Made 4 Math Monday #4

I can't believe it's Monday again! Well, technically it's not yet since I'm writing this before I leave for back to back workshops.. but I'm posting it from Indy, after an amazing 3.5 days of Twitter Math Camp in St Louis where I got the chance to meet many of you!! Please forgive me that I won't be as quick on the archiving of your projects as I normally am because I'm at an AVID workshop and free time is limited. But, tweet your link or leave out in the comments and I will get it archived ASAP!

As always, don't forget to link up YOUR awesome #Made4Math creations in the comments or tweet with the hashtag #Made4Math so we can archive them here when we need some inspiration :)

So on to this week's projects. Since school is starting in a very, very short time from now, I am really starting to get more into the "ACK! I need to make this and this and this and this" mode.

Project #1 - Sub Tub
I have seen many pins on Pinterest, like this Sub Tub from the One Extra Degree blog. However, I don't need an entire file crate for a sub. As I was browsing around my room, thinking of what I could use, I spotted my file tote that I got last year. Since I have a new teacher bag, this file tote will become my new "Sub Tub"

Inside my tub will be my Sub Binder and some hanging files to hold the handouts for the day. The nice thing is that if I am gone for multiple days, I can easily label each folder with the date/class.

When you open up the binder, here's what you see on the left...

I took a sheet protector and cut off the holes on the left, then using double sided sticky tape, I stuck the sheet protector to the inside front cover. Yes, I covered up the pocket, but this is the information I want subs to find quickly - reliable students, neighboring teachers, emergency procedures, etc.

On the right side, the sub sees this...

This is just a letter to me from the sub letting me know how each class behaved and any notes.

Behind the sub letter, there are sections for our Bell Schedule, Class Rosters, School Map, Emergency Lesson Plans, and Forms & Documents.

Overall, I'm hoping that this Sub Tub will help keep handouts and such more secure than just having stacks of papers sitting on my desk. :)

Project #2 - Find a Partner
This project is inspired by two of my friends from the twitter-blog-o-sphere. Back in October 2011, Amber Caldwell posted an idea called "Pair Up" and I remember reading the post and thinking "Yeah! I need to do that!", but I didn't teach Algebra anymore, so I filed it away for later years. Then, this summer, I found a similar idea by Marsha over at the Math-termind blog called "Working in Pairs". I mean, if I found a similar idea twice, that definitely means I should try it out, right??

Well, as luck would have it, I am teaching Algebra 2 this upcoming year, so I started brainstorming how to use this idea. Both of the blogs above used notecards, but I decided to do mine on colored paper so I could laminate and reuse for multiple sections/future years. Here's my first attempt:

I think I will use this as a way to review a skill as well as assign a new seating chart. :) The idea is that as a student comes to class, they get a slip of paper with a problem on it. They then work the problem, then find the other person in the room whose problem matches the one they had. That person becames their new partner for the next few weeks. Since my students are almost always seated in pairs, I think this will be a great way to mix up the seating chart!

As the two blogs above pointed out, there are a lot of topics where you could use this...

Functions and their inverses

Factoring trinomials and multipling binomials

Graphing and writing equations from graphs

Log and exponential form

Perpendicular lines

Any other thoughts on topics where you could use this?

Your Turn!!! What did YOU make this week?
Ready to check out some other awesome creations? Remember to leave a link in the comments or send out a #made4math tweet! :) We want to see YOUR name here.... :)

@Borschtwithanna - Whiteboards for groups and student roles

@fourkatie - Binder clips and drawer organizers

@mathequalslove - Bellwork form

@roitzc - Just a little reward

@mathtastrophe - ZAP Game

@msrubinmath - DIY Whiteboards

@reminoodle - Dry erase and bulletin boards

@MsKLaster - Graffiti boards

SimplyingRadicals - Exponent Game

@mgolding - Bloom's question starters

@alwildadaughter - "I have, who has" and Cootie catchers

@_CindyWallace_ - Fabric borders and iPad apps

@misscalcul8 - Pretty Tote

Katie - Integer game

@pamjwilson - Hole punch game

@Wyldbirman - Geometry proofs

@Brielliephant - Vertical files, name tag, and dice

@samjshah - Business Cards, Stickers, and Cards: Oh my!