0 What's On My Classroom Walls

So, we're supposed to write a blog post about what's on the walls of our classrooms.  And when someone tells me to do something, I usually do it.  Except when I don't.  Like when Kate asked us to post about why we blog.  I meant to do that, but I never got around to it.  Sorry Kate!  And, I never did my Day In The Life post either.  I wrote down everything I did for a day, but I'm pretty sure those notes are long gone...  Or, back circa 2009, I got tagged in one of those 25 Random Things About Me posts on facebook.  I was supposed to write my own list of random things.  I put it on my to do list, but it's 2014 and still undone.  Oops...  Maybe I should write a list of random things about myself to put on my About Me page.  Adding to my to do list right now.  Maybe it'll get done within the decade.  :)      

Seeing as my summer has already started, my decorations are all taken down for the summer.  I know some of you are still in school.  Don't hate me!  I counted today, and I have 86 days left until school starts back up again on August 14th.  And, I have so, so, so much to get done before then!

Classroom Decorations In Preparation To Be Packed Away

Though my decorations have been packed away, I did manage to find photos of most of my wall decorations to share.

The northwest corner of my classroom had two posters - Nelson Mandela and an aerial shot of a field that was cut/plowed/I don't know what you call it to look like a vase of flowers.  I picked up the aerial photograph poster at a garage sale for a quarter.  The Nelson Mandela Poster was in a set of three free posters that I received from The Foundation For A Better Life.  You can request your own set of three free posters and a dvd here.  

Posters in NW Corner of Classroom

On my cabinet, I posted Truth Signs and various mathematical posters that I printed off the Internet.  You can download the Truth Signs here.  

Posters on Storage Cabinet

Along the top of my dry erase board, I posted the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practice in kid-friendly language.  I downloaded these from Everybody Is A Genius.  Above those are posters I downloaded from NCCTM.  

Posters on Dry Erase Board

This year, I made one of my bulletin boards into a wall of pride.  I wanted to create a place for students to post things they were proud of.  I guess I didn't do a very good job of explaining this because hardly anything got hung up there all year.  It soon became more of a place to hang lunch menus and fliers.  I did hang up a few things that students colored or made for me.  And, during the last month of school, I did have a student make a snowflake and hang it up on the wall of pride.  Yes, a snowflake in May.

I also have two flags in my classroom from my alma mater, The University of Tulsa!  Go Golden Hurricane!

Wall of Pride Bulletin Board

Snowflake

One of the first things students look at when they walk in my classroom is the daily and monthly celebrations that are posted below the date.  I look up the crazy holiday celebrations here.  The date is always written as a math problem.  This drives my students insane.  Some will ask me the date in an effort to get out of solving the problem on the board.  When they do this, I will read the problem directly off the board in response to their question.

Date and Daily Celebration on Dry Erase Board

Below the date and holidays, I post a quote of the week.  These consist of posters I have downloaded off the Internet and posters of math quotes I have created myself.  You can download the posters I created here.

Quote of the Week

One of my bulletin boards is rather unfortunately placed behind two lovely pipes.  It's certainly not ideal, but you have to learn to live with things like this when you teach in a building that's been around since 1919.  This was a new addition for this year.  Students earn their name on a star by scoring at least an 85% on a unit test.  Since I've started dipping my toes into the waters of SBG, I'm not sure how to modify this or if I should even continue this.  My students loved it.  They love seeing their names up on the board.  My students from my first year of teaching were really mad at me for introducing this because they never got to have their name up on a star when they were in my class.

Star Students Bulletin Board

Above my SMART Board, I have a banner that reads, "Welcome to Class."  I picked it up at Wal-Mart in their $0.88 bin two years ago.  This past year, I added left/right posters.  I was shocked at how many of my high school students have trouble differentiating between left and right.  Next year, I want to add cardinal direction posters as well.  Our school likes to make announcements such as, "There will be a senior picture at 11:30 on the south steps."

Welcome to Class!  (And, Left and Right Reminders)

This year I took one of my bulletin boards and used it to post some free Texas Instrument calculator posters that I received at a workshop.  Since my district doesn't have TI Smart View, and I can't use my Smart Board and my document camera at the same time, these come in handy to show students where various calculator buttons are.    

Calculator Posters

As the year progressed, I added friendly reminders for frequently used calculator buttons.  

Adding Helpful Reminders to Calculator Posters

Behind my desk, I have several free posters that I received from the AMS.  You can request free posters here.

Math Posters Behind Desk

I also have a Mona Lisa poster behind my desk with a reminder to smile.  Somedays, I really need this reminder!

Mona Lisa Poster

At the back of my room, I have a bulletin board that I planned on changing out monthly.  Well, I put up Pascal's Triangle in August, and I took it down in May.  So, that plan failed.  Maybe next year...

Pascal's Triangle Bulletin Board

One of the best things I hung up in my classroom this year was a number line.  It was a great help to me in my teaching and my students while they were working.  For example, I taught slope as change in y over change in x.  If the y value began as 3 and ended as -5, students could locate 3 and -5 on the number line and visually see that there was a decrease of 8.  My students do not come to me in Algebra 1 with strong integer skills, so this number line is a lifesaver.  My students have requested that I make them individual number lines next year to keep in their notebooks.  My special education students especially need this because there is no number line available to them if they go and work in the resource room.  Though, I guess I could print off another copy of the number line and gift it to our special education teacher.  I may just do that!  If you want to print your own number line poster, I wrote a post about it here.

Printable Number Line Pieces 

Here's my number line up in action.  With more free posters above it.  Can you tell I love free posters?  :)

South Wall of Classroom with Number Line

On my door is one of my favorite classroom decorations.  I found this on pinterest, and I modified it to be about math instead of science.  I have posted the file to make this here.

Door Decoration

Below my SMART Board, I have various problem solving strategy posters displayed.  I didn't emphasize these as much as I should have this year.  Problem solving strategies are going to be a major area of emphasis for me next year with the transition to Common Core, though.  You can download these problem solving strategy posters here.

Problem Solving Strategy Posters Below Smart Board

Outside my classroom door, my parents built me a bulletin board to hang stuff on.  They also built all the other bulletin boards in my classroom.  Let's just say my parents are super crafty, do-it-yourself people!  Here, I post my name, room number, and subject taught.  I also added math comics and a poster I picked up at Target, I think.

Bulletin Board Outside Classroom Door

These posters are hung up on a wall that I amazingly never photographed in my classroom.  I got them for free from WeUseMath.org.

More Free Math Posters

Hanging from my ceiling, I have modular origami made from sonobe units.  By the end of the year, my students are always very excited to finally learn how to build their own origami projects.

Origami Hanging From Ceiling

I try to display student work to inspire other students, but I haven't done the best job of it.  This was one of my student's projects during my first year of teaching.  My students this year loved looking at it and using the handles to make the reporter move.  When students would ask where the pencil sharpener was, I would always explain that it was by the television.  "But, but, but there's not television in here!"

Student Projects On Display

My aim is to have a classroom decor that is bright, colorful, inviting, and inspiring.  My students notice what is on the walls.  They see things and ask questions.  Creating a beautiful classroom environment is just one way I can show my students how much I care.  Our students come to use from a middle school that is less than five years old.  When they come to our almost hundred year old building, the difference is evident.  By taking the time to make my classroom a home of sorts, I am communicating the effort I am willing to put out and the effort I expect my students to put out.  Plus, I spend 8-12 hours a day in this room.  It needs to be a place that makes me smile!

View of Classroom From My Desk

Over the course of the year, my students add their own touches to the decor.  They love to draw pictures on the dry erase boards and post them for the other classes to see.  Here are a few pictures of boards that have found a home in my classroom this year.  I usually leave them up for a few weeks before erasing them.  My students always get mad when I erase them, but if I didn't, we wouldn't have any boards left to solve problems on!

Student Artwork

Student Artwork

Student Artwork

Student Artwork

Since my classroom is small and has less wall space than I would like, I have also taken to hanging things on the wall outside my classroom.  Here are some posters that my students made to review the process of factoring polynomials.

Factoring Difference of Squares Poster

Factoring Difference of Squares Poster

I also hung up my statistics semester projects on the wall outside my classroom.

Statistics Poster Project

Statistics Poster Project

Statistics Poster Project

So, there you have it.  This is what adorned the walls of my classroom this year.  Could it be better?  Of course!  I'm already working on plans for next year's classroom decor.  I've bought some new posters.  I also picked up the cursive alphabet to hang up.  Hardly any of my students can write in cursive.  It's becoming a scary world out there!  I'm also thinking about posting the greek alphabet.  That would have come in super handy in statistics this past year.  But, I figure we can find a way to use it in trig next year, too.

Detail: What's On My Classroom Walls

0 Drawing Pictures: Reflections on Problem Solving

The more I teach, the more I learn.  Eventually, I'm going to become pretty great at this job.

The summer before my first year of teaching, I made a set of problem solving strategy posters to hang on the wall.  My first year of teaching, these posters had an entire bulletin board dedicated to them.  I would occasionally reference them in class, but I didn't really do anything substantial with them.  

Problem Solving Strategies Bulletin Board

This summer, I redecorated and rearranged my classroom.  In order to make room for a Star Student bulletin board, I moved the problem solving strategies to a new home underneath my SMART Board.

New Home for Problem Solving Strategy Posters

I don't even think most of my students ever even noticed that they were there.  Again, I did nothing more than post them on the wall.

If I really and truly want my students to develop their problem solving skills, I have to do more than just post the strategies.  I have to make them do the strategies.  I have to make them practice the strategies.  I have to remind them of the strategies.  But, it's more than that.  I have to give them challenging problems that will force them to utilize the strategies.  If I'm not challenging them, if I'm not holding to them to a high standard, then it's pointless to even post the strategies.

This year, I opted to skip the unit on ratios and proportions in Algebra 1.  Under Common Core, ratios and proportions will be a middle school unit.  And, I knew that my students had seen these types of problems in middle school.  Since this is the last year of testing our old standards in Oklahoma, students were asked several problems involving ratios, proportions, and percents on their end-of-instruction exam.  During our few weeks of EOI test review, I threw these ratio/proportion problems up on the board to see how my students would handle them.

Here's one of the problems I chose from questions released by the Oklahoma Department of Education:

At a candle store, the ratio of green candles to red candles is 2 to 5.  The store has 4,900 candles.  How many candles are red?

This is a tricky question.  When students see that 2 and 5, their gut instinct is to make a ratio out of them and then form a proportion.  4,900 isn't the number of green or red candles, though.  It's the total number of candles.  So, we need a ratio that deals with the total number of candles.  We must represent the ratio of red candles to total candles as 5/(2+5).

Knowing that students were likely to be tripped up by this problem, I urged them to draw a picture before performing any calculations.  It was a simple request.  It was a request that I should make more often.

Draw me a picture.

A.K.A. Use a problem solving strategy!

And, don't just use it.  Use it, and then show the class how you used it.

Oh, you used a strategy but ended up doing something incorrectly?  Awesome!  You just provided me with insight to your thought process, and it's an excellent learning experience for the class.

I didn't realize just how powerful that question would be until students started holding up their dry erase boards with their pictures.

Let's just say that the way I approached this problem and the way many of my students approached this problem was differently.  When I asked for a picture, I had a certain picture already drawn in my mind.  So, when students started holding up pictures that were unlike what I expected, it was an awesome experience.  I had to grab my camera and document this experience!

I wasn't expecting a circle graph.  But, it works!  And, I almost wish I had thought of drawing my picture like this.

Circle Graph

Another student thought in terms of writing the ratio using a colon.  Many students in the class could relate to this.  Again, it wasn't what I was going for.  But, that doesn't make it a viable picture.

Ratio

This student also used the colon format to write their ratios.  She has made the common error that I predicted upon picking out this problem.

Ratios

Of course, some students drew pictures that were creative but not exactly mathematical.

I present to you: Sherrie's Candle Store

Picture of Candle Store

When I drew my picture on the board, I drew two green candles and five red candles inside a lovely store.  (You can tell me just how awesome of an artist I am in the comments!)  Realizing that red and green candles were the color of Christmas candles, I changed the name of my store to the "Christmas Candle Store."

Next, I drew the sideways squiggly bracket, and I asked students how many candles were represented by the picture I drew.  4900 candles.  How many candles did I draw?  7 candles.  So, how many actual candles must each drawn candle represent?  700 candles!  Once this discovery was made, my students were quick to point out that the correct answer was (d) 3,500 red candles.  Why?  After a satisfactory answer was given, I drew the circle graph that one of my students had drawn on their board on the SMART Board.

What if your picture looked like this?  What would you do next?  We walked through the same solution process using a different picture.

Illustrating the Question

Why have I never done this before?  I draw pictures on the board all the time.  But, I don't have my students do the same.  I've been cheating them out of a learning experience by drawing the picture for them.  I've been cheating myself out of a learning experience by not letting them draw their own pictures.  I guess I've always been afraid that their pictures would be wrong.  I've been afraid that they would make mistakes.

This stops now.  Will they make mistakes?  Certainly.  Mistakes are how we learn.  I've always thought that, but my actions haven't been reflecting that in my classroom.

I'm currently reading a book on how to organize my house/life by setting up daily/weekly/monthly routines.  Maybe the best thing to come out of this book was a quote from the author's husband's geometry teacher: "Anything worth doing is worth doing wrong."

Do I really believe that?  Do I teach like that is true?  Because it definitely is.  And, I need to make this my mantra.  If a problem is truly worth doing, then it is worth it for my students to do it wrong.  There is something to be gleaned in the process of analyzing errors.

To try next year:

Problem Solving Strategy Gallery Walk

1.  Pick an awesome, thought-provoking problem for which the answer is not immediately apparent.
2.  List various (applicable) problem-solving strategies on strips of paper.
3.  Let each student draw a strip of paper.  Give them 3/5/10 minutes to apply that strategy to the problem.
4.  On a sheet of paper, they must illustrate how the strategy can be used.  However, they CANNOT solve the problem.  They should draw the picture, make the table, write the equation.  They should not answer the question.  That will come later.
5.  Hang the papers around the classroom.
6.  Give each student 3/4/5 post-it notes.
7.  Students must walk around the room and leave constructive feedback on the strategies employed by their classmates.
8.  Once feedback has been given, group students by strategy.  All of the students who drew a picture sit together.  All of the students who made a table sit together.  All of the students who wrote an equation sit together.
9.  Each group takes the feedback provided by their classmates and works the problem together, coming to a singular solution.  (Students may work problems individually first and then come together for a group solution.)
10.  Each group presents their solution and explains how they used their problem solving strategy.

Why I think I will like this:
* Emphasis on multiple avenues available to solve a problem
* Students giving students feedback - there's not enough of this in my classroom
* It will force me to ask more deeper, more complex, more thought-provoking questions

Thoughts?  Feedback?

I realize that problems are going to take longer this way.  We might spend an entire 50-minute period on one question.  But, is that a bad thing?  I've spent the last two years rushing through class period after class period to make sure I "cover" everything.  No wonder they forget everything from the first semester by the time the end of year test comes around.  Students learn and internalize what we dwell on.  And, problem solving strategies is something I need to dwell on.  Few of my students will ever factor polynomials or graph exponentials as part of their daily lives.  But, they will all face problems that need to be solved, and they will need tools to help them sort through the many options available to them.  If they leave my classroom as critical thinkers and problem solvers who persevere until a solution is found, I have done my job.

Detail: Drawing Pictures: Reflections on Problem Solving

0 Linear vs Non-Linear Functions INB Pages

Daily, I am learning how to be a better teacher.  I know what worked well for my students last year.  And, I know what didn't work so well.  Last year, I assumed that if I taught my students the definition of a linear function, they would be able to apply that definition and use it to find the missing value of a function.  I assumed incorrectly.  Last year, I taught my students the vocabulary, but I didn't give them the practice they needed to be successful with this type of question on our end-of-instruction exams.

I decided this year was going to be different.  Instead of spending 15 minutes discussing linear vs. non-linear and then moving on, we spent an entire class period working with linear and non-linear functions.

We started out by creating a frayer model for linear functions.  I provided students with the definition and characteristics.  They worked together, as a class, to create their own examples and non-examples.  In almost every class, one student would suggest that a vertical line was an example of a linear function.  It was a happy teacher moment for me when another student would realize and explain to the class why the vertical line belonged in the non-example box.  Student propelled discussions are awesome!  I need to have more of them in my classroom.

Linear Function Frayer Model for Interactive Notebook

Next, I gave my students a sheet of problems to cut apart.  The first thing we looked at was a set of tables.  Students were tasked with determining if the table represented a linear function or a non-linear function.

This was the perfect opportunity to use color with a purpose.  Students used one color of marker to find the rate of change between the first two lines in the table.  Students used a different color of marker for the rate of change between the second and third lines in the table.  And, they used a third color to find the rate of change between the third and fourth lines.

In retrospect, I should have given my students more of these tables to practice with.  But, we moved on next to some practice EOI questions.  These are the questions that I had just assumed in the past that my students would be able to solve on their own.  We practiced finding the pattern / rate of change.  And, we extended the tables as necessary to find the requested values.

I'm really glad I printed these questions off and had my students glue them in their notebooks.  This allowed students to write all over the questions without having to worry about copying down the questions.  

Interactive Notebook Pages 1-2: Linear vs Non-Linear Functions

Is this teaching to the test?  Yes.  But, I think it's more than that.  This is me equipping my students with tools that they need to be successful.  Students have to be taught to organize their work.  They need to see different ways to approach problems.  As we worked through these problems together, discussion naturally happened.  In some classes, a few students would realize that we could take a short-cut that would keep us from having to draw extra lines on our tables.  Part of the class would use the short-cut.  The rest of us would write out the process, step-by-step.  We would compare answers and discuss why the short cut worked.  

Last year, my students would panic when they would see problems like this.  This year, they view them as a sort of puzzle that they have the tools to figure out.  I view that as a win! 

Interactive Notebook Page 3: Linear vs Non-Linear Functions

If you would like to use these same problems with your students, you can download them below.  If you have trouble accessing the embedded files, please send me an e-mail.  I will be happy to attach them and send them to you!

Detail: Linear vs Non-Linear Functions INB Pages

0 Math Teachers' Circle Reflection

I've been busy, busy, busy lately!  I've got a lot of recent classroom action that needs to be shared, but it will have to wait.  I promised @pamjwilson that I would blog about this, and I try to keep my promises!  :)  But first, I have to share a picture of a flower that one of my students brought me.

A Gift From A Student

 
So, Thursday, after school, I was in my classroom.  One of my Algebra 2 students from last year is currently taking Pre-Calculus at our local technology center, and I was tutoring her.  As we were working on determining the end behavior of functions, another student came bounding into my classroom.  She presented me with this pipe cleaner flower and said, "I made this flower for you because you're so bright and cheery like this flower."  I was smiling until I heard her say "Not really" as she skipped back out of my classroom.  It's the thought that counts, right?  

On Thursday night, I joined @druinok for the inaugural meeting of the Tulsa Math Teachers' Circle.  This was a new experience for me, and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.  I had done some reading online about math teachers' circles, but everything I read gave me the impression that each circle is unique.

We met at my alma mater, the University of Tulsa.  I saw several of my math professors from college at the meeting, but they introduced themselves to me like we had never met before.  Our evening started off with a lovely dinner.  I sat with @druinok, two lovely ladies who teach middle school math at a local private school, and my former Calc 1 TA from college.  Over dinner, we discussed what each of us taught and shared some funny stories about what life is like as a teacher.  We also were reminded of what a small world it is that we live in!

Our session was facilitated by Judith Covington, a math professor at LSU Shreveport.  She is a member of the North Louisiana Math Teachers' Circle, and she did a great job of introducing the concept of a math teachers' circle to us all.  The main focus of the night was learning to play the game of SET.  I had heard about this game via several blogs, and I had even tried to teach myself to play once using the Daily Set Game.  That lasted about fifteen minutes before I gave up, frustrated.  So, I was excited to finally learn how to play.

Three out of the five of us sitting at the table were experienced SET players.  Thankfully, these three ladies did an amazing job of being patient with the other newbie and me.  They did exactly what a good teacher should do.  They gave us time to look for sets on our own.  They would tell us when they found a set, but they didn't point it out.  Each time they did point out a set, they would take the time to explain how the number, color, shading, and shape were either all the same or all different.  When we pointed out things that weren't actually sets, they used it as a teachable moment.  What card would you need to make a set with those two cards?  And, slowly but surely, I think I started catching on.

My Very Own SET Game!  

I think it's going to take me a long time to be able to identify sets efficiently, but I at least understand what I am doing now.  Friday morning, I completed my first Daily Set Game.  It may have taken me 12 minutes and 36 seconds, but I finished it all by myself!  I think this is going to become part of my morning routine when I get to school.  If I record the amount of time it takes me each day, I wonder what type of function would best model it?      

After playing the game for a while, we turned our conversation to how the game relates to mathematics.  Our facilitator led us through a great exploration of how SET can be used to teach geometry.  We defined points, lines, planes, and hyper-planes using SET cards.  I have to admit, I got a little lost when we started talking about hyperplanes.  I was reminded once again why I teach algebra and not geometry!  Still, it was so refreshing to spend time exploring and discussing mathematical concepts with other mathematically-minded people.  The evening was most fun and intellectually stimulating.  More information on the mathematics and geometry of SET can be found here.

This brings me to the most important thing I learned about math teachers' circles.  These Circles are not meant to be a gathering of teachers to discuss the best way to teach factoring or share lesson plans.  Instead, the purpose of these meetings is to engage teachers in actually doing and discussing mathematics.  If you learn nothing that you can use in your own classroom, that is fine.  As teachers, we require our students to problem solve.  We continually present them with new material and ask them to grapple with it.  Yet, how often do we do that?  How often do we explore math problems that we don't automatically know how to solve or even approach?  I know my students are amazed by my ability to look at 7x + x - 3x and determine that the expression can be simplified to 5x, but performing that process requires no real mental effort from me.  This summer, I spent 16 days at various conferences, learning how to be a better math teacher.  And, I learned a lot.  But, I'm also excited for this monthly opportunity to just do math, whether it applies to what I am teaching or not.  I hope that I never forget what it feels like to struggle through a problem, to persevere, to try different approaches.

I <3 Nerds Pocket Protector Courtesy of OSSM

Other highlights of the evening include my very own pocket protector!  I also got to meet one of my blog readers which was very cool!  I know that when I write something on here that I am putting it out there for the entire world to read.  But, I'm still amazed to know that others actually read and use what I share!  I also stopped by Dollar Tree while I was in Tulsa.  I picked up these awesome neon starbursts.

Neon Starburts from Dollar Tree

        
When I bought them, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to use them for, but I knew I had to have them.  I ended up buying three packages.  On Friday, I decided that these starbursts were the perfect size to write reminders of what various buttons on our calculators do.  This was definitely inspired by this pin!  I can't tell you how many times I have had to explain how to type in an exponent on our calculators since school started.  I doubt this will solve the problem, but maybe it will help at least one student.  So far, I have put up calculator reminders for my Algebra 1 students.  I'm still debating on what buttons to focus on for my Algebra 2 students who are using TI-Nspires.

Calculator Button Reminders

Detail: Math Teachers' Circle Reflection