I cant believe we are in our 4th week of school already! I guess time flies when you're having fun! I have made a promise to you all and to myself to be the best teacher I can be. I want OUR classroom to be a place where everyone is comfortable and learns to their fullest potential.
It is taking shape, but there's a long way for me to go to be giving you the education you deserve. Everyone has to work together, share ideas, respect each other and opinions (even if they're different than our own). This kind of environment isn't created overnight and can't just be done by me; it takes a complete paradigm shift and some hard work on everyone's part. If everyone's not on board, it won't be the best it could be.
A few of our classes are really progressing rapidly. We all do what's expected of us. We all take an active roll in the class. We all support each other and help each other; we do this while building each other up and helping each other find our voices. I am so grateful to have students that are stepping up to this challenge. This is going to be the best year ever and I'm sure we are going to learn so much more than just math in our class!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I love the beginning of school!
I should be sleeping...but school's starting soon and I'm so excited that I'm having a hard time falling asleep! To me, the first day of school is like waking up on Christmas morning...you never know what you're going to get! I can just imagine how awesome my students and classes are going to be. I have so many new ideas that I want to try this year and so many new adventures are in my plans for the year.
I can remember having this same, euphoric feeling every year on the first day of school for my entire life. Ok, so I dont exactly remember the first day of kindergarten (it's been a few years), but I do remember the beginning of some of the later years of elementary school through the end of high school and from the beginning of every semester of college through all 10 years of teaching. I hope when my students arrive with this feeling on the first day, I make them feel comfortable and excited about school. Wouldn't it be great to have a classroom so amazing that we all would wake up with this feeling every day?
I can remember having this same, euphoric feeling every year on the first day of school for my entire life. Ok, so I dont exactly remember the first day of kindergarten (it's been a few years), but I do remember the beginning of some of the later years of elementary school through the end of high school and from the beginning of every semester of college through all 10 years of teaching. I hope when my students arrive with this feeling on the first day, I make them feel comfortable and excited about school. Wouldn't it be great to have a classroom so amazing that we all would wake up with this feeling every day?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Summer - Summer- Summer Time!!
Here are a few ways I've used mathematics so far this summer.
- planned a vacation (estimated driving time to airport, cost of a rental car for the week, cost of groceries for the week, cost of total flights - seat prices, luggage prices, taxes, cost of the kennel for my dog while we're gone, total cost of trip)
- hanging curtains (had to measure to make sure the curtain rod would be level and to make sure the curtains would hit the wall where I wanted them to)
- worked on building a deck (angles, even spacing, tessellations, measuring)
- using the filing system at my summer job (it is numerical and alphabetical)
- payed bills
- balanced the checkbook
- estimated the cost of re-doing a bathroom
Monday, May 23, 2011
The End is Near
I tried several new things in my classroom this year, and overall it was a successful learning experience for me. I believe my year was a success because I had the help and support of some amazing young adults! I'd like to use this post to say a few words to them.
1st Hour ~ What a great way to start my day! You are an intelligent, hard working, fun group. I particularly enjoyed how most of you take control of your education. You did the work because you wanted to learn, not just to get it finished. You worked together in groups to get your jobs accomplished without just telling each other the answers; you actually worked TOGETHER to find the solution! I honestly enjoyed being your teacher and working with you to help you find your leadership abilities.
2nd Hour ~ Even though this isn't my first year of teaching, you taught me a lot! Your honesty helped me remember to make it meaningful for you. This was one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year, so it was good to have a reminder that this is what students want in the classroom. There are definitely a wide variety of personalities in your group, but none of them better than others. We just all have to remember/discover what makes us shine. Your class contains SEVERAL leaders; I hope you use this for positive adventures in your future! I'll see some of you again next year when you're in Algebra in high school.
3rd Hour ~ Your class brought me joy daily! Most of you are fun-loving, have super-kind hearts, and want to do well in life. You're helpful & a pleasure to be around. Remember to stand up for what you believe in and be a leader of your own life & education ~ no one's going to take control of your life for you (and you should never let them). I'll see you when you're in high school!
6th Hour ~ You all definitely don't lack in personality! In this class there are some people who are quiet and some people who are the polar opposite of quiet, but each of you are leaders in your own ways. We have leaders of education, leaders of personal skills, and leaders of working hard! Be open-minded & confident; you can do anything if you believe in yourself & stay focused to get there.
7th Hour ~ Oh, 7th hour! What a hard-working group of young adults! Most of you have taken control of your lives and are leading it in a positive direction...no excuses! Hard work, focus, dedication, & leadership of yourselves will get you where you want to go; I believe in you and know you're going to be great no matter what you choose to do! It's sincerely been my pleasure.
8th Hour ~ What a diverse, interesting, open-minded, kind group! You were always willing to help each other, or me, and we all worked so well together. When you take control of your education, like some of you have, anything is possible! I enjoyed ending my day with you!
1st Hour ~ What a great way to start my day! You are an intelligent, hard working, fun group. I particularly enjoyed how most of you take control of your education. You did the work because you wanted to learn, not just to get it finished. You worked together in groups to get your jobs accomplished without just telling each other the answers; you actually worked TOGETHER to find the solution! I honestly enjoyed being your teacher and working with you to help you find your leadership abilities.
2nd Hour ~ Even though this isn't my first year of teaching, you taught me a lot! Your honesty helped me remember to make it meaningful for you. This was one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year, so it was good to have a reminder that this is what students want in the classroom. There are definitely a wide variety of personalities in your group, but none of them better than others. We just all have to remember/discover what makes us shine. Your class contains SEVERAL leaders; I hope you use this for positive adventures in your future! I'll see some of you again next year when you're in Algebra in high school.
3rd Hour ~ Your class brought me joy daily! Most of you are fun-loving, have super-kind hearts, and want to do well in life. You're helpful & a pleasure to be around. Remember to stand up for what you believe in and be a leader of your own life & education ~ no one's going to take control of your life for you (and you should never let them). I'll see you when you're in high school!
6th Hour ~ You all definitely don't lack in personality! In this class there are some people who are quiet and some people who are the polar opposite of quiet, but each of you are leaders in your own ways. We have leaders of education, leaders of personal skills, and leaders of working hard! Be open-minded & confident; you can do anything if you believe in yourself & stay focused to get there.
7th Hour ~ Oh, 7th hour! What a hard-working group of young adults! Most of you have taken control of your lives and are leading it in a positive direction...no excuses! Hard work, focus, dedication, & leadership of yourselves will get you where you want to go; I believe in you and know you're going to be great no matter what you choose to do! It's sincerely been my pleasure.
8th Hour ~ What a diverse, interesting, open-minded, kind group! You were always willing to help each other, or me, and we all worked so well together. When you take control of your education, like some of you have, anything is possible! I enjoyed ending my day with you!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Best Intentions
I have started this blog with the intention of using it as a place to hold discussions outside of the classroom. What I'm wanting to do is post a blog and then have the students respond to it. I'd like to use the blog to showcase the leaders in my classroom and around our school; then, I'd like those leaders to post their point of views also. I know their stories will be interesting and I can't wait to start reading them!
Monday, April 25, 2011
~8th Grade Earth Day~
One of my goals this year was to help my students realize that they can be leaders. Helping students understand this can be as easy as finding ways that they can be part of something bigger than themselves, showing them their potential, and believing in them. That was the eighth grade teachers' goal when we created what we hope will be a tradition that students look forward to at Central Jr. High School.
The eighth graders collected recyclable materials and brought them into school. They synergized with other students, worked in small groups, collaborated on an idea and used the recyclable materials to create a piece of art or something with a purpose. Some groups created robot-looking sculptures or sculptures that resembled a person. Other groups used plastic, cardboard, and paper to create flower pots, bird feeders, and even a new kind of garbage can that would hold recyclable materials and let the liquid filter through to the bottom.
After the groups finished their creations, each student wrote about the purpose or wrote a story about their sculpture. Then, each group chose the one story they wanted to share. Every group showed off their project and one of their stories to the entire 8th grade class which allowed different leadership opportunities. Throughout the morning, we gave each student the opportunity to be creative, synergize, express themselves through building, writing, and speaking. Each student stood up in front of their peers and read a statistic about recycling. Then, we discussed recycling issues and how we can do our part to help our planet.
Overall, I think it was a great project that the students got more out of then just putting some junk together to make it look cool. I hope we've sparked some interest in recycling and helped our students become leaders of their generation.
The eighth graders collected recyclable materials and brought them into school. They synergized with other students, worked in small groups, collaborated on an idea and used the recyclable materials to create a piece of art or something with a purpose. Some groups created robot-looking sculptures or sculptures that resembled a person. Other groups used plastic, cardboard, and paper to create flower pots, bird feeders, and even a new kind of garbage can that would hold recyclable materials and let the liquid filter through to the bottom.
After the groups finished their creations, each student wrote about the purpose or wrote a story about their sculpture. Then, each group chose the one story they wanted to share. Every group showed off their project and one of their stories to the entire 8th grade class which allowed different leadership opportunities. Throughout the morning, we gave each student the opportunity to be creative, synergize, express themselves through building, writing, and speaking. Each student stood up in front of their peers and read a statistic about recycling. Then, we discussed recycling issues and how we can do our part to help our planet.
Overall, I think it was a great project that the students got more out of then just putting some junk together to make it look cool. I hope we've sparked some interest in recycling and helped our students become leaders of their generation.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Ani....what??
ANIMOTO!! This week my high school classes have been working on creating a video using Animoto.com complete with music. Each of the videos shows all of the steps of working out and graphing a quadratic function. We did this project instead of taking a "traditional" quiz and the students really seemed to enjoy it.
The students were such good leaders of their own education this week and I'm so proud of them. They worked hard on getting the "math" part of the project right so their video would be presentable to the rest of the world. Take a look at them on our classroom wiki and see for yourself; they're VERY impressive!
The students were such good leaders of their own education this week and I'm so proud of them. They worked hard on getting the "math" part of the project right so their video would be presentable to the rest of the world. Take a look at them on our classroom wiki and see for yourself; they're VERY impressive!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Barbie's Been Bungee Jumping!
You read it right! Barbie has been bungee jumping in our classroom! She put her trust in a group of eighth graders and took the plunge! After each jump, the students collected data including how many rubber bands she had holding her up and exactly how far she fell before the first recoil. This week we will graph the data and analyze it. We are going to draw a line of best fit and discuss all of the aspects of linear functions.
The students were great leaders of their own education during this activity. They were working in groups of three and everyone in the group had a job. All 31 of them did their jobs enthusiastically and without complaint; I only heard an occasional outburst when Barbie hit her head on the ground! I have never been more proud of this particular group of students!
No Barbie's were hurt in the making of the following videos.....
The students were great leaders of their own education during this activity. They were working in groups of three and everyone in the group had a job. All 31 of them did their jobs enthusiastically and without complaint; I only heard an occasional outburst when Barbie hit her head on the ground! I have never been more proud of this particular group of students!
No Barbie's were hurt in the making of the following videos.....
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