Back-to-School Freebie

Ohhh August.  Almost time to go back to school.  It's bittersweet.  I love the summer - time off with my family, time to skydive (my favorite activity!)... But I also love my job.  

Every year I think about how I want to start.  This is my 17th year teaching, and I've probably started 17 different ways.  I don't like to spend class going over the syllabus because I feel like the kids spend most of their day doing that.  I want some sort of activity where they can talk with each other, and I can walk around a get a sense of how they work together.  We can talk about the class on day 2.

Two years ago, I made some back-to-school logic puzzles (aka systems of equations in disguise...shhh!).  I felt good using them with my Algebra 2 Honors kids, but I'm pretty sure they'd be fine for kids at a lower level.  You can print them out as task cards or hang them around the room and use it more as stations.  

Here's the first page:

Check out the full download here for free.

If you use it, let me know how it goes!

Limits Partner Problem Freebie

When I start out the year with my AP Calc AB class, I always quickly review limits.  The expectation at my school is that they are comfortable with limits from Precalc, but I still feel like we need to review.  Gotta brush off those cobwebs...  I tend to do a super quick review as a class (think one of each kind of problem) and then throw the kids some problems to work through on their own.  My favorite way to do this is with partner problems.  I talked about them a bit in my last post, but here's some more info and a freebie to try out.

I LOVE partner problems.  I love creating them and using them in class.  The kids each get different problems, but they should arrive at the same answer.  What I love most about this is that if they don't agree, they have to check each other's work to figure out where the mistake is.  I also always make sure the kids have access to both sets of problems so they can do the other set as extra practice if they want.  The best is listening to the convos the kids are having as I walk around the room.  

Here are partner A's problems:

Download the full activity for free here.

If you use it, let me know what you think!

Special Right Triangles Guided Notes

I've thought a lot about using guided notes in class.  Selfishly, I love them.  Sure, they take time to create but I'm a planner.  I like walking into class with a general path I will follow.  Sometimes we detour depending on student needs, of course.  But guided notes keep me on track.  I especially love them in classes like AP Calc where I have to get through a ton of curriculum and in Geometry where there are so many diagrams.  Using guided notes is faster than having the kids write problems down themselves.  They are also helpful for our less-than-organized friends.  

That said, I also understand the need for kids to learn how to take notes on their own.  Being able to pick out important information and organize it for yourself is an important skill.  This is still something I'm considering as I go into my 17th year teaching.  

While I continue pondering how I can best serve my students, I did make a special right triangle guided notes set.  It's structured but leads the kids through discovering the relationships between the sides of the triangles.  Check it out, and let me know what you think about guided notes.

Algebra 1 Activities

I'm ever so slowly trying to add to my Algebra 1 activities collection.  I've worked on it here and there over the last year or so.  I really want to flesh it out this summer.  

I enjoy having my kids work through activities in class.  I want to hear them talk about the math and make connections together.  Sure, they need independent work too, but I like to spend most of their time working in class collaborating.  One of my solutions to combining the two - independent work and collaboration - is partner problems.  The kids work in partners.  Each student has different problems, but the answers should be the same.  Then if they don't agree, they can go back and work together to figure out where the mistake occurred.  

I just added compound inequality problems to my collection of partner problems.  

I still have so many more topics to cover.  Little by little I'll reach a full range of Algebra 1 topics!  What do you think I'm missing?

Marking Diagrams in Geometry

This past school year I taught a geometry class for sophomores.  I've taught geometry many times previously, but not since pre-pandemic times.  My classes this year had a lot of personality and energy, but we still needed a way to practice the basics and for the kids to get feedback as they went.  After all, there is only one of me!  

My solution was to create a "Marking Diagrams in Geometry circuit".  What is a circuit?  It's sort of like a scavenger hunt but all on paper at their desk.  Students begin with question #1.  They solve that problem and then look for the answer on their worksheet.  When they find the answer to question #1, they label that problem #2 and so on.  The answer to the last problem leads them back to #1.  I let the kids work in partners so they can discuss as they go.  Plus they know if their answer is incorrect because they won't be able to find it.  It allowed me to check in with the students who were really struggling while the others received feedback directly from the worksheet.  

Check out the first page:

I was pretty happy with how it all worked out.  If you want to check out the full resource, here you go!

Let me know what you think!