Set The Hook.
Follow me:
  • Home
  • Fishin' Solo Blog
  • MTBoS
  • Table Talk Math
  • The Classroom Chef
  • Would You Rather...?
  • Meet the Fisherman
    • Resume
  • Flipping 2.0
    • Flipping Your Classroom
    • Troubleshooting a flipped classroom
  • Choose Your Own Assessment
    • Student Work Samples
  • Apps In Class
  • Pre-made Math Lessons

Back To School: Barbie Zipline 4.0

1/30/2018

0 Comments

 
If you are unfamiliar:

Folder with all planning documents and handouts that I used.
Desmos Activity Builder (thanks to Andrew Stadel for helping to make it better)
Reflections from the previous year.
Reflections from my first year.
Collection of all reflections.

A little while ago, one of the teachers in my district emailed me, and let me just say that there are two words that will get me fired up in a hurry: Barbie Zipline. Yep, her students were finishing a unit on Pythagorean Theorem and the Distance Formula, so this was a natural fit. The downside is that my new role makes it nearly impossible to do something without 2 months notice. MAJOR bummer. The good news was that she did it last year and felt comfortable taking the risk alongside one of the teachers who also did the lesson last year. 

If you were to go back and read the reflections from previous years, there is a lot of growth, a lot of second-guessing, and a lot of improvement. I think that this time, the biggest improvement was that I didn't have to be there. Because of a meeting I needed to attend, they started without me, and I was merely a cheerleader and instigator, going around and asking students if they thought a trial was safe and fun. No? Why not? Yeah? How come?

The only minor change we made was that, instead of using fishing line, we used yellow mason line on a windup handle because it doesn't have nearly the same elasticity as fishing line:
Picture
As you get more comfortable teaching something, you can find new ways to tweak it, improve it, and own it. The two teachers who took the reigns certainly did that. 

​I didn't need to be there, but I wasn't about to miss it. I mean really, who doesn't want to see a crash like this?
Oh, and the photographers' creativity.
Picture
Like Matt and I talk about in The Classroom Chef, there is something amazing about going outside and taking a risk. Escaping the four walls of normalcy opens you and your students to more opportunities that I wouldn't miss for the world.

Happy "Zipline Bobsled Team" Fishing
0 Comments

Bringing Parents To The Table

1/9/2018

0 Comments

 
By now, you know about my work with Table Talk Math. You know that I am passionately working toward supporting parents everywhere with accessible ideas, prompts and conversation starters that will help them help their children succeed in math. You know that I am a firm believer that if we can empower the parent community to take risks with mathematics, it will have positive effects in our classrooms and, more importantly, our communities. 

What you didn't know is that, through all the work I've done, I had never hosted a parent workshop in my own district... until now. When my district's director of community relations, who is already someone who's been in my corner for quite some time, saw that I was doing things outside of my district, she jumped on the opportunity to have me come in and help.

We settled on a couple dates to host two parent math nights. Oh wait. Parent math nights. You've done those. They're common... right? 

Yes, parent math night, but unlike the ones we typically do. My main beef with the standard math nights is that they are filled with games, manipulatives, and prompts that cost money, take time to set up, and are not readily available to our parent community that struggles with math themselves. 

Enter: The #MTBoS and Table Talk Math

Scattered throughout the room were a variety of prompts from Estimation 180, Visual Patterns, Which One Doesn't Belong, Fraction Talks, Would You Rather, SolveMe Mobiles, and Open Middle. The biggest help of the whole evening was that I had a student representative at each station who could help the parents and their children understand the question. It was incredible to see how quickly the students took on the role of teacher and embraced it! Thanks to Matt Vaudrey for pointing out a tweet from Jeremiah Reusch on the idea.
I started with a little keynote-style opener to empower parents, but the majority of the time was spent with them working, solving, math-ing, and talking a lot. There were plenty of smiles, some ah-ha moments, and the feeling that Hey, I can do this! In fact, one parent had this to say:

"I was worried about coming because I've been before and felt like an idiot when I left. Thank you for making me feel like I don't suck at math and giving me things I can try with my son. He struggles and I see that I can do things to help. Thank you."

Recently, I had a moment where I really doubted the work that I'm doing. Am I effective? Is any of this benefitting anyone? After thinking about the math nights, I have to believe the answer to these is a firm yes, even if I'm not seeing the benefits in person.

Resources for Math Night:

Visual Pattern 1
Visual Pattern 2
Visual Pattern 3
Visual Pattern 4
Visual Pattern 5
Fraction Talk 1
Fraction Talk 2
Fraction Talk 3
Fraction Talk 4
Open Middle 1
Open Middle 2
Open Middle 3
Open Middle 4
Would You Rather 1
Would You Rather 2
Would You Rather 3
Would You Rather 4
Estimation 180 (a variety of prompts, chosen by student helpers)
SolveMe Mobiles (starting at #3, then letting them explore and challenge)

The next time you run a math night, I would love to help, wehether it's a giveaway for Table Talk Math books, a few ideas to bounce around, or just to hear what you have in mind. Thank you for bringing math to the table!

Happy "Parents Can Enjoy Math, Too" Fishing
0 Comments
<<Previous

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Author

    Math nerds tend to have a reputation for being math nerds.  I'm here to continue that trend.

    For more blog posts, click HERE

    Picture

    Archives

    August 2021
    April 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from timlewisnm, leppre, KristinNador, Jarosław Pocztarski, Martin Pettitt