Plug it In, Plug it In...

No, this isn't a post about Glade plug-ins...  (Though I do show a clip of that nifty jingle when we talk about "plugging in" the answer to check our work...and my students think I'm nuts and "old" because that commercial hasn't been around for a long time...ha!)

 

Algebra is hands down my favorite part of math.  I use it ALL.  OF.  THE.  TIME.  I write equations to figure out if I can beat my brother and his family to my parents' house based on how many stops they make and how fast they are going...it's SO useful.  Getting that across to a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds takes more than just a nice speech, though. I'm sharing a few of my favorite things to do with my class to get them love-love-loving expressions & equations. 

To introduce variables I do this activity - and I FINALLY made a product and posted it in my store.  This just gets kids thinking about variables and what they mean - that they stand for something!

 

 

For each letter of the alphabet, there is a card with a variable.  For example, card B says, "B is bigger than a baboon."  They have to write B = a cruise ship (or whatever they pick) and they also have to PLUG IT BACK INTO THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT.  After teaching this for a few years, I've decided to get the plugging into their heads early.  So, their final statement is "A cruise ship is bigger than a baboon."  If they just say that B = cruise ship, it no longer makes sense in the original statement (Cruise ship is bigger than a baboon).  Why not throw a little grammatical practice in, too, am I right?  Poor kids. 

 

 

 

I love this activity especially because my class has to get up, move around, and talk to each other to find out information about each other.  Some of the statements say things like, "V wants to be a veterinarian." etc.  So they get to chat and they think they're totally getting out of math work.  My rule is that they can only use a person once on their paper.  That way they have to *gasp!* branch out from their BFFs. 

To practice evaluating expressions I created this gem: EQUATION INVASION!  The game requires the group to have a die!  A card is flipped and each person rolls the die as many times as there are variables.  This way not everyone has the same exact answer since they each roll for themselves.  Evaluate away!  If your answer is a multiple of 10, touch luck, Chuck.  You lose ALL OF YOUR POINTS!  (Invasion).  If it is not a multiple of 10, you get to add the answer you generated to your total points score.  I tell my class to keep each other honest because if your neighbor isn't being honest, they'll beat you.  Competitive, much?

 

This product differentiates in seconds - each card has the letter A, B, or C on it.  C is your most challenging card level. 

 

 

To differentiate WITHIN each letter, just change up your dice options!  I have a million different dice in my classroom.  If a student needs a change, just give them a different die!  I've learned that differentiation doesn't always mean writing three or four (or more!) different assessments and lessons.  There are some ways to make it really easy for myself!  #teacherwin!

 

 

For combining like terms, I use two things.  This activity from Middle School Math Madness.  It's great for your visual learners to color coordinate.  I also use this as a math center (also designed for quick differentiation) from my store here.

 

What are your favorite tips, tricks & products for algebra?

 

Oh Factor Tree! Math Carnival Part 2

So a few lovely, kind people were interested in the rest of the stations for my math carnival, so instead of trying to type it out on my phone for Instagram, I thought I'd just post about it here!  I don't have pictures because I haven't pulled everything out yet, so it's just ideas.  Sorry 'bout that!

These stations change each year based on what the group needs.  We usually host the carnival the second to last Friday before Christmas or sometime during the last week before Christmas break.  NOT the very last day because we get out at noon and eat lunch at 10:30.  And it's just a crazy, crazy day.

I use the math carnival to review a few topics that I noticed my class struggled with during the main instruction or things I don't want them to lose from the beginning of the year.

Oh, Factor-Tree

This station reviews prime factorization of numbers.  I cut out a Christmas tree from a poster board and laminated it because I wanted it to last.  On a yellow star, I write the number I want the students to "prime factorize."  On red circles to represent ornaments (or whatever color), I write every number involved in breaking the number down to prime factors.  Example:

Every number gets put on a red circle.  I like to cut straws in thirds for the lines.  :)  In groups, students are supposed to build the tree from top to bottom.  If they have extra numbers, they have to rearrange until every number is used!  My parent helper has a detailed answer key to check it, though I've been fortunate to have parent helpers that have helped enough that they already know how to do it.  Win!  I usually make 5-6 different problems to complete.  Remember, they are only at each station for 15ish minutes.


SKUNK

You can change this to whatever you want to suit your theme: elves, Santa, Claus, reindeer (if you want a longer round), etc.   This is to practice basic multiplication facts.  Instead of just adding the numbers together, I like to have the kids add the number and then multiply them by a certain number for each letter.  ex: for the u, everything gets multiplied by 6, for the n, everything gets multiplied by 9, etc.  My old teaching buddy actually has a product for it here if you'd rather not make it yourself: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Multiplication-Game-of-Chance-to-Practice-Basic-Facts-660547

The detailed instructions are here:

http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lesson.aspx?id=956
http://illuminations.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Content/Lessons/Resources/6-8/Skunk-AS-FurtherExamples.pdf

Divisibility Rules

One year our kids really struggled with this.  We wrote out numbers, placed them in a brown paper bag, and then the kids had to figure out which numbers they were divisible by.  We chose 4 digit numbers so they actually had to apply the rules.  :)  It was pretty low key.  You could have them roll the dice to come up with their own numbers or make it a scavenger hunt.

Moveable Fractions

This year my kids need practice with operations.  We've done a million hands on lessons, but they need to improve their speed because they can't rely SOLELY on drawing it out.  (Not that I am opposed to drawing it out - I think its CRITICAL for deep understanding, but speed and fluency in math is also important).  So I'm using this that I created for my first group: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jolly-Fractions-Fractions-with-All-Operations-CCSS-5NF1-5NF4-6NS1-1377655

I'll put this group in the hall with some Christmas music.  They'll LOVE it!

Mostly this is just a time to review and make it fun!  If students earn a sticker at each station (just for participating and not being obnoxious and genuinely trying), they can cash their stickers in for a homework pass after Christmas break.  I also give everyone a Christmas word search so that if their station ends early, they have something to work on, and my parent helpers aren't scrambling. 

Hope that helps my friends, you can make it though these last few days!!!

Christmas Math Carnival

You guys!  It's the most wonderful time of the year when I get to wish for snow and drink hot cocoa that has a candy cane as a stirrer.  YES!  Please don't hate me for being a winter-obsessive.  I love the snow - skiing, coats, boots, scarves, and NO WEEDS GROWING IN MY GARDEN!  Y'all.  Do you even know big my gardening/yard work struggle is?  Ask my neighbors.  They'll tell ya. 

PS, I just purchased Photoshop Elements.  The bottom picture is a free program, the top is Photoshop.  It's a JUMBO learning curve, but I'm liking it so far!  Any tips and tricks, send them my way!

 

My old teaching friend and I came up with the idea to host a math carnival during December as a way to review some key math concepts before the long break.  We picked out 4 topics that students had struggled to master so that we could reteach and review them, but we wanted to do it in a fun way! 

We set up 4 different stations in each of our rooms and mixed our kids and split them into 8 groups.  (By the way, they thought this was AWESOME to do math with the "other" 6th graders.  Ha!)  I also enlisted some parent volunteers to help out, though it's totally possible to do without them (though if you CAN get them in your room, DO IT!  It's so great to build great parent-teacher relationships). 

At each station, students earned a sticker on their carnival "ticket" for participating.  At the end, they could cash it in for a math homework pass.  This, my friends, is like winning a Golden Ticket into Willy Wonka's factory in our class because homework passes do NOT come easily.

This year, I'm replacing a station that I've used in the past.  My class really struggles with making simple mistakes with their math facts & remembering Order of Operations.  #pleasetellmeyourkidsdotoo  They know the ins and outs of the algorithm, and they can tell you why it works.  But they just go too gosh darn fast, and they mess up in one little place, and I worry about equations after the break because little mistakes like that just make or break a formula.  Ya know?  So, I'm throwing in this tasty booth.

What you need:
Hershey Kisses
Hershey Minatures
(you really can use whatever you'd like, I just like these)
Sharpie
Label/Post-it

Optional:
Those cute little Avery circle labels.  I didn't have them when I came up with this, but next year if I'm feeling like I want a cute booth, I will use those!

Put a number on each Hershey Kiss.  For differentiation, some groups can have fractions while others have simpler numbers.  I'd stick with 0-14 and use each number several times.  Maybe like two times with 8-14 and three times with 0-7.  This is a very careful set-up....can you tell?  On your Minatures, put a label or Post-it note on the bottom with a number.  These are the target answers.  Students take 5 kisses and 1 miniature to create their problem.  It plays just like Krypto, so if you've never played that, check out this video below...thanks random nice man for saving me time! :)

Here's a free PDF of the recording sheet for your kiddos!  I usually only give them 15-20 minutes at the station, so they generally get through 4-5 problems in that time.  It's a blast for them!

Math Vocabulary - Taboo!

Is it just me, or is it like torture for students to practice math vocabulary?  I have noticed that my little group this year really needs the help with math vocabulary because when the test pops up, they often ask, "Wait, what's a prime number again?" or "What does GCF stand for?"  AH!!!!!  So, to give them a little more practice in disguise, I saw an idea about creating a Taboo game for math.  Brilliant!  I don't remember who I saw the idea from originally (it was a few years ago), but the teacher designed it for a 7th/8th grade class.  I started a round with my 6th graders today, and they LOVED it!  I was so surprised how much they enjoyed it, and how much they actually knew!  This game is a keeper!

Want a copy for your 6th grade friends?  Check it out in my TPT store here!

Sub Plans

I know I'm not alone when I say I HATE SUB PLANS!  Not only do they take forever to compose, but so often I return to school seeing that my students are totally confused in math, or that absolutely nothing got done.  It drive me bonkers!  I recently discovered an app that I seriously cannot live without!  It's called Explain Everything, and it works a lot like any Kahn Academy video you watch, except you can customize it for your kids!  I was at a training this past week (I'm going to an Arts Leadership Academy training through BYU, and I am totally sold that the arts need to show up in class daily, but I'll talk more about that in a later post), so I missed two days of school.  It just about killed me because I don't like getting behind in math.  Our schedule is pretty tight as it is, and I was getting nervous.  I decided to try making a video on Explain Everything.  The day before I left, I pulled one of my students aside.  I told him that in the video I was going to ask him a question, and I needed him to answer it as I went.  It was magical!  My principal happened to walk in right as the video was starting with my sub, and she texted me to tell me that the kids were totally engaged (possibly a bit nervous that they, too, were going to get called on?)!  Not only that, they rocked their quiz the next day when I got back!

Another way I like to use this app is to create videos to post on my class blog.  This way kids have something to reference at home for homework or to catch up on work if they're absent.  Parents LOVE it because they can see how we are teaching concepts in class, so they feel like they are aware of what's going on in the classroom!  Always a plus!  The app connects with a YouTube account which makes it viewable by everyone on every device.  Here's one I used in class with my substitute:

Half Over or Half Left? (Plus a FREEBIE!)

July 16th?  No.  Way.  It seems like yesterday I packed up my classroom for the summer, which means it'll feel like tomorrow that I'll be welcoming the class of 2020 in for 6th grade!  I've been busy doing non-school stuff for the past few weeks, but I finally got to posting two new items in my TPT store.  Huzzah!  I was able to attend Utah Core Academy in early June, and I am pumped for math this year!  I am very excited to be able to release my two newest products, one of which I absolutely cannot wait to use!  I am tempted to rearrange my curriculum map so I can play it ASAP. :)

Math, chemistry, physics, and earth science have ALWAYS been my favorite subjects since kindergarten.  I do love writing, social studies and reading, art, music, etc, as well, but math and science have always clicked.  I think that is why I love teaching them so much.  Math is everywhere.  Not a single soul can go without it in a 24-hour period.  One of my favorite math-related items are board games.  The amount of probability in there is phenomenal, and, quite frankly, they are fun.  Hence my most recent product: Sugar-opolis!  (Yes, it's a generic name for Candy Land!)  It doesn't have anything to do with Candy Land aside from the fact that cavities abound.  The game is designed to practice fractions, decimals and percent.  Some require converting between the three, others require comparing different notations, some focus on the new common core standard to find percents of a number.  I've added a fun element: the Sour Apple Cards.  If you've ever played Quelf or Curses, you have a bit of an idea of the game.  The Sour Apple Cards require players to do things like keeping their elbows straight, keeping your wrist to your forehead during your turn, speaking in a British accent, etc.  This is definitely not a game for days where you need the class quiet and serious.  But it is a FABULOUS game when math can be a little more laid back and selling the idea that school is (dare I say) fun!

The other product incorporates QR codes to multiplying decimals!  Wahoo!

Anyway, I am so excited to use this product that I want to give out a few!  I will be giving three free copies away!  Here's how it works:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Follow my TPT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Esther-G
3. Leave a comment on this post letting me know you did both and your email address so I can send it to you!
4. Stick around to see other freebies in the future!

Torture

Every. Day. In. Math.  Every day!  I have one student who is a fabulous math student, but he loathes showing work.  I've pulled out all of my tricks throughout the year:
Me: "Well, what if you get a math problem wrong?  How will I know how to help you?"
Student: "When was the last time I got one wrong?"
Me: "But what IF you do?"
Student: "My record shows that I don't."
Sigh...touche.

I take off points for not showing work.  I've made deals for showing work with this student.  I've even bribed him with "if you show your work 5 different times, you can do this problem in your head."  Does it change anything?  Nope.  I don't know why students think that we enjoy torturing them with homework and asking them to show their work.  Heck, if I wanted to torture them I'd give them millions of Scantrons where I had no idea what went wrong in their thinking, hoping to ruin their mathematical solving process forever!

I pulled out an extreme, yet cliche trick on Friday.  I began grading the quiz they took on surface area.  We've gone over how showing work means writing the formula, showing each step, and circling the final answer.  The student got 100% on the answer part, but there were no formulas to be found, nor was there a lick of work.  I flipped the paper over and wrote the following note:

"I know you hate showing work.  Let's imagine that someday you are a doctor, and you discover an amazing cure for some disease, but you don't write the steps down meticulously.  Now the cure can never be recreated.  Wouldn't you wish you took the time to show your work for finding this life-changing cure?  (Please show your work.  If for nothing else, do it for my sanity.  -Mrs. G)"

The look on his face tells me I might not be getting work anytime soon.

End of Year Review

It's that time of year again!  Test review time!  There are tons of resources out there on TPT to help review.  I love the task cards.  I print them off, laminate them, cut them up and either put them around the room, or put a ring around them for center/group work.

Here's a few that I've created that my students love.  Each comes with an answer key.

If you don't have a laminator in your room, get one!  I got mine at Costco for $15 at the beginning of the school year (it's not currently on their website, but stop by in August or September).  Walmart also has them, and sometimes Sam's Club has them in stock, too.  Don't be fooled by the fancy-schmanciness of the $50+ ones.  My $15 laminator gets used all of the time, and it seals the edges well.  When you need a refill, purchase laminating pouches.  I get mine at Sam's Club. They come in a 200 pack for about $21.  Just make sure you get a hot laminator, and that the laminating sheets are for "hot lamination."  Sam's Club has the best deal that I've come across.  Even Amazon doesn't have a cheaper option.  If you find one, please pass on the information!!!