You know you are a middle school math teacher when...

-
I love teaching middle school.  The students are a little weird, yes.  But they are also dynamic, silly, caring, and fun to teach.



That being said... there are a few things that make this job pretty unique.

You know you teach middle school math when...

1.  You tell people what you do for a living and they react with disbelief and/or sympathy... then they go into a long story recounting their math education and that mean math teacher they had in 7th grade.

2.  You change math problems so that "69" is never the answer.  Ever. (6th graders tend to discover that this word is "funny" towards the end of the school year.  7th/8th grade, it's always "funny")

3.  You dread probability problems that involve different colored balls.  What is the probability of students laughing when you ask about the probability of choosing a blue ball?  100%.

4.  You have ever had a female student write their name, not as Crystal Gonzalez, but as "Crystal Bieber."

5.  You do a problem that involves squirrels and acorns, like this POM, and you are VERY careful to say acorns throughout class.  Don't even think of saying nuts.

6.  In no other job is it normal to say things such as, "please stop rolling around on the floor," "stop poking him with your pencil," or, "stop chewing on that piece of plastic."  That's normal for me.  That's called Wednesday.

7.  When using variables in problems you avoid using the letter "p."  Students find it so funny hearing their teacher refer to "pee" in math class.

8.  A problem like this makes kids giggle.  Two circles next to each other with dots in the center? Pure middle school humor.

Oh my, a lot of bathroom/body part humor.  What can I say?  I teach middle school math!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Valentine's Day: I Heart Math

-
Image
If you teach middle school, brace yourself for the craziness that is Valentine's Day celebrated at school tomorrow! Heart shaped suckers, teddy bears, chocolate, and a few (hopefully minimal) tears. Instead of fighting it, embrace the mathiness that can be squeezed out of this heart-filled holiday! Here are a few resources to use: 1. Send a Math-o-Gram . Love math? Love Desmos? You can send your students (or friends) a heart themed graph! 2. Make a Mathy Valentine Use transformations to rotate your way to your students' hearts. 3. Check out these other heart-shaped graphing activities I found these NCTM Illuuminations graphing actives a few years ago. 4. Graph this equation in Desmos : (this was a fun one for my 6th graders... just to figure out how to type in the correct symbols!) 5. Mobius Strip Hearts ?! Yes! Happy Valentine's Day! <3 Update: More Valentine's Day Activities Added: Early Childhood Ideas: Spark a Lov
Read more

What to do during the last days of math class?

-
Image
Here is my criteria for what makes good mathy activities for the end of the school year: -no/low tech (we have 1:1 devices, but the last few days of school usually mean all devices are turned in) -still incorporate math or problem solving in some way -fun and engaging video credit:  http://sci-toys.com 1. My favorite activity is one I've done every year. Kaleidocycles . When I first starting doing them, over 10 years ago, I had to figure it out on my own. Now, there are tons of online tutorials (check youtube) to explain how to color, fold, and glue. You can also check out my blog post about making these . Kid love them, trust me. It's been my go-to activity for the last two days of math class for years for a reason! :) 2. 5x5 Game. Check out Sara's blog post about the rules . She calls it "the most amazing game" and I trust her judgement. :) I haven't tried it yet, but I'm leaving it as sub plans for the last days of school becau
Read more

Lesson Idea: Combining Like Terms

-
Image
I haven't written about a lesson idea in a while! While talking with an 8th grade teacher today, I was reminded of a lesson I've done in the past about combining like terms. I wanted to write a quick post to share and also so that I can have it saved to refer back to. The lesson begins by showing this clip: The kids always laugh and enjoy the silliness of it. When it keeps going, I hear a lot of "You gotta be kidding me!" and "ugh, how long is this going to go on?" Perfect. I feel like I'm creating the controversy (create the controversy, Dan Meyer suggests is a first step) After the video, I talk about a simpler version of this same idea. Me: What if I ordered 5 hamburgers, 3 orders of fries, 6 hamburgers, and 2 more orders of fries. Is there a better way to order that is less confusing? Students: Yes! (they are almost frustrated with me!) Put the hamburgers together and the fries together. Me: Oh, so if I wrote ((write on the board:
Read more