This month, I'm participating in a blog challenge called Blaugust. To see the list of participating blogs, click on the logo above. I would encourage to you please cheer on our participants with either a tweet or a comment on their blog during this month. It can be hard to blog on a daily (or even regular) schedule! :) If you would like to join the blogging challenge, you can still sign-up anytime!
Today wraps up the 2018 edition of MTBoS Blaugust! I ended up blogging 18 times this month, which is more than the previous 5 months combined! :) Thank you to everyone that participated in Blaugust, either as a blogger, a reader, a commenter, or supporter!
Not only is it the last day of August, it is also Friday, so it's time for another round of Friday Favorites! Today was kind of a chill day as we had our district kick-off this morning followed by PD this afternoon. I had a bit of time to work in my room on a few things between PD sessions, but I still brought home more than I really wanted to this weekend, so I foresee a lot of couch time as I grade papers and plan lessons! :) So far this year is going *so* well! YAY!
My Favorite Warmup
In Geometry last week, we were working on Points, Lines, and Planes. This is traditionally a subject that can be a real struggle for students to see as the diagrams are almost always 3D pictures drawn in 2D space. So last weekend as I was browsing the internet for some short activities to toss in the mix, I ran across
this activity with some assembly required. I decided it would be perfect for a warmup this week, added a few points to the plane and modified a few of the questions and off we went! The discussions were fabulous, the student reflections showed some holes and gaps that I was able to fill in, and the ability to pick up the plane and manipulate it was probably one of the BEST parts about it! Definitely an activity to do again in the future...
My Favorite Surprise of the Week
Tuesdays are my rough days. We have block scheduling on Tuesday and Wednesday and for me, Tuesday is the non-plan day, which means my only break is lunchtime and actually eating lunch is fairly rare on Tuesdays as I shift gears from Geo to Stat. So imagine my surprise when I check my mailbox Tuesday morning and find this lovely little card! Inside was a super-sweet and encouraging note from a MTBoS friend. I'm horrible about writing notes, but I really love the idea and think I might just steal it :) It really helped me get through the day knowing that my MTBoS family always has my back! :)
My Favorite Lesson of the Week
Yesterday was our last classroom day of the week and I had two options - work a bit more on the Segment Addition Postulate or move on to the next section in Geometry. I also knew that my students had a 4 day weekend and it would be a while before I saw them again, so I opted for the Segment Addition and I'm so glad I did! This also gave me the opportunity to introduce our Red/Yellow/Green cups and all in all, it was such a fabulous day of engagement and discussion. One of my Geo kiddos made a comment at the end of class about how fast the day had gone and that we should do this with every lesson because that was "way more fun than a worksheet!" Another student at that table said "Yeah! And I think I learned more algebra in the past 30 minutes than I ever knew!" Once again, I am reminded that the best teaching days are the days when I just sit back and let the kids do their thing. :)
My Favorite Use of Desmos
In Stat, we just wrapped up sampling and are moving on to Experimental Design. Yesterday in class, we took a quiz and after their quiz, I tried something new. Our lesson for next Tuesday involves the vocabulary of experiments, so instead of taking class time for taking notes, I decided to do it as a Desmos activity for after their quiz. In general, I had notes screens with the vocabulary, then a few MC questions sprinkled in for them to "test themselves". I had never done this type of activity before, but I really liked it!
Happy Friday, y'all! :)
Hi Shelli,
ReplyDeleteCan you share the Desmos AP stat vocab activity. Thanks