0 Classroom Pictures 2013

I finally got around to taking pictures of my completed classroom for the 2013-2014 school year.  If you've seen my pictures from last year, you will notice many of the same elements in different places.  I tried to reuse as much of last year's stuff as possible while still creating all new bulletin board designs.

My goal for my classroom is for it to be welcoming, colorful, and organized.  One of my students from last year came by to visit earlier this week.  When she walked into my room, she exclaimed, "You redid your room!  And you made it even MORE colorful.  I didn't even think that was possible!"

Warning - This post is FULL of pictures.  So, it may take quite a while to load!

My Problem Solving Posters from last year have found a new home underneath my Smart Board!
You can download these posters here. 

This bulletin board is right outside my classroom door.  The poster at the top is from the dollar section at Target!

I reused my door decoration from last year, but I added a cute polka-dot border window cling that I found at Dollar Tree.  You can download the door decoration here. 

The Wall of Pride is based on a photo I saw on pinterest.  The idea behind this bulletin board is that students are allowed to post anything that they are proud of.  Last year, I had lots of students bring me pictures they had drawn.  This year, I wanted to have a designated place to hang these.  And, I'm hoping that students will post other things that they are proud of as well.  

Of course, my room would not be complete without my University of Tulsa flag!  

Aren't these the cutest hall passes?  And, they're MAGNETIC!  

The special education teacher gave me this poster to post daily homework assignments on.  I definitely need to find different magnets to hang this because it falls down multiple times a day...

I'm pretty excited about this pink cart!  I picked it up at a yard sale this summer for $10.00.  If you look closely, you will see that it still has the labels from the previous owner.  I haven't exactly got around to changing them yet.  This cart holds notebook paper, graph paper, protractors, bingo chips, index cards, and other random stuff that needs a home in my classroom.  

I also picked up these two basketball net shaped trashcans this summer.  My students were very quick to notice these and get excited!   

Mini-Trash Cans to use when we are cutting lots of little things out.  I'm hoping that if I set these on the tables, students will throw their trash in these instead of the floor.  

I'm trying out a new system for absent work this year. Blog post to follow!  

Handy Dandy Magnetic Holders for My Dry Erase Board

New and Improved Dry Erase Grid.  I did a terrible job of keeping last year's grid updated.  I'm hoping that since this one has less information, I will be more apt to change it on a daily basis.  

Every day, I write the date as a math problem.  My students HATE this.  This year, I am also posting a holiday each day.  I found an Internet site that lists all of the crazy, wacky holidays and what day they are on.  So, each day, I pick the most interesting one and post it for my students.  I'm still not sure how many students have actually noticed this.  I have had a few conversations with students who were extremely confused about why the board said "Sneak some zucchini onto your neighbor's porch" day.  

For the Quote of the Week, I am using quotes I have already printed and laminated!  These quotes are stored in the back of my absent work box for easy access.  I've learned that there are never enough hours to get everything done in your classroom so it is important to make things as easy as possible on yourself.  

Right Hand Wall Upon Entering - Number Line Posters; Common Core I Can Statement Posters; Math Posters, 

I downloaded and printed these great posters of the Standards of Mathematical Practice in kid-friendly language from Everybody is a Genius. 

Supply Table at Back of Classroom with Wire Organizer

Mini Dry Erase Boards - These are the most used item in my classroom!

Dry Erase Markers and Erasers (The foam hair rollers work remarkably well!)  

Glue Sticks and Scissors

Highlighters and Markers

Rulers

A box of colored pencils for each set of desks

Pascal's Triangle Bulletin Board - Last year, my college algebra students searched for patterns in Pascal's Triangle and attempted to design their own triangle.  I laminated their results.  

Truth Signs - Download here

Bookshelf at Back of Classroom

Filing Cabinets

The Window of Calculators

Projects from last year that I couldn't bear to throw away

My Wall of Windows

My Mom started this plant for me.  I wonder how long it will take me to kill it???  Let's just say gardening and plant-tending is not one of my skills.  

Assignment Turn In Tray

One of the free posters I got in the mail this summer

More Math Posters 

Calculators Bulletin Board

My Growing Collection of Mathematical Toys

Welcome Sign Above Smart Board (And a reminder of which way is left and which way is right...)

Star Students Bulletin Board - Students will have their name written on a star if they score an 85 percent or above on a chapter test.  Their name will remain up there until their next chapter test . 

View of Classroom from Door

View of Classroom from Desk

View from Front of Classroom

Detail: Classroom Pictures 2013

0 Reflections on a Future Lesson: Rationalizing the Denominator

I actually wrote this in response to the Week 1 topic of Walk the Plank Wednesdays.  I'm so excited about what I wrote that I decided to break my unintended blog hiatus with this post.  I actually have yet to read Teach Like A Pirate.  I'm hoping to get to it this weekend.  Most of my reading of late has been either Embedded Formative Assessment (amazing!) or non-school related reading. 

Note to self: attending back-to-back week-long math teacher conferences is inspiring and really, really draining.  I saw all kinds of really cool ideas that I want to blog about, but my motivation has been extremely lacking.  So, without further ado, I present: Why I'm Actually Excited About Teaching My Students to Rationalize the Denominator Next Year

Until I went to a Pre-AP Math Conference last week, I had no idea why it was customary to rationalize the denominator of a fraction. I never questioned the practice when I learned it in school. Last year, I simply taught my students that “mathematicians don’t like to have radicals in the denominator.” They complained and weren’t quite satisfied with that explanation.

Next year, I will introduce the concept of rationalizing the denominator by taking away my students’ calculators and providing them with square root charts like those found in old math textbooks. I will ask them to find the numerical approximation of 1/sqrt(2). After suffering through having to divide 1 by 1.414, I hope they will ask for a better way.

Then, we can talk about how a fraction remains equivalent as long as the numerator and denominator are multiplied by the same value. I will ask students what they think we should multiply the numerator and denominator by. Hopefully, someone will suggest that we multiply the numerator and denominator by sqrt(2). (Of course, I’m going to make my students try out all the other possibilities that are suggested, too. They are going to absolutely love me!) Then, we will use our chart to divide sqrt(2) by 2 or 1.414 by 2. This division problem is much, much nicer. Most students should be able to do this in their heads.

I can see myself bringing out the stopwatches and breaking the class into two groups. I will put an expression on the board that involves a radical in the denominator. The goal is to find the numerical approximation of the value. One group will solve the problem using the square root chart without rationalizing the denominator. The other group will solve the problem using the square root chart with rationalizing the denominator. What is the time difference? If you had a homework sheet of 20 problems, how much time would you save by rationalizing the denominator?

I want my students to see that rationalizing the denominator does have a purpose. Or, it did have a purpose in the days before calculators. Yes, in this current day of technology, we just type 1/sqrt(2) into our calculator and let it do the work for us. Hopefully, seeing the historical reason behind the mathematical process will help my students understand why we rationalize the denominator and the process will be more meaningful to them.

With Common Core and the increased emphasis on writing, I'm always on the lookout for creative ways to fit more meaningful writing into my math lessons.  Oklahoma's current Algebra 1 EOI features specific questions on rationalizing the denominator.  I think I will have students write a memo/letter/speech/etc to the State Department of Education expressing their toughts on whether students should or should not still be required to rationalize the denominator in light of technological gains.  I need to look into the Common Core Language Arts standards and pose this question in such a way that it matches what students will be required to write on their end of year test.

Detail: Reflections on a Future Lesson: Rationalizing the Denominator