Share-A-Blog Sunday ~ Secondary Solutions

The blog I'd like to share with you this week is not a math blog, but it's definitely one worth checking out!

Secondary Solutions is described as, "Teaching ideas, lesson plans, tips, tricks, stories, and insight from Secondary Solutions President Kristen Bowers for the middle and high school English Language Arts teacher!"

Kristen is extremely knowledgeable in her field and very enthusiastic about her products.  She has a contagious desire to be successful and I have enjoyed learning with her! 

If you know an ELA teacher, you MUST share this blog with them!  If you don't know an ELA teacher, you SHOULD check out this blog for an example of how to get it right!

Mathematically yours,

Science Saturday ~ FREE Download

This week I am sharing a downloadable product with you...absolutely FREE!!!

This product corresponds to GA 7th Grade GPS ~ Life Science.  I'm also a science teacher so this is a product I created!

The 6 Steps of the Scientific Method.  We will use these to create a flow map (Thinking Maps are used at our school).

I hope you will find these useful....even if you aren't teaching 7th grade life science in the state of Georgia!

Mathematically (and Scientifically) yours,

Whacky Wednesday ~ Unusual Mascots

As we all get ready to head back to school ~ some in a week or so...and some still several weeks away ~ we all become once again focused on our school's sense of pride!  With school pride comes the thought of our school's cherished mascot....

Well maybe not so much for some.  I found some rather unusual school mascot names so I thought I'd share a few with you!  If your not a huge fan of your school's mascot, you might be when you finish reading these.

• Palmer Moose ~ Alaska
• Salome Frogs ~ Arizona
• Stuttgart Rice Birds ~ Arkansas
• Lincoln Fighting Zebras ~ California
• Brush Beetdiggers ~ Colorado
• Marvelwood School Screaming Pterodactyls ~ Connecticut
• Cobden Appleknockers ~ Illinois
• Chinook Sugar Beeters ~ Montana
• Crooksville Ceramics ~ Ohio
• Northeast Grape Pickers ~ Pennsylvania
• Hutto Hippos ~ Texas
• Fall Creek Crickets ~ Wisconsin

So, as you can see, your mascot may not be so WHACKY after all! :)

Thanks to High School Team Names for sharing.

Mathematically yours,

Tip Tuesday is here!  

Since school is almost upon us again, I thought I'd share a video of back-to-school tips for teachers. 

While I'm sure you already do most of these, I always find it helpful to hear ideas from another person!

I really like #3!  I need to invest time in making a 'real' checklist and not just random sticky notes.

I hope you find this useful and BEST WISHES for the upcoming school year!

Mathematically yours,

Math Game Monday ~ Order of Operations Millionaire Game

Happy Monday!

Today's Math Game is an online Millionaire game for Order of Operations.

I don't know about you, but my 7th graders still struggle with this concept!  This is a fun way to practice applying order of operations...you know ~ that good ole Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

There are 2 modes for this game:  1 player and 2 players.  I would also consider this as a 1 team or 2 teams option.  

As always, for the 1 player option, you could display this on your ActivBoard for whole-class participation.  However, I sort of like this one for individual or partner computer time!

Students can choose from 13 characters and enter their own names.

Just like on TV, there are 3 Helplines available:  50/50, Phone A Friend, and Ask the Audience.  50/50 is self-explanatory.  Phone A Friend gives the student or team 30 seconds to discuss the answer.  Ask the Audience only works is you have online polling devices.  I don't, so I would just tell my students that is not an option.

Also just like on TV, there's a dramatic feel when moving from question to question and a cool little bit of music!

The questions start with a value of $10,000 and go up to a value of $100,000.  The questions do get progressively harder.  Many of the common mistakes students make when applying order of operations are addressed in the questions.

Here are 2 example from when I played the game myself.

                $10,000          10 - 3 x 2

                $100,000        (2 + 3)^3 - (11 - 4)^2 x 2

Each question allows 100 seconds to answer.

When the student 'becomes a millionaire', there are fireworks on the screen and students can print a certificate congratulating them!  In my opinion, if a student can answer all those questions, I'll buy the paper for the certificates myself if I have to!  I think parents would like to see it as well. 

Here's what it looks like:

For the 2 player version, when a student misses a question, points are deducted and their turn is lost.

I enjoyed playing this game and I hope you'll find it useful...and that your students will enjoy it also!

Mathematically yours,

Share-A-Blog Sunday ~ Science Stuff

I hope your Sunday has been A-MAZ-ING...Mine has!

This week's Share-A-Blog Spotlight is on Science Stuff.  This is a fantastic blog to follow!

Amy has 28 years of teaching experience and she knows here stuff.

She's on Facebook, Twitter, and my new addiction, Pinterest.  She also has a TpT store.  You'll even catch her doing a give-away from time-to-time.

Show Amy some love and head on over to check out Science Stuff!

Mathematically yours,

Science Saturday ~ Conduct a Fish Survey in Your Class

I found a really neat little experiment from EEK!  Teacher Pages called Conduct a Fish Survey in Your Classroom.

The materials needed are very simple. 

Each pair of students will need: 

     1 spoon and paper cup; 

     small white beans (about 100 cup); 

     colored markers; 

     calculators; and

     student worksheet.

The procedure is very clear and easy to follow.

While the standards listed are for the state of Wisconsin, I'm sure you have standards that are very similar to these in your state - depending on your grade level.

In Georgia, I would change the fish in question to the Large Mouth Bass - part of Georgia History!  You could easily adapt the little fishy beans to something familiar in your own state as well!

The part that appeals to my math brain is this tiny jewel:

Population Formula

 

                    Total fish tagged   X   Total fish in trapnet
Population =   -----------------------------------------------
                            Tagged fish in trapnet 

The student worksheet link is also included.

Go here and see what you think!

Mathematically yours,

40-Second Video Every Teacher NEEDS to Watch!

Life is not what it was 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago!

School is not the same as it was when we were students!

Like it or not, that's the way our world is ~ so you might as well embrace it!

As you plan your lessons for this school year, plan lessons that will engage your students!

This is an awesome video reminding us of that...

Mathematically yours,

Pinterest Linky Party!

New Feature ~ Finally Friday

T.G.I.F!!

In a few weeks, this will take on a new meaning for most of us as we wind down our first week of teaching in the new school year! 

I LOVE Fridays!  Not just because one more school week is in the books, but also because I look forward to family time on the weekend and a chance to re-charge my teacher battery so I can make the next school week even better than the last!

This weekly feature will follow along that same thought process - winding down and charging up.

For my first installment, I found a video I wanted to share with you.  

It reminded me of the notion that our chosen profession isn't always looked upon in the most flattering light.  Some people like to put us down, say we aren't capable of other jobs, and poke fun at our less-than-stellar pay scale.  It also reminded me that I don't really care what other people say.  

I'm a TEACHER and PROUD of it!!!  

So as you get ready to start a new school year, keep in mind the reasons why you chose to become a teacher and let that fire ignite you every single day in the classroom!

The video is from comedian Taylor Mali.  

***There are a few choice words and a 'gesture' included.  My intent is not of offend you, but the message in the video is a great one!*** 

Mathematically yours,

New Feature ~ Three Things Thursday

Thursdays will be a time for me to tell you Three Things about...something!  A website, a teaching practice, a classroom item, an event, etc....

However, since my blog is still very new, I thought I'd take this time to tell you Three Things about...ME!!!  There are so many things I could share, but I stick to the basics for now.

1.  I married my high school sweetheart!  He's a former Marine and a current State Trooper!  Who says young love doesn't last?

2.  We have 3 sons ages 17, 18, and 20!  Two college students and a high school student...all still at home for now.  They are the apples of my eye!

3.  We have pets...lots of pets!  Gidget the Pekingese, age 7, Spencer the Chihuahua, age 6, Luger the German Shepherd, age 5, Ingo the Cat, age 5, and Piper the Great Dane, age 1-1/2!  We run the gamut from Chihuahua to Great Dane and it is quite comical some times!  Oh, and there's Ashe the Chinchilla, age who-knows, as well as several bunnies in the woods, and numerous lizards in my flower beds!

I hope to 'get-to-know' you as well as we share ideas and comments on my blog pages!

Have a fabulous Thursday!

Mathematically yours,

Post-It Linky Party

Here's a great little linky party where you can share your ideas for using Post-Its in the classroom!

You'll also be entered in a contest to win a Post-It Prize Package!!  There are several ways to enter.

Here's one of my favorite ways to use Post-Its in math:

For graphing ~ bar graphs, line plots, box-and-whisker plots ~ have students place their Post-It notes on the graph itself!  Draw the basic bones of the graph on the board, chart paper, or display on ActivBoard, then have students add their data.  They will be able to see the graph take shape and have a better understanding of what all those bars and stuff mean!

Alright, head on over to Create, Teach, Share to join up in her linky party!  Here are the rules...

Mathematically yours,

New Feature ~ Whacky Wednesday

We've all had them!!!  Days that just seem too weird to be true...like you should be looking for a hidden camera in the nooks and crannies of your classroom!

This weekly feature will spotlight some of those crazy, weird, strange, odd-ball, WHACKY things that happen in our classrooms and schools.

I intend for this to be a light-hearted look at a day in the life of a teacher, not as a place to shed negative light on anyone.  But let's face it, there are things that happen that are just too good not to share!  And I'm a firm believer in laughter...you have to be able to see the humor in things or you might eat your insides out with shame and frustration.

To get us started this week, since I'm not back in the classroom yet, I just wanted to share a page from Dr. Seuss's Wacky Wednesday.  Have you had one of those days, too?

I plan to be on the lookout and listen-out for a little humor to share with you on a weekly basis!  Be sure to check back each week and see what the next whacky thing might be...


Mathematically yours,

New Featrure ~ Tip Tuesday

Info  PR: n/a  I: 31,800,000  L: 0  LD: 212,348,146  I: 18  Rank: 5  Age: October 12, 1999  I: 0  whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: no  Rank: 1428  Price: 982164 Links: 12|3 Density

Every Tuesday, I plan to share a quick tip of some sort with you.  

Not because I know more than you, not because I think I know more than you!!  

Just because in coming up with these tips, I focus more on what I'm doing in my own classroom and that is always a good thing!!

So, I hope you'll find at least some of these tips beneficial.

My first 'tip' comes from The Blueberry Story.  I created a mini-poster that I display in my classroom and I glance at it daily...multiple times in some days! 

Feel free to print it out from my photobucket and post it in your classroom as well.  Just makes you stop and think for a second...

Mathematically yours,