School is starting back soon!

I'm thrilled about a new year starting.  My focus this year hasn't really been on the classroom, it has been on management and lessons.  I am fortunate enough to have taught all of the courses I'm teaching in previous years!  I fell off last year (only one math class a semester doesn't give much time to focus on blogging about it).  But I'm back with a full math schedule.

Let's talk rules...

Ugh.  I hate thinking about the rules.  I know I want to keep them simple, but I always feel like I'm missing the million things I wish I could have posted, but they would become watered down.  So after a little contemplating what is important these are the rules that I came up with.

This year we have a new phone policy across the entire school for the cell phone jail.  I am stoked!!  This should cut back on referrals, but also keep me on my toes.  I should present A-game lessons.  This week I will be revealing another inspiration from this summer or a printable.  The graphic above was created using piktochart.com  It creates info-graphics that are pinterest worthy.  I want to do all my notes on their site.  I ended up getting the educator plan for $39.99/year.  Well worth it.

Elections made relevant

I'm sorry for posting this so late, but I realized that I need to teach something related to the elections taking place tomorrow or my lesson will fall flat tomorrow.  So how will I use math in the elections?  Data is live right now, so depending on when a student looks at a state will determine their outcome, especially for swing states.  We're going to use the information gathered from the exit polls .  My kids will do the math to show why each red state is red and each blue state is blue.  How?  We will multiply break down the votes by gender first.  Then, we will calculate the numbers for the two main candidates.  They will then color each state based on their findings.  We will then compare our maps to the one posted on social media.  We may even compare the maps of the different news stations and discuss the skews in data.  I will also want to prompt questions in regard to outliers and information that can skew the overall data collected (ie. voters that supported other candidates, the third party candidates, etc.)  I hope it turns out okay.  I will probably update this post with feedback in case you have school on Tuesday and would like to use this lesson. 

Keeping a Positive Attitude

Sometimes all we can do is keep a positive outlook, especially in the teaching profession when it comes to things that are completely out of our control.  Maybe your are starting out the school year and you don't have enough desks for all of your students on your roster.  When you look at your roster, you find a student that failed your class last year and even with the 5 other teachers teaching the course, you have that child in your class.  You could be left with a cart instead of a classroom.  Or you could be overwhelmed by all of the above happening all at once (trust me, I am in a similar boat).

But here is the key...just keep positive.  I am upfront with the students that things are not all in place, but that I am here to teach them and together we will make it through the first week together.  Don't let them know about all of your problems, unless they will affect the students in your classroom as a whole.

So we will breath together.  We know that a few weeks later down the road we will feel as if we are on our a-game once again.  The best of luck and resources will be pouring out once again.

Top 5 Things to Look For in Lesson Plan Template (Secondary)

The new year is starting, but my lesson plans are in need of a face lift.  I have decided to compile a list of things as a secondary teacher that I look for in a template.  The one I currently is great when I have the time to fully fill it our, but the detail had become overwhelming.  After you read the list, feel free to share if you think I need to add something to the list.  Here we go...

1.  Columns per course taught

I like to have a template that keeps the same categories for all of my classes.  Since I teach very different subjects, I need to have a clear column for each course.  I think it's nice to see your whole day laid out.  This helps out tons for substitute teachers.

2. Objectives and Standards Easily Found

This one is not for me as a teacher, but for what I consider the dog and pony show.  You know when the administration comes into your classroom.  They want to make sure that the curriculum is aligned to state standards and that your objective clearly puts the lesson into layman's terms for your students.  This is great for those mornings you are running behind, copy and paste that bad boy onto the smartboard, so they can't say you never posted it.

3. The Meat

I used to separate my lesson into the warm-up, lesson, class activity, and closing.  I found that this was too difficult for a substitute to follow.  So by putting it all into the same box with bullets, it makes the lesson a little more structured for the emergency run for a sick child or emergency.  Include a general time for each activity.  That way you and others know about how long to spend on everything.  It keeps long winded people like myself from talking too long about one part of the lesson.

4. Exit Question

I use this to make sure that I have asked at least one summarizing question, especially on days that I did not collect an assessment in class.  This provides the feedback and administration loves to see you come round circle back to that beloved objective.

5. Resources

Classrooms run more efficiently when you already know what materials to set out for the lesson.  I use interactive notebooks in my math class, so this definitely helps to prepare for the foldables, glue, scissors, etc.  But I also include the webpages that I found the materials on.  This way I can find it again the next year, just in case a student used my only copy from my notebook.

Does this align with your list, do you require more?  Do you do your lesson plans by the week or daily?

Did I Say Test Day?

We had reached the end of the quadrilaterals unit, which was a huge success (post for tomorrow will include links to all resources used). My class is not what guidance would consider to be the tough crowd, but today they wanted to learn and make sure they were prepared for the test. This was not the typical attempt to stall a lesson, but a genuine plea to make sure they had a grasp of the concepts. 

So how did we get to this point that would have shocked administration?

- First, this grading period is different because we are not required to give students a free grade. Whomever thought that we should just give grades to students was nuts. 

-Do not waver. No matter how tough a bunch of students are, keep the expectation for learning high. They may resist at first hoping you will cave. Do not give in. This benefits your classroom in the long run, but it also helps show you want them to earn the grade they receive. 

- Find engaging material. The sorting activities, games on Kahoot!, and coloring page notes, all are ways to get participation out of the students. During time on the study guide, I made sure to sit with the kids in a circle and work through each one as a class. They saw me putting in the work with them instead of far away at the board. 

- Finally, love them. Yes, my class destroys property, has run clean through 6 boxes of pencils, used multiple packs of paper my notebook paper, but they are my babies.  

So, I did what my profession states that I do. I taught them and was pleased as punch. 

Pi Day

think I am posting more today just because I have so much to share from 3-14 onward. First and foremost, I took an amazing resource, shrank it down in size and used it for pi day.  Annie made an amazing resource for pi day.

I only got the fist 65 pages colored with my freshmen, but what a great testament to the patience that math requires. Comments such as "Whoa that is 6500 colored spaces!?", "I found mine", and "that is a long number" I think gave students a better understanding of the number pi, mathematics, and possibly a better grasp of how unimaginable infinity is as a mathematical term.  Even my panoramic shot couldn't capture the whole thing. Honestly, if you haven't taught figures like circles yet, this is a great activity. So check out her website here. 

Got a project and need funding?

Go to donorschoose.org now!  I mean it, now.  Today there is an amazing incentive being hosted to try and get as many projects funded as possible.  The website is very user friendly and set up to help set up your first project.  The tips that they provide are right on the mark...

• Keep the funding for the first project small.  
• Use social media.
• Tell about your students.

My first project I may have made a video to boost those that visited the site, but there are people looking to help out their local schools.  I used social media and ended up being funded 100% within an hour.  Typically, if you are in a high needs area your first project will be matched.  This makes getting funding a lot easier.  Involve your students, this will also get your project funded faster.

Paint a picture of every day in your classroom and let the donors know how the field trip or materials will help you and your students.  I love the site because unlike local grants there is not just one winner, everyone in your district can apply.  Because today was #BestSchoolDay hosted by donorschoose.org, there were hundreds of donors looking to support projects.  What an amazing idea?!  The foundation has really gained my support.  If you have any questions about starting a project, feel free to ask.

Learning through play

Tonight after playing with my children past their bedtime, I read an article about the number of students we have diagnosed with ADHD. My four year old gets in trouble for not doing a worksheet in preschool and I cannot help but laugh at the thought of preschoolers sitting still working on worksheets. Give them sand to draw in with a finger or playdoh to form the letters. I use my own child's experience to change the way I teach. And I will admit there are things I know I could improve upon, but keeping them engaged is vital to how I view the success in a lesson. I am always looking for inspiration and I hope I am sharing something worthwhile in return. 

To engage my students this semester I have incorporated an extra credit assignment for students. I know you have had a student ask an irrelevant question in class that sent you straight to google during your planning in search of an answer. I have decided we need a random question box. I will filter the questions and then post them on the back wall. Students can read the questions, then pick a topic to write a research paper for and turn in for extra credit. The papers will then be posted under the question. As public educators we get called out for limiting what students learn. Why not change that and possibly learn something along the way? Not to mention the benefits to writing as a cross curriculum along with learning about all other topics in math. Feel free to post pondering questions here or try it in your own classroom. If you do, I would love to hear some of your favorites.  My children learn through experimenting at the age of two and four, let's keep kids asking and trying in high school. 

Adele parody: A donation plea

I had opened a donors choose page for some classroom supplies.  After a week of it being posted, I had NO DONORS!  So I thought what gets the attention of people online?  A video.  And not just a video a parody.  So apologies to Adele, for butchering her song, but I figured my readers may need a good laugh.  Plus all teachers know how we would go to any extreme for our students, well almost any extreme.  So without further adieu, I present my pitiful vocal skills in hope for raising money.  Please donate or share to the cause.  If you post it, at least I know that is one more person that has looked at my donors choose page.  Today is the last day where donations will be matched using the promo code liftoff.  Thank you in advance! Update: After an hour of the video going viral, I had my full donation.  What a great way to get supplies that you do not have in your class and may be too broke to afford on your own!  If you need ways to get your project off the ground comment below.

For those of you who have been in the car with me you know I cannot sing. This means I am desperate. My donors choose promo code (liftoff) which will match all donations ends today. So I need donors fast! I wrote the lyrics for my page. Being pressed for time it was pitiful filming, but I am hoping it is corny enough to go viral. Please donate and/or share. Google Mrs. P hands on math.
Posted by Heather Padilla on Monday, January 25, 2016

I had opened a donors choose page for some classroom supplies.  After a week of it being posted, I had NO DONORS!  So I thought what gets the attention of people online?  A video.  And not just a video a parody.  So apologies to Adele, for butchering her song, but I figured my readers may need a good laugh.  Plus all teachers know how we would go to any extreme for our students, well almost any extreme.  So without further adieu, I present my pitiful vocal skills in hope for raising money.  Please donate or share to the cause.  If you post it, at least I know that is one more person that has looked at my donors choose page.  Today is the last day where donations will be matched using the promo code liftoff.  Thank you in advance! 

Geometry Vocabulary

Today we just worked through more word problems, so I figured I would pull out one from the archive. I taught geometry two years ago and decided we needed to cover formulas and definitions for the upcoming final. Each child was provided an 8.5 by 8.5 inch square. Each child was assigned a word that needed an example or picture on white paper and colored paper for an assigned formula. We did vocab speed dating so each child had presented their term to their classmate. The kids seemed to learn a lot and the added perk was that I had a pretty review poster for my classroom. 

Oragmi Envelopes might be cool, but never again!

We're still reviewing since the kids took a pre-assessment for my class and bombed it!  The kids are truly coming to me at a low level.  I wanted the check for an understanding of 8th grade math skills.  I chose easy to difficult level problems.  The students did well on order of operations since I had already covered this topic in our review, but other areas were poor. 

Today in response to the scores, we reviewed adding integers today.  We used algebra tiles that the kids cut out from card-stock.  We used them with a worksheet from Cooperative Learning & Algebra 1 by Becky Bride.  It's a great resource to have in any Algebra class.  

We then followed the oragami envelope steps, but it did take more time than usual.  I figured with Valentine's day coming up it would be neat for them to learn, plus it holds all of their algebra tiles in something they created.  We also used a foldable and blank number lines for our notes today.  Overall, they grasped the concept and we can move on to the next issue on the assessment.  

Geometry of success

Any time a student makes an A on a test or quiz they get a leaf on the board. The kids are funny when they catch on to the pun. This idea branched from the calculus teacher that used cows in her class.  It amazes me how much high schoolers love rewars like stickers as much as an elementary teacher. 

Math craft for the holidays

So my students had a half day of class before the winter break and I knew that they wouldn't be 100% in class, so I went searching the internet for a fun activity that would fit to state standards for South Carolina, but would keep the kids working instead of babysitting the kids for the day because they wouldn't work.  I stumbled upon a project online using only quadrilaterals, the students must make a Christmas/Holiday card.  I was floored by the adorable outcome of some of the cards.  They had to use at least one square, one rectangle, one kite, one trapezoid, and one parallelogram ( I assumed them making a rhombus would be too much of a mental challenge for them this particular day).  The other stipulation was that they could only use quadrilaterals on the front.