Geometry: All things Parallel, with a transversal

Okay, while I enjoy teaching Algebra 1 my favorite class is geometry.  I cannot state this enough.  This includes all of my activities, notes, and games I use teaching parallel lines.  My students have have really impressed me with the projects and even the game (considering the lack of enthusiasm for the study guide, go figure).

Let's begin with the notes.  I always have students shade in the acute angles one color and the obtuse another color.  Then, we put that the angles that are the same color = each other and the opposite colors = 180.  This really helps drive home the main two concepts.  Then, we discuss the interior vs. exteriors.  I hint that same-side starts with an S and so does supplementary.  Trying to help them recall the terms as well.  The foldable helps them organize the congruent angle relationships compared to the supplementary.

We do a little practice on worksheets, playing review games to get the answers.  On to the first project!  Design your own city.  I love this project, because I get to go over my previous profession in architecture and review urban design.  I show them images from my portfolio of how they could one day take this project to design cities.  Ya know, get them as excited as I am about the project.  I get to even throw in a mini lesson about scale. You can find the rubric I used here.  This was not my activity, but I loved the rubric and why re-create the wheel?

Review. Practice.  Time for the review game!  I didn't want my students that would be all so tempted to keep my real dice, so I had them cut out a template out of paper for the next activity.  I had played one similar to this activity before, but this one seemed to work out great.  Again, why re-create the wheel?  My kids surprised me in how engaged they were.  They had the terminology down!  We shall see how they do on the test, but right now I am pleased as punch.

First day of the new semester!

Thanks once again to Mrs. Hagan, I had a great worksheet to share with my students and fellow teachers on the beginning of the second semester of a year long course.  My kids said some of the sweetest things in their 6 word reflections.  You can find the sheet here.  When your students cannot think of a thing they would stop you from doing, (corny jokes included) you feel affirmed that you must be teaching in a way that engages students.  I was half expecting to see some "stop giving us homework almost every night", but those didn't even pop up.  The reflections that some students did were great.  I am putting them in a class time capsule and giving them back at the end of the semester to see if anything had indeed been kept, stopped, changed, or started.

My new resolutions are crazy big for just one year, so fingers crossed I will achieve them.  First, I am going back to grad school.  This time for a degree in education.  Second, blogging more.  This is the best way to reflect on what takes place in the classroom each day.  Third, more activities!

For those of you who may not know a new addition came to our household this past August.  Being out on maternity leave made coming back to kids that hardly knew me in the middle of a semester was hard.  But after doing my own version of the flyswatter game, another genius plan from Mrs. Hagan found here, I knew I needed to do more activities that I had essentially slacked on doing. 

We were even featured in the school newspaper!  I used the game to find the x- and y- intercept for the equations below.  Tomorrow I will share what else we did in class today, but it is time for me to pick up the babies for now.

Link here

Overwhelmed!

So I don't know what I was thinking other than I really wanted this degree, but what in the world told me to go for it now has me questioning my better judgment.  I just started my Master's in Education with a specialization in mathematics curriculum.  I would love to do what I blog about on a daily basis for others not just my class.  Between our beautiful and crazy children, the never ending demand of the classroom, and my attempts to continuously morph into a better teacher...my head is spinning.  I did not want to leave my blog untouched because I always have something that I have stumbled upon that is fabulous that I can't go without posting about.  So here is my new project of the future, mostly because I love math games and combined with a card game is even better!  I know that some of you have played Taboo before and today while surfing the lovely world of pinterest I ran across this blog...roots of the square.  You must check out these cards...awesome!  I can't wait to get these prepped for my class since I only teach half of algebra, but the excitement should help encourage me to squeeze this into my ever hectic schedule.  Please keep my sanity in your thoughts.