Annie Forest

On Monday my husband and I went for our 20-week doctor appointment and ultrasound.  We both agreed that we wanted to know the gender.  For me, the more planning I can do, the better!  I'm just not laid back enough to wait the whole 9-months to find out, but I understand people that want to and I admire their patience! The ultrasound went great, the baby looks healthy, and we found out we are having a GIRL ! :)  We would be excited either way, but there is just something about knowing the gender that makes it feel a little more real. Baby Girl Forest I've already included my students in this life event and they even have made their gender predictions.  Some of them have been asking me for weeks when they could find out because they just couldn't wait any longer!   I wanted to do something special for my Excel (homeroom) kids to reveal the gender when we got back to school on Wednesday (school was closed on Monday and Tuesday because of below 0˚ ...

I was recently emailed a question from a teacher who attended ICTM Conference in October and came to my workshop.  His question was this: "Our district is deciding on what to do for Math next year. Going with a state curriculum guide or buy some sort of textbooks.  I am curious what you guys are currently doing or suggestions that you have." Here is my answer: For this year we are using the ISBE Model Scope and Sequence (you can download from their website).  This is not an endorsement of this curriculum map, however it has it's good features.  More than anything, we felt it was important to just pick a map and try it out knowing that we might want to make changes in the future.  I would suggest not trying to "reinvent the wheel" when it comes to a map before trying it out.  Save yourself the time and frustration and choose one and go for it.   I would not suggest buying new curriculum materials just yet.  Of course y...

Getting bigger! 20 weeks!  Halfway there!

There are so many good online resources for practicing using the Pythagorean Theorem. I felt my students were ready for some practice, so I put together this webquest.  I suggest doing an introduction lesson first.  Also, I did a few simple problems as a class so everyone could see how to solve for the length of the hypotenuse and then also how to solve for the length of a leg. Pythagorean Theorem Webquest and Raffle After each step, raise your hand to show Mrs. Forest that you are finished to claim your raffle ticket. 1.  Do t his lesson about Pythagorean Theorem 2. Next, answer these questions . 3. Now you are ready to play a game.   Click here to play the first game . (You only have to play once) 4. Click here to play the second game . (You have to get 12 home runs to be finished) 5. Last step!   Click here to do the word problems .  (You have to get a score of at least 30 to be finished) To spice things up a bit, I had students ...

When I came across this post by Elena Aguilar it made me think.  In the first paragraph she states that, "if we slow down, we'll have more opportunities for reflection."  I love this because I think that reflection may be the most powerful tool in becoming a better teacher.  Reflection is something you can do no matter how long you have been teaching and it almost always leads to a positive change. picture from here Reflect on a lesson... next time you'll keep the good stuff and make other stuff better. Reflect on how you handled a situation with a student... you'll have a better idea of what to do next time. Reflect on an assessment... you'll know if it was giving your the feedback you desire. Reflect on a meeting... you'll know how better work with your peers next time. Reflect on how much you are reflecting... now you are just getting crazy.  Or are you?  When I reflect on my reflecting, I realize that I'm leaving little time for it...

This lessons is not a new idea... I've seen it online lots of places.  But here is how I organized it and it worked well, so I thought I would share. First, cut out squares using graph paper.  Have a baggie (I love ziploc bags for organizing) for each pair of students.  In each baggie I put 2- 3x3 squares, 2- 4x4 squares, 2- 5x5 squares, 1- 12x12 square, and 1- 13x13 square. Next, I had students create an isosceles triangle using a 2- 5x5 square and 1- 3x3 square.  We discussed that this is a isosceles triangle AND an acute triangle.  I then told students that we would be working with only right triangles today.  I challenged them to create 2 right triangles using the squares I provided them.  I gave them some work time (this took about 10-15 minutes).  With the squares they have, they are able to create two: 3-4-5 and 5-12-13. I walked around and answered questions and helped students that had misconceptions (a commo...

We all know that not every online activity or game is great.  Some are, some aren't. Here is a good one for percent I found last year when I was teaching 6th graders.  The CCSS for 6th grade has a lot of work with percent!