Interactive Notebook!!!!

So this year I went full interactive notebook in my Algebra 2 classes. Everyone does them different and I don't think there's a right or wrong way to implement them, but I just wanted to share mine. The downfall of interactive notebooks is how much time they take on the preparation side so that leads to my disclaimer: I happily borrowed and bought many many many of there ideas from other bloggers and TPT. I will try my best to link each and every one of them but may forget where I got a few :)

Here are a few pictures and details on how I set mine up and how I organized them.

First I had my students purchase a composition notebook ( a few had non composition books and they fell apart) And on the outside I had them write their name, class and period. I made a book along with each and every class (3 periods).

On the inside cover each student pasted a notebook rubric. ( Kids get so mad when I took a point off for skipping a page. "But it's right there in the rubric," I say) I found this rubric here.

On the first lined page I had students create a "Math About Me" page where they had to have at least 8 numbers that pertained to their lives and had to add some color. (Along with their names again and the class period)

Next year I want to create my syllabus so it can be glued in on one of the first few pages so the kids have it handy when I refer to a rule or procedure listed in it.

The next 6 pages we saved for gluing in our future Unit Table of Content pages. We had 12 units total in Algebra 2 and we made a new page for each one. I used Sarah's from Math Equals Love here. I used a different color for each unit and then repeated the colors over.

The way that I set mine up on the inside was that we took notes (definitions, formulas, steps, etc. ) on the left hand side and then worked out examples ( or classwork) on the right hand side. This worked well for my classes but I was pretty strict about what we wrote down and didn't give them much option to customize to how they wanted to set them up. It was also a little bit of a pain for my students in AVID who were supposed to be taking Cornell style notes.

Some notes were boring and we didn't always glue something in. sometimes the only thing we glued were examples typed out. 

Inside the back cover we taped down a "bookmark" made from sting. I don't know how many of my students actually used these and may skip them next year. 

For the majority of the year we were using glue sticks to paste in our foldables and such but I noticed lots of papers coming unglued. Once our gluesticks ran out I switched everyone to an elmers school glue and they help up much better. Even though it seems messier I just tell them to use 5 dots (one in each corner and one in the middle).

I collected the notebooks whenever we had a test and counted the table of contents page and each set of notes (left  & right side) as 5 points each.Depending on how many notes we had in that unit the notebook points would vary.

So that's basically how I set them up and I plan on sharing all 12 units individually...wish me luck.

Introducing Exponential Growth

Just thought I'd share how I introduced exponential growth to my Algebra 2 students.

For a warmup assignment I asked my students if they would rather have a million dollars today or a magic penny that will double itself for 30 days. Students wrote down their answer and why, then we took a vote of who would choose each. (most chose a million muahahaha)

We then began the story One grain of Rice by Demi.



The story is about a girl that convinced an unfair Raja into giving her all the rice he had taken from a town by having the amount start with one and double for 30 days.

After we've read about a couple of days we start to guess how much she will end up with and see who's answer is the highest to put on the board.

We finish reading the story and students tend to be pretty shocked that the one grain of rice turned into millions and then billions total.

After the story we filled in this worksheet from Illuminations.

Most students needed a little help coming up with the equations on their own. We looked at and discussed the pattern between the total after so many days and the next day after that together as a class.

Over the next couple of days we graphed, wrote and solved some exponential problems and I found myself referring back to the story quite often. 

I think my students enjoyed the break from math to enjoy a story and it was kinda fun for me to have story time as well. I believe this is my third year now introducing exponential equations this way.

Distance & Midpoint Formula

Just wanted to share an easy way to get your students to practice the distance & midpoint formulas.

Print off a class set of what I think of as skeletons for the two formulas.

Put each paper into a clear sheet protector.

Hand each student the sheet protector, a dry erase marker and something to erase with.

After students have been given the formulas you can give them two points to practice by filling in each step and working down to the answer.

The scaffolding helps students work out each step. The hardest part for them will be adding/subtracting positive & negative integers.

Then for homework assign practice problems without the scaffolding.

My students had a lot of fun working on problems and even asked for a couple more to work on. I've used these a couple of years in a row now so I just keep the papers in the protectors but I have some other papers I change them out to. (synthetic division, graphing lines, box method and factoring by grouping) The sheet protectors are way cheaper than a class set of white boards and its nice to put that paper inside with some steps for them.

If I knew how to upload the files I would :( Sorry.

New school means new classroom

I know we are already into the second quarter but I wanted to share some pics of my new classroom.

Toward the end of last school yeah I was notified, along with two other coworkers, that I would be displaced from my highschool to a middle school. I took the opportunity to seek employment in a better district and after 3 interviews I landed a job in my dream district...the one that made me who I am. I do not work at the high school I graduated from but the one that opened a few years after. I'm proud to be a Blackhawk!



The metal nameplaque my dad made found a new place on my windowsill next to the door.
                                           




This is a picture from the back of the room. I looooooooove all the built in storage and that the projector is hung from the ceiling.

This picture is from the front of my classroom. I made a cute pennant banner out of scrapbook paper

 and one bulletin board for student work and another for rules, bell schedule and school news/flyers. The CLASS posters are what our school expects from our students: Character, Leadership, Attitude, Scholarship and Service.  

This is on the wall across from my door where I post the date, standards, goals and agendas daily for my two types of classes. 

I am still using calendars for students to see what they missed when they were absent. My supplies bookshelf had to be moved when our laptop carts were delivered so this wasn't the original layout. 

The teacher that had my classroom before me did a flipped classroom so she had these four desktops. Now that we have laptop carts in our rooms these will me taken out. I found a new place for my BYU math posters. 

This is the wall where my supplies bookshelf originally was. The whiteboard is there for students to write their names when they borrow a pencil. Unfortunately my freshman think that it's there to doodle and tag their name so I had to take the markers down. Still thinking of a way to keep my pencils from disappearing. And there is my awesome laptop cart! Every math and English teacher received a class set of laptops which is great, but they take forever to all get connected and my students have no patience whatsoever. 

                                     




Lastly here is a view of my desk area. I still don't have any personal decorations really; I need to get some pictures up. I love having that back counter as well as my own fridge and microwave!

 

Hope you enjoyed my new classroom tour. It should get better over the years!

Geometry kaleidoscope

I haven't taught geometry in a couple of years but now that we have switched to the intgrated pathway I've been reflecting on the things we have to teach  from geometry in Integrated Math 1. Next semester there is a unit including translations, rotations and reflections. We did this fun activity in geometry where we reflected our name or a design across a  line over and over to make a kaleidoscope looking piece of artwork that students then got to decorate. It was fun and I'm hoping to use the activity again this year.

Here's a picture. 

Goals For Next Year

Here are my goals for the 2014-2015 school year. I hope that if I write them down now I will be able to reflect back on them during the year.


1. Increase rigor: I baby my students and I need to stop. They need to be challenged!

2. No cellphones: I need to be more strict about cellphones and send them to the office when I see them out.

3. Incorpotate technology: My students need to be prepped for the new SBAC testing and see more online activities.

4. Plan ahead: I may be at the middle school level next year and I need to make sure I am planning in advance for each unit.

5. Spiral assignments: I would like to add problems at the end of homework from the previous chapter so I do not have to review as much at the end of the year.



These 5 goals will get me started without being overwhelmed. Its a good place to start.

My Classroom

Since it is possible I will be moving to a different school next year, I thought I'd post some pictures of my classroom this year.

This is the view from the door when you first walk in toward the "front" of the class. The desks are on both side of the room facing each other.

This is the "back" of the class but I created my own large screen to project on, so the kids face this way often.

My projector cart in the middle of the room has wheels so it can be easily turned to to either project on the big wall when I use the Elmo or facing the SmartBoard when I use it. 

This is where I post Bellwork for the students to complete when they come into class. Next to it I have the agenda, standards and any other info they may need to know, like the next test or when something is due posted. 

Here is the calendar of assignments. When students are absent they look at the date and find any the notes and assignment they missed. The previous days notes and assignment are on in the folders on the wall while all others are put into filing boxes for them to retrieve, this is also where students find extra copies if they lose theirs. 

                                     

Here's a board of my class rules, school rules and graduation requirements. (Rules poster still has my maiden name)

These posters are all required for us to post, such as laws, policies, evacuation plan and the bell schedule. I also post any school flyers on the white board so it's like my news area. 

 

 

Some math posters from BYU and another white board used when students are in groups.

 

 

 

Here are the 8 Mathematical Practice standards in nice little 8.5x11 posters that can be found here.

 

 

 

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Just some general math posters I got at Lakeshore Learning.

 

  

 

 

A teacher made this poster for every classroom...not that the students listen to it.

 

 

This is the student supply area. I keep the pencils on my desk though so I can keep an eye on them. It's amazing how quickly they disappear.

 

 

These are some pictures of my desk. I try to keep it clear or else things get lost. And the super cute name plaque my dad made me on his plasma cutter.

 

 

Behind my desk I keep binders with all my lessons for the classes I am teaching. Students turn in late or missing work to the tray on top of the filing cabinet. The rolley cart holds papers to be passed back(I tend to hoard them and when I hand them back it takes a half hour oops) I keep pictures on my wall and any notes or appreciation letters my students give me.

 

 

 

 

Papers with no names get pinned here.

 

 

 

100% tests and quizzes get posted here.

 

 

 

My husband got me the cutest paper weight for Christmas with an equation that solves to say i <3 u.

Lastely these are my favorite dry erase markers. They write smooth, erase nicely and are refillable!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking at all my classroom pics!(I know there was a lot)