Middle School Math Chat #msMathChat – Monday Nights at 9PM EST on Twitter!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by I Speak Math

Join middle school math teachers from around the country on Monday nights for the brand new Middle School Math Chat! #msMathChat

Helpful Hints:

If you have never participated in a Twitter chat before you are in for a treat! To participate, you just need to include the #msMathChat in your 140 characters.
The moderator (@justinaion) will ask a question and then everyone can answer it and discuss. (The format for chats is usually a question, Q1 from Justin, then you will answer with an A1 then your answer.)
Don’t feel intimidated, because you don’t actually have to “chat” if you do not want to. You can simply log into twitter and watch the conversations. To do this, follow the hashtag #msMathChat. To follow a hashtag, simply perform a search on Twitter.
If your Twitter account is private, you may want to unlock your tweets during the math chat. This will allow people who do not follow you to read your chats for the hour.

If you can’t come tonight, but hate to miss it, you don’t have to! Each week, the math chats are archived on the Math Chat Wiki.

If you would like to participate in other subject chats, the full list can be found on the Math Chat wiki (and I listed it below for your convenience).

Subject	Twitter #	Day / Time	Facilitator
Middle School Math	#msmathchat	Monday 9PM EDT	@justinaion @luvbcd
Algebra 1	#alg1chat	Sunday 9 PM EDT	@lmhenry9 @_MattOwen_ @anthonya @kathrynfreed
Algebra 2	#alg2chat	Monday 9PM EDT	@druinok @wmukluk @lbburke
Geometry	#geomchat	Wednesday 9 PM EDT	@algebrainiac1 @barbarawmadden
PreCalculus	#PreCalcChat	TBA	@mrlenadj @untilnextstop
Calculus	#calcchat	Friday 11AM as per IST – that is 12:30am EST and 1:30am EDT	@ajitmishra71
Statistics	#statschat	Thursday 9pm EDT	@jkindred13

RIP Summer

Posted on August 19, 2013 by I Speak Math

I go back to work today, which is why I am up waaaaayyyyyy too early. I know that many of you are in the same boat. My students don’t come until next Monday! 😦 And of course it is pouring rain here.

So, here’s for you all. Enjoy.

Goals for 2013-2014

Posted on August 18, 2013 by I Speak Math

This week’s theme is goals for 2013-2014. It’s not too late! Submit you post for this week.

Amy Zimmer, zimmerdiamonds, A Beautiful 2013-2014
Mary Dooms, @mary_dooms, SMART goal—raising students’ self-efficacy
Amy Wix, @awix22, Writing it down makes it so much more official!
Tara Maynard, @tmaynard5, The start of 13-14
Beth, Goals!
Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach, 7th Grade – Problem Solving Goal 2013-2014
Elizabeth, MS Mat Sunday Funday- Goals
Chris, A New School Year
Adrienne Shlagbaum, @shlagteach, Laying the Foundation for 2013-2014
MaryAnn Moore, @missnarymm, Goals for 2013-2014 School Year
Robin Nehila, Radical_Robin, 2013-2014 Goals
Jacob Lingley, @jmrlingley, Math + Art Goals for 2013-2014
Michael Fenton, mjfenton, Goals for 2013-2014
Kristin Elix, @mathchica, Goals for 2013-2014
Sherrie Nackel, @luvbcd, Goals for 2013-2014
Todd Hawk, @landofmath2, Land of math
Artur Duque, @mister_duque, New Year’s Resolutions
Dawn DuPriest, @DuPriestMath, Welcome to 2013-2014!

7th Grade – Problem Solving Goal 2013-2014

Posted on August 18, 2013 by I Speak Math

Much of my teaching is discovery lessons, interactive games/whiteboards, and project based learning. This year, I want to add problem based learning to the mix. I do a little of this now, but not nearly enough. This year, it is going to be a focus, especially for 7th grade.

7th grade has always been tough for me. I teach them two years in a row, so I’m not new to them anymore. Plus, the math becomes more abstract as we segway into algebra. I am trying to make 7th grade math just as (if not even more) exciting than 6th grade math. As 7th grade math is an extension of the topics they learned in 6th grade, I also want to be sure I am challenging them, and that they are growing. I changed homework workbooks again this year (third time in four years). I change up the projects every year. Sometimes, we hit gold and I find something they really love. But 7th grade can be a tough crowd, and lessons that thrill 6th graders can fall flat in 7th. So, I’ll pretty much do anything to get them excited about math!

This year, over half of my rising 7th grade participated in my Math Club last year. They willingly gave up their lunch and recess time (even in the last weeks of school) to learn more math! They loved playing with the pythagorean theorem and even the quadratic formula. They gave up an additional recess to help me record the Draw-It game. And, they had a fit over the Oreo question. This class loves a challenge and I believe they are ripe for problem solving.

I am excited about my plan for this year and I hope I am up to the challenge! I will keep combing the MathTwitterBlogosphere for resources. I plan on starting with the Math Forum’s Problem of the Week, everything Fawn says, Exeter Problem Sets, NRich, and incorporating Mathalicious material. There is also a Middle School Problem Solving page on the TMC wiki. Right now it is pretty empty, but I plan on filling it up as I find more resources.

If you have a favorite problem solving site (or even a favorite problem). Please put the link in the comments! I could use the help!

Print Your Own Homework Passes – #myFavFriday

Posted on August 16, 2013 by I Speak Math

Last year I created, laminated, and then cut out homework passes to give out for a Halloween treat instead of candy. I intended to do this for Christmas as well, but it was so much work that I never got around to making anymore. I hate laminating and cutting things out. But, I did all of this work because I thought, “Once they turn them in, I can use them again!” This did not work! Some kids lost or did not use them. Many of the ones that came back had been stored in their pencil cases and were pretty banged up or kinda – gross. Plus, without names on them I sometimes forgot who had given them to me. Yikes! So, this summer, I got smarter!

I bought a pack of Avery Business Cards for just $8.79. It has 250 cards in it! Then, I just printed homework passes on them. These cards were already precut, so I just had to break them apart. This was effortless as they pretty much fell right apart. I found a really cute font here. I will have each student write their name on it when I give it to them. I’m hoping this will work better! They were about one hundred times easier for me to make!

I designed mine in Word. I wanted them short and simple so I wouldn’t use up too much precious printer ink. I did a Happy Birthday one bc I think that no one should have to do any work on their birthday! And, it’s a pretty cheap gift for me to give out. Here is the pdf if you just want to download it and print your own without having to design it.

Happy Birthday HW Pass

PBS Innovation Fund Challenge – Tonight at Global Math, 9PM EST

Posted on August 13, 2013 by I Speak Math

PBS is working to increase their middle school math resource collection in order to help middle school math teachers across the nation. They are looking for innovative digital education material that is connected to the real world and are even offering $1,000 prizes for the best submissions. My favorite part? NO TALKING HEADS. You can read the summary below and then go to their website for more details. I needed more explanation after reading the summary and talking to Erica Rabner (of PBS) really helped clear it up. Tonight, Erica will be at Global Math to further explain this challenge and take any questions. They are working on improving the summary (below) so it’s more easily understandable. So, read up, develop your questions, and we’ll see you there!

From the PBS Innovation Fund Challenge Page:

The Innovation Fund is a challenge for educators, student teams, gamers, programmers, and anyone who has a great idea to create fun and engaging math educational media.

WGBH Educational Foundation is seeking up to 100 educational media digital resources (videos, games, interactives, infographics, and manipulatives) that are directed towards middle school students and loosely aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The digital resources selected will be showcased on PBS LearningMedia as part of a middle school math resource collection.

WGBH is looking for content that engages a wide range of students by reflecting a wide range of culturally responsive perspectives and learning styles.

Digital resources should be engaging, rich in content and context, and go beyond strictly procedural teaching. In other words, no talking heads.

Amazing Icebreakers for Teachers

Posted on August 11, 2013 by I Speak Math

Hi! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more updates! I am @jreulbach. 🙂

This week’s theme is Icebreakers. Next week, the theme will be “Goals (or what I would like to do different/better) for 2013-2014 School Year”. Make it count, take time to write down your vision for this year and share it.

- Amy Wix, @awix22, Round 2
- Mary Dooms, @mary_dooms, Graphing stories ice breaker
- Artur Duque, @Mister_Duque, Break the Ice, Just Don’t Squeeze the Charmin
- Beth, Ice Breaker – Pipe Cleaner Structures!
- Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach, Snowball Fight Icebreaker
- Alisan Royster, @g8rali, First Day Icebreaker – Me, by the Numbers

#TMC13 Recap – Resuscitation for Teachers

Posted on August 10, 2013 by I Speak Math

You don’t just learn at TMC (Twitter Math Camp), you get revived.

This past year has been an especially busy year for me, professionally and personally. It was also one of the most amazing teaching years I have ever had. I love my job, I love my students, and I’ve been able to participate in so many new and exciting things this year. I helped Sam with the New Bloggers Initiation, I started and maintained MS Sunday Funday, I hopped on the Desmo’s and the Mathalicious train as well. I spent as much time learning and helping as I did teaching this year. Oops, I never slept enough. By April, I was exhausted. By June, I was comatose.

Somehow, I never realize how exhausted I am until the second week into summer. Until at least the second full week of summer, I maintain my frenetic pace, even revising and revamping lessons for next year. I think that it takes me that long to decompress and get out of “school mode”. And this summer, once I was finally out of school mode, I was OUT. I couldn’t even read the blogs in my reader! I was having an immensely difficult time planning for my TMC13 session with Sam and Tina, I just couldn’t think. I was even worried that this year, I would not be as enthusiastic, or learn as much, as I had at TMC12.

So, what did I look like at #TMC13?

Yep, I’m the insanely happy person. Just look at poor Sam in this pic. Love him, he put up with me for 5 full days! The point is that even though I started off pretty slowly at #TMC13, it didn’t take me long to get fully into the swing of things! These people are the most passionate educators I have ever met. The people at TMC get me excited about learning again, make me want to be a better teacher, and give me the tools to be successful in the fall! They fixed me. This is why I go to TMC.

The hardest part for me was not getting to spend as much quality time with everyone as I did last year. ( ? WHO ? ) said to me one day, “The good thing is that there are so many more people here this year, the bad thing is that we get less time per person.” I loved meeting so many new and amazing people, but I didn’t feel like I got to spend enough time with anyone. I agree with Anne, we should never cap TMC. I want more people AND more time!

On the last day of TMC13, when we were all teary eyed and hugging new and old friends goodbye for another year, my dear friend Megan said to me, “This is the only conference that ends with a ‘hug it out’.” As other bloggers have said, it is not just about the math, or the teaching, it is about the people. It’s about people that are my dearest friends, even though I have just met them. They don’t just know me, they are just like me. This is why I love TMC.

Snowball Fight Icebreaker

Posted on August 8, 2013 by I Speak Math

I have never needed to lead an icebreaker – until #TMC13 when I facilitated the Middle School Math Morning Sessions. I teach at a small private school. Almost all of our kids have known each other since early elementary school. The class size goes from 16 to 32 from 5th to 6th grade. However, they have tons of bonding time and activities together before they go to math class so I don’t really need to do an icebreaker.

I was nervous about leading the MS Morning session, especially since we had almost 40 people signed up! Several participants had told me they were nervous too so I wanted an icebreaker that would be fun and get us moving. Since there were too many people in the room to do musical chairs, we had a snowball fight instead! This was my first time every doing a “Snowball Fight” but I think it turned out pretty well. I sure had fun and people were laughing, so I think it made us all loosen up a bit that first morning of TMC. I wish I had taken a picture!

SNOWBALL FIGHT! – How to Play:

Don’t tell them you are having a snowball fight!
Give everyone a half sheet of paper. You should play too!
Have everyone write their name and three things about themselves on the paper. You can let them write whatever or chose things for them to write about. @pegcagle suggested two truths and a lie, which incorporates TWO icebreakers!
After everyone is finished, tell them to crumple their paper up. You will get strange looks.
Then, tell them to have a snowball fight! We kept picking up the paper and throwing it for a few minutes. I would suggest this as the first throw is someone curious/skeptical/reserved and people have more fun as they throw more. Don’t let them throw too much or it could get crazy. 😉
Call cease snowball! Then have everyone grab a snowball.
I start to model what to do. I called out the name on the paper and then read their three things. Then they read and so on.

** Warning – You may lose a snowball! We did! In that case, you will have to improvise. This ended up funny and then even more funny when we found their snowball later. I would tell the lost snowball that their snowball has magic hiding powers and then offer them a treat so they won’t feel bad.

Variations –

You could leave the name off and let students guess who it was after reading the things? I’m not sure I like this as much though bc I really liked looking at the people when they were being talked about. However, it may be less embarrassing for students if people aren’t looking at them when their items are read. Thoughts?
It would be fun for everyone to get in a line according to whose snowball they have. Then they would all have to ask names and talk to each other (if they didn’t know each other) in order to line up.
I think this could also work really well as an activity instead of an icebreaker using math questions. Students could make up a math question, have a snowball fight, and then solve the problem on a snowball they pick up. They could then get with the person to see if their answer’s matched.

I have only done this once and never in a class of students. I think that it would be fun as an activity in addition to an ice breaker. I would love to hear any variations that you have done – or can come up with – in the comments!