Over the summer, once school is out and my week of catching up on sleep is over, I get inspired. Last summer I decided it was finally time to remodel my house. The planning begin in August, we moved out in November (right before Thanksgiving), orchestrated a whole house remodel throughout the spring, and moved back in June, just one weekend after school ended. It was insane. I was also granted the Desmos Fellowship last year and flew to San Fransisco for an amazing long weekend in November. During my Desmos weekend, one week before we were set to move, the house we were going to rent fell through. So I spent part of my Desmos weekend in panic mode trying to help my husband pick out a new rental home.
Last year I didn’t tweet much, I blogged even less. I tried to start up #Alg2Chat in the fall, but could not maintain it. I merely survived, and barely at that. I love blogging, and I missed it dearly last year. But, I simply didn’t have the extra time to give, I didn’t have time for me.
I gave everything I had to my family and supporting my students, but I did not have much left. I felt terrible about losing so many of my connections last year, about failing. Thankfully, I was able to attend #TMC17 and reconnect with many of my close, albeit long lost, friends. I apologized to many of them for my lack of connection this year. “I’m sorry.” I said to all, “This has been a rough year for me. I don’t know why, but it just has.” It was when I said this to Tina Cardone that everything changed. She reminded me that the election happened this year, and that many of us have had a devastating year, and were having a tough time recovering. What Tina said rang true for me.Yes, I had been extra busy this year, but above that, this year was very rough for a singular reason. The election profoundly affected many of my close friends and students. I was busy being there for my upset friends and terrified students. I had a Muslim student who returned to Kuwait in December. I was obsessed with news stories and got into battles with family and “friends” on social media. I felt lost, I was confused. My heart was broken. I needed time to be there for my students and friends more than ever before. I needed time to recover.
So if YOU had a really rough time this year, consider all of the extenuating circumstances that we were barraged with this year that we have not ever had to deal with. Do not let anyone tell you are not good enough, or need to do better because you were too overwhelmed to keep up with some of the things you used to do and still love. Surround yourself with people who understand this. People who will TELL you this when you didn’t even realize it. This year many of us were in survival mode. Time has given much of my heart back, and I am more determined than ever to help people, and make a difference. But I needed that time to heal. And I am glad that I took it. And I’m glad you did too. Welcome back.
A couple of years ago I had a 180 blog. If you haven’t heard of this, you should check out #Teach180, because it is fascinating! I really enjoyed doing it and was considering doing it again for the upcoming year. But I was unsure, because I get busy and sometimes would forget days. Then I saw this tweet from Sarah, (who actually started this hashtag!):
“I frequently miss a day. NO BIGGIE.”Sarah’s tweet took away the guilt. If I miss a day, or two or three, it is OK! No more teacher guilt. So I have decided that I AM going to do it again this year!
If you are thinking about it, I would say definitely say, “Go for it!”. I made it super low maintenance by creating a new blog (see below for how I did it). Some teachers just tweet a picture or post a picture to Instagram. Some people use IFFF to post to Twitter, but you are also able to just connect the two if you allow Instagram to connect to your Twitter account.
I loved capturing students doing awesome math every day. The students loved being photographed and seeing pictures of themselves. I shared the 180 blog website with my parents at parent night. The pictures I took everyday were a great reminder of things that I wanted to blog about later. I also loved having a visual record of my year. The next year, the blog was a visual reminder of the interesting activities I did not want to forget about (like Kate’s Graphles to Graphles Game).
This is how I ran my 180 blog. But there is no perfect way! Just do it!
I just took one pic a day, not per class. If I took multiple pictures that day, I would picstitch them together so I could make “one” post. However, this year I am going to be less strict. If I take multiple pics, I will do multiple posts.
I started a NEW WordPress.com site and picked a free photo theme! That was really fun as the photo themes are so different than my regular blog.
I downloaded the WordPress app to my phone so it was truly effortless to post each day.
I added the categories #Teach180, #Alg2Chat, and #MTBoS to the blog settings. So each time I posted to the blog, I could easily click on those catagories.
I connected the blog to my Twitter account. Last time, I included #Teach180 and #Alg2Chat to the TITLE of each blog post. Each time I published a post, WordPress would tweet out the title, and my desired hashtags were automatically included.
THIS year, I am using IFTTT (If Then Then That) to automatically tweet every blog post and attach the #Teach180 #Alg2Chat and #MTBoS hashtags. I had to create my own applet. Here is what it looked like when finished.
You may have to get permission from your school / parents. We have our students sign an extra form each year.
I would LOVE to see your 180 blogs, or any great ideas that you have. So please, post the link to your 180 blog in the comments!
Submit your blog post (below) by Sunday at 6AM to have your post included in the weekly summary.
Tweet out your post! Use the hashtags #MTBoS (Math Twitter Blogosphere)*, #PushSend and #SundayFunday to get more traffic to your post. This is especially important if you are new to tweeting because only your followers will see your tweets unless you include a hashtag.
Additional Hashtags: Of course you can always add more hashtags to your Tweet so more people will be exposed to your post! You can search any keywords to find a hashtag, and here are some of the more popular ones:
#ElemMathChat (Elementary Teachers)
#MSmathChat (Middle School Teachers)
#GeomChat (Geometry)
#Alg1Chat
#Alg2Chat (Alg2 Teachers)
#PreCalcChat
#MathChat
JUST #PushSend! 🙂
Submit your post using the form below by Saturday at midnight! Just #PressSend
If you are like, “Wow! This sounds like so much fun! I want to blog but don’t know where to start!” then you must read “Mission 1: The Power of the Blog” on the Explore the MTBoS site.
* The Math Twitters Blogosphere is not an organization. Rather it refers to ANYONE that is involved in MATH in ANY way! You do NOT have to Tweet or have a blog! But, you can find many teachers that do tweet and blog by searching the hashtag #MTBoS on Twitter. All are welcome, no invitation necessary! Please join in the conversation! Just #PushSend!
Thanks so very much to @DruinOK for getting this all started and Jessica, @Algebrainiac1, for creating our awesome logo!
Many of my goals for this year came from the amazing teachers at TMC (Twitter Math Camp).
Goal #1: BLOG MORE
I was disappointed when I looked back at my blog for the past year, as I did not blog much. Blogging is something that I love, and it is something that I do for me. I am excited to participate in the new Sundday Funday weekly blogging initiatives. I did a 180 blog two years ago, and am going to start it up again this year!
Goal #2: Build Community in My Classroom
I would love to make students feel appreciated and valued in my classroom. Here are some ideas I am considering.
Greet my kids with “Hi-Fives” at the door (from Glenn). I did this two years ago, but wasn’t as consistent this past year. I’m back!
I have tried “Two Nice Things” from Elissa before, but this year I am trying again!
Sam’s Bell of Joy! Sam has his students ring a bell when they have a “gaspable math moment” I would love to do this so I can spread math joy around the my classroom! I hope I can make it work.
You Matter clothespins! Please go read about this on Sam’s blog as it is long, and I love it.
I love Sara’s method of writing down one or two students to have a conversation with each day about something they value.
Make Groups Work! I want to incorporate group activities and whole class activities that will help the class get to know each other and bond as a community throughout the year.
Goal #3: Rich Tasks
We are using CPM this year. And I want to ensure that I implement it well, as many of the lessons are rich tasks. I want to make even the most basic extra practice worksheets rich tasks from the strategies I learned in my “Rich Tasks” morning sessions at #TMC17 that was ran by Peg Cagle, Bill Thrill, and Cal Armstrong. (I plan to blog all about this soon, but you can check out the morning session materials here).
Goal #4: Build Math Teacher Community in My Community
I have been planning a “Math Teacher Cafe” in my area since last year that will hopefully happen about once a month starting in September for Charlotte area math teachers. And then the NC teachers attending TMC got together and talked about organizing a MTBoS NC meeting! Jenn White, Lauren Baucom, and Anna Vance are rockstars and working hard to put that all together. I feel that this is such an exciting time in my state and can’t wait to connect locally with more math educators!
Goal #5: WRITE STUFF DOWN
In order to achieve all of these goals I know that I need to get organized. I bought a tiny notebook that will fit in my purse, and plan to write down lists of things I want to get accomplished everyday. I am also going to try to hi-light three top goals of everyday that I want to accomplish. I bought this notebook this week and it has already been amazing. I intended just to write down things “to do”, but have also written down idea, blog post outlines, and even an outline of my first day plans. I love that it is small enough for my purse, as I always have it with me and can write in it whenever I have a thought I want to put down. It also has decreased my phone screen time, which is something I need to do. I attached a pen holder and a clear vinyl pocket to front.
Since TMC (Twitter Math Camp) IS camp, of course we have a camp song every year! (Unless Sean skips TMC – no pressure here Sean, but never forget that the one year you DIDN’T come, we didn’t have a song. And I promise that Rachel, Dave, and I tried so hard!)
Every year while at TMC, we go furiously searching for the words to each and every song so we can sing them together, at game night, in the car, in the hotel lobby, because that is also what you do at camp – you sing everywhere you go!
So, here is a compilation of all of the amazing TMC songs! Special thanks to Sean, Rachel, Dave and Tina who always make it happen every year!
I sat alone in my class,
Hoping my students would pass,
Prepping was kicking my ass
But help was on the way
I started searching the net,
To find a way to connect
Found teachers I’d never met
and I was on my way
Dan’s blog was poppin’,
G-Reader, feed not stoppin’
Each day, I would drop-in
Guess it’s time for hop in!
Hey, I just found you, And this is crazy,
But here’s my ID, So tweet me, maybe?
It’s hard to reach out, Please don’t flame me,
But here’s my ID, So tweet me, maybe?
Hey, I just found you, And this is crazy
But here’s my ID, So tweet me, maybe?
It’s hard to reach out, Please don’t flame me,
But here’s my ID, So tweet me, maybe?
Oh holy crap can it be,
Nowak responded to me,
Blogging math celebrity,
She’s twitter royalty
I beg, and borrow and steal
No reinventing the wheel,
What are these urges I feel?
Nerdy math sex appeal
Hal-lo-ween was awesome
Dull worksheets, I could toss ‘em
My, i-deas could blossom
Now it’s time for Math Camp, baby!
Hey, I just met you, all in person.
Twitter Math Camp, this was the first one
It’s hard to teach right, in i-so-laaaaaation,
So here’s some PD, just like va-ca-tion
Hey, I just met you, all in person.
Twitter Math Camp, this was the first one
It’s hard to teach right, in i-so-laaaaaaation,
So here’s some PD, just like va-ca-tion
Before I came onto your sites,
I must’ve taught so bad,
I must’ve taught so bad,
I must’ve taught so so bad
Before I came onto your sites
I must’ve taught so bad
and you should know that
It was so, so sad
I loved free pizza, and the brew-ry.
You know my ID, So tweet me, maybe?
Ci-ty Muse-um, or the Card’s game,
So tweet me sometime, I won’t be too lame
So, thank you Shelli, thank you Li-sa.
Don’t want to go home – so glad to meet ya
Now that it’s coming to an end
we’ll miss you so bad
we’ll miss you so bad
we’ll miss you so, so bad
Before you came into our lives
We must’ve taught so bad
And you should know that.
So tweet me, maybe?
Video:
#TMC13 – Tic-Toc TMC13
Wake up in the morning draggin’ both my feet
Up all night, planning for classes, did I even sleep?
Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of….. *soda*
Cause when I’m done for the week, I’ll still be in a coma
(I’m so) Tired of bandanas on dogs, dogs
Looking for a lesson ’bout logs, logs
(So I’m) checking out all your blogs, blogs
(and now) I feel like I’m gettin’ less bitter
Then my heart starts to flitter
(When I) read about a conference on twitter
Math camp, getting amped
Maybe I’ll meet Fawn and Sam
We’ll do math, share some laughs
And improve our teaching craft
(All) weekend, meeting friends
Makin’ T-M-C trend, like
(Whoa-oh oh oh)
Math camp, getting amped
Hashtag #needaredstamp
We’ll do math, share some laughs
And improve our teaching craft
(All) weekend, meeting friends
Makin’ T-M-C trend, like
(Whoa-oh oh oh)
Ain’t got a care in the world, as I get on the plane
In-fin-ite tangents on my iPod, I’ve got math on the brain
And now, the tweeps are showing up, dropping trivia knowledge
Learning more here in four days, than in four years of college
(I’m talking about) tweets blowin up our phones, phones
High priest-ess on her throne, throne
(Mathalicious in our) romance cone, cone
(Now) Michael Pershan doing Jay-Z
Nathan gettin’ cra-zy
Food truck foods don’t phase me
(Admittedly, that last line was lazy)
Math camp, now we’re amped
Rooms of swooning Desmos fans
(We’ll) do math, share some laughs
And improve our teaching craft
(All) weekend, meeting friends
Makin’ T-M-C trend, like
(Whoa-oh oh oh)
(Ro-ro-ro-ro cone)
Math camp, now we’re amped
Stealing all your lesson plans
(We’ll) do math, share some laughs
And improve our teaching craft
(All) weekend, meeting friends
Makin’ T-M-C trend, like
(Whoa-oh oh oh)
O-ri-ga-mi
Kar-ee-oke
Piano duels
It was all cool
Lisa, Shelli
Max, Anthony
James and Jessie
How we thank you
We listen now
We notice now
We wonder now
And you showed us
Listen, shut up
Listen, shut up
Listen, shut up
(Sam!!) Twitter math camp don’t start ’til I walk in
Math camp, still so amped
But hey, where the hell is Dan?
(We) Did maths, shared some laughs
And improved our teaching craft
(All) weekend, meeting friends
Makin’ T-M-C trend, like
(Whoa-oh oh oh)
Math camp, we got amped
Lisa Henry is our champ
(We) Did math, shared some laughs
And improved our teaching craft
(all) weekend, met our friends
Wish it all would never end, oh
(No oh oh oh)
I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. Because I didn’t realize there was a closer airport Welcome to the land of awesome tweeps (whoa), Am I gonna fit in? Jumped in the car, Here we are for the fourth time (beat) Look to my right and I see the Harvey Mudd Sign This is all so crazy Everybody seems so famous My phone is buzzin’ with the fav-rites and the retweets So much excitement and I’m nervous, That’s when Lisa turned on the microphone And then TMC was on And then TMC was on And then TMC was on [Chorus:] So I put my hands up I’m giving high fives The MTBoS is here to stay We’re starting on time like yeah Movin’ our thumbs like yeah We got our phones out, We’re tweeting along, There’s awesome packed in every day Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play
Get to Friday gonna share my fav Everybody’s tweeting at me now Like, “Who’s that chick that 3D prints?” I gotta go and track her down. (beat) Sooo hard to choose, why can’t I pick three? It’s definitely not like normal PD
‘Cause all I see are teaching pro-s Sha-kin’ it in front of two pianos My tummy’s rumbling’ and I gotta pick a food TRUCK Gonna count the times that fawn will say f….
(whoa whoa whoa! -something incredibly heartfelt that makes us all feel very emotional) That’s when Chris Shore dropped and did the worm And then Fawn put a wig on And then Fawn put a wig on And then Matt put a wig on
So we put our hands up We’re two hundred strong And growing bigger ev’ry day Bar-be-que-ing like yeah Nixing the tricks like yea Now look at these pics Which doesn’t belong? There’s awesome packed in every day Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play
Soon I’m hoppin’ on my flight (on my fllight) Wish I’d won The Price Is Right (Price is Right) Hard to leave you every time (every time) But then I’ll just log on and I’ll feel alright So we put our hands up We’re waving goodbye We’re sad to all go away: Courtyard chil-ling like yeah Raf-fle-ing stuff like yeah We found what we love, We’re doing that now, And did it for the last four days Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play Yeah, twitter math camp where your work is play
T-M-C in Minn-e-a-po-lis (Hope) everybody’s gonna have a good trip I hope that I can get a pic, With Dan Meyer’s built-in self-ie stick
T-M-C is in the house today(oh) Where math teachers come to learn and play (Varsity math baby!) Desmos features gonna make you say: (yeah) We just wanna see you… Graph that! Boop boop boop boop boop-boo-boop boop-boo-boop boop boop boop
In the dorms playing games, all so different, yet we’re all the same, learning non-stop so glad I came Basking in the glow of all the this twitter fame G-I-Fs from the J-L-V Twins hat, math stickers and our clever T’s Half vets half newbs, pizza please But which session, David Wees?
Yo! I’m lovin’ all these sessions, never restin’ Got that math teacher swag, wanna brag ‘bout this profession T-M-C, yeah! Now I got a confession Yo don’t hate, let’s be straight: I’m just here to steal your lessons (Yeah!)
The Blue Tape Lounge will make you want to stay (whoa) Sam’s explore math blew us all away (yeah) Minnehaha hike to end your day Grab your team for trivia, let’s play (Let’s go)
T-M-C is in the house today (oh) Where math teachers come to learn and play (Expand MTBoS baby!) Desmos features gonna make you say: (yeah) We just wanna see you… sort that!
Step up fast, backwards bike gonna make you bust your ass Math tans’ song from Sister Act, now stop – check this map Choose the 10 percent (You’re gonna change) Practice with intent (says Dylan Kane) We just wanna see (You’re trending now) All your blogs and tweets (You’re MTBoS now) Tesselate, math debate, contemplate then calculate [4x]
T-M-C is going to end today Where math teachers came to learn and play (Face your fears, baby!) Desmos features gonna make you say: (yeah) We just wanna see you… Math that!
#TMC16 Party Anthem Video
#TMC17 – TMC17 Magic
sung to the tune “24K Magic”
Tuesday
Start off with the Desmos precon
Geometry and CL
Let’s set T-M-C off right
Put yo’ first year buttons to the moon
What session y’all trying to do?
TMC sev-en-teen in ATL
Grass roots PD done well
It’s time for airplanes (shuttle trains)
User names (Blog fame)
Guess who’s back again?
And if you’re new (Go on pin em)
And if you’re shy (Go on pin em)
Feeling welcome soon as you walk in (we hope)
Wearing Nerdy clothes (ya)
some desmos toes
And crazy cool math tattoos (whoop, whoop)
Don’t wait too long might burn ya’self.
Eat dinner with everyone new.
Grace Chen, She’s an eloquent one with some truth bombs in her pocket (keep up)
So many great ideas to write down, but I gotta find a socket (charge up)
Speed date, make some friends, with some tweeps that I’ve been stalkin’(meet up)
Put your Intro-vert pins to the moon
Girl, what way you spinnin’?
TMC seven-teen in ATL
Come on ring Sam’s Bell
Second verse for the holy (holy) innocents (innocents)
Daniel F, working hard, runnin’ ‘round
Can I blog?(uh huh) Can I tweet?(uh huh)
Gotta show ‘em how teachers get down
First have your coffee(coffee), move your body(body)
Sing little mermaid in the middle of the lobby (whoop whoop)
Make us trend- Let’s all listen to Ca-rl – Just #PushSend
He’s from a dangerous land, and he’s teaching bout the SQWIGLES
So many really funny moments, even fractions makes us giggle
Buy a house, Play with math, Now we’re eating at the pickle
Make a, pinky, promise, to the room
How many cubes? That worm is 22
TMC seven-teen in ATL
Take over the hotel
Everywhere we go we be like (Oooh, Let’s trade shirts!)
Everywhere we go we be like (Ooooh Let’s trade books!)
Oh everywhere we go they be like (Please stop singing)
————- watch me #push send like
Twitter Math ca-amp, trending #1
Waffle house (cheesy eggs, smothered covered diced hashbrowns – rockstar!)
Crochet now!
How old’s that selfie? How old’s that selfie(selfie)
Let’s play some games. 10 minute rain.
Put your first year buttons to the moon
Can we get sleep soon?
TMC seven-teen in ATL
Grass roots PD done well
Make a, pinky promise, to the room
Tweet #1TMCthing soon.
TMC say goodbye to A-aaatlaaantaa
SEND SAM A BANANA!!!
This week, I went and had myself a real good time
I feel ali-i-i-ive and my class, I’ll turn it inside out – yeah
With all these ideas from T-M-C
So Tweet @ me now, Blog with me now
(‘Cause we’re having a good time having a good time)
I see twitter stars walking through the halls,
With big smiles, and how can they all be so friend-ly? (Talk less smile more pic)
On a yellow bus passing by with Cindy the Driv-a
I’m gonna blog, tweet, teach
There’s no stopping me
I’m burnin’ through my cell phone battery
(Two hundred selfies)
We were singing out that Cleveland rocks
While putting on our Desmos socks
They’re gonna share that secret snapshot feature with you
Tweet @ me now
We all had such a good time
We all had a ball
Blog with me now
If you wanna find your center, give Marian a call
Tweet @ me now
( keep having a good time )
Blog with me now
(keep having a good time)
I don’t want this to stop at all
Yeah, I’m with twitter friends walking to the bars
And Mitchell’s ice cream store
I am a math teacher, I’m out of control
We’ve got sticker packs ready to unload
When we notice kids,
Those dots will oh oh oh oh explode
Tri-vi-a with my te-am
and all these #bobmemes
Self proclaiming King of Marbleslides
then Julie made us laugh and Cry
She wants to make a built up teacher leader of you
Tweet @ me, Blog with me
TMC (hey hey hey)
Tweet @ me, blog with me
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Tweet @ me blog with me
(Have a good time good time)
Tweet @ me Blog with me
Oh, we were walkin cross the bridge yeah
Back to the hotel
We all played games into the night
Edmund John and Glenn are right
They wanna make a playful-math teacher out of you
Tweet @ me now
we all had such a good time
We all had a ball
Thank Lisa now
Can’t wait to see you next time (wooh)
Now watch Lisa stall (alright).
Tweet @ me now(Cause I’m having a good time)
#Go F Your Mom (Wait I mean #playmath)
I was going to title this “We ALL Use Worksheets!” because I think that we all probably do. But then I didn’t want to speak for ALL of the math teachers everywhere. But really, do we?
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this amazing online community of math teachers that I follow. #MTBoS!! I read their material and am often just blown away. I read about problem based learning and project based learning and standards based grading and rich tasks and problem solving and debate and ALL OF THE THINGS. I even read about teachers creating an entire Calculus curriculum, from scratch. And I’m like, “Wow, I suck.” So I steal and steal and steal. And through all of this reading and stealing, I am inspired to work hard to create a lesson that is not only fun, but possibly educational. And then I blog it, so I can give back.
And that is it. I don’t blog my sucky days, obviously! Just like I post on the rest of social media, I blog my highlights. And even though I try really hard to make each day an amazing and engaging experience for my students, I do not do SEXY activities like Barbie Bungee or Catapult Quadratics every day. So thank you Kate for posting “In Defense of Unsexy”. Because so many of my days are unsexy.
Next year we are adopting CPM. It is a curriculum. I have never used a math “textbook” I loved or wanted to follow each day, and I have never had an actual “curriculum”. But when I saw that many of the CPM lessons were actually lessons I had used in the past (most often from bloggers), I was excited! But at the same time, I felt guilty. I felt that I was not enough if I was using a curriculum that I basically followed every day. I felt that I was not an awesome math teacher if I was not creating (or stealing from the #MTBoS) crazy interesting lessons as much as possible.
Then a few awesome things happened to show me that I was wrong. In my Rich Tasks morning session at TMC (Twitter Math Camp), we spent a morning analyzing how we could change a worksheet into a rich task. Or how we could even change an existing worksheet into a rich task simply with implementation (I plan to blog about this later). Then Peg Cagle spoke about how incredibly difficult writing curriculum was. And that there are many, many great series out there that are research based, teacher created, and teacher/student tested that teachers could use (and some were even free). So if we are able to use one of those we should! (And if not, we could use the lessons as a resource.)
Our TMC Keynote speaker Carl inspired us to all just #pushsend. Many people started tweeting some variation of, “You are enough”.
Finally Sean talked about using worksheets in his Marbleslides talk. Once home, I read Kate’s “Unsexy” post and then the expert below, from the blog of a true newbie. Taylor will be a first year teacher this year. Even though she has never taught (other than student teaching) she was brave enough to come to TMC. And she was brave enough to write this.
And, the magic lives on since.
Since incorporating as many math teachers the #MTBoS as possible is such a giant part of my life, I am having a tough time understanding the feelings of exclusion. I am trying. But maybe this is a big part of it. WE ARE ALL GOOD ENOUGH. We are teachers for goodness sake. We are MATH teachers, who chose to be here because we want to teach math to kids. We are all trying our hardest. We are working hard to get better everyday. It is ok most days are unsexy. In fact, it is great.
Blogging is something wonderful that you can do for yourself. I’m not a great writer and grammar mystifies me. But that is OK, I write for myself. I write to brainstorm, to reflect, to hold myself accountable, and especially to remember my past lessons for future years! When I first started blogging, no one read it, few if any commented. And that was ok, even better at first, because I didn’t have to worry about an audience. It was almost like a diary, and it was freeing. I was writing for me.
This past year has been tough. I tweeted much less, I rarely blogged. And I missed it. In fact, maybe NOT blogging contributed to this being a tough year? Blogging takes time, and I didn’t TAKE time for me. I didn’t MAKE time for me. I need some ME time.
Carl Oliver gave a keynote, Hitting the Darn ‘Send’ Button at TMC (Twitter Math Camp) last week where he encouraged everyone who is a current tweeter/blogger or is interested in tweeting or blogging to “Just #PushSend“. All of this talk about blogging inspired me. And then everything changed with this one tweet from Shelli.
MS/HS SunFun was a blogging initiative that existed a few years back. It was fun, and inspiring, but especially helpful to have a weekly prompt! So YES, it was an amazing idea, and once Shelli suggested it we jumped right on it! Thankfully Jessica also got all excited and whipped up a logo (actually multiple logos like a logo savant). We pulled Sam in for logo design suggestions and were soon on our way!
Have you never blogged before? Are you afraid to blog? ME TOO! Blogging can be scary for everyone. It can even be tough for long time bloggers to #PushSend. But blogging has done so much for ME, and I want to help bring that to YOU. Please know that you are good enough, and that you deserve it. You should blog for YOU. “Just #PushSend“.
If you would like to blog, but have a hard time coming up with ideas, join us for Sunday Funday blogging! “Sunday Funday Blogging” is for ALL math peeps out there, elementary, middle school, or high school teachers, math professors, math coaches, math ed students, and anyone that just wants to blog about math! There will be a new prompt each week! “Just #PushSend“.
Our topic for this week is, “First Day Plans”
Due: Sunday, August 13th, 6AM
Helpful tips:
Submit your blog post (below) by Sunday at 6AM to have your post included in the weekly summary.
Tweet out your post! Use the hashtags #MTBoS (Math Twitter Blogosphere)*, #PushSend and #SundayFunday to get more traffic to your post. This is especially important if you are new to tweeting because only your followers will see your tweets unless you include a hashtag.
Additional Hashtags: Of course you can always add more hashtags to your Tweet so more people will be exposed to your post! You can search any keywords to find a hashtag, and here are some of the more popular ones:
#ElemMathChat (Elementary Teachers)
#MSmathChat (Middle School Teachers)
#GeomChat (Geometry)
#Alg1Chat
#Alg2Chat (Alg2 Teachers)
#PreCalcChat
#MathChat
JUST #PushSend! 🙂
Submit your post using the form below by Saturday at midnight! Just #PressSend
If you are like, “Wow! This sounds like so much fun! I want to blog but don’t know where to start!” then you must read “Mission 1: The Power of the Blog” on the Explore the MTBoS site.
* The Math Twitters Blogosphere is not an organization. Rather it refers to ANYONE that is involved in MATH in ANY way! You do NOT have to Tweet or have a blog! But, you can find many teachers that do tweet and blog by searching the hashtag #MTBoS on Twitter. All are welcome, no invitation necessary! Please join in the conversation! Just #PushSend!
Thanks so very much to Jessica, @Algebrainiac1, for creating our awesome logo!
I give my students an end of course survey every year. One of my favorite questions is advice my students would give to next years students. I love their responses! I make a word cloud that I show my new students at the beginning of the next year.
I also sort their advice by topic, and then print them out for my new students at the beginning of the year. I let the groups spend some quiet time reading them, and then discuss as a group. Here is what this year’s class said.
Advice for Success in Alg2T: (from last year’s students)
Seriously, do your one sheets well and in detail. I told myself I would remember everything and come exam time I forgot so much.
Do one sheets thoroughly!
Do one sheets!!
DO THE ONE SHEETS and do them well!!! They REALLY help with reviewing for the midterm/final exam.
Do your one sheets!!
Do your one-sheet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t forget one sheets! Even if it isn’t assigned as homework, it will help you for the final exam!
Make good one sheets because you want to be able to look back when you don’t remember anything related to the topic and learn how to do it.
Use review guides
Keep Up!
Don’t get behind
Don’t get behind. Ask for help. Actually do the homework.
Stay on top of your work
Don’t bomb the mini quizzes bc they add up quickly
Math Help
Make sure you attend Mrs. Reulbach’s help sessions! They are super helpful!
Go to math help and always ask questions if you are confused.
go to the teacher when you need help. if you do your homework then that will help you a lot in the class. Never be scared to ask something even if you think it is stupid
I guess go to absolutely all the help sessions if you even think for a second that you are struggling and always ask people who understand the material what is going on.
If you don’t understand something, ask!
Always review and do your work, study and you will be successful.
Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Come in with a positive attitude, listen, and have fun. GO TO MRS. REULBACH FOR HELP!!!!!
Come to all of the extra help sessions, even if you’re a little late they go a long way.
Pay Attention / Participate in class
Make sure you pay attention in class
Participate
pay attention
Pay attention
Speak up if you don’t understand something. Ms. Reulbach won’t know if you don’t say you’re struggling
Take good notes
Last Thoughts…
Keep everything organized
To trust Mrs. Reulbach and trust that you will understand the material she is teaching you.
Try to understand not only what, but why this math exists.
Do not stress. This class can be challenging sometimes but you just have to give it your best effort. Go see Mrs. Reulbach, do your delta math and don’t overthink anything – think smarter not harder.
Today I taught my students about projectile motion. Well, I say that, but I hate to actually TELL them anything. I like for them to discover things! They often make “much ado about nothing” when it comes to the projectile motion equation in Algebra 2, even though it should make sense to them. They get all caught up in the particulars of the formula and stop thinking about what is actually happening. So today, before I taught them about the equation, I gave them a picture of a quadratic graph. I had planned on making up my own scenario, until I saw this terrific post by Sara Vanderwerf that involved a creative fireworks graph. I loved how Sara described clicking on one aspect at a time. As soon as I saw this graph, I knew I had to use it!
I did not follow her fireworks task exactly. Instead, I just gave them this. I told my students to create a story with their team from this graph, using as much information as they could from the picture (below). I told them they could write it, or draw a picture, or both.
After they created their stories I had them share with the rest of the class. As I walked around I heard one students say things like, “No, the rocket doesn’t start at the ground because you can’t start at negative time.” I loved this part because of the conversations but especially because of the laughter. Kids were coming up with some hilarious scenarios, and enjoying a math problem. Here is what they came up with.
Hidden Figures!
After they shared their stories, I clicked on each piece of the graph as Sara had. And then I told them to write the equation that modeled the rockets path from the information I gave them. This is what I left displayed on the board.
I also wrote two different forms of the quadratic equations on the board and told them they could use either form. Some groups still forgot to include the a, so I had to walk around and remind them. I loved seeing students pick different coordinates to plug in for x and y.
After everyone came up with a = -16, I gave them another problem. This time I only gave them the roots and the the y-intercept, so they HAD to use factored form. I am doing the Candy Catapult tomorrow, so they needed practice with this.
After writing the equation, they solved for a and came up with a = -16 again. As the groups came up with this, I asked each of them to think about what was going on. Was this a coincidence? What could be happening? I had someone in every class realize it was gravity! In Physics last year (our students take physics at 9th graders), they all used -9.8 m/sec². I put that into a meter to feet converter so they would realize it was the same thing.
I also had the students convert the equations to standard form so they could see the y-intercept appear in the equation.
Each year my school has a week of Winterm, where students can explore interesting classes offered by faculty. Each year I teach a Blogging 101 class. As always, my bloggers were amazing! I almost always read math teacher blogs, so the student blogs are always so fun and interesting to me!
Enjoy!
Allison – Fandom Fanatic, Blog about Discussing the various fandoms I’m in.
Annie– Annie Likes Words, My blog is generally about reading and writing: books I like, a few short stories I’ve written, etc.
Audrey – audreyrdlife, Blog featuring my photography
Bailey– Beauty Products, Posts about makeup and what the product does
If you are thinking about it, I would say definitely say, “Go for it!”. I made it super low maintenance by creating a new blog (see below for how I did it). Some teachers just tweet a picture or post a picture to Instagram. Some people use IFFF to post to Twitter, but you are also able to just connect the two if you allow Instagram to connect to your Twitter account.
Since incorporating as many math teachers the #MTBoS as possible is such a giant part of my life, I am having a tough time understanding the feelings of exclusion. I am trying. But maybe this is a big part of it. WE ARE ALL GOOD ENOUGH. We are teachers for goodness sake. We are MATH teachers, who chose to be here because we want to teach math to kids. We are all trying our hardest. We are working hard to get better everyday. It is ok most days are unsexy. In fact, it is great.
I had planned on making up my own scenario, until I saw this terrific post by 
I Speak Math 