#Made4Math Monday - No Cell Phones

It's been too long since I participated in #Made4Math Monday...I know it's Saturday, but now is the time that I have to do this.

Our trimester ends on Tuesday.  We have exams on Monday and Tuesday and a "teacher work day" on Wednesday.  I use quotation marks because the morning is filled with meetings.  I'm getting a crash course on data director since we use that to grade our exams, etc.

With the trimester ending and new classes starting up on Thursday, I've been evaluating how things have gone so far and creating goals for myself for next trimester.

My main issue with the students has been cell phone use.  Our policy changed this year for using cell phones that allows students to use them in the hallways during class changes, etc.  Also, we can let the students use cell phones in the classroom at our discretion (mainly for academic purposes).  However, we teachers reserve the right to not allow cell phones to be used during instruction, etc.  With the change in policy, when I catch students using their phones when they are not supposed to, they seem to have this attitude of entitlement.  "We are ALLOWED to have cell phones now." is one of many excuses I get from students.  I've had several instances where students REFUSE to give up their cell phones and end up being sent to the office for insubordination and receiving in-school suspension/restriction all because they couldn't live without their cell phones for a day or part of a day.  Also, I think they are somewhat concerned that I'm going to go through their phone to look at their texts and pictures, etc.  (like I have time or care about doing that...)

In an attempt to make my policy clear, I created a sign to add to my classroom.  You may access it here.  If you want the word document, let me know and I will email it to you.  The picture that I used is from Luke's diner in the TV show Gilmore Girls.  Also, to promote more trust with them, I plan on changing how I handle a first offense: the first time I confiscate a phone, I'll keep it and give it back at the end of the day without involving the office.  I'll even let them take the battery out of the phone.  After the first offense, the phone will be sent to the office on repeat offenses.  I hope this will decrease my number of office referrals.

Also, on a completely different note, I tweaked my syllabus signature page to have parents to give me more contact information instead of giving them the option to do so.  You may access that here.  Again, if you want the word document, let me know. :-)

One of my projects for this weekend is to go through my class binders and streamline them for use in the upcoming trimester(s).  I will be teaching Algebra 1 B again 2nd trimester and will be teaching Algebra 1 C 3rd trimester.


In the spirit of opening up discussion, is there anything you want to change in your classroom management or policies?  Often times we think about things throughout the year but forget to change for the next year.

#myfavfriday - more like myfavfrunday - Watson Street Loft

So, this past Friday, we went to a wedding reception at Oak Openings Lodge.  We had a good time, particularly because the local band Watson Street Loft played.  They generally play the type of music that I listened to back in college (so mainly late 90s - early 2000s).  However, they had some fun surprises in store for this particular event.  See, the groom is the bass player, so they had a good friend substitute for him most of the night (the guy in blue on the right):

They Rick Roll'd the event, saying that song best described

the love the newlyweds shared.

For a few songs, the groom stepped in on bass.

Right before my husband and I left, their other surprise was revealed: Call Me Maybe...thought you TMC12 folks would appreciate that...some people even started a conga line for this song.

Here are some pictures I took of the band back in August when I first saw Watson Street Loft:

 I also featured them in my photoblog post...scroll down to #9.

I can't wait to hear them play again.  If you are ever in the Toledo area, check them out.  They are quite talented and worth a listen.

#MyFavFriday - err MyFavFraturday - Ukulele

I love when we have unexpected plans.  My good friend from college, Merry, called me on Thursday asking if she, her dad, and her friend could crash in our living room on their way up to Traverse City, MI for a ukulele concert.  Naturally, we said YES!  They are on their way to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain...seriously jealous.  At one point this past summer, I played a bunch of their songs on youtube as my soundtrack to making birthday cookies for my husband:

Side note: that vanilla is from the Dominican Republic.

Anyways, I think I have finally found my hook for teaching math, making it beyond interesting, and have an excuse for making youtube videos about it: Math Ukulele...err Mathulele!  

I play guitar:

So, I think I could easily pick up the ukulele.

Any thoughts?  Any song ideas? 

What's your hook?

Spinning Plates

So, now that it's October, I must confess that it's getting difficult to balance grading papers, lesson plans, etc. along with trying to maintain the habits brought forth by the summer...including #made4math  Mondays and #myfavfriday.  Sometimes I feel like this...minus the dress:









This week is no exception.  Tomorrow after school, we have a faculty meeting AND parent teacher conferences.  I found out that parent teacher conferences are in the gym, so I can't even use my computer when I don't have parents to talk to.

Anyways, I hear the 2nd trimester is always easier...

(cliche pregnancy joke...NO I'M NOT PREGNANT...our school is on trimesters.)



Anyone else feeling the same way?

#myfavfriday Hilarious Moments of the Week

So, my first funny moment of the week was from today.  We were reviewing how to graph points on a coordinate plane.  I had students come up to the board to plot points.  The kids said it sounded like the Price is Right, so I went with it...I said, "Student So-And-So COME ON DOWN AND..."  without missing a beat, a kid yelled, "GRAPH! THAT! POINT!"  HILARIOUS!!!

My other funny moment was while grading their test on writing and solving equations:

#myfavfriday - Student Created Math Puns

So, I wasn't sure what to write about today, but I've been hearing a lot of math puns created by students lately, so I figured I would share:

A fellow Algebra 1 teacher in my building had this on the board (student created):
What is an owl's favorite subject?  OWLgebra!

A geometry teacher in my building told this one:
They were discussing transformations and students referenced the transformers.  Then, a student asked, "If there are 8 transformations, would that be Octomus Prime?!"

Sadly, there were a few told in my classes this week, but I can't remember any right now. (sure sign it's Friday after school)



Do you have any to share?

#myfavfriday High School Student Randomness

So, my favorite moment after school today (which I needed):  I was walking down the hallway after calling a student's parent regarding grades, etc.  A student said something about parkour.  I turned and asked, "Did you say parkour?"  His reply: "YES!  Wanna see?"  Skeptically, I asked, "Will it hurt anything or you?"  "No," he answered.  Then, he did a somersault (somewhat resembling a 4-year-old), ended with jazz hands and exclaimed, "PARKOUR!"

Kids are so weird...I love it.

Algebra Quote

"The human mind has never invented a labor-saving machine equal to algebra." ~ Author Unknown

We, as 'mathematicians' (I use this term loosely here), take a situation, a set of numbers, a relationship, and find a pattern.  Then, we express that pattern as an expression or an equation.  We do this to make predictions and represent these scenarios in a concise manner.  When we see a graph or a table, we translate these into a simple equation that sums up what is there.  We save ourselves more work later by making generalizations...which is a big part of algebra.

On a slightly different note, as 'mathematicians', we even develop patterns in how we, as individuals, solve problems.  For example, the problem 1/3(x + 5) = 5x + 12, some people choose to distribute the 1/3 while others choose to multiply both sides of the equal sign by 3.  Both are correct, and, assuming one does his/her math correctly for the rest of the steps, both will receive the same answer.  However, different people choose different approaches based on their preference and how their minds work.


Questions:
Any thoughts/comments on the quote?
Are there any unique approaches you have developed for problem solving over your teaching years?

#myfavfriday Friday Night Football

So, I'm at a new school and tonight is our first home football game.  There's something about a high school football game that says, "Hello fall."  The first home football game is great!  The school year has just started.  Students, parents, and teachers are there.











The pep rally beforehand...

...the marching band...

...the weird outfits students come up with to "Super Fan"...

...and football!

I know this isn't totally math related (unless you're all about the stats...), but it's student related.  I love going to football games with my husband and pointing out which football players are my students.  I enjoy talking to students outside of class and getting to know them a little better.  I like hanging out with my fellow teachers outside of the teachers' lounge or the hallway...or the staff meetings.  There's just something about being with the people I see every day in school...outside of school.

My first day of school

I usually use a brief review game using the coordinate plane and desks in rows to create randomized seating charts.  However, I decided to put my desks in groups this year, so I couldn't use that review game.

So, I looked at the  first day page on the math teacher wiki and used the numbers on post it notes idea.  Once a kid guessed his/her number, he/she could choose a seat.  It worked out ok...except for the fact that the post it notes wouldn't stick to the kids' backs.  So, my intervention specialist (WHO ROCKS, BTW) helped me use scotch tape to make sure the post it notes stayed.  That helped things go more smoothly in later class periods.  Also, we were able to review math vocabulary, such as prime and composite.  So, other than the tape debacle, the activity worked out well.

Another thing that didn't go perfectly...the syllabus.  When I finally received my copy code, I was anxious to copy them so I could fold them...on Thursday.  Since I was so excited to be able to make copies, I didn't pay attention until half way through the print job: the inside of the syllabus printed upside down.  At that point (3:30pm the day before the first day of school), I didn't care...instead, I made a joke out of it with the students about how I'm new there and learned the hard way how to copy a brochure using the copy machine.  They didn't seem to mind, either.  :-)

I gave the students a review packet to start toward the end of the block.  Most of the students got a lot accomplished, helped each other, and asked good questions.  I'm excited to get to know my new students and am anxious to see how this year is going to pan out.

#myfavfriday - My Favorite Musical

So, I know it's Saturday, but yesterday was my first day of school (besides freshman orientation) AND my husband got off work early yesterday.  Tomorrow (Sunday) is my birthday, and he bought (among other things) my favorite musical:

I grew up watching musicals with my grandma.  While others were watching tons of cartoons when they were little, at 3 years old, I was imitating the dance moves of the actors in Show Boat and singing along with Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis.  That's right, when I think of Judy Garland, the first movie I think of is NOT the Wizard of Oz.  

One of my favorite musicals is "Singin' in the Rain".  Gene Kelly is so talented, Debbie Reynolds is delightful, Donald O'Connor is hilarous, and it's great to escape today's inappropriate media with the wholesome, intelligent and funny story.  "Moses supposes his toeses are roses..."

Why I am Nutter Buttersmith/The MathSmith

So, I joined a blogger initiative started by @samjshah.  One of the many prompts for the first week was to write about why you named your blog what you named it.

My story starts with my husband and his many nicknames (maybe I can get him to blog about that...we'll see...).  One of the more popular (and accepted by Bret) is "Buttersmith".  When I married him, I became "Nutter Buttersmith"...get it?  It's punny.  Bret blogged for a brief time (as you can see if you clicked on his  blog link), so around that time, I decided to create my own.  I didn't know what to do with it since my days of xanga and college rants were over.  Then, when we moved to Greenville, Ohio, I met Shannie.  Shannie likes to take pictures.  She uses her blog as a photoblog to display photos with a theme or to participate in a photo scavenger hunt.  Since I had a blog with barely any posts, I decided to join her on the monthly photo scavenger hunt.

This summer, I spent most of my days looking for a job (got RIF'd due to a drop in enrollment in the middle school), watching stuff on netflix, and going on pinterest to get some new ideas for teaching.  There, I found pins from math teacher blogs, which opened up a whole new world!

Around the time I discovered math teacher blogs and tweeps, @druinok started #made4math.  So, I decided to join the math bloggers.  But what name should I use?  Then, it came to me...The MathSmith!  I was already using Nutter Buttersmith as a photoblog, so I wanted to create a new blog to keep the 2 topics separated.  I wanted to incorporate math in my new blog name...and themathsmith was available on blogger!

So, that, in a nutshell is how I became both Nutter Buttersmith and The MathSmith!

Help, I'm in a nutshell!:

My First Few Days of School - This Year, All Bets Are OFF!

This year, I'm starting a new school with a new schedule type: trimesters...that are 72 minutes long.

So, I've been thinking about how I'm going to post my first day/week of school...At this point, since I haven't gone to our in-services yet and figured out the lay of the land and the amount of technology I'll have on the first few days, I can't post what I will be doing this year until we are pretty much there.  I have every intention of posting what actually happens this year.  From what I know already (thanks to my very informative and helpful new math dept. head), the "first day" is a shortened schedule with freshmen and other new students to help them navigate the school without getting trampled.  I don't even have to plan for that day...they have things for us to do each period with the students, such as ask whether students were able to get to their lockers, etc.  The "second day" is really the first day with everyone.

Anyways, my first day in the past looked like this:

Seating Chart Activity:

I created a coordinate plane out of the desks (when they were in rows).  I used masking tape on the floor to create the x- and y-axes.  I labeled the origin and explained which direction was up, down, left and right.  As students walked in, I gave them a notecard with a coordinate on it.  I told the students to wait until I explained the exercise, but most of the time, the students dove right in (especially honors classes).  Once everyone settled into a seat, I went around to check to see if everyone was in the correct seat.  If students were mixed up, we discussed how that student got there and where he/she should be.  This is a handy way to review simple graphing on the first day, to see how students think, and randomize the seating chart.

Introduction Power Point:

I used a power point presentation as a guide to everything I wanted to tell the students that day (mainly so I wouldn't forget anything).

It started with a few slides to overview my syllabus, which I passed out to students after the seating chart activity.  The first slides included supplies, how I weighed grades (total points...but this is where I also explained homework quizzes and how many points quizzes and tests typically were worth), my 3 class rules, class procedures, and the reminder to have students and their parents sign the syllabus.

Student Notecards:

I use student notecards to randomly call on students during a lesson.  I also use them to record book numbers, log parent contact, etc.  Once we were done reviewing the highlights of the syllabus, I had the students retrieve a textbook (from either under their chair if I was super organized that year or from the shelf) and fill out their notecard:

I, then, revealed a slide of what MY notecard would look like to let them get to know me a little bit:

Sometimes, kids ask questions, like "What's disc golf?", etc.  After I answered those questions, I had them pass their notecards in strategically so that they were in the order that they were sitting.  That way, I could fill in the seating chart correctly even if I didn't know all the students' names right away.

Usually, by that time, the class period was over.

Second Day:

The second day, I gave a diagnostic test of things I expected them to know for the class.  I warned them about it the previous day and let them know not to worry.  I told them that they would receive participation/completion points.  For Algebra 1, the diagnostic test included fraction operations, integer operations, and solving one- and two-step equations.  This gave me an idea of how much time I would need reviewing certain skills before moving to the curriculum.

After the students were finished with the diagnostic test, I gave them an interest inventory to fill out.  Some of the things were covered in the notecard from the first day, but the interest inventory gave me more of an idea of what the students were interested in.  The idea is to use the students answers to create word problems that cater to their interests.  This is something I would like to amp up this year...in years past, I would use them at first, but it wouldn't last.

If we had time, we played the game BUZZ to review multiples and get the students out of their seats.  How it works is the students stand up and form a circle.  Then, a student chooses a number between 3 and 9 as the BUZZ number.  Then, a student picks a number that is 30 or higher as the STOP number.  Next, we start counting around the circle.  Whenever we get to a multiple of the chosen BUZZ number, that person has to say BUZZ.  When we get to the STOP number, that student has to say STOP.  If a student says the wrong thing, such as the number instead of BUZZ or BUZZ instead of the number, etc., then that student is out and has to sit down.  The next student has to start over with 1.  If we get to the STOP number, the last ones standing get a sticker or a stamp or something indicating that they won.  The person who said STOP gets to pick the next BUZZ and STOP numbers.  Then, those that were out get to rejoin the game and we play again until the bell rings.

Update on Classroom Decorating

So, I spent a lot of time yesterday and the day before on my classroom.  I decided to take a break from it today but wanted to post my progress.  Some of these pictures have been posted on previous posts.

Before:

Still Works in Progress:

Spoiler alert: probably posting on this for Monday...

A quick desk make-over:

 My husband rocks!:

My mom rocks, too!  We went to Michaels and spent an hour in there...these were some of my findings (thank you @druinok and @4mulafun for direction while finding the SMASH stamp):

She let me use her CRICUT!!!

 All the letters I'm going to use, separated by bulletin board.

FINISHED! (Go Blue Devils was 

cut out by the Cricut)

Wall of Fame finally up! (previous #made4math post reference)

I lined 3 chalkboards/dry erase boards with the green & monkeys...

Go Bananas 4 Math was also cut out on the Cricut!

More to come!

#Made4Math Week 2 - Montuesday!

So, this weekend was quite unpredictable.  We drove up to Toledo on Thursday night.  My appointment on Friday was rescheduled to Monday due to all the power outages.  My husband was in a wedding on Saturday...and the power went out at the reception.  Apparently the transformer was damaged during the storm days prior but remained 'functional' until Stevie Wonder started singing Superstition...we didn't get back into town Monday until 9pm, so needless to say, I didn't get a chance to work on the #Made4Math Monday...

So today is Made4Math Montuesday!!  (Just go with it.)  Due to our hectic weekend, I didn't have much time to think about what I wanted to do, but I think I was pretty productive considering today turned into a busy day as well.

Often times, I throw together bulletin boards at the last minute and leave them that way for the entire school year.  All of the ideas I've seen on blogs and pins have inspired me to start slowly.  See, my mom is what some would call a scrapper.  She wants me to scrapbook with her so badly...but I just can't seem to get into it.  She gave me a whole bunch of scrapbook pages and even one of those machines that cut out letters:

I decided to use these resources to start creating a bulletin board slowly at home.

At first, I came up with this...

(the letters came from scrapbook paper that had numbers on it)

...but the gaps bothered me, so I added a cartoon 

someone gave me a while ago.

I think that if you click the picture, you might be able to read the cartoon...if you're curious.

I figured this could be in the upper lefthand corner of a bulletin board that displays the current unit.  In the near future, I will be purchasing colored tablecloths for the backgrounds of my bulletin boards...one of the many ideas I found on pinterest.

I know it's not much...but at least I tried!  I hope this coming weekend will bring the inverse of this past weekend so that I can come up with more ideas for the classroom.