Mrs. Tech

Heading into Algebra 1 this year, I wanted to add in some different activities that my students grew accustomed to that weren't just book work or IXL's. I know there was a big push away from worksheets when I was in college. It was like "if they aren't doing something hands on, they aren't learning." I can see where this line of thinking comes from, but if your freshmen are like my freshmen, you can't just do all hands on. They don't have the self control for that.  So I set out to find activities that are still different then problems from a book, but are still keeping them somewhat engaged. These matching activities are one of the simplest ways I came up with. I really like to use them as bellwork the morning after I teach the lesson. The matching itself doesn't take too long, but it gives them the ability to work different problems out and it only requires paper and a pencil. I also know that my class runs way smoother when they have bellwo...

This year my school implemented PDP’s (or Professional Development Plans). What can I do to develop professionally that will make me a better teacher? Well part of what will make me a better teacher is if I teach my students in a way that jives with them. I’m not saying to change what you do every day, but adding in some activities that are hands-on or out of the norm will totally get them engaged – which can be really hard in math. So I decided that this was one of my goals for my PDP – hands-on learning in the Algebra 1 classroom. It isn’t easy to come up with hands-on activities for the high school math classroom, but sorts are one that I have had a lot of success with in my classroom this year. Y’all. Sorting is so fun and hands on. It does take a little prep to cut the squares out (&& laminate if you want to reuse them), but there are ways to cut down on this. Sometimes I just throw the cards up in a document on the white board and have students create their own sort...