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Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2013

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Lesson Idea: Combining Like Terms

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: 5h + 3 f + 6h + 2f)),…

Precious Little Snowflake

Ask a teacher what skills they want their students to have before they leave them for the summer, and more often than not, the list will include more social/emotional skills than content. I've done this exercise in PD sessions before and things like responsibility, respect, citizenship, collaboration, and kindness top the list. Most teachers really just want what is best for kids. I love that about this profession!

Becoming a parent has given me even more of a desire to reach every kid and help them along in their journey to becoming great people. My friend, Jackie, recently blogged about this when she wrote: What Becoming a Mom Taught Me About Teaching. As she says, "everybody is somebody's baby." She says sometimes it makes us softer and sometimes it helps us stand firm ground when we know we are doing something that is best. I agree!

I know that my kids still have a few years before they enter school, my daughter is two and my son is a newborn! However, I've …

Seeing Math Everywhere!

Math is everywhere! As a math teacher, I feel like I'm thinking about math often. But there are some latest inspirations that keeps math on my mind ALL THE TIME. I see math in almost everything I do!

My first example of inspiration is "Math Photo Challenge," a summer photo taking challenge for math-minded Twitter peeps (not on Twitter? check out the website). Each week there is a different theme/challenge. It's a great way to see the math in your everyday life.

The collection of pictures from everyone is also great images to use in your classroom in the fall. You can show pictures and ask your students what they notice/wonder. Or you can use pictures for specific standards and ask students what problems they can come up with that match the image. I'm even thinking about how I can have my students use their iPads to take pictures with a different theme each week so they are inspired to see math everywhere just like I have been!
Here are a few examples of my pictur…

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Merry Christmas!

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