MTBoS Blogging Initiative - A Day in the Life

So...I think this might be boring but I wanted to give it a try anyway. Let's see.

5:30 am - Alarm goes off, wake up husband, try to go back to sleep

5:40 am - Realize that I have been trying to compose an email reply in my head instead of going back to sleep

5:50ish am - Wake up and get on the exercise bike while checking the weather, email, Twitter, Facebook, on my phone.

6:05-6:35 am - Shower

6:35 - 6:50 - Get dressed while reminding my 2 "big kids" to dress warmly and get their basketball practice gear. They leave with their dad (also a teacher AND high school basketball coach).

6:50 - 7:00 - Put in a load of clothes to wash, gather lunch (that I actually made the night before which is highly unusual!). Dress my 4-year-old. Undress my 4-year-old. (He goes to a friend's house who keeps him during the day...usually in PJs...but thought he wanted to change into his clothes. Then he changed his mind when I got on his shirt because it didn't feel good. UGH! When I told him, "I don't have time for this!" he told me he was sorry and my heart melted so he got to wear what he wanted!!)

7:00-7:28 - Leave my house, drop off my "little kid," sign into work at 7:28 am

7:28 - 7:50 - Procure a cup of coffee, put lunch in fridge, visit with teacher friends (one of which makes me cry because she has done something SUPER sweet!)

7:55 - 9:30 - 1st Block - Algebra (I see them every day year round)

7:55 - 8:05 - Announcements, pledge, call roll, take up homework, send a boy in the hall for wiping pop tart crumbs into my floor when I tell him to clean it up (I have ant issues in my room so it was a BIG DEAL...lol) and then telling me he didn't. [Disclaimer: This was a "last straw" issue where any time I get onto him for something he tells me he didn't do it and blames it on someone else. He is just kidding around but I sometimes "fall for it" and then it takes me a minute to sort things out and it gets on my nerves. I wasn't mad when I talked to him. I just asked him to stop. He took it really well and did much better when he came in my room...didn't pout AND participated in class...GO ME!]

8:05 - 8:35 - Watched Eric Thomas's TGIM Season 2 Episode 5 and then did an activity where I had them write down anything from their past (hurts or successes) that they needed to let go of and get over. We then ripped them up and threw them in the trash (we didn't share them in class because I told them we wouldn't). I am trying to do "motivational Mondays" every Monday with my 1st block class and we have pretty much just watched one of his videos every week. Of course it is one of my favorite things to do...I often springboard off the video and get "on my soapbox" but the students seem to remember many of the principles he speaks about which is rewarding.

8:35 - 9:30 - Graded homework (on effort) while they started an awesome LINKS worksheet on systems of equations which makes them solve the same system by graphing, substitution, and elimination then answer questions about the best method. I would LOVE to give credit to whoever created the worksheet but I have no idea. After giving back homework I answered any questions they had for the remainder of the time.

9:30 - 9:40 - Technically this is our "break" time but I had 4 students and a teacher come to my room for various reasons. The teacher, Sonya New, is my bestest algebra planning buddy and she came to look at some resources I told her I had if she wanted them. The 3 students came for help on an assignment. I texted their teachers.

9:40 - 11:10 (2nd block - off/math intervention) - Had at least one student in my room the entire time working on their systems of equations worksheet. In between helping students I answered emails and graded some work for my online algebra II with trig class.

11:15 - 1:15 (3rd block) - Pre-AP Algebra - I see them every other day year round. This was pretty much a repeat of 1st block except we didn't take the time to write down the things from the past we needed to let go of and throw them away. This was only the 3rd TGIM they have gotten to watch all year. I have half the time with these students to cover the same amount of work and sadly that means the character ed/motivational videos get "cut out" most weeks.

1:20 - 2:50 (4th block - off/math intervention) Today this became my off period because I had students in my room for the entire 2nd Block. The first thing I did was Day 5 of my 30 Day Happy Teacher Challenge which was to take a short walk and think about things in your life that make you the happiest. I had a walking buddy and we talked about how our own children and our relationship to God made us happiest. AND...that keeping God first and seeking Him for your joy and fulfillment instead of circumstances (work, home, etc...) keeps things in perspective. It was GREAT! Then I entered some grades, made another cup of coffee, checked on my online class and Twitter, and started writing this post (which feels long and boring when I think about others trying to read it - LOL)

It is now 3:04 pm and I am still writing. I need to look over what I am doing tomorrow and then rush out the door to go pick up my daughter because I just got a text reminding me that she has softball practice at 5:00 and I have alot of driving to do in order to pick up my 4 year old and get her home and back to practice. Wish me luck!! If you made it this far thank you for reading my "day in the life." I think I may have put too many details along the way. HAHA!

Top 5 Things I Love About Teaching

I have started the 30 Day Happy Teacher Challenge this week and today I am doing #26 (I am not doing them in order...I pick one out that I want to do each day - HAHA!):

Think about the top 5 things you love about teaching. Write them down and have them somewhere as a reminder when teaching gets stressful.

 So...here it goes.

1. Being around young people.

I became a math teacher because I loved math and I wanted to coach softball. I had seriously considered pursuing a degree in engineering but the coaching part had me move in the direction of teaching. I spent a couple of years trying to be a stay-at-home mom and working part-time. At the end of that time I realized that I was called to teach. It wasn't just a desire that I came up with - God placed a love of young people in my heart! I have had the opportunity to speak at some workshops and meetings this year which required (of course) for me to be around adults all day. They were wonderful people and I enjoyed it...but I REALLY missed my students. I guess I am just a kid at heart!

2. Figuring kids out,

I learned early on that those "strange kids" who dress and act differently are usually some of the sweetest. If you treat them the same way you treat everyone else and gain their trust they will be your biggest fans. I often think that students do some "wild" things just to see if you are going to judge them by their outward behavior/appearance rather than getting to know them.

3. Witnessing growth

I love seeing people grow and improve. As a veteran teacher I have seen that in myself, my colleagues, and my students. It is so rewarding to see students who enter your room without confidence in their ability to do math/school and then in a year their confidence has grown so much. Then I get to see them walk up and down the halls over the next few years and grow in maturity and confidence (in most cases). 

4. Awesome colleagues

I have had the privilege of teaching in 4 different schools. In my experience the majority of teachers are helpful and encouraging. I had some incredible mentors ("teaching Moms"as I called them) when I was young AND now I have some amazing friends/mentors. Most teachers are so willing and excited to share their ideas and resources. Also, now with Twitter and the MTBoS (when I first started teaching I didn't even have Internet in my classroom!!) I have such an even larger group of teachers with which to share and collaborate.

5. Having the same schedule as my own children

When you have school-age children it is an added blessing to be a teacher because most of your holidays coincide. Also, when your children have practices and games you get off work in time to attend them or get them there!

Intro to Systems of Equations with Gallery Walk

This year I ran across a document in my Google Drive that Sonya New and I made in order to introduce solving systems of equations. I decided to do this on the first day back after Christmas break in order to get us "back on track." We have solved systems algebraically and had begun discussing the substitution and elimination methods the week before school let out.

I loved doing the assignment. I only had 6 groups but I still wanted to have them graph all 8 systems so a few groups had 2 systems to graph. I did not call them systems. I just told them to graph both lines on the same coordinate grid. I first allowed them to graph the lines on graph paper and then I had them put them on chart paper. Afterwards I assigned each group a different color marker to write with and had them do a gallery walk and put feedback on the graphs. If they agreed with the graph they put a check mark. If they thought there was an error they had to place an x and then tell what they thought was wrong. The last direction I gave them was to write down the solution to the system of equations. (We have been talking about solutions for systems of equations ALOT in class. I have even OPENED and CLOSED class MULTIPLE TIMES by randomly calling on a student and asking them, "What is the solution to a system of equations?" AND offered candy when they get it correct!! Many of them still don't know. I accept various answers: an x and a y that make both equations true, the point of intersection, an order pair that works for both.... It hurts my feelings but I still haven't gotten it to "sink in.") I had one student in the room that asked me if I meant for them to write the ordered pair down so eventually everyone caught on. Almost every group asked me what I meant by the solution but I would not tell them. I told them to discuss it within their groups because we had talked about it in depth before Christmas. Anyway...after they completed their gallery walk we "debriefed" as a class and settled any differences of opinion. It was a wonderful way to review graphing and reintroduce them to solving systems of equations - we had one no solution and one infinitely many solutions so we also discussed what those would look like algebraically. I did have them solve a couple of the solutions algebraically (using substitution) at the end of class.

Here is the document if you would like it.

OBSERVATIONS:
1. Even my best students needed the graphing review. I had one of the top students in my class put his y-intercepts on the x axis!! I want to do a better job of spiraling my algebra class. I love that our Meaningful Math Algebra books include graphing in every single unit! I hope to incorporate more spiraling review as my warmups this semester.

2. It scares me how much my students forget AND it bothers me that I have to move on when I have so many who have clearly not retained what we have learned.

3. Many of them wrote that the solution was 5 and 2 when they really meant (5,2). They think I am being picky when I make them write the answer as an ordered pair.

4. Students like the opportunity to get out of their seats! I did have some really good student dialogue and I feel that it was a productive first day back after Christmas:)

2016 MTBoS Blogging Initiative - Why?

I am excited to be joining the MTBoS Blogging Initiative this year. I started blogging about a year and a half ago. I was teaching a problem-based curriculum for the first time and wanted to record my "teaching transformation." I really started blogging for myself - so that I could look back at how the lessons went and use my reflections for future years when lesson planning. I feel like viewing blogging as a tool for me instead of being concerned about how my writings are being taken by others was THE BEST PART. However, Shelley Montgomery, the instructional partner at our school, encouraged me to go ahead and share my blog posts on Twitter. Through conversations I had with her I began to realize that even if one other person could benefit or be encouraged by my writings that it was worth it. Tracy Saltz...whether you realized it or not...you were that one person. We met on Twitter because you were also teaching the IMP Meaningful Math curriculum for the first time. Since then I have met a few others at workshops or via comments on my blog or Twitter that have enjoyed reading my posts. It is an encouragement to think that I have contributed in a way that was helpful to other teachers. I have learned so much by reading the tweets and blogs of other teachers and I did want to contribute instead of just being a "user."

So...why should you consider joining this blogging initiative? I think that blogging helps me to reflect on my teaching practices and organize my thoughts for lesson planning. An added bonus is for you to share your thoughts with other teachers so that they can learn from you and/or be blessed to learn that they are not the only ones that have similar struggles. I think that everyone benefits whether from the collaboration/encouragement of other teachers OR the benefits of reflective writing.

Problem of the Week success:)

This week I graded what I think was the third POW writeup that I have assigned. Once again (even though I dread grading them) they provided "teacher encouragement." My 2 favorite comments in the "what I learned" portion were:

If you listen to the teacher she will give you hints that really help you. 

My parents said they didn't get to do fun assignments or sit in groups in their math class. (She thinks math can be fun??? = total success!!) 

I think the one about listening to the teacher is funny; the truth is many of my students tune me out while I am addressing the class as a whole. Then when the realize I've stopped talking they look around and say, "What are we supposed to be doing?" Ugh! I am trying some tricks to try to improve my students listening skills. One is to randomly call on a student at the end of class and ask them a question that they should know the answer to if they listened in class. I don't always ask them a math question either. I reward them with candy or letting them leave the room first.

One other thing that encouraged me this past week was noticing that I had one student use tables to graph lines. As a math teacher I think that is strange because I used to always put my equations in slope-intercept form to graph. Teaching from the IMP Meaningful Math Algebra book has helped me to allow students to discover the way that works best for them (believe me I always tell them the way I think is easier!! Haha!). I taught slope-intercept form (conceptually first in Overland Trail), graphing by intercepts, and graphing using tables almost simultaneously. I would stress the easiest way depending on the way the equation was written but told them over and over to use the way that makes the most sense to them. Out of 21 students I had 1 girl get 8 out of 9 graphing questions correct using tables. Even though it was only one student who chose that method it really encouraged me to see that some students really do benefit from the "alternate" approach. I have spent many years teaching them with the methods that I think are the most efficient. I feel like what I am doing now benifits my students more.

Questioning and group work

My newest focus is to improve at using quality questioning to improve discussions and student engagement in my classroom AND to learn how to better manage group work. I have just recently decided to really narrow my focus to these 2 things for the rest of the year. There are so many teachers that I have talked to about these things and I have come to realize (again) that just because something works great in someone else's classroom it may or may not work in mine.

Here's an example...I had someone (Tanya Barnes) to tell me that I should rarely be the one at the board going over problems. She said the students should do it because then they take more ownership. My argument was that I do sometimes have my students go to the board to share their thoughts or answers on a task. However, more often I stand at the board and lead the discussion and write down the answers the students say so that the class can decide if it is correct. It is so much faster!!! And I have alot of material to cover!!! So...I listened to her and made a concentrated effort to have students go to the board today to share out. I even let them do the examples  (when I had a student that understood). You see....I teach freshman. And I have several competitive boys in my classes AND a few girls who love to prove people wrong. It takes twice as long (or longer) when they go to the board because they have to turn around every time someone makes a noise or comment....then they have to be a comedian....then they have to pop someone on the back of the head on the way back to his seat. Ugh!!! I caught another teacher walking by my room (good ole Amy Walker) and said, "There are some strategies that just DON'T WORK with all classes!" I told her what I was attempting and she reminded me that no one else knows my students like I do. Even if another teacher has freshmen they aren't exactly like our freshmen. I AM THE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL....I AM THE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL.... (excuse me while I try to convince myself....haha!). I know how to make adjustments based on the students in my classes....right?

Ok....so then I thought about it and remembered how I have judged people for trying something one time and then giving up on it. So, my commitment is to keep on trying this "strategy" until Christmas. I am hoping my students will get more accustomed to listening to their peers and using the question stems I have hung in my room without being so immature and silly. But....I teach freshmen. I am just hoping the percentage of silliness lessens. I know it will still happen. My goal is to not be writing on the board if I have a student who can be doing the work instead. It's like a balancing act at the circus. If I lean too much in the wrong direction it's not good. (Did I really just compare my classes to the circus?) Here is hoping for a great balance of mathematical discussions, productive groupwork, and teacher-led discussions.

I appreciate the input and opinions of everyone and hope to use them all to find what works best for me and my students.

Celebrate Life!! Yes...especially the teacher's life!

My pastor talked to us today about how we should be celebrating life. He spoke of how we should be different from the rest of the world. We should not be shrinking in fear of the events that are happening in the world but we should be a light and an inspiration for those around us. Encouragers. Inspirations. (I may be using my own words a little...but this was my take away today.) I sat there and thought about how I can apply that to teacher life.

What would it mean to celebrate teacher life?

• Staying focused on the incredible calling and responsibility we have to teach, motivate, and love the students that we have the opportunity to work with
• Avoid feeling frustrated every time the decision makers that be change/create policies that don't seem to make sense...(by remembering the reason you became teachers to begin with) - if you let it get to you then you will be unhappy all the time!!
• Celebrate the successes of your students and fellow teachers
• Try not to speak negatively about colleagues and administrators even when you don't understand or agree - everyone is human which means they will not make be perfect (and neither am I!!)
• Remember how much I love being around teenagers. I hate being serious all the time (and so do they). I like to be silly and have fun. Teenagers (and children) seem to appreciate that a lot more than adults do! HAHA!
• Remember that we knew when we entered this profession that we could make more money if we chose different career paths. We have a job that is often thankless. Are we here to hear thank yous or to make an impact on the future of our communities? (Of course thank yous are always nice...do you thank the teachers and coaches who invest time in your children?)

I read a book one time entitled Pushing Up People by Art Williams. It has been a long time since I read it but I remember the basic premise. We should be encouraging and promoting those around us...especially our bosses and school leaders. When we operate with this philosophy we model some valuable lessons for our students, fellow teachers, and families. That is a great way to celebrate the teacher life!