Child’s Play = Learning Math

WARNING: For those of you who are philosophically opposed to Barbie dolls, the following post may offend you. Read at your own risk.

Have you noticed kids (and some adults) of all ages, surprisingly both boys and girls, have this fascination with Barbie dolls? I’m not here to debate the pros and cons that Barbie has had on our society or why this plastic object has become the anti-symbol for women’s liberation. Instead I want to discuss how I used her universal appeal to teach a group of middle schoolers the math concept of proportionality.

In preparation for the upcoming Algebra I course in high school, grade 8 math curriculum in Texas centers around the concept of proportionality. To help students establish a firm foundation with ratios and scale factors, my hands-on activity allows students to experience a real-life application of proportionality. One of the central goals of this activity is to help students have a smoother transition into high school math courses.

One day last semester, I casually mentioned to my now student teacher my idea of using Barbie in a proportions lesson. Coincidentally she and a group of other pre-service teachers had done a presentation for one of their courses on the different proportions of various toy dolls. This saved me the time and trouble of looking up all the measurements of body parts. My students compared the proportions of a Barbie doll body measurements to the proportions an average woman's body measurements. I have already planned for students to then use the calculated scale factor to enlarge and draw a life-size Barbie next year.

On a side note, for Christmas during my first grade year, Santa gave my younger sister a Barbie doll while I received a Darci doll. Which one of them has endured the tumultuous 70s? Survival of the fittest in action.

Smart Board

So this week was really crazy. Not only was it exam week, but I also decided to move my classroom. Why would I do so in the middle of the school year you ask? Another teacher in my building is leaving and I chose to move my classroom because his old room has a Smart Board. I'm so excited about using it! I do not know much about it yet because I have never used one. I had to register it under my name and I'm going for training in two weeks. I can't wait to try doing some Cognitive Tutor stuff on it this week and to find new ways to enhance the Carnegie curriculum by using the board. Do any of you use a Smart Board? If so, how do you use it in conjunction with Carnegie? I'm thinking that all of the digital textbooks, assignments, and other files in the resource center are going to be even more useful now. I'd love to hear how you use a Smart Board in your classroom! Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas.

Former Students

You know you are loved as a teacher when your former students willingly give up one of their precious Saturdays to come help proctor a MATHCOUNTS competition. Luckily I had kept past email addresses and sent out a request for volunteers. At first I wasn’t sure if I would get any takers. Then one or two would respond. Some even took the time to tell me that they would have loved to help but had prior commitments. They also added to contact them again when another need arises. Still others told me that they were going to come even if I had enough volunteers. They wanted to come see me. Anyways, before I knew it, I had as many proctors as I had competitors. Half of these volunteers weren’t even past MATHCOUNTS mathletes.

If you had asked me my first couple of years of teaching what the most important part of my job was, I would have answered with getting the students to learn math. I would have also added that I was not at school to be their mother. I soon realized that building and nurturing a positive relationship is as important as covering the content. Feeling respected and valued is what people remember from their middle school years; not necessarily how to apply the Pythagorean Theorem appropriately. But you know what? If they feel that you care about them, they will want to learn math and do the work, if for anything, to please you.

My current 8th grade students have already asked if they could come back next year and volunteer. I could not have asked for a better compliment.

Happy 7th Birthday, my sweet Madeline!!

Half way there!

So this week my class is preparing for midterm exams (which students take Wednesday and Thursday next week). Each year when I create my midterm (none of my midterms have ever been the exact same in 4 years) I try to reflect on all of the topics we have covered. One reason I do this is to make sure all of the important material is on the exam. Also, about this time I usually start worrying about pacing. Seeing how far my students have come since September makes me feel better about not necessarily being where I want to be in the curriculum.

Last year when I was creating my exam I realized that an important part of my class was not covered on the exam, the cognitive tutor! We spend about 30% of our class time on the computer yet that did not reflect directly on the test. I mean sure doing the problems on the tutor has helped students reach a better understanding of the topics we covered in class. However, if you looked at my exam you would have no idea that students ever went to lab. So I decided to add a "computer problem" to my midterm exam. I did this by typing out a problem from the Algebra 1 Cognitive Tutor unit titled "Linear Models and First Quadrant Graphs". I pulled up the curriculum browser and randomly chose a few problems from the unit, typed them up and gave it to students as part of the exam. Students had to fill in a table (including quantity names, units etc.) and graph the scenario on a template that looks a lot like a screenshot of that unit.

Where did I get the template you ask? The resource center of course. You too can use this template. Simply log into the resource center. Then click on community tab then "see all in algebra 1". The file is on the second page and is called Algebra -unit 2 graph and table worksheet quadrant 1. It was created by Brian Reeves. Thanks Brian, I love the template!

Most of my students had finished this unit a while ago. So this week we did a practice problem in class and I had them log into the Cognitive Tutor under review mode so they could get more practice. My students usually do really well on this part and it shows that they have mastered graphing, writing expressions, evaluating expressions, and solving equations! That is a lot of information in one problem!

How do you incorporate the Cognitive Tutor into your midterm and final assessments?

Save the Date

Happy New Year!!!!

My family and I have had a rough start. Nevertheless, I feel that this is going to be a fantastic year.

For Christmas, my daughter gave me her cold. Such a sweet child to think of me. We spent several sleepless nights because of her ear infection. As a result, my days and nights kind of flip-flopped. When students and teachers returned to school on Tuesday, I had not slept in 24 hours. I don’t tell you all this so that you will feel sorry for me. Only that you’ll understand if some of my writing in this post makes no sense at all. I am functioning on three hours of sleep.

If you have a running wish list for school, add attending Carnegie Learning National Math Institute. It will definitely be one of the best professional developments that you participate in this year. You will learn useful, practical information that you will be able to implement immediately. You’ll also be exposed to the latest research in the education field. This year Carnegie will hold its institute in Grapevine, TX, near Dallas from July 10 – 13. My home state! Woohoo!!

OK, if you’re wondering what’s the rush? It is a whole eight months away. Most districts allot a certain amount of their budget for their teachers to attend conferences and workshops. Once the money is gone, it’s gone. So I would ask now while there is probably some money left.

Here is the website with more details: http://nmi.carnegielearning.com/

I am going to call it a night. Until later.

Help Wanted

I need some ideas from all of you out there. What do students have to do to pass Algebra at your school? My school requires students to pass both semesters. By pass I mean the average of the two quarters and exam that make up each semester must be 60% or greater. The problem we run into is what to do with students who don't pass the first semester.

When I first started working at this school all students who didn't pass the first semester retook it immediately instead of moving on with the rest of the students who passed. The idea being that if they didn't pass first semester they will would not be able to pass second semester. This was a scheduling nightmare for our counselors. They couldn't complete the final versions of the second semester schedule until the math teachers all turned in the names of the students that didn't pass.

Last year we allowed students who failed first semester to continue on to second semester with the rest of their peers. This made things easier for the counselors and didn't put students behind. However, students would have to take summer school to make up the first semester course.

I'm not sure which way is best or if passing both semesters is the best way of assigning credit for Algebra.

Both teachers and administrators at my school are struggling with how to solve this issue. What do you do at your school? Thanks for your advice!

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

As with the custom of many families, my husband and I will periodically clean out our children’s toy boxes, getting rid of any broken or unwanted items. (Here’s a word to the wise. Clear out the toy box when the children are asleep or gone at a friend’s house. This will alleviate any drama and hard feelings. The funny thing is that your child won’t even notice those toys are missing.) Anyways, the holidays are usually a good time to do this when new toys and treasures come in. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I must sort through these toys personally myself before he’s allowed to box them up to pass along to Goodwill or throw away. Why, you ask?

Starting with my first year of teaching, I have always used my children’s toys to either introduce a lesson or use them as a pivotal component of the math lesson. Talk about capturing your students’ attention! Not only elementary-aged children but also teenagers in middle school. If I ever teach high school or even college, I envision myself continuing to use this practice.

Being a garage sale junkie, my step-mom had found a $1 toddler remote control robot for my son. I innocently decided to use this robot to demonstrate to my students how a Texas Instrument CBR can collect and graph functions comparing distance to time. Oh, my! I had never seen my 7th graders so jovial about a math lesson before! What a discovery I had stumbled upon! Ever since then I have looked at children’s toys in a whole new light.

When I taught 3rd grade, I used my son’s 200 Hot Wheels collection to teach the multiplication facts. Every year, his old Transformer toys help me kick start my transformation lesson. The possibilities are endless!

I must admit that my husband is a pretty good sport for appeasing me and going along with my eccentricities. What treasures do you have buried in your closets, basement, or attic?