8/25/15 - Cheaters Never Prosper

I am so sad. I don't know what else to say. Every year I start off with the highest of hopes and expectations for my students. Their potential sparkling in their eyes. And every year I am disappointed. Not because I discover a lack of potential, far from it. I've always believed that my students have the capacity, with hard work, to accomplish any goal they set out for themselves. What I am disappointed by, year in and year out, is the willingness to take shortcuts, to co-opt the work of others, to take from others. To lie, cheat and steal, without so much as a thought for the damage done to others and to their own integrity.

These have become major issues on our campus in the last few weeks, and we are only 4 weeks into the school year!!! Some students have been caught emailing requests to trade assignments while others blatantly copy their classmates work in front of their teachers. This is disheartening and unfortunately it doesn't end there. I returned from a training day to find that my students had cleaned out my candy jar in my absence. I wish I could say that this is the first time. Each year I hope it won't happen, but this is the 5th incident in as many years.

I am not so much shocked that students are cheating or stealing candy. These behaviors have been around for a long time. I don't see them disappearing any time soon. I'm worried at the ease at which these offenses are being committed. The seemingly complete lack of remorse. The willingness to continue the behavior despite being confronted.

I told students of my discovery of the missing candy. While a few looked surprised, most had no reaction and some even smiled! I explained to them how disappointed and sad I was that someone would steal from me and explained that I had no choice but to assume they were all guilty and, as a consequence, there would be no more candy for the rest of the year (I used Jolly Ranchers to encourage students to bring back signed tests.). While this insures no more candy is stolen, it doesn't take away my sadness and disappointment.

8/17/15 - Better Together! #MTBoSblausgust

One Collective Mind (Wikia)

Today, 13 amazing educators from Hilltop Middle convened their first 30 Goals meeting. In addition to an amazing librarian and ASB advisor, we teach english, math, social science, italian, spanish, chinese, and science. Despite our varied subject areas, one thing we all have in common is our dedication to kids. Every single one of us, without exception, has and will continue to go above and beyond for our students and colleagues. Today we set group goals to "Make it Fun" and "Be Someone's Champion". Recently, we have all noticed a dip in moral amongst the staff at HTM. Staffing changes, district unrest and huge pedagogical shifts are contributing factors. Regardless of the contributing factors, low staff moral has a direct impact on students, so this goal is a perfect starting point if a larger institutional change is the ultimate goal. It is my/our hope that celebrating the little things and taking a few moments each day to consciously show appreciation will help our staff feel how valued they are and, in a trickle down manner, feed into the enthusiasm and success of ever Hilltop Falcon. Here are the amazing people who have taken up the banner so far.

Yes, I'm making the same face in every picture! Thanks for noticing. 

In my defense, one of the goals is to Go On A Selfie Adventure!!

The Group :-)

Erin - Librarian

Lisa - Math

Dora - Spanish

Athena - US History

Yazmin - English

Bella - Chinese

Aida - World Cultures

Sarah - Science

Kim - English/Fearless Leader

Lourdes - Italian

Melanie - ASB

8/16/15 - My Top 7 Math (+1) Activities (2014-2015) #MTBoSblaugust

I was chatting with a friend about a couple of activities I did with my kiddos this year and was told, "You need to put that s#@t on your blog!" I am nothing if not obedient, so here they are, in no particular order.

1. Angry Batbird/Waterballoon Launch - Youtube and Desmos

My Int. 1 class was studying quadratic equations. We were examining projectile motion using ball tosses, jumps, fireworks and the like. My students have iPads so we used Desmos in our studies. Like most people with technology, my students were very adept at using the iPad for recreational purposes. I call it using it for evil when it distracts them from what we're trying to do. Most of them had figured out how to get past the district firewall and were playing Angry Birds whenever they could. This fascination with had led a colleague of mine to construct an Angry Birds slingshot her students used in their study of projectile motion. I, unfortunately did not have access to the slingshot but I thought we could use a similar idea in our studies.

I found several ridiculous videos on Youtube (big shocker) entitled, Angry Batbird. They are short cartoons; parodies of Batman and Angry Birds. Batbird and Robin would thwart crime using a slingshot as their means of transportation.

There were two launches in the video. Students collected data from launch to landing for both videos. They then wrote projectile motion equations by substitution of time values. All work for the activity was completed in Desmos using an Angry Batbird activity I created (this was before the activity builder was launched).

I used this as practice for our class Water Balloon Launch. During this activity students, in teams of 4, launched water balloons at a target.  I was lucky enough to secure the cooperation of one of our world cultures teachers to serve as the target. Only 3 are needed to operate the launcher so the 4th student used their iPad to take video of the launch, taking care to capture the launch and landing. Each group completed a Desmos activity similar to the one they did for Angry Batbird.

2. Exponential Functions - Desmos and QR Reader

Our curriculum uses a comparison of simple and compound interest to model linear vs exponential growth. While these are good comparisons, they are incredibly boring. I decided to create a series of "real life" scenarios for students to investigate. Again, we used Desmos to complete and document our work. I wanted to run the activity like stations but their wasn't much needed in terms of materials.

I decided to link each activity to a QR code. Students scanned the code, saved the activity to their Desmos account, collaborated with their team to complete the activity and then submitted it to me through Canvas (our district LMS).

Here are the pdf versions, for students without access to a device with a QR Code Reader.

Do Vampires Exist?     Zombie Apocalypse      Rumors       Equipment Rental     Let's Make a Deal

3. Dance Dance Transversal (Powerpoint/Keynote)

This is the first year my district has adopted an integrated curriculum. As a result, I had the opportunity to teach angle relationships for the first time. After several discovery based activities incorporating rigid transformations, I saw this activity on a #msmathchat post by Tara Maynard. She posted a short video of her students doing this angle dance. I was instantly enamored by it. She also shared the powerpoint presentation she used for the activity. I loved it. I Modified it.  ;-)  Here's my version.



Those of you who don't know what Dance Dance Transversal is, its a take on the video game Dance Dance Revolution. Students stand on the "dance mat" made by taping two parallel lines and a transversal on the floor (1 did 10 mats, one for each group.).

Photo via Algebraniacs

Each team member took turns trying to follow the cues and "dance" the angles. My version has four songs. It was the most uncoordinated, yet completely engaged, I'd ever seen my students. It was the best!!

4. King's Pathway Project - Pattern Shapes and Notability Apps

This project can be found in Brad Fulton's The Pattern and Function Connection.  I modified it and digitized it for a 1:1 iPad classroom. Here's my version. I describe the project in more detail in my iPad Projects and Activities post.

5. Circle Design Project - Desmos

I think its important for students to see the beauty in math. Graphing is a wonderful way to make this connection. In the past, before going 1:1, students created beautiful drawings by hand, exploring the equations of lines and parabolas.

More recently, I have used Desmos for this project. I had the opportunity to teach equations of circles last year, so I extended the project to include them. I found tons of circle designs online and asked my students to choose one they felt would challenge them. They were to use Desmos to recreate it and embellish the design to make it their own.  Here are some of the results.

6. Accessibility Ramp for the Eiffel Tower - Google

Last year, I had the opportunity to host several Saturday Academy sessions where struggling students could work on skills they felt weak. I was also able to offer enrichment activities for those students wanting a challenge. During one such session, we began talking about ADA regulations for access ramps. We had been studying trig ratios so i took this as an opportunity to pose the question, what if an access ramp needed to be built to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower? How long would it have to be in order to meet the ADA's pitch requirements? I didn't give students any other information. They decided they needed to know what the regulations where first, so they did a Google search and found that the pitch could be no more than 4.8 degrees and the height of the Eiffel Tower (986 feet).  They used their knowledge of trig ratios to determine that the ramp would have to be approximately 2.25 miles long.  We talked about the reasonableness of a ramp of that length. They did more research into the ADA requirements and discovered that the ramp couldn't be longer than 7 feet. A student suggested that the ramp could switch-back. They, then began calculating how many switchbacks would be needed to reach the top. They decided to compare the total distance traveled on all the switchbacks to the original ramp and found that they difference was negligible.  They were still debating the reasons why this might be when the bell rang. :-)

7. Pythagorean Fence Design Project

I'm beginning to feel like I have no original ideas. I found the Fencing Your Property project by New Vision Academy. I modified and digitized for a 1:1 iPad classroom. Here are my directions and a blank version for student use. Students were tasked to write a design proposal for a potential customer.  Their proposal needed to include a fence perimeter calculations, detailed pricing, financing options, a unique company name and a logo. The proposal was to be presented on company letterhead. These are some student work samples.

This year, I am considering making it a group project and requiring each company to present their proposal to the customer. I many try to convince my colleagues to act as customers. 

8. My Yearbook
I've been doing this since my first year of teaching.  Came out of a site wide Math Expo event. During Math Expo, students would rotate to different classes and participate in a different math related activity. I would always facilitate the origami event. Before I got a document camera, I would use very large pieces of paper to model building a 8-pointed pinwheel. After, I would have these giant pinwheels. The idea of throwing them away made me sad, so I decided to repurpose them as my "yearbook". Here are some of them.

8/15/15 - Holy Crap!! I'm Going to Stop GIVING My Students Grades! #MTBoSblaugust

Over the summer, I attended the CUE Rockstar Conference in La Jolla, CA.  On of the most memorable sessions for me was led by Jeff Heil. He talked about his use of the one-column rubric and badges instead of a traditional grading system.  The basic idea behind one-column rubrics, as I understand them, is mastery is the only option. Rubrics that allow for options below mastery are unconsciously communicating this is acceptable. In a one-column rubric classroom below mastery level work must be revised until mastery is achieved.

After the conference, I gave Jeff's ideas a lot of thought.  I have always encouraged my students to revise and retake but requiring revision until mastery was going to a completely new level. So many things to consider. What would it look like in an 8th grade math class? Could my students handle it? Would parents freak out? How much more work would it take to manage? How will I know if it working? I thought long and hard, did some reading on the subject, asked some trusted members of my PLN for their take, and decided to go for it.

I'm using Jeff's plan - mastery as the only option and awarding badges, instead of grades, when mastery is achieved. During the first week, I outlined my "grading system" to students. I began by explaining that the minimal acceptable level of performance on any assignment was mastery. I qualified this by revealing that I did not expect mastery to necessarily happen after one attempt. Some would have to work on a skill, and revise assignments a few times before mastery was achieved.

For many students, the notion of getting a second chance on an assignment is rather novel. They are familiar with rough drafts when they write essays in english class, putting their initial ideas out on paper, getting feedback from the teacher, making revisions and resubmitting. However, the idea that other assignments in other classes could be approached in this manner was unheard of. I explained that, instead of grades, they would be earning badges (badgelist.com), like in a video game, when mastery was achieved on assignments. Then I really blew their minds by proclaiming that if they earned all their badges, they could TAKE what ever grade they wanted.  You can probably imagine this revelation was met with a combination of confusion, disbelief and excitement. Heehee.

I've been back in school for a few weeks now and have had time to administer and review the first assessment. During my summer planning I realized I needed to completely rethink the way I gave feedback to students. How was I going to let them know when they where on the right track and when they went off the rails?  Standards based grading seems to be the best option. I would analyze student responses to each question and give feedback regardless of accuracy.  Students not achieving mastery on a particular skill would be required to analyze their errors, devise a plan to avoid similar errors in the future, practice the skill and attempt to demonstrate mastery by retaking.  Revisions (IGTQWB) are required on every assessment (quiz, test, project, performance task, etc.) not reaching mastery level.

I gave back the first quiz on Friday. But before I did, I reminded students there would be no grades on the quizzes, simply feedback. I reiterated that mastery was the goal and those not achieving mastery would get the opportunity to revise and try again. Students immediately began reading the feedback and making revisions to their assessment. Despite having explained and reexplained the process, I half expected someone to complain or asked what the feedback translated to as a grade but no one did. Retakes are scheduled for next week.

Follow up post to come.

8/14/15 - Open House Revamped

Last night was my eleventh Open House. I would be understating things if I said that I hate Open House. Its the longest day of the year. I show up at 7am and don't leave until close to 8pm. I have 10 minutes to give my shpeal and every parent wants to have a private conversation. I don't begrudge parents taking this opportunity to try to talk to their student's teachers. For many, this is the one and only face to face interaction they will have for the entire year.  But the part of Open House I struggle with is the sense of redundancy.  I stand there, regurgitating the syllabus and course expectations I sent home on day 1, only to have parents sit there, eyes glazed over after a long work day. Everyone leaves feeling like it was a huge of waste of time, me included.

As Open House time approached that familiar sense of dread returned. I flashed back to talking at groups of exhausted adults, many of whom were only in attendance to get a non-uniform wristband for their student. Those who did engage in conversation were more then happy to tell me how they were "never good at math." Ugh!!! I began fantasizing of the minor illnesses I might come down with the day before. Considered concocting a family emergency that would make it impossible for me to attend.  Then something wonderful happened. I saw the list of MTBoS Blaugust prompts and #42 jumped out at me - What do you do for parent night/open house? I realized that I would be embarrassed to write a post about what I do for open house. I was immediately motivated to change my old boring presentation, turning it into something interesting, engaging and relevant. I reached out on Twitter and received great responses from Meg Craig and Kristin Gray.

Here's what I did . . .

I decided to run the presentation like I do my class.  I met parents at the door, welcoming them and instructing them to pick up their materials as they entered.  I explained that we would be engaging in group work, critical thinking and problem solving, with the hope that they (the parents) would leave with a clearer picture of what their student's experience is like in my class.

I briefly explained that we were studying patterns and functions and that they would be engaging in the type of work their students were tasked with daily.  Each parent was given a form to help guide them through the problem solving process.

I reviewed the form, explaining the goal of the activity and then displayed the pattern (Brad Fulton).

I encouraged parents to collaborate with their table mates, as they were their partners, and advised all students in attendance that they could guide their parents but not do the problem for them.

No surprisingly, a few parents scoffed at the activity. One actually asked, "Are you serious??" After ensuring him that I was, in fact, very serious, he began working through the problem with his student's assistance and encouragement.

As I do during a typical class session, I circulated, listening to conversations and providing guidance

via Everybody is a Genius

and encouragement.  Since I had such a short period of time, many groups were unable to complete the problem, but that was quite alright. I brought the whole group back together and explained how this activity not only encouraged the application concrete mathematical skills, but also reinforced the Standards for Mathematical Practice. I reviewed the SMPs, pointing out how they were connected to the activity they had just engaged in, and how their students were building these skills on a daily basis.

The activity and explanation took almost the entire ten minutes. Not a surprise. What did shock me, in a good way, was how happy the parents looked. How excited they were to work through the problem with each other and their students. How much more at ease they seemed after the experience. Today, I had several students come in and tell me how their parents went home and told them all about their experience in my class during Open House. AWESOME!!! I will definitely do this, or something similar, next year. Open House Rocks!!

8/11/15 - iPad Activities & Projects in Math Class

I recently presented at our school's iPad parent night. My presentation focused on a number of ways I used the iPad to facilitate math activities and projects. Here are the activities and projects I presented.

Notability is a PDF annotation app. Students can download online documents and write on them. They can also use Notability to easily create documents like the one on the left. Notability allows students to write, type, highlight, insert pictures and draw. Documents can be saved in a variety of formats, which simplifies online submission.

For you math teachers, CPM has a digital version of those trusty Algebra Tiles. While I still introduce tiles using the physical versions, there are a number of advantages to using the online type. CPM Tiles include 6 different tiles: x, x squared, y, y squared, xy and the unit tile. Many standard tile sets are limited to the x, x squared and unit tiles.  CPM's version also allows for editing of tile labels, so students can rename the x and y to a and b, for example, if the problem calls for those variables. Students also have access to a variety of mats, including two comparison mats, two equation mats, an expression mat and a multiplication mat. But possibly my favorite feature is access. Students literately have the tiles at their fingertips. No wasted time for distribution and clean up. I no longer am finding tiles on the floor for months. And I haven't had to have a conversation that included the phrase, "Don't put the tiles in your mouth. You don't know where they've been." in a long time.
Last year, my Integrated II class used Notability and CPM Tiles as just one way to demonstrate their understanding of quadratic equations.

Most of us are familiar with Desmos and its awesome capabilities (can't wait to build some activities!!). Last year was my first year using it and I absolutely fell in love with it.  There is still a ton I need to learn but here is one "project" my students really enjoyed. They used Desmos to explore transformations of quadratic equations, resulting in beautiful graphs like the ones below.

One of the skills that is emphasized heavily in 8th grade has to do with the multiple representations of functions. After extensive study in this area, I asked my students to write a design proposal for a Kings Pathway (Brad Fulton) to be built in a local amusement park. The final proposal included a unique design with figures 0 through 4, tables, graphs and equations showing the growth of each of each shape. Student used the app, Pattern Shapes, to construct unique patterns. They took screen shots of their figures and inserted them into Notability. Students then used Notability to write their proposal, which included a letter of introduction and a cost analysis for the pathway project.

Pic Collage is a great app to use when you want your students to display their understanding in a more visual way.  This assignment was for my Intro to Geometry students. They made digital posters for the Triangle Congruence Theorems we were studying.

My students like to use Pic Collage to organize pictures in creative ways. This came in handy for two other projects last year. The one displayed below is a piece of our World Hunger Project. Students created data displays and analyzed world population and wealth distribution data.

Another project my students used Pic Collage for was our City Design project. Students designed as city made up of 5 parallel streets, intersected by two other streets (transversals).  They, then placed buildings in the city according to their angle relationships.