Back to School: First Week (3 days) #MTBoSBlaugust

The calendar this year is perfect: teachers started a week ago Tuesday and students started this past Wednesday.  We had 6 pre-planning days and I felt very relaxed in getting stuff done.  I made myself available to help some of our new teachers get their rooms ready or answer any questions they had.

We had our Open House the Thursday before students arrived, so I got to meet about 90 of my 158 students!  Our school decided to have a mock school day for parents and students with 7-minute classes.  From a teacher stand point, this was a phenomenal idea.  Every year I find myself repeating the SAME THING OVER AND OVER as each small group came through my door.  I got to where I was giving them a shortened version of the speech.  This year, there was a lack of communication to parents about the schedule, so I still had some walking in at all times, even my mock planning period! LOL!  After the usual speech, I asked the parents to write one positive word about their child on a post-it note and stick it on my ONE WORD bulletin board.  Like my students, they were a little shy doing their first classroom activity!  Here's a pic...

I had an amazing 3 days with students this week.  Here is the assignment I wrote out prior to Open House (READ: things change!).  

For Bellwork, they had two tasks to complete: post-it note activity and name tent.  Wednesday's post-it note activity was to write ONE GOOD THING that happened to them today. They found it easy and I wanted to start on a positive note!  

The next task was to make a name tent and ask me a question or make a comment inside to turn in at the end of the period.  I took them home and wrote a comment on every single one that had written to me.  I got my idea from Sara VanDerWerf here.  I made mine have only 3 days.  I also printed dotted lines on the back so students could fold it a little easier.

After that, I had my students take the syllabus and a pencil and do a gallery walk around my room to read my posters.  They had to write down things they read that were important.  After they were seated, I asked each group to tell me something they read that was important.  This is a great way to go over the rules without droning on and on about things they aren't allowed to do.  Many of them noticed all my inspirational posters.  I really think this set the positive tone for my classroom.  

I was disappointed that I had to postpone the cup stacking activity.  I'll blog about it when we do get to it.  Last was the MATH IS... math tweet.  I have used this for a few years now (even though I wasn't on twitter myself!).  I got the idea from Math Equals Love (Sarah Carter).  I have to admit that I haven't read any of them yet!

Thurday's post-it note activity was to write ONE FACT they wanted me to know about them.

I had planned to go over Google Classroom with them and have them complete a SMART goal and WHO I AM (both on Google Slides).  Of course, first period I found out that I didn't have the correct naming convention for their new emails and the Google Chromebooks wouldn't let them sign in. Anticipating typical tech issues, I had those two documents printed out, thankfully!  Boring, but doable!

Friday's post-it was to complete the sentence IF I KNEW I WOULDN'T FAIL, I WOULD...

Regrettably, we didn't get to do the Formed Paper exercise, but I did get the right emails and they ALL WORKED!!!!!  That's a first!!  I went over Google Classroom and walked them through two assignments.  They completed a WODB individually in Google Slides and turned it in (see examples below).  The other activity was playing around with Geogebra, taking a screenshot and importing it into a Google Doc to turn in (see examples below).  They were then given a homework assignment.  It is a Google Form with a YouTube video embedded at the top.  They will watch the video, answer the questions and submit the assignment.  I set the Form up as a "Quiz" so it will be graded as soon as they turn it in.  Honestly, there is no reason for them to miss any questions because they can simply rewatch the video to answer them.  This is slight flip of my classroom.  Video notes are going to be given as homework, so students can watch as many times as they need to and have success on homework.

I've grade 4 out of 6 classes on the WODB assignment.  It is SO EASY to check it, assign points, write private comments if I want and return the work to them.  Plus, I don't have to lug two tons of paperwork home to grade.  There's some serious procrastination going on when that huge stack is on the table staring at me!!!!!!

I hope this next week and every week this year will be as good as last week!

Sorting Triangles Pre-Assessment

I have used the basics of this activity as an individual activity as well as a pair activity.  In the individual activity, each student received a copy of the sorting template and the 7 different types of triangles.  The sorting template was a half sheet that would be glued into their interactive notebooks.  They had to write in the two categories in which they would sort the 7 words and glue those onto the sorting template.  I would check their work before gluing it down, but some students glued first.

The pair activity was more successful with my students.  I only had to print and cut out 15-20 sets.  If they were laminated, they would last longer.  If not, students frequently wrote what they thought to be the correct answer on them.  Being a class set, this required me to reprint and recut to replace messed up sets or ones with lost pieces.

As I began planning for the upcoming school year, I found Google Classroom and digital interactive notebooks.  I knew this was for me because I love introducing my students to new useful technologies and it would save large amounts of money used in buying the paper, glue, tape, etc.

Students would work in pairs and decide which two categories into which these 7 words can be separated.  Each student would be responsible for completing their own activity even though they are working together.  Students will drag and drop each of the 7 words into the correct category.  Once that is done as a pair, students are to write their own reflection, explaining their reasoning.

SMART Goals Interactive Digital File

If you search for "SMART Goals" in Pinterest, you will find a huge selection of documents that you can use with your students to help them develop goals for each grading period.  Last year I designed a half-page document that students filled out and taped into their spiral interactive notebook.  Each 9 weeks, they would cut the tape and remove the goal.  They would fill in their reflection at the bottom and receive another one for the current nine weeks.  That file can be found here.

This year, I will be using Google Classroom to assign tasks for my students.  This allows me to create digital interactive documents in my Google Drive for my students.  With the digital interactive version, my students won’t need glue or tape and they will always have their “notebooks” with them as long as they have access to technology and wi-fi!  No more wasted money on excessive supplies or wasted time waiting for students to cut and paste.  Another advantage is that students can update their goal during the grading period.  In the paper version, it would be permanently written and glued down.

The digital version is available here in my TpT store.  Below is what the digital version looks like. Students will be able to click on each line to input information in the text boxes.  On the My Reflection page, student will move the red checkmark into the appropriate blank.

FREE Google Digital Interactive Basic Geometry Figure Activity

In a previous blog post (here), I wrote about a review activity I had created for my students to cut and paste into their spiral interactive notebooks.  This summer I am taking many of my old "paper" versions and converting them into "digital" versions.

You can find this activity here for free.  Please let me know what you think and keep checking my blog and my TpT store for more!

Google Digital Interactive Geometry Files

Just before the end of school, I started thinking about this coming year as I do every year.  I get most of my inspiration from Pinterest and several blogs I read.  I happened to come across a TpT file by Jennifer Kimbrell @TechwithJen.  (You can buy that file here.)  She explains in the video in her file how to create interactive notebook files to be used in Google Slides.  I was hooked!!  I started searching for more files, only to find that there aren't many Geometry files out there, yet!  I came across and purchased another file on TpT by Danielle Knight @StudyAllKnight.  (That file can be purchased here.)

I, then, set about to convert some of my interactive (paper) notebook files into digital interactive files!
So far I have converted my Classifying Triangles and Triangle Congruences Sorting Activities.  I've also created 10 bellwork templates each with a different background for variety.  The file I'm the proudest of is the 13 units of interactive vocabulary.  In the downloadable preview, I give the list of vocab words by unit.  Every single vocab term has a text box where students can type the definition and some other interactivity, including circling items in a diagram, moving arrows to point to parts of a diagram, drag and drops and fill-in-the-blanks.

Click on the photos below to go to the TpT link to purchase.

Classifying Triangles Activity


Triangle Congruences Sorting Activity


Bellwork Templates


Vocabulary

Advantages of the Google Digital Version

• saves money for teachers and parents because there's no need for a spiral notebook, tape, glue, lots of colored paper or scissors.
• saves time during class that students waste cutting and gluing.
• there will not be any lost pieces all over the floor.
• are more colorful.
• uses technology.
• students have access anywhere they have internet, even on their phones.
• students won't lose the files because they are kept on their Google Drive rather than at the bottom of a backpack.
• students can do and redo these activities because they aren't glued down after the first attempt, making it a learning activity AND a review activity.
• easier for students to read their work because it doesn't involve their handwriting.
• they are more fun!