No Hatin'!

I've had a great year so far. I've been super busy with school work and trying to change how I do things on a daily basis (which if you read this ever, hopefully you've seen that). My classes are good; I'm really enjoying my precalc kids and the Algebra 1 classes have their ups and downs (don't all freshmen?).

I'm normally laid back - unless kids are disrespectful - and like to have a good time in class. I think the kids see that. I've formed good relationships and the kids feel comfortable in here. But I'm not a pushover.  At least that's how I see it.

I use pizza boxes to set up barriers between the kids while they take tests and quizzes. They're not big fans and say it always makes them hungry to stare at the pizza.  The kids have taken to write little comments on the boxes (grrr). The other day while I was putting them away I saw this:

Honestly, that bothered me. Is treating the kids like humans a bad thing? Should I not show interest in their lives? Should I not ask how their weekend was or what plans they have for their birthday? Should I not try and laugh and joke and basically make my day more enjoyable?

And then, of course, I tried to figure out who would've written it.  It's a girl. It's probably one of my precalc kids (because the Algebra kids love the attention).  That narrows it down to about 35.  But then, it doesn't really matter. It's not going to change who I am or how I deal in my classroom. If me saying hi and asking how someone's day has been makes one person feel better, then it's worth it to me.

I ain't gonna worry about the haters out there. 

:)

My Weekly Tags (weekly)

• Day 65 – Using Algebra 2 Students to Remind AP Calc Students How to Factor « BOWMANIMAL180

  Day 65 - Using Algebra 2 Students to Remind AP Calc Students How to Factor http://t.co/LnkFYhFY

• Representing Polynomials FAL & Open Card Sorts « the radical rational…

  Representing Polynomials Formative Assessment Lesson & Open Card Sorts http://t.co/6P4o2nkR

• Lesson Planner Resource #made4math « the radical rational…

  Lesson Planner Resource #made4math @noraoswald http://t.co/BixRjWuq

  tags: made4math

• Drawing On Math: PreCalc: Semester 1

  New Blog Post: PreCalc: Semester 1: As midterms are this week, we have reached the halfway… http://t.co/bjjzTLht

• 12 Digital Tools To Implement Exit Slips - Edudemic

  @Fouss Not sure if you saw this or if I already shared but thought you'd be interested: http://t.co/hc20UkQu

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Update on Quote Board

So two weeks ago (during exam week) I re-did the boards at the side of my room.

Here's the before and after:

I decided that I was going to put up a quote every week and give the kids a chance to give me feedback. Here are the options I gave them:
1.  What do you think this means?
2.  Do you agree? Disagree?
3.  How could this apply to your life?
4.  Find something out about the source.

They were to write their response on a post-it and stick it to the board. To help encourage some participation I offered one "bonus buck" per week.  That's quite a motivator for these grade-hungry kids.

The results?  They love it. Here's this week's board after one class.

I also created a "Tweet Me" board just for fun. I'm putting up a prompt for them to respond to -  this week's is #ILoveWinterBecause.  And they definitely had some opinions!  (I'm going to take down the one that a boy put up about girls wearing yoga pants.)

So that's a good thing.

#Made4Math Monday

So this isn't too mathy, but it's a cute AND EASY way to make a scarf!  (Plus, it's called an infinity scarf, so that counts, right?)

I saw a friend of mine at church wearing a green scarf yesterday that I loved... she said that she had made it (and she's not crafty) and had found the directions on #pinterest.  So this morning I rounded up a couple of old tshirts that I knew would never be worn again and gave it a shot.  (Just so you know, I chose not to use my favorite NKOTB shirt from high school. Gotta save it for 80s day at school!  Or 90s.)

It's really easy. You cut across the shirt to cut off the arms and cut along the bottom to get rid of the hem. Then it's just a matter of cutting horizontal strips about 1" wide, leaving a margin of an inch or so.

Once you've done this you pull on each loop, which stretches it out and curls it up. Gather the non-cut section together, tie it with a piece of the shirt (I cut it from a sleeve) and voila!  Done.  These directions might help you out a little more.

Here's my girl with a finished product:

And because we had time, we ran over to the closest Goodwill store to buy a few more shirts (pink, orange, green, and blue). Can't wait until they get out of the dryer so I can make some more!  (I've got this one in mind, too.)

I'm not a scarf-wearing girl, but I think they look so cute when other people have them on!  I think it's all about having the confidence to pull it off.  I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow!

My Weekly Tags (weekly)

• Ms. McCullough's Math Class: Global Awareness: Fractals

  Ms. McCullough's Math Class: Global Awareness: Fractals http://t.co/1HSJmRi6 at the heart of African design. Eglash's TED talk.

• Even and Odd Functions - YouTube

  #PAPPreCal Video homework http://t.co/0ZTiZZj1

  tags: PAPPreCal

• A Great Twitter Cheat Sheet for Teachers ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

  tags: Twitter

• http://www.lphs.org/export/sites/lphs/CalculusandStatistics.pdf

  tags: ap stats calc precalc

• I hope this is real. http://t.co/6cEF0Pcg

  I hope this is real. http://t.co/6cEF0Pcg

• Dropbox - Math Comics - Simplify your life

  @Fouss @ScottKeltner @5teve6rossberg @algebrainiac1 Help yourself: https://t.co/RndhQKtw

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

New Students

A new girl moved to school and started school this week. It was actually pretty good timing because this is the first week of the semester, so we were starting new notebooks and the transition was pretty easy.

She moved to Ohio from Texas, although from what I understand she's originally from Louisville (her grandma is an art teacher at my school and gave me a little background info).  This girl was taking pre-AP classes at her old school and has been placed in our honors level courses. Seemed appropriate.

We were finishing up our Linear Systems chapter this week; before exams we got through solving via graphing and substitution, so all we had left was elimination and inequalities.

The girl didn't have her homework on Monday, which didn't give me the best first impression. Now don't get me wrong; she seems very nice and is pleasant (and quiet, which is a nice change from some of the kiddos in here!) but it didn't get her off on the right foot work-wise.  On Tuesday it seemed that some of the kids were having issues with the elimination (a lot of it due to those pesky negatives) and I gave them some more practice.  With just a short amount of time left in class she approached me and said, "I don't get this. Can you walk me through it again?"  I understand that she's new to school and just getting used to us, but I really wished she'd spoken up earlier and had more time to get help.  The girls she was sitting with did help her out some, so at least that was a good thing.

On Wednesday we graphed systems of inequalities. Because we've already graphed inequalities, this was just the next step of comparing two on the graph to identify the doubly-shaded region. I went through a couple with the kids and let them start practicing. Again, near the end of class she approached me and told me she hadn't graphed equations of lines so wasn't sure what to do to graph the inequalities.

This surprised me. After finishing the first semester of Algebra 1, she hadn't graphed lines?  I'd love to see the curriculum she was working with this fall.  She'd only left me a couple of minutes, so I showed her how to graph something in slope-intercept form, talked about when to use dotted vs solid lines, how to know what to shade, and when to flip the inequality.

I didn't check homework yesterday so I don't know if she persisted in it or not.  But at the end of class yesterday she asked where she could get some extra help. (We have math teachers every period of the day as tutors, plus an after-school thing on Tues/Thurs.) She sounded interested in the after-school sessions, though she's an aide for her grandma and could use that time also.

So, today was our quiz.  Right before we started, she came up to me and asked if she could take it on Tuesday instead. She said that with moving and starting school this week she didn't have a chance to study last night.  I'm not one to give kids extra time like that, but I have a feeling it was more academically-based than what she told me. I told her yes, but this is the only time I'd allow it.

I'm wondering if this girl's been placed in the correct class.  Aside from missing some material in the move from state to state, I'm wondering if she's the type of kid that is going to do something about it.  I guess time will tell!

TRIG IDENTITIES!!!

We started simplifying trig expressions this week in precalc. This is only my favorite stuff all year.  I know it starts out difficult for many of the kids (especially because they're just learning their identities) but after a couple of days in I've been really happy with the discussion I've heard.  They work SO WELL in their groups that I'm ticked I didn't do this last year.  And a few of the kids have even admitted to me that they kinda like these kinds of problems!

(When we went over the first assignment, I asked the class what we should do for a particular problem.  At the exact same time, two girls said, "Cry."  I had to admit it was pretty funny.)

I think some of the kids get frustrated with simplifying because they see that it's so easy for me, so the first day I tell them why. Aside from the fact that I think these types of problems are fun, I also have spent two weeks a year, three times a day, for the last 15 years working these problems. I would hope they'd be easy!

Today one of the kids decided I needed a challenge so he found a problem online to give me.  Here it is:

I admit to having no clue where to begin. I thought about power-reducing formulas and half-angle formulas and got nowhere. Then I tweeted the problem and got some help from a bunch of people who decided that it wasn't actually an identity. After tweeting at the student, he gave me the link to the problem where I discovered that you're given that a + b + c = 180.  So that changes things.  (I'll use that as my excuse tomorrow).  But many thanks to Steve, Glenn, Marshall, Nik, Matt, and David for trying to help a girl out!

It led me to an idea, though. I'm thinking maybe I'll have the precalc kids come up with what they think is a tough identity to simplify and see if they can stump me.  I tried something like it last year and got some good results, but I didn't incorporate the "Stump the Teacher" challenge.  We'll see.


The best moment of the day came in my general Algebra 1 course 7th period. There's a girl in there who is from Cambodia, and she's honestly amazing. She knew very very very little English when she started in August, but her math skills were (luckily) great and she did awesome. She's the perfect student: she does her homework every night (and usually does extra problems), she is always concerned about why she gets a problem wrong, and she is able to laugh at herself when she does something silly.  (Actually, it's usually an "Oh my goodness!" reaction.)  But today she walked into class as I was talking to the special ed teacher who's in here with me. The girl said something to me that I didn't catch, so I asked her to repeat it. Her comment?  "Mrs. Fouss, you look beautiful today!"  Oh my gosh, how sweet!

(This is what she did for our last homework problem today... think anyone else in this class would've had an inkling of what she was doing?! I felt bad because it was just  "read the graph" problem and she went way beyond. That would certainly be a language issue.)