New to Lesson Planning?

I work with teachers working on certification processes online.  Just about every course, I meet teachers who for whatever reason never had instruction on how to write lesson plans.  I put together a few resources for them ... thought they might be helpful to someone finding this blog. 

RESOURCE 1: Scholastic often has good ideas for new teachers. This outline for lesson planning is one of those ... written especially with elementary teachers in mind.

The New Teacher's Guide to Creating Lesson Plans

Which of the ideas on this page is helpful to you?

 

RESOURCE 2: This guide doesn't suggest a one "right" way but instead suggests ways to think about lesson planning.

Teaching Guide: Writing lesson plans

Which section in this guide was most helpful to you?

 

RESOURCE 3: Many of us are having to design online learning experiences. Using the 5Es to develop online learning activities is a great way to organize learning.

Tips for Designing an Online Learning Experience Using the 5 Es Instructional Model

The author at this site has several videos to assist in understanding. Which video resonated with you?

 

RESOURCE 4: Maybe you have heard of "backwards planning" but are unsure how it is different from traditional planning. Check out this post: Backward Design: The Basics.

What is your typical lesson planning method??

RESOURCE 5: Last, but not least - This website has some great information about how to write "transformational" lessons!  Which idea might you incorporate in your own lesson planning?

Structuring Lessons for Virtual Instruction

Structuring Lessons for Virtual Instruction

I'm working with a group of teachers about planning a differentiated lesson.  While discussing lesson planning, I realized that we go about that process differently, organize our work differently, create different styles of lesson plans.

On top of that, many teachers are planning for online delivery.  How might that look different from f2f classes?

While I have been teaching online for a university for 16 years, I do not have experience delivering classroom instruction K12 online.  So take my thoughts with a grain of salt :)

The first thing that is significant to me is organization.  Teachers and students are both flustered by technology.  How might lessons be organized so no one is guessing what to do, when to do it, where to find it?

A Hyperdoc might be a good idea at this point.  Hyperdocs can look different. I'm going to suggest a couple of ways of organizing lessons.

Borrowed from https://www.aoptech.org/michele-kiss.html

I've used three different sets of labels to set up a basic Hyperdoc model.

• 5E model 
• EELDRC or Enroll, Explore, Label, Demonstrate, Review, and Celebrate
• Upside Down Version to I Do, We Do, You Do

In each of these models, the teacher plans out lessons inviting students to participate by accessing links, videos, forms, online tutorials, online practice, and more.  In addition students can snap and insert photos, respond and/or reflect right in the document itself.  It becomes not only an organizer for the lesson plan but also could be an organizer for brief notes for the student.

If you want to improve upon those Hyperdoc ideas ... check out Slides Mania's Hyperdoc Notebook ... You could create a notebook for each unit.  Her work is amazing and it is shared freely!

The last suggestion for organizing lessons is using Deck Toys!  This site is new to me but I enjoyed playing with it.  I created a sample lesson on Babylonian Numbers ... it's not great - just my first time.  By the way, you can embed video, require answering before continuing, embed Desmos, and Delta Math!  I also found several already created for secondary math!  You will want to check those out! Anyway ...if you are looking for a way to organize lessons this may be a great one!

How are you building lessons online?  What structure are you using?  What ideas might you share with a first year teacher?

By the way, I wrote about Lesson Planning Structures in a previous blog post.  You might find it interesting if you are new to lesson planning!

Minutes that Matter Most

It's the first ones and the last ones!

A year or two ago, Edutopia published an article, The 8 Minutes that Matter Most. In the article the author writes, "That is the crux of lesson planning right there -- endings and beginnings. If we fail to engage students at the start, we may never get them back. If we don't know the end result, we risk moving haphazardly from one activity to the next. Every moment in a lesson plan should tell."

As a teacher, I have to admit ... I worked on the beginnings much more than the endings.  Capturing students' attention at the beginning was essential.  And I guess I let the closure go because I monitor progress informally all through the lesson.

There are so many engaging warm-up ideas.  Desmos card sorts are my new favorite. Then there are a wide range of other possibilities like 

Estimation 180, 

Solve Me Mobiles, 

Which One Doesn't Belong, 

Visual Patterns, 

Daily Desmos, 

Graphs of the Week, 

Math Talks, 

Fraction Talks 

and more!  

Do you use these websites for warm-ups?

One idea from the Edutopia article noted above is using a YouTube video.  I tried this fairly often.  Here are a few of the videos I used.  

Another idea expressed by the Edutopia author is to have students write.  This is one I didn't use enough!  I envision students opening a math journal at the start of class and responding to a prompt.  I found this list of 150 essential questions online.  I'm sure there are many other math journal prompts!

So what about closures?!?

The most popular is the exit ticket.  Shelli has created an awesome set of prompts for exit tickets ... check them out here.  Her prompts could be used not just for exit tickets but also for journal writing!

Here are a few other ideas ... 

The Stoplight Method is one that works ... students can post a response to a prompt as they are leaving.  Check out this one minute video description.

Around the Room is another one ... students pass a ball around the room, stating one thing they learned that day.

What's Inside ... pairs/groups of students receive an envelope ... inside could be a vocabulary word, a concept, a problem.  Students explain the connection to the lesson.

There are many more.  Check out these lists:

22 Powerful Closure Activities

Closure Activities

40 Ways to Leave a Lesson

Tips on Leaving a Lesson Effectively

In my Twitter feed, the suggestion to start the next lesson with a closure to the previous one was mentioned. @LeeanneBranham shared one that works well for her:

@BridgetDunbar @fractionfanatic @algebrasfriend @druinok I have had great success with this. pic.twitter.com/929nZPrP7m

— LeeanneBranham (@LeeanneBranham) August 9, 2016

So ... beginnings, endings ... even psychology tells us they are significant ... primacy and recency effect.

What ideas do you have to share?  How do you reserve 5 to 10 minutes for closure consistently?

Questions to Think Through While Planning

I've been thinking about lesson planning.  I've never written down the questions that passed through my mind as I planned. Now I'm trying to recreate those.

1. What do I want students to be able to do at the end of the lesson? vocabulary? skill? application? depth of understanding?


2. How will the vocabulary, skill or application in this lesson be tested?


3. What is the rationale for this lesson? 


4. What connections can I help students make to real world application? How can I help students visualize this math? 


5. What came before? What will come after? How can I link this lesson with the others?


6. What connections do I want students to make to previous work? What might those connections look like?
   


7. How will I know students "get" this lesson? What questions will I ask? In what format will I frame those questions?


8. At this point I often check the MTBoS search engine for blogs about this lesson. Is there a way to get at this lesson without direct explicit instruction? If so, how shall I set up students' learning? What notes will students need?  What do those notes look like? What practice will students need? What active learning strategy fits this lesson best? What differentiation is needed so that all students can participate?


9. What problems will I use? Do they need to be scaffolded ... basic to difficult? What student errors can I anticipate? How can I use those anticipated errors to support students?
   


10. What does the pacing look like in this lesson? Are there different activities? If so, what is the sequence of events? How will I handle transitions?


11. What materials do I need to prepare? What does the room arrangement look like? If students are in groups - how will I organize those?


12. What might plan B look like if any part of this lesson fails?

What questions do you think about as you plan lessons? Please share!

#MTBoSBlaugust: Beginnings and Endings

A year or two ago, Edutopia published an article, The 8 Minutes that Matter Most. In the article the author writes, "That is the crux of lesson planning right there -- endings and beginnings. If we fail to engage students at the start, we may never get them back. If we don't know the end result, we risk moving haphazardly from one activity to the next. Every moment in a lesson plan should tell."

As a teacher, I have to admit ... I worked on the beginnings much more than the endings.  Capturing students' attention at the beginning was essential.  And I guess I let the closure go because I monitor progress informally all through the lesson.

There are so many engaging warm-up ideas.  Desmos card sorts are my new favorite.  Then there are a wide range of other possibilities like Estimation 180, Solve Me Mobiles, Which One Doesn't Belong, Visual Patterns, Daily Desmos, Graphs of the Week, Math Talks, Fraction Talks and more!  Do you use these websites for warm-ups?

One idea from the Edutopia article noted above is using a YouTube video.  I tried this fairly often this past year.  Here are a few of the videos I used.  Another idea expressed by the Edutopia author is to have students write.  This is one I didn't use enough!  I envision students opening a math journal at the start of class and responding to a prompt.  I found this list of 150 essential questions online.  I'm sure there are many other math journal prompts!

So what about closures?!?

The most popular is the exit ticket.  Shelli has created an awesome set of prompts for exit tickets ... check them out here.  Her prompts could be used not just for exit tickets but also for journal writing!

Here are a few other ideas ... 

The Stoplight Method is one that works ... students can post a response to a prompt as they are leaving.  Check out this one minute video description.

Around the Room is another one ... students pass a ball around the room, stating one thing they learned that day.

What's Inside ... pairs/groups of students receive an envelope ... inside could be a vocabulary word, a concept, a problem.  Students explain the connection to the lesson.

There are many more.  Check out these lists:

22 Powerful Closure Activities

Closure Activities

40 Ways to Leave a Lesson

Tips on Leaving a Lesson Effectively

In my Twitter feed, the suggestion to start the next lesson with a closure to the previous one was mentioned. @LeeanneBranham shared one that works well for her:

@BridgetDunbar @fractionfanatic @algebrasfriend @druinok I have had great success with this. pic.twitter.com/929nZPrP7m

— LeeanneBranham (@LeeanneBranham) August 9, 2016

So ... beginnings, endings ... even psychology tells us they are significant ... primacy and recency effect.

What ideas do you have to share?  How do you reserve 5 to 10 minutes for closure consistently?

#MTBoSBlaugust: Filing Cabinets and Lists ...

I'm updating my online Filing Cabinets and various lists!

Check out the Algebra 2 Filing Cabinet ...
I'm checking for broken links this week and adding a few ideas from past experiences.

Check out the Algebra 1 Filing Cabinet ...
I'm checking for broken links there as well and will add a few more ideas soon!

I also keep a running list of "super sites" that have been created by math teachers.  These sites make great warm-up activities and more!

On Pinterest, I have a list of good books for math teachers to read!  I use Pinterest because "seeing" the book makes a difference!  Yes, we judge books by their covers!

How do you organize the great resources you use in your classroom?

Inquiry in Math Class

This morning, an article, a video, and a website came together around the topic of inquiry in math class.

Check these out:

Schwartz writes, 2. Don’t tell students what they should know; create the structure for them to experience it on their own. She offers 10 tips for launching an inquiry-based classroom. Her writing is not directed specifically to math teachers but it is easily applied! See her article here!
Then, What do courage, curiosity, and a sense of play have to do with teaching math and inquiry?

Last ... there are websites to help prime your thinking for developing launch tasks to get students thinking about math.  One such website is Inquiry Maths.  Here is one example of a structured inquiry task from the site:

How do you structure your math class to develop curiosity and promote student questioning?

Lesson Planning Structures

I'm working with a group of teachers about planning a differentiated lesson.  While discussing lesson planning, I realized that we go about that process differently, organize our work differently, create different styles of lesson plans.

I thought I'd compile a few planning organizers here ... none of them original with me ... only ones I've found to be helpful.

The first organizer might not be familiar to you unless you had the opportunity to participate in Quantum Learning training.  If you ever get the chance ... take it!  It's a nice blend of brain research and active engagement strategies.  In that training they emphasize these steps in lesson planning:  EELDRC or Enroll, Explore, Label, Demonstrate, Review, and Celebrate.  A key aspect in this lesson plan is exploring, experiencing before labeling!  So the plan emphasizes students engaged in the work before you give them the details, the vocabulary, the steps, the key elements.  I described such a lesson here a few years ago.  My example is OK ... the "enroll" portion is not tied in to the lesson.  It's a good activity ... just not a good example of enrolling students in the study of functions.

If you have used the 5 E's lesson design you notice overlaps with EELDRC.  The five Es include Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.  Notice in both of these plans students are doing math before any direct instruction.  Engagement and Exploration are key aspects of lesson planning.  Some might disagree with me, but I think that first step, "engage," is more than the typical "do now" or "warm-up."  It needs to create interest, generate curiosity, raise questions.  It sets the tone for the "why" in class!  The exploration is the problem solving, the group task, the puzzling it out on their own that supports student ownership of learning.  It creates the need to know more ... which leads into the "explain" section of the lesson.  The five E lesson plan model was created by a science curriculum organization and it plays out well in math.

Kyle Pearce writes about his four-part lesson here.  Notice the components and how they overlap with EELDRC and the five E's:  Minds On, Inquiry, Making Connections and Consolidation.  In his explanation, the "minds on" section engages students in thinking about the math that leads up to the current lesson ... it may keep the same content and/or context.  It scaffolds the learning about to happen.  Again the "most important" part of his lesson structure is the "Inquiry" ... or the "explore" from the previous models.  Here students are working together on a task, trying different strategies.  Pearce writes, "The overall effectiveness of the lesson is closely related to how well this part is planned."  As students share out what they discovered in the inquiry part of the lesson, the teacher guides the discussion to help students make connections.  In the last section, consolidation, students are applying all that they learned in the inquiry and making connections sections to more typical required math problems.

Notice that the organizational models above emphasize a constructivist approach to teaching.  What about "those days!"  As a math teacher, you know the ones ... the ones where you have to teach the nitty gritty steps to the "skill of the day."  In Algebra 2 there are LOTS of them!  Will those models work on that day ... yes, possibly.  For example, setting up the explore or inquiry to examine patterns and make conjectures leads students to be ready for the rules that you plan to explain.

And so you ask ... were does the traditional Hunter model of lesson planning fit in math class.  There may be days when the concept requires direct instruction.  The Hunter model has these seven parts:  Stated Objectives, Anticipatory Set, Input, Check for Understanding, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, and Closure.  Here I would emphasize the "anticipatory set" as setting the stage for why.  It could be a short enroll/engage/explore/inquiry.  All of the Hunter parts are included in the previous descriptions of lesson planning.  It's just where the emphasis is placed that makes the difference!

How do you build lesson plans?  What organizational structure do you use?

Pattern Explorations #MTBoS30 - 13

We started our last unit today.  We have completed all of our required standards.

The district curriculum guide suggests that we delve into sequences and series.  Since there are no required standards, I have the opportunity to structure more exploratory activities in the unit. Students will study the typical sequences and series concepts/skills in their next math course (precalculus).

I borrowed from Jo Boaler's YouCubed Week of Inspirational Math, Henri Picciotto's work, and an NCTM Student Explorations (What Shapes Do You See, Jan 2012) to blend together five exploratory lessons.

1. Number Patterns
2. Growing Shapes
3. Patterns in a Triangle
4. Staircase Sums
5. Averages and Sums

As we process students' explorations each day, we will address these concepts:

• The difference between an arithmetic and geometric sequence
• The difference between a sequence and a series
• The difference between convergent and divergent series

We will leave the formulas and details for next year's unit.

Today was day 1 ... and it was a lot of fun!  I wish I had audio recording or pictures but I don't.

First students completed a short exam review learning check with partners.  I loved hearing the buzz in the room as partners convinced one another how to find the solutions asked.  (We are reviewing a small set of questions in each class for the next 2 weeks).

Then I gave a brief introduction to our new unit.  I gave them copies of the visual numbers from Boaler's lessons.  Students got excited when they realized prime numbers were represented by a circle in the visual number display.  Other students were stymied at first - one said, "I just see a bunch of little circles."  I overhead students arguing over how to represent the number 36.

They did a great job with the consecutive number sums.  They caught on quickly when they were allowed to add negative numbers and zero to the patterns.

Only the hundreds' chart patterns slowed them down a bit but it was hilarious to watch light bulbs ignite as they realized the patterns.  Then they argued how to write those patterns algebraically.

I am pumped to see what happens in the future lessons!  Love that we get to wrap up the year with explorations!

Re-engaging / Sharing / Quizlet Live

It's been too long since I last posted.

Spring fever
Allergies
Spring break
Kitchen remodel
the Stuff of life

I've been lurking ... reading Twitter, catching a blog post here and there ... but feeling like there really isn't much to write about.  But here goes anyway ...

Since the last post we tackled radical functions focusing on square root and cube root problems.  Then we explored exponential and logarithm functions, first graphically, and then algebraically.  We are testing tomorrow on solving exponential and logarithmic equations.

Activities included ...
M & M lab for illustrating growth and decay

• Lab Instructions
• Data Analysis

Desmos activities for building visual and conceptual understanding

• Growth and Decay
• A New Inverse
• Transformations

Two person games

• Dots and Boxes
• Five in a Row
• We Have a Match

Plenty of paper/pencil practice, including application problems.

But the new thing we tried was a new online game ... Quizlet Live.  Have you looked at it yet?!?  It's not just fun, it promotes team collaboration, engagement, and practice.

• First I put together 12 log/exponential equations and their answers.  Quizlet has it's own math type.
• Next, I clicked play live.
• Student join the game using a code.  It's what happens next that makes it different from Kahoot, Quizizz, and so on ... 
• Quizlet puts students in teams.  At this point the room breaks out in a bit of pandemonium and students find their teammates and get ready to work.
• When the game starts, all students see the same question, but on each team member's screen there are different answer choices.  Only one team member has the correct answer.  All teammates work together to solve the problem, finding the answer on one of the screens.
• And the race is off.
• But that's not all ... if a team misses a question, they are sent back to the start.  Now it's not helpful to just guess.
• After the game, you can review the questions that students missed.
• It's high energy, high involvement, fun practice.
• Here is a link to the log equation practice:  https://quizlet.com/_2719sm

I also put together a Quizlet Live game on finance vocabulary - one of the emphases in our solving log/exponential equations.  After listening to students work through the vocabulary I can see how Quizlet Live would be specifically helpful in vocabulary studies.

I'm working on a Quizlet Live game for a year-end review.  I haven't tried it out yet ... but here is the link.  You can adapt it for your own class.   https://quizlet.com/_27kq42

Just FYI ... I have a free membership to Quizlet.  Right now the use of Quizlet Live is free.  I hope it remains that way!

We are winding down.  Students will work on a data analysis, line of best fit project and explore sequences/series briefly before the end of the year.

I hope to share their projects ... we'll see how it goes.

Radical Unit Planning

Maybe because I have an early case of spring fever ... after all it's 70+ degrees in February ...
or
Maybe because I have the winter doldrums ... don't the days between January and March seem very long ...
or
Maybe because it just isn't my favorite skill to practice ...
I'm struggling to pull together plans for our unit on Radicals ... but plans are coming together thanks to math bloggers!

In our unit we have to address inverse functions, transformations, writing radical expressions in various forms, solving equations, and applying the function to word problems ... pretty standard for each of the functions we examine.  Our district sets a timeline ... it's 6 class days, each class is 90 minutes!

Here's my plan so far ...

Day 1 Inverses
We did inverses early in September ... so this will be a review day emphasizing domain and range.
I plan to use a Desmos teacher created activity to facilitate conversations about inverses.  I'm using J Orr's What's the Point with minor modifications and S Carranza's Practice with Inverses - again with minor modifications.  Students will practice pencil/paper style to follow up with the online work ... filling in a table of functions, their inverses, and their respective domains/ranges.

Day 2 Attributes & Transformations
We will explore square root and cube root functions on this day - noting their attributes - comparing them to the functions we have already studied.  We'll also work on transformations using Desmos - again, borrowing from S Carranza's work, Transformations of Square Root and Cube Root Graphs.  I'm planning stations for class practice.

Day 3  Rational Exponents and Radicals
I don't have this day totally mapped out but I am excited to use K Belmonte's radical catchers in class!  I think the students will enjoy creating the foldables and make the practice a bit more interesting.  Speed dating is in the works as well!

Day 4 Solving
I'm planning for this day to be mostly practice.  I will provide a few examples, but I know students learn best when they do the work.  I'm looking at a scavenger hunt, a tic tac toe game, or a row game ... decisions!  All of the activities I'm considering we can do in pairs to promote math talk and peer coaching.

Day 5 Applications
I have a few good problems, well-constructed ones.  I'm thinking students will create posters to solve and explain their thinking.  I need more structure for this day for sure!

Day 6 Review
I'll use daily data to determine how best to organize this day.  We typically use games for about half the class period and paper/pencil review for the other half.

Tomorrow I'll create the outlines for each day ... goals, activities, and practice!  I'm almost there ... with a little help from my friends.

They created their own Quizizz!

We are wrapping up our unit on Rational Functions.

First we studied their graphs!
We learned about asymptotes (ditches) and removable discontinuities (holes).
Students able to analyze the key attributes of rational functions.

Then we jumped into the simplifying and solving.
We learned how to find common denominators.
We learned how to apply rational functions to a variety of word problems involving rate ... travel rate, distance rate, cost per person, mixture rate.

Instead of my creating a game for students to review, I asked students to create their own Quizizz game.  They created accounts, developed 10 problems, determined thoughtful multiple choice answers, and uploaded those.

They came to class armed with their Quizizz links!  I grouped desks together, and invite them to share their games.  They played for 40 - 50 minutes.  They swapped codes, advertised their codes on the board.  The conversations were lively.  They checked each other's work; complained when they found errors; got excited when they scored well on games.

After playing I asked students about their confidence level on the math skills.  I also asked them if they enjoyed creating their own games.

Their test is Tuesday.  I'm concerned about their confidence levels.  I've provided review documents, videos, and will provide a study prep session before school.  I realize that the data showing is just a few students - but the average is only about 3 out of 5.

Students reported not enjoying putting the Quizizz test together.  They said it was a lot of work.  It's the last week of the marking period and students were feeling the pressure from many courses.  Timing wasn't great.  If I ask students to create a game again, we will definitely work in teams on the assignment.  We might also develop a problem or two after each lesson so students aren't having to create a game from scratch at the end of a unit.

As I work Tuesday's test this weekend, I know we have prepared well.  In my mind this is the more difficult of the units we study; the more abstract; the more challenging.  

Somehow I want to help students with their confidence levels.  How do you do that in your classroom?

#ExploreMTBoS2016 An Ordinary Lesson

The "Explore MTBoS" challenge is to blog a lesson.  I chose to report on today's lesson.  It's a skill lesson - adding/subtracting rational expressions.  We've analyzed graphs, discussed asymptotes and holes, and we are going to work on application problems in a few days... work, travel, cost, mixture, and inverse variation.

But in the middle of graph analysis and problem solving ... we have to learn the skill of adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing expressions and solving equations.  We'll only spend 2 class periods on these basic skills.

This is one of those less glamorous lessons.

Today I have leftover popcorn from a fundraiser at Saturday's academic competitions.  I invite students to scoop out a cup and munch while we work.  I tell them I hope that every time they smell/taste popcorn in the near future they remember how to find the LCD of a rational expression.

My students are 9th and 10th graders - not too far removed from the middle school - so I ask them about their feelings towards fractions, and how they learned to add fractions.

I give them the problem, 1/6 + 4/15, and ask them to tell their neighbor how they found the sum.

I factor the denominators ... and then I launch into a story about my neighbor.  The story is borrowed directly from George Woodbury.  By the third class, I guess I get good at it ... they are hanging on every word ... and clap when I make the connection to the fractions on the board.  Later I hear them talking about the upgraded model of the grill (x + 4) vs (x + 4) squared as they are finding sums.

Then we jump into ClassKick, my favorite iPad app.  I've prepared slides for taking notes.  On those slides I demonstrate step by step how to add/subtract rational expressions.  The students follow along, working the problems with me.

Then I provide 2 slides with problems worked out with errors.  I ask students to find the errors, and then check in with their neighbors to see if they agree.  If they don't agree I encourage them to talk it out.









In these error problems we discuss the excluded values.  We've already studied asymptotes and holes so students are familiar with the concept of excluded values.  I ask students, "Why are values are excluded from the addends?"  I ask again - would those values be excluded even if the simplified sum was not affected by the values?









Next we stop for a couple of minutes of reflection.  What is the muddiest point for you?  Or on what step are you have the most difficulty?  And on a scale of 1 - 10, what is your confidence level at this time?

It's at this point that students' actions diverge depending on their confidence levels.  On the next slide I give them 3 videos I found online that explain adding/subtracting rationals.  None of the videos are long ... just one problem each.  I tell students that if their confidence level is less than a five, I want them to watch at least one video, and all three if they prefer.  Then move on into the class practice.  For others who rated themselves high on confidence they begin working on the class examples. Differentiation is based on students' perception of their understanding.




As students work on the class examples, I give simple "sticker" feedback electronically or help them at their desks as requested. Students who chose to watch a video get started on the problems a few minutes later.  Some students finish early and are asked to either help others or work on their BrainGenie goal which reinforces the skill.  I monitor student progress visually from the ClassKick projection showing everyone's work, and also specifically as I tour the room.




Overall the lesson went well.  Students will need more practice ... and that's difficult with our schedule.  I'm hoping they choose to do the 10 problems I assigned for homework.  I won't grade them ... I gave them worked out solutions.  They know they'll complete a learning check in the next class on this skill.

I wish I had had one more reflective time at the end ... has your confidence level improved with this practice today?

Exciting times in Algebra 2.

Quadratics - equations and graphs

I'm organizing Unit 3 online using Google Sites.

Even though students already have access to all of our class documents, I wanted an arrangement of the Unit that was easily accessible, organized by lessons, and provided quick access to notes, links, and activities.

In this unit we will try a few new things.

1. I planned a card sort using Padlet.  Carla, from the Padlet support team, helped me think through the card sort.  I'll blog about it next week after we try it out!
2. I planned notes that students will complete after adding them to their Google Drive.
3. We will use an applet to experiment with completing the square.  It does not run on the iPads.  I need to double check that it will run on student laptops.

While I created some materials, some are definitely borrowed from MTBoS folks online.  The front page of the unit is a Match My Parabola set of activities by Michael Fenton.  I used a few pictures from Dan Meyer's Will It Make the Hoop work in a Desmos activity.  I also used a portion of Sam Shah's complete the square activity.

The website or unit, rather, is a work in progress.

#MTBoSBlaugust 8 Ideas Percolating

Something I read/learned this summer that intrigued me…

I read Make It Stick again this summer ... and this time, I'm hoping it sticks! Last summer I read it, was excited about it, but I didn't act on what I had learned.

This summer is different.  I read and discussed it. Pulled key ideas out.  Created a couple of classroom posters.  Beginning to think about how to address homework.  Ideas are percolating in the back of the brain.

In preparation I need for students to interact with the content of Make it Stick.

I've seen Julie's lesson plan ... very nice!

And Pam's and Meg's handouts! Awesome!

I have ideas and materials ... now I just need to put it all into a format that fits our class.  I know I want students to interact with some video and text, think their own thoughts, discuss those thoughts with others, and create something. Still refining the purpose/goal.

My to-do list keeps piling up :)  I'm beginning to feel the familiar tension between urgency and  procrastination.

#70 Days Why spend time with Tackk this week?

I had some time this week to work on lesson planning.  It's mid-July, and school will start soon enough.  Training days, classroom setup will take a lot of time.  I want to have head start on planning.  Our team met in late May to outline the first unit so I've been fleshing out those plans.

I decided to try out Smore, Versal and Tackk after having seen them illustrated in a recent seminar. What intrigued me about all three of these tools is the organizational pattern, the flow of the screen, and the functionality of one link!

My students have laptops assigned to them - they carry them to and from school.  Additionally we will have an iPad cart in the room for the first time.  

Last year I used Google Classroom ... or at least I did for the last six weeks last year.  It can be very beneficial in delivering, organizing, and collecting student work.   

So what about Tackk?  Here are some first thoughts ... understanding of course that this is summer planning, not school-tested yet.

1. I can organize all parts of a lesson in the order that we will use them in an attractive scrolling format.  That means I can put notes, video, Desmos, Padlet, Kahoot, Socrative ... all the tools we will use in one tool ... with just one link.  Once students link to the Tackk, they have access to all the other tools with a click.
2. I can upload the Tackk's one link to Google Classroom - all students have access to all the parts of the lesson. 
3. Tackk can be embedded on the class website, in a blog; the link can be sent to parents who want to know what students are learning.
4. It's easy!  I assemble the lesson parts in a folder.  Then I insert, upload in Tackk and publish!

I have one more lesson in our first unit.  I can't wait to try it out in August!

Here is a list of the Tackks for unit 1!

TACKK is no longer available ... ugh!

#70 Days Reflecting on lesson planning in Tackk

Posting lesson 3 in the series on our unit on absolute value functions.

While we have taught a similar unit in the past, it is new that we will lead with this unit this year.  I believe the thinking behind starting with this unit is that we will review linear functions in the process.  We will follow the unit with systems of equations.

I have spent the past week playing with organizing this unit in Tackk.  Tackk was new to me until I went to iPadpalooza this summer.  Many presentations were in Tackk or Smore.  Benefits including needing only one link to access the whole presentation; various media can be embedded including interactive media, and it's easy to publish.

Someone asked if I would use this everyday ... I don't know but quite possibly.  Benefits in my classroom include less paper copies, all parts of the lesson organized for student access, easy to share online, and perfect for students who are absent.

In lesson planning I have a few goals ... plenty of math talk, collaboration, problem solving, short quizzes, student reflection, and less teacher talk.  I'm looking at these first four lessons to see what areas I need to strengthen!

TACKK is no longer available - UGH!

#70 Days Day 4 with Tackk

Loving the ease with which I can organize the parts of a lesson in Tackk.  Since we are a 1:1 classroom, having an organizational tool that all students can access is nice!  I can also envision much less paper copies.

The lessons may still need tweaking but I find it helpful to start putting them together to see what I need to work on.

I had a lesson example here for you but TACKK is no longer available - UGH!

#70 Days Lesson Planning Comparing Examples

#EduRead has been discussing Make It Stick by Peter Brown.  The conversations online have been fascinating, full of great ideas, thought-provoking questions, and more!

Tonight the big issue was "giving notes."  Do we provide too much information in giving notes?  In giving notes, are we doing the thinking for the students?  When should students decide for themselves what notes to write down?

In a previous chapter, we noted a key strategy for learning that sticks is to compare/contrast examples.  I made this note that night:  "What’s happening in these two examples?  How are they alike?  How are they different?  What rules or procedures can you identify as essential to both?"

It was a "just-in-time" discussion because I've been working on lesson plans for our first unit: absolute value functions and solving equations/inequalities.  I decided that instead of giving notes, I would give sets of 2 worked out examples and elicit procedures from students.  Tonight I put that idea in a Google presentation.  I may upload it to Nearpod ... thinking about using it as a guided homework assignment so that we can spend class on inequalities (trickier) and extra practice.

Here is the Google version ... and always, your feedback is much appreciated.

#70 Days Lesson Planning and Tackk

My second lesson in Tackk ... experimenting with this organizational tool.  I like that I can put all the parts of a lesson in one stream.  The lessons may still need tweaking but I find it helpful to start putting them together to see what I need to work on.

If you have feedback, please share in the comments!

So sorry but TACKK is no longer available, UGH!