#MyFavFriday - Zooming by!

This week was weird....  It seems like Monday was f-o-r-e-v-e-r ago, but it also feels like I blinked and we're now to Friday again!

May has to be the toughest month of the year.  Warmer weather hits, senioritis kicks in, student absences skyrocket, and motivation is at an all-time low.  We still have 3 weeks left to go, but as long as I can make it through this weekend, I'm good!  We have a "Super STAT-urday" planned for tomorrow with review sessions and our last Mock exam, then comes the whirlwind of Mother's Day!  Somewhere along that path, I need to find the time to plan lessons, grade AP Review packets, write a quiz, pack goodie bags, and hopefully get some sleep :)

But before that can happen, let's recap the good things that happened this week! :)

My Favorite Teacher Appreciation Gift:

This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I have to say, I felt VERY appreciated!  Every day, we were honored with a treat from our Student Council (candy bar, pop, cake, new pen, etc) plus on Wednesday, our admin assistant bought pizza for our building.  Then, during Advisory, each student wrote a note of appreciation which were delivered today and brought tears to my eyes.

But my absolute favorite gift came today from one of my Geometry students.  I was standing at the door giving High Fives when she comes up to give me a piece of candy.  I thanked her, but she was still digging in her bag.  When she looked up again, she handed me this beautiful ladybug necklace charm.  Sadly I didn't have on a necklace today, but it quickly found a home on my lanyard!  The best part is that she has a matching charm and I had commented on it last week, not knowing that she had one for me too! :)


My Favorite Review Techniques:

I have taught AP Stat for 18 years and I am pretty sure that I have tried 18 different review methods!

However, this year, I might have stumbled on something I really like....

Each day, they start class with a "Skills Check", which is a quarter sized sheet of paper with quick must-knows.  From there, we briefly talk about our AP Tip of the Day, then one of the groups presents their "One Sheet", which is a big poster sized "cheat sheet" of one of the AP Topics.  For the last 40 minutes or so of class, the students work on a Free Response packet of 4 questions from that day's topic.  Their goal is to do as much as possible, trying to maximize their time / score.  Each day these papers are turned in, I read and respond to every single one, and then type up a commentary of common errors, tips, hints and condensed solutions.  The bad part is the intense amount of grading, but I figure I can do anything for one week, right?  I am really hopeful that this strategy will pay off next week!!!


My Favorite Go-To Activity:

When all else fails, my go-to activity has to be a Question Stack.

In Geometry, we worked this week on angles and segments in circles.  In the past, students have struggled a lot on this because the diagrams look a lot alike.  Our notes for these sections were more "graphic organizer" style than I usually do, but it really seemed to help the students make connections. 

Today, it was time to mix them up!  I was worried that I wouldn't have time to create a Question Stack, but then it was KUTA to the rescue!  With the help of the "Snipping Tool" (which is definitely a "My Favorite"), I quickly put together a 12 question loop for today's practice.  I love that students who won't do a worksheet of 12 problems will immediately be engaged when presented the same problems as an activity such as this... :)

What were your favorite moments of the week?  

Until next time... Happy Friday!!! :)