7th Grade Math in MN: Days 13-17

Week 4
Day 13: White Board Game & Histograms
Day 14: Intro to Mean as Fair Share
Day 15: Interactive Notebook Notes & Mean as Balance Point
Day 16: WoDB and Median Activity
Day 17: Prodigy Intro (hearing & vision screening)

This week our goal was to get through all the mean and median lessons we needed.  Although we didn't make it, the students did learn lots about mean and median.

Day 13:
We started the week with White Board Game like usual.

White Board Game Questions

We then transitioned to a lesson on Histograms that begins with a Which One Doesn't Belong.  Since this our first unit of the year, this is the first Which One Doesn't Belong of the year.  So I had to introduce the activity to the 7th graders who had never done this activity before.  I start with a slide with a terrible super easy which one doesn't belong that has 1 obvious answer.  We talk about how this is a boring problem because it is way to easy and only has 1 answer.  We then did 2 practice WoDB's to get the idea.  

Intro to Which One Doesn't Belong

Warm Up #1 - WoDB 

 Warm Up #2 - WoDB

Finally the Histogram WoDB

The students did struggle a little with the histogram discussion.  They pointed out a couple obvious ones and then struggled to come up with any more.  So I will be looking to retool this one for next year.  

The students finished off the day in a hurried fashion with the histogram card sort.  That went great for the short time we had left.  It was our last day of histograms and I am confident students can make histograms and compare Shapes, Outliers, Center and Spread between 2 histograms.  

Day 14: Introduce Mean as Fair Share (Lesson 6.8.9)

We started with the prescribed warm up from the lesson which went great.  The students dove right in and found so many great solutions.  The students quickly realized they needed a sum of 16.  I love how this warm up gets the students thinking about the total involved with finding the mean.  It makes teaching how to find a missing value, given the data and the mean, so much easier of a jump.  So again, I am loving the discussion and setup of this curriculum!

The students then transitioned to a problem involving getting cats into crates.  It is a great basis to get them thinking about mean as fair share.  It makes the idea approachable and easier for the students to relate.  They solved these problems rather easily and we then had a great discussion about their solutions.

I loved the setup and discussion of these problems so much, I added this question to Activity 1.  I was worried that I was jumping the gun, but the students handled it great!  I need to work on the formatting of the question, but overall it was a great add to the problem.  

Day 15: INBs & Mean as a Balance Point

We put a couple notes about SOCS and measures of center in our notebooks today.  It was the first time we added math content to our notebooks.  It took a long time.  In fact we only got to try Activity 1 from Lesson 10 from 6-8.  The students seemed to grasp the idea of the balance point as mean.  We have been talking about a balance point for dot plots and histograms the entire time, but this let us put numbers to the discussion.  

Day 16: Median

We started with a quick warm up (which was actually the FA from day 15.  I asked the students about variability of 3 sets.  They quickly came up with the right answer and this led to a deeper discussion of variability.  

Today was  classic line up by length of name activity.  I used this as a launch point for finding the 5 number summary.  So we started with min and max and then median.  We then talked about using a method for median besides crossing off on both ends.  The visual of having students up and in a line always helps this.  We then concluded this by showing how to find quartiles.  (It is such a natural extension of this lesson.  

Day 17: Screening & Prodigy

This day of class was mostly taken up by hearing and vision screening.  So I quickly introduced the kids to the math game Prodigy.  Despite complaints (for only the first minute or so) they quickly got totally engaged and were totally into the game play.  I even saw some kids carrying around their iPads during lunch so they could continue to level up.  So not bad, for a day of 10 minute classes.  

Resources:

Lesson 9 Google Doc, PDF

Lesson 10 Google Doc, PDF

Lesson 13 Google Doc, PDF

7th Grade Math in MN: Days 10,11,12

Week 3
Day 10: Lesson 5 - Dot Plots & Stat Questions
Day 11: Lesson 5 & 6 - Histograms
Day 12: Lesson 6 - Histograms & Desmos Polygraph

It was a great week of discussions about data.

Day 10: We started with a review of what makes a "good statistical question."  I then made the decision to skip lesson 4, as dot plots are not really a 7th grade MN standard and we need to get to histograms, box plots, measures of center, and measures of variability.

So we jumped to lesson 5.  We did the warm up, which required some calculations with percents.  Since I am jumping into the middle of the 6th grade curriculum, the curriculum assumes the students can do percents.  Since I am actually at the beginning of this year, we did the warm up together so we could review how to calculate percents.

In 6th grade, the students do many factor puzzles.  They get pretty comfortable solving these.  So I use that throughout 7th grade to help set up any problem that can be solved proportionally.

The four part box is their setup for factor puzzles.  We put in the 3 red numbers and solve for the number that ended up green as the percent.  All the while we emphasize percent means out of 100.  Most of the students remembered pretty quick, and the new ones caught on really quick.

We finished this day with a discussion of Activity 1 and another percent problem  With this problem I wish there was another number of dots besides 3.  It could easily lead to confusion.

Day 11:

We started with the glorious discussion starter problem in Lesson 5.  There are 2 dot plots and the students are given 5 statements and they have to figure out if they agree or disagree with the statements.  It led to wonderful discussions, as most problems in this curriculum do.  

We then jumped to Activity 1 of Lesson 6.  We started just by examining the given histogram and asking students to THINK-PAIR-SHARE "what do you notice? what do you wonder?"  Ideally I would have ave them stand first, but again, time is short.  However we still got the students to notice and wonder all the right things about histograms.  

We then ended the day by answering the five questions about the histogram.  Most students did it with little problems after our great notice/wonder conversation.  

Day 12:

We plan to finish up Lesson 6 and histograms on this day.  Based mostly around a compare/contrast of dot plots and histograms.  

We will then create our first histogram together in class.  

If there is time we will follow up with a DESMOS polygraph on histograms.  

This should wrap up a marvelous week of statistical discussions in 7th grade math!

Downloads:

Google doc link to my student facing Lesson 5.

PDF link to my student facing Lesson 5.

Google doc link to my student facing Lesson 6. 

PDF link to my student facing Lesson 6.

7th Grade Math in MN: Day 9

Week 3
Day 9: White Board Game & 6.8.2 - Statistical Questions

We started the day with a White Board Game, since it is the first day of the week.

Since we started with that game, we skipped the warm up and jumped right into Activity 1.

The students had great discussions matching up the questions to the data set.  At one point the students were confused about which one was "books read" and which one was "number of pets."

We did bring up that maybe this area loves animals and hates reading, but we eventually went with the "correct" answer from the materials.  

We were then starting to run out of time, so we jumped the gun and started talking about "good statistical questions."  I mentioned that two of the above questions are not good statistical questions.  Then they discussed in groups to identify those questions.  

The students then worked as a group on questions from Activity 3.  We then quickly discussed the results to this activity.  

The day was great. I am already starting to get worried about my timeline as I am already going to have to add a week to this data unit.  So there is no way I can take a week off Proportional Relationships.  I have a hard time imagining circles going any faster than 3 weeks either.  

This is why i push all the algebra to the end of the year.  I know I will pick up any lost algebra skills in 8th grade.  (In MN 8th grade math is basically Algebra I).  

A downloadable PDF of my student facing handout is here.  

A google doc, that you can make a copy of to edit, is here.  

7th Grade Math in MN: Days 7-8

Week 1
Day 7: Lesson 6.8.1 - Got Data
Day 8: Lesson 6.8.1 - Got Data

We actually got to use our first problems from Illustrative Math this week.  We started with a sixth grade unit about Data.  In MN, 7th graders are expected to study data distributions, and more complex uses of mean, median, and mode.  This would include effects of outliers and missing data points, as well as picking which measure of center is the best for a situation and data set.  We are going to use Unit 6.8 to launch into these standards.

So we started with Lesson 1 this week.  It did take two days as we are also getting our interactive notebooks set up as well.  So we started each class by putting 2-3 things in our INBs that are based on our class expectations, group work guidelines, growth mindset graphics and a "How to Learn Math" handout based on this bulletin board.

We talked about all this stuff last week, and by putting handouts in their INB this week, we get to revisit these topics again.  

We then started the data set with a "what do you notice and what do you wonder" activity with a dot plot.  I let them notice and wonder on their own, then discuss in groups, and then we called on a random student using the http://www.flippity.net/ spinner.  

Then we talked through the 5 possibilities for the dot plot.  This took a little longer than I expected because they were into the discussion.  So then we previewed the survey questions, then defined numerical and categorical data.  Then the students did Activity 2, we discussed it.  Finally, I had the students do the formative assessment question on their own and turn it in for me to review.  

The next day we had a great discussion about whether zip codes were numerical or categorical.  Not one of my students picked it as categorical on the FA.  So I started by going over the 2 choices that were obviously categorical, and then I told them that there was 1 more.  I let them talk in groups for a minute or two and then we discussed.  It was a great discussion and we eventually landed on ZIP CODE being categorical and why it was categorical.  

The students then spent the rest of class measuring and answering all the survey/data questions.  All in all a great first lesson using Illustrative Math.  Great thinking and discussing by the students which is exactly what I want during math class.  

A download of my "student-facing" PDF is here.  

A view only Google Doc of the "student-facing" handout is here.  

7th Math in MN: Week 2 - Days 4-6

Week 2:
Day 4: White Board Game & Multiple Intelligences Presentation & Assignment
Day 5: Noah's Ark Problem (sub plans)
Day 6: Start Interactive Notebooks & Work time for Multiple Intelligences Assignment

We are still not to the Illustrative Math curriculum that I am so excited to dig into.  I believe that will happen on Thursday (Day 7).  So this week we started off like we do every week with a game I call "White Board Game."  This is something I got from a White Bear Lake math teacher many years ago.  It is pretty simple and gets junior high students working on math competition (MathCounts) problems in a relaxed group environment.  I wrote a blog about this game a while ago.  (HERE)

After that, we finished up my Prezi presentation (sales pitch) on why they would be successful in math.  The third and last day is all about multiple intelligences.  We talked through the 8 main intelligences and then they took a quick self-assessment.

With the 7th graders, I use this shorter one from Edutopia. 
With the 8th graders, I use this slightly longer one.

We talk about how to use the students' strengths to their advantages when studying.

I then have the students create slideshows showcasing their strengths to present to the class.  There is one little trick I use that totally changes the game.  I ask them to only put their names at the end.  So each day starting Week 3, I will present 1 student's presentation each day.  Then after the presentation, the other students try to guess whose it was.  It is pretty fun and the students enjoy it every year.  Here is a sample of a student's slideshow (name withheld), down below.

The students will also start their Interactive Notebooks on Wednesday (Day6) and then get the rest of class to work on their slideshows.  Then we will finally jump into the Illustrative Math curriculum on Thursday (hopefully).

I almost forgot, Day 5 was a weird one.  My daughter got sick on the way to school.  I had about 20 minutes to come up with sub plans.  So every class of mine did the Noah's Ark math problem today.  It seemed to go reasonably well from the notes the sub left.

7th Grade Math in MN: Week 1

During the first week, Wed, Thur & Fri, in our district I really try to focus on a couple points.  None of them are using any curriculum except some of YouCubed's Week of Inspirational math tasks.

My Goals of the First Week:
1.  Class Expectations and Routines
2.  Growth Mindset
3.  Group Work Norms
4.  Convince students I care about them

Day 1

Name Tent Feedback
Like many teachers, I start with Sara Van's great Name Tent stuff.  I continue this for the first 3 days.  Since this is the first time I am ever using this, I am not sure about next week.  Although I now curse the name SaraVanderwerf as I was up until midnight on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Class Expectations
I have 4 simple class expectations.  We go over them in about 5 minutes this first day and we will revisit them many times over the next couple weeks.
1. No Meanness - from Dave Burgess
2. Make Mistakes - Growth Mindset
3. "YET" - Growth Mindset
4. Ask Questions - self-advocacy

100 #s Task
Like many teachers, I also start with Sara Van's great 100 #s task in 7th grade.  As they work, I take some pictures and then we notice and wonder about the pictures.  Great way to start group norms.

Numbers about Me
Then, if we have time, we do a quick group discussion and class discussion about my quick numbers about me quiz.  The kids usually get a kick out of it, and I get to introduce myself a little bit.

A busy and quick day 1, but it hits a little bit on all 4 of my goals.  This first day is super high energy, and I am usually ready for bed around 7:00 that night.

Day 2

Getting to Know Mr. Sieling 
Day 2 starts with ideas from Sara of MathEqualsLove.  I use the Getting to Know You Quiz.  Then the students create their own quiz for me to take.  That was great fun and students really loved it.

Sales Pitch
I have a 3 part sales pitch to the students I give every year about why they will be successful in this math class.  Part one is talking about What is Math and Brain Function.  We use SaraVan's definition that math is really just a "study of patterns."  Then we go into that the brain is made to identify patterns.  We also talk about what we need for the brain to function at its best.  We also talk about Mindset and that we make our brain stronger by doing difficult things and with effort.

Visual Patterns
We then finish up by working on a task from YouCubed's Week of Inspirational Math that is based on Visual Patterns.  After the sales pitch of doing difficult things makes you smarter, and a re-iteration that we expect students to make mistakes, they are usually super willing to give this task a go.

Day 3

We start with the students get their quizzes back from yesterday.  They can't wait to see how I did.  I ask them to mark them right or wrong, mark the correct answer and hand them back so I can study up over the weekend.

Blobs & Lines
Then we go to some movement and an icebreaker called Blobs & Lines.  It gets them moving, laughing and I get to learn a little more about them.
      Link to my Blobs and Lines slides

Sales Pitch
I then go back into Sales Pitch mode.  I quickly review my first part, then launch into my Mindset talk.  We watch this video on YouTube all the way through.  Then we go back through and pause each frame to talk about what it means.  The focus is selling them on effort makes you better.

Witzzle
We finish up the week by trying a Witzzle puzzle.  I have never heard of these until I read this post from MathEqualsLove.  A task that can seem daunting to a 7th grader at first, but when they get into it, they make good progress.  I even had a couple kids tell me they were taking the sheet home to finish this weekend.

All in all, a very successful week to start the year!

Illustrative Math in Minnesota

This year I am implementing a brand new curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics.  I am really excited as they always have had great mathematical tasks on their site. This summer they released their full 6th-8th curriculum.  Understandably so, it was based around the Common Core Math Standards.  However, in Minnesota we do not use the Common Core.  So my excitement was diminished when I realized that a complete re-organization of their units was needed to successfully do this in MN.

So after many hours I have come up with a plan.  It is briefly outlined below for 7th and 8th grade.  I will hopefully blog a little about this as I go.  I am sure changes will be needed, but right now, I am feeling pretty good about getting this done.

While I am excited to be diving into a new curriculum, and excited about all the amazing problems my students will experience this year, I do have a couple concerns.

1. I am trying to plan a curriculum I am only superficially familiar with.  Some of the units are out of the order to help students group ideas and give the class a better flow.  I am worried that some units will reference ideas we have not had a chance to go over yet.

2. 7th grade math in MN is packed to the brim with math.  It is hard to get in all the standards every year.  (I usually fail at this.)  Even with the IM units I have a planned 39 weeks of instruction.  This is too much.  I already know that.  We will see how the timing works out.  Since MN has packed so many standards into 7th grade, and those standards don't align perfectly with Common Core, I have had to grab some 6th grade units and some 8th grade units, while only getting to skip one 7th grade unit (7.7).  So with some of these units I will have to cherry pick the lessons so they flow into the big learning target ideas.

3. I will still have to supplement some higher end 8th grade material.  In Minnesota, the 8th grade math standards are all the linear parts of algebra 1.  So some things are not currently included in Illustrative Math.  So I plan on using some of my old CMP curriculum to hit these learning targets.  I hope when IM finished their HS curriculum, I can grab some units from there instead.

 

Bottle Flipping & Probability

Like most students, my 7th graders are obsessed with bottle-flipping.  So I thought for a long time on how to use this to my advantage with the 7th grade standards.  I came up with a probability lesson.  The lesson combines experimental probability, writing odds from probabilities, and making predictions from probability.

Lesson Plan
1. I lectured about how to turn odds to probability and back again.  (5 min)
     I used examples from sports odds and various other examples.

2. The class discussed bottle flipping.
      We started by discussing bottle flipping, and followed it up with a discussion of how full the bottle should be for optimal flipping.  I handed a water bottle to each student.  While we downloaded the PDF and discussed the instructions students drank some water to get their optimal level.

3. The students flipped and flipped.
     I allowed 5-7 minutes for students to flip bottles and collect data.

4. Students wrote probabilities and odds from the data.
      Students used their own data, and their groups total data (3-4 students) to write probabilities and odds.

5. Students predicted how many successes from their next 10 flips, then tested their prediction.

Overall a quick, hectic, and very loud day.  However a great success for engagement.  Now tomorrow, we will see if any students remember how to write odds and probability.

The handout can be viewed here.

Support Math Class: Update

It has been a while since I got to post anything.  It has been really busy.  Math team has started (I coach JH and HS).  Robotics is in full swing (I coach HS and JH).  Add in lots of other family commitments and I have barely been able to keep up with teaching, much less blogging.

So here are the updates on how the Junior High Support Math Class is going.

Circle Talks
We now do circle talks on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  We have some kids who go to band or choir during class so they are only in class 2-3 days a week.  So by doing circle talks on these 3 days we guarantee that every kid has circle 3 times every two weeks.  I do have some who are in class every day and they obviously get circle 3 times a week.

On Mondays, we ask about their weekend.  On Fridays, we ask about their week.  I had a breakthrough last Friday as I asked about the "highs" and "lows" of their week.  They suddenly were sharing a great deal about their week instead of just a one- or two-word answer.   We also talk about what they are looking forward to for the upcoming weekend.

We also continue to use the If book.  The book is full of interesting questions to get the students talking.  We give one student the book, another student picks a number from 5-129, and then the student with the book picks a question from that page.  We try to get in a couple rounds of this every time we have circle.

The kids have really begun to enjoy their circle time and ask for it when I am slow to get it going on Monday, Wednesday or Fridays.  They also do ask for it on Tuesday and Thursday.

Number Talks
We continued to use Estimation 180 for number talks for quite a while.  At mid-term we switched to Which One Doesn't Belong.  Another number talk designed to get the students thinking and analyzing.  The kids have really taken to this one and enjoy trying to come up with as many reasons as possible that each object doesn't belong.

We will soon begin our number talks based on calculations.  They will focus on Number Sense.  I plan on using this book by Pamela Weber Harris as the basis for these talks.


DreamBox
We have also begun using the DreamBox online system.  Most of the students really love it.  We are currently under a 3 month trial period.  We can have unlimited students for $300.  When the 3 months is up we are hoping to show growth and convince the district to invest in this program for the math support programs.  Once the trial is over the pricing scheme will go back to a per student cost.

The first week I let the students work on whatever standards they wanted to in a grade level band from 5th-8th.  This week I narrowed their focus to the grade level standard we covered in normal math class this quarter.  I got more questions today about the math, but they still seemed to really enjoy doing DreamBox.  We usually try to get 10-15 minutes in per day.  We are going to set a class goal for lessons completed per week, but we haven't gotten that done yet.

Grade Level Standard Help:
During DreamBox time, I have started pulling small groups of students to work with on their work for their main math class.  This has seemed pretty effective so far for some of the students.  We will definitely continue this to help them achieve their grade level standards.

Overall, things are going really well.  I hope to put together some data to show growth.  Just wondering what data to look at.  I want something besides MCA scores.

Support Math Class: Days 12-13

Friday, Sept 9th
1. Circle Talk
       We just did a quick couple questions about reflecting on the week.  These are their least favorite questions.  I need to figure out how to phrase them differently.  I am still getting mostly 1 word answers.  I know I need to be patient.

2. Number Talk
       As we do everyday, we did a number talk.  This was the final bowl of cereal estimate from estimation 180.  The students have really been explaining their thinking process well this week.    We will continue to use these estimation 180 problems to continue to encourage their mathy communication.

3. 15 game
       We have been using Friday as fun math game day so far.  This little adding game was a pretty big hit.  They started off thinking this game was too elementary for them.  Then they realized the strategies involved and were doing lots of number sense thinking.  A big hit.  

Monday, Sept 12th

1. Circle Talk

       A check-in round from the weekend.  A quick question about what they are looking forward to this week.  (it always breaks my heart when they say nothing).  Then a couple what-if questions.  A good circle day with laughter and good stories.  

2. Number Talk 1

     An estimation 180 problem.  Since I am picking the new problems I estimate answers as well with the class and do not know the answers before we go over them.  Today, it was a "how fast will Mr. Stadel walk" and we all underestimated his walking speed.  Only 1 groups minimum was low enough.  Led to a good point about making good ranges.  

3. Number Talk 2

    We used this pattern and found out how many in figure 5 and 10, then went for a general rule.  We used this as a springboard into their 1st learning target of SHOW WORK.  We talked about examples of 4, 3, 2 and 1 on the Show Work rubric.  Then we had each group write up their answer and then the class graded it together.  

Tomorrow we will go over learning target 2, asking for help.  We will see how that one flies.  

Support Math Class: Days 8-11

Coming off Labor Day over the break, the class is going well.

Last Friday - Day 8
Circle Talk
We reflected on the week.  The highlight for me was when I asked "what was your highlight of the week" and two students said the support math class.  First major victory of the year!
Number Talk
The students are tiring of number talks.  However, the thinking is so good for them.
Sprouts Game
I taught the class Sprouts and it was a really good time.  They took to it and were engaged the whole time.

Tuesday - Day 9
Circle Talk
Just questions about their weekend and prepping for the week.  They requested some more would you rather questions as well.  Those are always a good time.
Number Talk
Switched it up to some estimation 180 questions.  We did the first cereal estimation task.  The students struggled trying to explain their reasoning for their estimations.  Getting them beyond, "I don't know I just guessed" is hard.  I made them write down 3 numbers.  Too high, too low and their best guess.
Number Talk 2
We did another pattern to review their math from regular math class on linear relationships and proportional relationships.

Wednesday - Day 10
Our football team won 66-12 the week before.  So I took Dan Meyers 3-act problem "Bucky the Badger" and used our stats instead.  Our cheerleaders do jumping jacks after every score.  So we estimated and calculated how many they did for the entire game.  A good thinking problem on our early out day with 30-minute classes.

Thursday - Day 11
Number Talk
We did the second cereal estimation problem from Estimation 180.  Today went better than Tuesday.  The students, working in groups of 2, estimated the solution.  Each group then explained their reasoning and did quite well.
Number Talk 2
Another visual pattern to help review linear patterns and writing equations.

Practice Time

We have not set up our DreamBox accounts yet.  I am still trying to recruit so we can have enough for the 40 minimum students required for a school account.  So I sadly used the IXL program for practice.  The 7th graders identified proportional relationships, and the 8th graders identified linear relationships.  It went fine.  Hopefully, it built some confidence for their upcoming quiz.  

All in all a good few days.  Tomorrow will bring back some circle talk to help reflect on the week.  Then we will review for the quiz.  

Support Math Class Day 7: Circle Talk, Number Talk and Sprouts

Circle talk again opened JH support math class today.  First question was "what are two words that describe how you are doing today?"  Sample answers:
        "Good, very good."
        "Good, great."
        "Fun, funions."
So I will have to try another strategy to get longer answers on that opening round.
Other questions from today:
1. What is your favorite junk food?
2. If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?
      (inspired from my amazing 6th grade teacher neighbors)
3. What does the best case scenario of school look like to you for this year?



I also included a summary of the talking pieces I have used so far this week.  Trying to change it up and see what sticks with the kids.  These are all just things around my desk so far.

The R2D2 thing is actually an eraser.  Which allowed me to explain to the kids that I love Star Wars, and I love fixing mistakes.

The number talk went really well.  They are getting closer and closer to coming up with rules for the patterns.  Again the pattern came from Visual Patterns.  

We finished up the pattern a little early, so inspired by Sarah Carter's great #teach180 tweets, we learned how to play the game sprouts.  They were totally engaged and loving it.
Here is a quick YouTube video explaining the game.  

A great week so far!

Support Math: Day 6 - Students bring Qs to Circle and Number Talks!

Today was our third day of talking using the circle format.  Yesterday I had a couple "Would You Rather" questions to get the discussion going.  Today, trying to slowly share ownership of the circle, the students brought in the "Would You Rather" questions.  I was scared about appropriate questions, and kids forgetting to come up with questions.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

We started with a quick check in round, again completed with one-word answers.  Then each student got to ask one "Would You Rather" question to the circle.  Everyone answered, and then the next student asked their question.  It led to some great conversations.  The answers were a little shorter than I would have predicted, but still fun.  I tried to model giving longer answers, the kids just laughed at me for being weird.

We then went into a number talk.  The number talk was again from Visual Patterns.

The students focused on the number of triangles.  I found it very surprising how easy it was for students to miss the triangles with the point down.  For example, they kept counting three triangles in figure 2.  Which is fine.  It leads to a nice triangular number pattern.  However, the pattern is easier to generalize if you count all the triangles.  The students picked up on the pattern quickly, but struggled to reach a formula.  We did get there, but it took awhile.  

I cannot overstate how these number talks based on patterns has helped the students in their 8th grade math class this week.  In their regular math class we have started studying linear relationships.  I always do this by starting with patterns.  The students who are in support math have developed a comfort with patterns that is letting them engage in the linear patterns with more confidence.  

Preteaching some skills using support math is a highly valuable practice I will try to use more this year.

Support Math Day 5: Circle Talk Day 2 and More Number Talks

Today we started class with our second circle talk.  We did a quick check-in round to see how everyone was doing.  To no surprise, it was mostly 1 word answers by everyone.  We will have to come up with something to work on that.

Then we played about 4 rounds of Would You Rather.  I found this excellent set of would you rather questions online.  It is from the Measured Mom blog.  It is aimed at younger kids, but by selecting the right questions and aging up some others, it will be a great resource.  The kids had a great time and they got homework.  They were each asked to create a "would you rather" question for circle time tomorrow.  Hopefully the questions are appropriate and lead to some good answers.

Circle today created some fun moments with the kids and I can already start to see the sense of community starting to build among these students.  It might all be based on the fact that they are "getting out of doing normal math" but I will take that for right now.

The number talk we did today was a step up in difficulty from yesterday.  We took 20-25 minutes breaking it down.  Most students really dug into it and wouldn't give up.  We eventually arrived at a nice formula for triangular numbers.  Are they going to remember that, probably not.  Right now though it is about not giving up and sticking with hard problems.

In 8th grade math today, we tackled some tough patterns to talk about linear patterns.  The students in TIP math did really well.  I hope that the foundation for that was partly laid down in TIP math by working with difficult patterns the last couple days of class.  

So things are off to a great start so far.  We are building a good foundation for a couple of my 4 pillars of support math.  

Support Math Day 4: First Circle Talk and a Number Talk

Day 4:
Today in support math class was our first day talking using the circle format.  We started by writing down 1 word on a note card that represents how we like to be treated.  We then used that as a springboard into creating guidelines we will use for our circle time and class time.  Our guidelines we agreed to are:

1. Respect talking piece
2. What's said in circle stays in circle
3. No fighting
4. Listen to each other
5. Can pass the talking piece without answering
6. Eye contact with speaker
7. Don't talk while others talk
8. Have fun, get work done

We then did a couple rounds of questions to help build people's confidence and the community of the circle.  Those questions were:
1.  If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
2.  What was the highlight of the first four days of school?

There might have been another question, but I can't recall it right now.


The second part of class was a number talk.
We used this image and asked
1. What do you notice?
2. What do you wonder?

We talked about what we noticed.  They still didn't wonder to much, but that is really okay at this point.  They noticed how it grew and immediately latched onto the rate of change of 2.  (although not in those words)

I then asked groups of 2-3 to answer the following questions
1. How many cubes in figure 5?
2. How many cubes in figure 10?

After discussing the classes solutions, we then asked about figure 20.

These questions brought out some great misconceptions and things for us to work on the rest of the week.

This week will be about creating the foundation for a good circle community and talking through number talks.

First Week of Support Math Class

My initial goal is to continually blog about how my support math class for 7th and 8th graders is going this year.  This is the first year in a long time I have taught a support math class for junior high and I am pretty excited about it.  I wrote about my 4 pillars for the class last time.

My first week goal, was to get the kids over the dread of having a second math class.  The typical students in support math are not excited to even have 1 math class, much less 2.

Day 1:  Marshmallow Challenge

The students walked in on day 1 and we quickly went over why we were in the class.  Then we quickly went over the 4 class expectations.
   1. No Meanness
   2. Make Mistakes
   3. ...Yet
   4. Ask for Help

I then handed out materials for the marshmallow challenge.  The students were totally engaged.  This is a great problem with a great ending that allows me to again repeat expectation #2 about making mistakes.  It was a great day 1.


Day 2: Bridge Challenge
The second day we reviewed that class goals and expectations then quickly got to another building challenge.  This one involved the following materials for each group:
    12 marshmallows
    20 straws
    1 small cup
   50 pennies

the goal was to build the longest bridge that could hold at least 50 pennies that were sitting in a cup.

Overall the kids were just as engaged as day 1.  We did have  small mishap as one group decided to smash up 5 marshmallows to create a paste to stick the straws to the desk.  (Had to leave 10 minutes at the end of the period for cleanup)   I encouraged creativity, and then taking responsibility for clean up for those decisions as well.


Day 3: Number Talk 1 and Build Challenge 3
On the third day, I threw in our first of many number talks.  I grabbed the first pattern of visualpatterns.org.  (seen below)  I just asked the students 2 questions,
    1)  What do you notice?
    2)  What do you wonder?

For their first time, they handled this pretty well.  They focused more on the noticing, and less on the wondering, but that was expected.  They focused on the number of small squares.  So after some questions about how it is growing, and how many would be in pattern 4, I then asked them to think about how many small squares would be in pattern 10?  They got time to think, and then discuss in small groups.  We then discussed as a class and it went incredibly well for the first number talk. 

We then spent 20 minutes on our third building challenge of the week.  They got spaghetti, straws, tape and string and their job was to build out from the desk as long as possible.  To pick a winner I measured from the edge of the desk out to where there structure stopped horizontal to the floor.  

It was a creative and fun week!  

Next week will see more number talks, and the introduction of circle time.  

My 4 Pillars of Support Math Class

Support Math Class for Junior High Students

This year I get to have a support math class for 7th and 8th graders for the first time in years.  I have learned a lot of different things since the last time I taught this class.  I am trying an entirely new approach this time around.  I am going to build the class around 4 pillars.

1. Computer Program - DreamBox Learning
    This pillar is pretty typical in a support math class.  I choose DreamBox over other computer based programs because it does a pretty good job of focusing on concepts and big ideas over skills.  My own children (7, 11, and 13) used the program over the summer and liked it.  I plan on not even introducing this part of the class for quite a while.

2.  Number Talks
     I think this pillar could really be a whole support math class by itself.   I love number talks.  I use them in every class, just not often enough.  I plan to use Chris Danielson's "Which One Doesn't Belong" to start with.  It has a low enough entry point that most students should be comfortable talking about these problems.  I will then shift math talks, visual patterns, estimation 180 and activities from Pamela Weber Harris' great book.  I envision this as the main pillar of the four.

3. MakerSpace/Hands-on/Genius Hour
     This pillar is kind of a mish-mash approach to getting the students moving and trying to ignite their passion.  I started the first couple days on this pillar.  I envision creating, making and igniting curiosity.  I am worried about resources for this pillar, especially in the MakerSpace part.  Trying to find the right kind of things the students will be curious about seems daunting, especially with no funds.

4. Restorative Justice/Circle Practices
     This portion will be used to create a community feeling in the classroom.  I was a circle volunteer for years in my county in the RJ program.  It was a great way to help and connect with youth and connect youth to the community.  I say in a 4-day training on using RJ in schools this summer. It got me completely excited about bringing this tradition to my classroom.  This article is a nice summary of using the circle process in schools.  Here is also a nice edutopia video about circles.

Trying to get all this together in a cohesive fashion is going to be a challenge.  It is a challenge I look forward to in the upcoming year.  I look forward to the mistakes, the victories and all the in-between.

SBG using 2 Types of Quizzes

For over 5 years I have used a SBG (standards-based grading) system in my room.  It starts with listing out the learning targets and only using assessments on those learning targets for the grade.  No homework, no behaviors, etc...  I have always liked this setup, but I have noticed it shifted my class to a more skill based class.  Math became a series of skills, that though they were connected, it seemed the students were less able to apply them in other situations.

My homework reflected this as well.  I don't give a lot of HW, but for the last couple years I have exclusively used websites like IXL.com and Buzzmath.com for homework.

So I decided something needed to change this year.  Here is my plan.  In both homework and quizzes there will be two categories: Skills and ACE.  Skills HW is from websites and Skill Quizzes are the same as they have been.  They are pretty bare bones and focus on whether or not the student can do the math skill or not.  What I have added is the ACE HW and quizzes.  I took the ACE HW name from my old CMP2 curriculum.  It stands for Applications, Connections and Extensions.  I could think of no better name for what I am trying to get at with this new HW and quizzes.  So I am currently alternating between IXL skills HW and ACE HW.

In both cases I am still allowing student choice.  The Skill IXL homework comes with 3 choices, Level 4, Level 3 and Level 2 HW.  The ACE HW comes with the directions to answer 2 of the questions.  The questions have multiple parts and often involve multiple steps and critical thinking to be properly solved.  I have a variety of Level 4 and Level 3 problems on the ACE HW.  The last ACE HW for 8th grade can be seen here.

The 7th graders just had their first ACE quiz.  It went pretty well.  Most students perfectly applied their knowledge to the problem.  The average score on the Skills quiz was 3.6, while on the ACE quiz it was 3.2. The 3.6 included retakes by numerous students.  The 8th graders will have their first ACE quiz next week.

Grading has stayed mostly the same.  Their grade was always based on their most recent two quizzes. Now their grade for each learning target is based on their most recent Skills quiz and their most recent ACE quiz.  So parents will get a report listing each learning target, their 2 quiz scores and the resulting grade.  A summary of how I go from 2 1-4 scores to a percentage grade can be found HERE.

So far, I am very happy with how this is going.  I hope it will lead to more problem solving, critical thinking, and applying math in various contexts.

Starting My Interactive Notebook Journey

I have decided to do Interactive Notebooks this year for 7th and 8th grade math.  So I have been reading many blogs and posts about INB.  The amazing blogs Math Equals Love and Everybody is a Genius have been my main reading although there have been many more.  Also my great teaching friend Becky over at Sum Math Madness has been amazingly helpful as I start this adventure.

I have been really excited about this adventure, but there have been a couple major sources of stress.  First, the process in class of getting these things made in an efficient manner.  Second, what goes in the first couple pages?  

For the first concern, I created little baskets of materials for each group.  They contain things they may need each day as we create materials for the INB.  Scissors, tape, glue sticks, markers, colored pencils, and calculators.  I found these super cute little baskets at Target for really cheap.  I am also going to spray paint some ice cream buckets to use as trash baskets for each group.

For my second concern, I finally got it hammered out last night and created some templates in word to create some basic INB pages.  I decided to start with a table of contents, then small individual version of this amazing bulletin board, and finally classroom information.



I have been a big standards-based grader for years now.  This has led to my creating a 1-4 rubric for each of the learning targets of the class.  This year I cut them down to 24 for each 7th and 8th grade math.  So I wanted to figure out a way to include the rubrics in the INB.  I am pretty sure I figured out a format to do this pretty efficiently.  We will see how it works out.  I will probably have to adjust multiple times as I go.  I just have to remember that I will not get everything perfect this year.

Getting students to think about Brain Function in Math

As we get ready to start another school year, I am really thinking about my first week of school.  My first week has  couple major goals:

• Get to know students' names
• Convince students they can do math
• Discuss Multiple Intelligences
• Discuss how a teenagers brain works
• Discuss Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset

I usually don't start any of my official "learning targets" until the second week.  I have used numerous approaches for this each year.  This year I am going to try to use the youcubed material for "A Week of Inspirational Math."  I am pretty excited about this approach this year.  It seems to cover most of my major goals while simultaneously getting into some interesting math.  

During the week I am going to slowly go through my first week Prezi presentation about the goals as well.  I am going to use this instead of the youcubed videos on various days.  

When talking about how the brain can get better at math by "doing math" I have used a road analogy in the past.  This year I am going to add some visuals to this analogy to hopefully help it sink in.  

Image 1: Grassy Field

The road to math starts as a grassy field that is slow and hard to cross.  It takes a lot of effort to do math but it can be done.  

Image 2: Small Dirt Path
As you do more math, the brain upgrades the path a little bit to do math.  Now when a student does math the thinking goes a little better because of the repetitive use of that part of the brain.

Image 3: Dirt Road
The brain upgrades again to you can do harder math and it comes a little faster.

Image 4: Tarred Road
The brain keeps upgrading those connections to math knowledge.  The more often you work on math, the better the pathway to math gets so you can learn more complicated math.

Image 5: Interstate Highway
The brain keeps upgrading the connections for harder math problems.

Hopefully these images combined with the messages from YouCubed will help convince students that if they keep on trying in math, they will improve their math skills.