Sunday, July 22, 2012

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!

    12 comments:

    Fawn Nguyen said...

    You are amazing to post this between workshops! The main reason I couldn't attend #TMC12 (besides not wanting Renee to bite me) was because I'm leading a full-week PD starting tomorrow! Talk about ACK!!

    I have a sub binder, but your post reminds me that it really needs to be updated (the fire exits are probably are wrong!). Also, I'm reminded that I MUST work on my "emergency" binder. The office asks us to submit one every year, but I'm sure I didn't do it last year! Shhhhh.

    I've done a very similar "Find a Partner" matching activity, but I never thought to use it to assign new seatings, great idea!!

    Nutter Buttersmith said...

    Thank you so much for posting these! This reminded me that one of the many things I have to do for this new school is create my sub folder...and now binder. Do you have links to the templates you could post? I like your format from the teacher binder.

    I like your Pair Up activity as well. I'm mainly going to be teaching Algebra 1B and Algebra 1C this year (on trimesters). Algebra 1B starts with solving equations. So I could come up with equations to solve where their solutions are the same. Algebra 1C starts with systems of equations, so I could have systems with the same solutions. Granted this would mean they would be switching seats at the end of a chapter.

    Why do you have students in pairs? Any particular reason? I've done groups of 4 in the past and am seeing if that's the best option or if other methods would be better.

    Simplifying Radicals said...

    I finally did it. Here is my Made4Math project.
    http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/2012/07/exponent-game-and-made4math.html

    I really need a sub tub!!

    LRieger said...

    I live the pair up activity. Can't wait to make some of my own. Great for new seats, review or a big change.

    Love the sub tub too.

    Kathryn Laster said...

    Fabulous ideas, but the sub binder really caught my eye. It was a super-great reminder for me to update my own folder and to use your ideas to improve mine! I have now added that to my to-do list. (My ACK!)

    The link to my #made4math post is
    http://nolearninglimits.blogspot.com/2012/07/made4math-graffiti-boards.html. Can't wait to enjoy the others.

    Enjoy your summer institute! I puffy heart AVID. :)

    Anonymous said...

    I read about your sub tub last night and then I had one of those nightmares when you don't have anything ready for the sub. It was disastrous! In my dream I kept thinking I should have had my sub tub ready.

    Sarah said...

    Here's mine!
    http://alwildasdaughter.com/2012/07/23/made-for-math-mondays-4-2-for-me/

    Thanks
    Sarah
    aka Alwilda's daughter

    Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove) said...

    Okay. This is going on my to do list of things I have to do before school starts. I love the idea of having all the crucial information right on the inside of the front cover.

    Katie said...

    I started Made 4 Math Monday today by making an Operations with Integers Review Game.

    http://msmathmadness.blogspot.com/2012/07/made-4-math-monday-1.html

    druin said...

    @Fawn - Thanks! #Made4Math has taken off in a way I never expected, so I had to make sure I was ready during my traveling time. I hope your PD went well!!

    @NutterButtersmith - Just gotta say, it always takes me a minute to sync up your twitter and blog names :) I will post the templates this afternoon for you. When creating problems for the pair-up with the same solutions, you might be able to use @k8nowak's "Row Games" to save you some time :) In the past, I had my groups in 4s, but it was too easy for someone to get away with doing all or nothing. My students actually suggested the pairs, thought it would give more individual accountability.

    @SimplyingRadicals - YAY for joining in :) Thanks so much!

    druin said...

    @LRieger - Thanks!

    @MsLaster - My "ACK" list keeps growing! :) Thanks for your submission to #made4math!

    @kristin - so sorry that I gave you nightmares... but 'tis the season for those, I suppose! :)

    @Alwildasdaughter - yay! Love the #made4math submission - thanks again!

    druin said...

    @Sarah - I'm glad I could help!

    @Katie - Thanks for submitting to #made4math! Love it!