CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Pages

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Geometry {Chapter 1 Review Game}

School is rapidly approaching. Every time I think I've got everything planned, printed and done, I think of something else I want to add! Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose.

This will be the third year I've taught high school Geometry. I am really starting to own this class and pour my personality into it.

In addition to my "Snapshot" that I've created for the beginning of my class, I've also created a BINGO game for the end of Chapter 1. We use Glencoe Geometry (2010 ed.), but I know that correlates to many other textbook publishers.

 This review game is always so much fun. You can play in partners, or individually. There's 24 questions that cover a variety of topics: points, lines & planes; distance formula; midpoint formula; angles; basic surface area and basic volume.

I've created 15 unique cards that will keep your students entertained and provide for a fun way to review concepts. The set also includes 2 question cards that have a total of 24 various questions on it.

Since there are a few drawings, I usually draw those a head of time on my white board and then reference the specific drawing when needed to save on time.

I hope you have fun in your classroom!

"Tools of Geometry" Review BINGO game - $5  
"Snapshot" {Integrated Algebra & Geometry Warmups} - $8 


 

Monday, July 22, 2013

"Snapshot" {Integrated Geometry & Algebra 1}

Do you ever struggle to make sure your students are getting it? I know I do. I also struggle to integrate MORE Algebra 1 concepts into my teaching during the entire year so that all those concepts wont be lost during the year and students will have an even better foundation of Algebra 1 for Algebra 2.

So......

 I’ve created this to correlate with Glencoe’s 2010 edition Geometry textbook, however most Geometry texts follow the same sequencing and content. In this bundle you will find daily “snapshots” to have your students work on to review the previous day’s content. Each day also is integrated with an “algebra snip-it” so that students won’t forget all that algebra they learned the year prior and will have an even more solid foundation for Algebra II.,
Here's a few pictures of what I've created:
Cover of first unit (out of 13 total)




 

If you'd like to download a FREE preview, simply CLICK HERE


If you are looking for more Geometry resources for your classroom, be sure to check out:
my TpT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jaime-Hulbert
my facebook page: www.facebook.com/mathnspire
or my blog: www.mathnspire.net

This product is intended for individual use with in the classroom setting. Copies may be made for the teacher that purchased the product. If you intend on sharing this with other teachers, please purchase additional licenses upon checking out.

Other units available soon!
- Reasoning & Proof         - Parallel & Perpendicular Lines
- Congruent Triangles      - Relationships in Triangles
- Quads                                 - Proportions & Similarity
- Right Triangles & Trig   - Transformations & Symmetry
- Circles                                  - Areas of Polygons & Circles
- Surface Area & Volume - Probability & Measurement

Ready to add this gem to your teaching collection?
  - $8

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Reflection

As the new year approaches, I always feel like the last part of July is a time of reflection... A time for me to look back on the past year and see what little "tweaks" I can make for next year to be better.

For those of you who are new to my blog, this next year will be my 10th year teaching. Of those 10 years, I've spent 1 year teaching in CA, 9 in TX; 8 teaching 5th - 8th grade math, 2 1/2 teaching Geometry and Pre-Cal; and 7 wonderful years at my home, Legacy.  Ya know the school that becomes a part of your family? That's how I feel at my school. I think that's also why it's so easy to create fun projects and new resources for my students. I want to see them learn, and love learning as much as I do.

With inservice just a few short weeks away, my mind is flooded, I mean FLOODED with things I want to do this next school year.... but of course there's never enough time, and let's be realistic here - who wants to be working on schoolwork all day?! Not me! I've got five little munchkins at home that also need my attention. So, I've picked a couple things I am going to incorporate into my classroom next year.

One cool thing, I found via Pinterest (super addicting!) and will post a pic when I create my own.
instead of handing back papers all the time. Love this idea!






Isn't it cool?? I'm going to make one to cut down on time passing back papers :)










The other thing I am working on is my morning routine. I currently "flip" my classroom (I'll post more about this later), so I wanted to also make these custom "Snapshot" for each day that will spiral review the previous days lesson and incorporate Algebra concepts as well... Here's the first day.
I'm going to bundle these by chapter and at the end of the year I'm going to have one. BIG. bundle! Be on the lookout! :)

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Operations with Fractions {Scavenger Hunt}

One of the fun things I like to do in my math camp course is Scavenger Hunts. Since I want to make sure my middle schoolers, incoming kiddos, and soon-to-be kiddos are SOLID on their fraction facts, we spend an ENTIRE day doing fractions and refreshing our brains as to how to add, subtract, multiply and divide them. The last 20-30 minutes, we have a scavenger hunt around my room.
I tape up cards all over my room and depending on the size of my camp, I group my students in pairs.

Here's a few samples of the cards in this particular set:

As you can see, the answer to each card is NOT on the SAME CARD. It's on a different one. Here's the "rules of play"

**How to play**
- Tape cards all over your room
- Split students up into equal ability groups (as much as possible)
- Have students start at any one of the numbered cards. They make a loop around themselves, so it doesn't matter where students start
- Students note the CARD NUMBER they are at, solve the problem and find the answer on a DIFFERENT CARD. Then they repeat the process
- Students will know they are "done" when they arrive back at the card they started at,.
- You then check their CARD NUMBER SEQUENCE and can redirect as needed.
This set includes 20 cards and the answer sequence. Cards review addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Subtraction with regrouping is also revisited.

- $5

 

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Math Camp {Summer F-U-N}

It is said that during the 2-3 months we have off for "summer", students lose 20% of the learning its finished hey acquired during the school year...

I don't know about you, but I work hard to make sure my students "get it" and will take it "beyond the test".

So, what's a teacher to do? This is a large reason ive created things like my "Summer Sizzler" and also do a 2-week Math Camp.


What's Math Camp, you ask? Well, it's a M/W camp that I've set up for my students to focus on the four biggest concepts they should have mastered for the next school year. 

For example, I dedicate June to grades 4-6 (completed) and July to geades 7-9 (completed). Each day, we spend 90 minutes on a focused concept like multiplication favts, fractions, or equations. We reinforce through games, drills and exercising our problem solving skills. 

Heres a few snapshots from this past camp:

Two students playing "Fraction War"
Two students using spatial reasoning and problem solving to "pack their suitcase"
 
I am putting my math lab activities together for a convienent, easy download and will post when its finished :)  Have a great rest of your summer and comment as to what you've done that's successful!
 
 

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Getting to know you {Scavenger Hunt}

I love the first day of school. The freshly sharpened pencil smell; the newness of a fresh start; and of course students who are often scared to get to know their classmates.


I do a lot of partner and group work, so I like to start my year off with my students building relationships with everyone else in the class. We definitely talk about how everyone has different strengths and throughout the year each one will get used.

So what better way to get students talking that helping them get to know one another by conducting a scavenger hunt!?

 
I've created ten different unique cards that can be printed and passed out to your class. I know class size is larger than 10 people, but it's fun to have a few "winners"
 
The rules are simple:
1. Pass out one paper per person
2. Have students write their name in the center square
3. Students then have to find other students to fill in the squares to complete the entire page.
4. Once a student finds a person that meets the square's requirements, the student that meets the requirement signs his/her name in the box.
 
**Prompts are math focused, and help also build math fluency while students also build personal relationships with each other. 

** Depending on class size, you may or may not want to limit the number of signatures per paper. I usually allow students to sign no more than two times on one paper.

- $3
Hope you're as excited as I am about the upcoming school year!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Educreations {Technology in the Classroom}

If you are like me, you either like technology or have to use it in your classroom. Don't get me wrong, I think technology is great - in fact I use it almost every day - but sometimes I think we tend to "over stimulate" our students with all these neat gadgets that are quite frankly a big pain in the butt... Yes, I said it.

I used to teach in a district in which I was forced to use smart boards, eInstruction, etc. I actually got in trouble if I used my white board rather than the technology! I thought all the gadgets in my room were great, but I was frustrated at how the kids really were focused more on the gadgetry rather than what they were learning.

There is ONE piece of technology that I feel has greatly improved my teaching and allowed my students and I more time to dive deeper into the concepts that I teach. Especially since our time is so short, I want to maximize it and make the most out of it.

Enter Educreations. It's an app currently available only for apple products, however it will soon be on the android market as well. This is an interactive whiteboard that also allows you to record your voice as you teach!

It. is. awesome.

It has transformed my teaching to be able to really focus on student needs rather than trying to produce worksheet after worksheet.... It also has brought so many more students into the understanding level, rather than the exposure level of teaching because I can then truly meet my students needs inside the classroom rather than hope they are learning how to meet their needs outside the classroom.

I never understood why we focus on the independent work outside the classroom. Yes, I believe it's important, but I really can't tell where my students are at conceptually until tests. So here's what my classroom looks like now:

I create my lessons on Educreations and record myself teaching them. Here's a few screen shots of my first lesson my students will watch this coming school year:


title screen

Example #3

End slide
 The neat thing is you can upload it to the educreation site and set it so that only your class views it. I can see how many views it gets and my students can ask questions if they want/need online and I will receive it like instant messaging.


Here is a link to the first video my students watch at the beginning of the school year. It's the one with the above screen shots :)


This is what my students watch on the day before I would normally teach it. I send home with them blank notes that we used to do in class. This now is their only homework. When they come through my classroom, I expect them to have watched and taken notes. Now, instead of starting from scratch, I have a little bit of a foundation to go a little deeper with them on. I can see what areas we need to work on as a whole class, and which areas I need to focus on with individual student needs.

Last year, my overall class percentage when from an average of 83% (whole class) to 92%!! Not only were my tests better, but their comprehension was better. I found they weren't "regurgitating" facts and information, but had a chance to digest it and allow it to take root in their learning.

Image how great that would be for a key class like Algebra?!

Have you tried Educreations in your classroom yet? If so, leave me a comment with your thoughts.... or just leave a comment b/c I love reading them :)