />
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I'll make another post a bit later this week about my experience with discovery learning and a little background on "me". For now, I'll give you a description of the link I posted. I try to do as little lecturing as possible in my classroom. The posted activity was my attempt to not lecture. The students were divided into groups of three or four (depending on the class size). Each group was equipped with rulers and protractors/angle rulers. We read the directions as a class and then they started working. The investigation walks them through what to do. I included diagrams if I thought it would be difficult to understand. The students measured and recorded lengths and angle measures. At the end they had "discovered" the properties of a rectangle and a rhombus (i.e. diagonals are congruent, diagonals are perpendicular, diagonals bisect opposite angles). <br />
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I have created several other investigations that I will get around to uploading (probably sometime over Christmas break). Your questions/comments/concerns are much appreciated! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1