Name Tents
These Name Tents from Sara VanDerWerf were a fantastic communication tool. I loved that I got to hear from every single student already! Some students left generic comments ("You seem nice. I think this class will be fun."), while others told me things they think I should know about them ("I have anxiety and don't raise my hand much.") or asked me questions to get to know me better ("Do you have any kids?").
I'm not exactly sure why this comment hit me so hard. I think it's because it reminds me that these eighth graders - the ones going through all the harsh and confusing changes of adolescence - are still just people who want to be liked, respected, and appreciated.
Getting to Know You Quizzes
The Getting to Know You Quiz comes from Sarah Carter. After taking a quiz about me, students wrote their own multiple choice quiz for me to take about them. They were really excited to grade them the next day. Some kids got a kick out of being able to tell their teacher that she failed; a few others were in disbelief when I managed to answer all five questions correctly. Many of my students circled the correct answers and gave me back the quizzes so that I could study!
100 Numbers Task
Another activity from Sara VanDerWerf is the 100 Numbers Task. I've used this before with great success and this year was no exception! One modification that I made related to the taking of pictures while students were working. I've never been clear on whether or not I'm allowed to take pictures/recordings of students for use in our class if a student's video/photo release form says that they are not to be photographed. So instead, I made a fool of myself walking around the room while the students were circling their numbers! I did lunges, patted myself on the head, did a few jumping jacks, spun around in circles - you get the idea. When time was up and groups shared out how many numbers they circled, I then asked them if they noticed the weird things I was doing as I walked around the room. A few students did, but the majority did not. I asked them why and they concluded that it was because they were so focused on the task. Bingo! I do wish they could have seen themselves all huddled together though.
Mathematical Autobiographies
After completing a district-required pre-assessment, I had my student complete Mathematical Autobiographies from Sarah Carter. This was another great tool for learning about my students. I've got some really talented kids this year!
Play Table
I think the Play Table from Sara VanDerWerf is going to be one of my favorite things this year! I love that it gives students something to do if they finish their work early that is not asking to go on their phone. It's been a huge hit with both my functional math class and my general eighth grade math classes. Here are a couple of this week's creations.
Plus a Name Tent comment from a student who used the table.
Which One Doesn't Belong?
WODB served as a warm-up for each of my classes. I love the puzzles posted on the website and the book is now on my reading list!
On the first day, I used it as a four corners activity. It was interesting to me that in my first class, every student chose 16 as the number that did not belong. My second class had students split between three corners and by the end of the day, I had students in each of the four corners of the room.
One of my students came up with a fascinating reason as to why the number 9 did not belong. He explained that the difference between 16 and 25 is a multiple of 9, the difference between 16 and 43 is a multiple of 9, and the difference between 25 and 43 is a multiple of 9. However the difference between 9 and any of those numbers is NOT a multiple of 9; therefore 9 does not belong. I love hearing the way my students think!
Still to come? I really want to try the Growth Mindset Paper Folding Challenge, but overall I'd say it was a pretty successful week!
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