Blog Archives

All Valentined Out

2/14/2016

Party days will take years off a teacher's life. The anticipation of a party, no matter what the party might celebrate - Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Vincent Price's Birthday, whatever - the behavior of a 10-year-old transforms. It takes a lot of energy and focus to harness that transformation, and after harnessing it all day, by the time the actual party rolls around, it's ready to burst forth into the cold sunshine and frolic like it's nobody's business. That last hour of the school day can be the worst hour of one's entire career.

Thankfully, we always have parents who show up to conduct the party proper. Hey, if it were up to me, this party thing wouldn't last more than 20 minutes, so be thankful for your parents, kids!

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Electric Circuits: Making Flashlights

2/13/2016

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Our electric circuit lessons have come this: the making of flashlights. They're probably not something you'd want to carry through the dark forest during a heavy rainstorm, but they do work. I try to designate some specific requirements for the flashlights: I like for them to be durable enough to withstand a basic shake test, and I like for the "guts" to be fully enclosed in the "case" of the structure. The switch has to work, too.

The biggest struggle for the teams seemed to be trying to figure out how to include a switch in the system. While we built a basic series circuit with a switch, the day before, some groups wanted to use a parallel circuit for their flashlights. For the longest time, the switch seemed to make no difference: the light would not turn off. Finally, they figured out the switch had to go between the battery and the light bulb. Enclosing the system in a paper case was also a challenge.

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Ready to Party

2/12/2016

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We spent some time, a couple of days ago, to make valentine bags for today's party. Visiting parents may come to the classroom at 2:00 (and did I mention that I like chocolate?).

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St0w4w4y (III)

2/11/2016

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You have been charged
with rooting out a stowaway.
One of the four numbers below does not belong with the rest.
Your mission is to identify the intruder,
and defend your identification mathematically.

From a different point of view, might a different number be identified as the stowaway?

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Mathstakes: Three Addends

2/10/2016

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Mathstakes - or Math Mistakes - are an attempt to encourage students to find and correct mistakes. Most are introduced with a visual prompt, but there is no other word prompt outside of the visual. In addressing the visual, learners must first find, or construct, what they believe the problem. They must then figure out what was done in the visual to solve the given problem. The problem and solution are always provided in the visual.

After this, learners are charged with the task of determining whether the solution is appropriate. If so, they must defend it; if not, they must explain - or teach - a better process.

Use the worksheet (right)
to report your reasoning
for the picture provided:

Write the problem as you understand it.
What solution is given in the picture?
Decide whether the solution is (yes) or is not (no) appropriate.
In the box you chose, explain why you think it is correct or incorrect. If "no", fix it.

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Class Dojo and Growth Mindset: Making Mistakes

2/9/2016

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Here's the second of five new videos from ClassDojo dealing with Growth Mindset. This one explores the art of accepting and learning from mistakes, something I think I've mentioned more than a few times to my students.

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OPTS: Animal Crackers

2/8/2016

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In an attempt to address the eight Math Practices in the graphic at left, I will expose the class to One Problem to Solve (OPTS), one of which is displayed below. Students will discover and create their own problems, while being guided by the teacher.

Look at these images, and describe what you see:

Write down the first mathematical question that comes to mind.

As a class, we will decide on a central question to work on.

Make three smart guesses to answer the central question:
a guess too low, a guess too high, and a guess in the middle.

Place your guesses on the number line.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC...

Learn more about
after-school snacks:

What Is the Best
After-School Snack?

What information is necessary in order to answer our central question?

What information is provided above?

What tools might you need to solve the problem?

What strategies might you use?

Solve to answer the central question.

How close was the actual solution to your estimate?

What would have helped you achieve a more accurate estimate?

Did you make any mistakes along the way?
Fix them.

How might you avoid such a mistake in the future?

Explain your work to someone else? Did s/he do the work differently?
Can you explain the process using the other person's methods?

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Hoggatteer Alumni Star in Xanadu

2/7/2016

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I was really honored to attend Saturday morning's performance of Xanadu at North Middle School. A number of former students and other Cecil Floydians were involved in the production. Hoggatteers included:

JAH-KI, ELLA, SHAHLA, PAIGE, ALYSSA, FAITH, KIELYN, and JOHN

Here is a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders who will get the job done. When they were in my class, they got a taste for music and acting. They had their moments on stage and performing, and I am proud that they continue to surge forward with those types of events.

More importantly, they also share academic aspirations and incredibly pleasant personalities. They are the students any teacher would be proud to have, and the hugs and conversation we shared after this musical performance were sincere and meaningful for this teacher. They are among the standout students in my teaching career.

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St0w4w4y (II)

2/6/2016

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Electric Circuits: Mystery Boxes

2/5/2016

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A little mystery brings life to a cold January morning. I presented 12 boxes to the class, and challenged them to find which of the brass brads in the tops were secretly wired together on the inside. Some boxes had one pair of complete circuits, while others had up to four; one "trick" box had no circuits at all.

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20 Years of Service

2/4/2016

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I was happy and proud to receive this pin yesterday. Though I have taught almost 26 years, almost 21 of those years have been teaching fourth graders in Room 404 at Cecil Floyd Elementary School. There are ups and downs in every profession, but I am constantly reminded that this job allows me the opportunity to start over and improve every year. It allows me to be creative, to think critically, and to impact the lives of future generations. There is great responsibility, and I continue to tweak my mistakes and improve my techniques.

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Working In Reverse

2/3/2016

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How about flipping the problem?

I'll begin the day by providing the answer to a Math problem:

16 candles

4 1/2 pizzas

$26.03

Students will then be charged with the tasked with creating a problem that results in the given answer, including a set up and an ultimate question.

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M4+H LE46UE: Contest Photos

2/2/2016

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After the dust settled, I remembered having taken a few pictures at Saturday's competition in Bolivar. Out of about 300 attendees, we felt fortunate to bring back two of the three ribbons for members of our class.

Our school was well represented at the competition, and it felt great to have the class applaud them when they heard the news, Monday morning.

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OPTS: Hamburgers

2/1/2016

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In an attempt to address the eight Math Practices in the graphic at left, I will expose the class to One Problem to Solve (OPTS), one of which is displayed below. Students will discover and create their own problems, while being guided by the teacher.

Observe these pictures and describe what you see.

Cheeseburger: One Patty, One Cheese Slice

Double-Double: Two Patties, Two Cheese Slices

20 x 20

100 x 100

WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC...

Learn more about
fast food restaurants,
including In-N-Out Burgers:

Who Invented
the First Fast Food Restaurant?

What information is necessary in order to answer our central question?

What information is provided above?

What tools might you need to solve the problem?

What strategies might you use?

Solve to answer the central question.

4 x 4 with 16 extra patties and cheese slices

Double-Double with 98 extra patties and cheese slices

How close was the actual solution to your estimate?

What would have helped you achieve a more accurate estimate?

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