We teach Integrated CPM Math 2. We struggle to get through the material that is skillfully articulated and struggle to keep our creativity while being true to the curriculum.

Sometimes you need to give your students more exposure and time than the curriculum has laid out. (As evidenced by the number of groups who got the same problem wrong on the test) Or your colleague is unhappy with the lesson described for tomorrow and it is 4:30 pm and she's been there since 6:30 am and can't stare at her screen for another second.

Like my friend, Brian http://www.mrmillermath.com/ said once, "sometimes you just need a worksheet." Here are two very different, quick ways my colleague and I handled facilitating learning in our CPM Math 2 classes that added to the curriculum provided.

Review of a concept: It took about two minutes of hunting for images before I gave up and instead decided to use a notebook warm-up instead. I hoped that as students copied the notes, they would observe what they needed.

Directions: In your notebooks for Day (27), Draw 6 squares, copy the images, what conclusions can you make about the pairs of triangles? (We first recalled the triangle congruence and triangle similarity theorems) Take 3 minutes by yourself and see what you observe, then open the discussion to your table group. What can you conclude given only the pictures and no other information?

Oops should say "Triangle" pair. 


Introducing a topic:

This teacher was uncomfortable with the guided lesson for discovering "slope triangles give the same slope angles in our CPM text." She needed something more to inspire her students to "discover" the lesson's goal.

After some running between rooms, here is what she came up with. Nothing short of brilliant!

Textbook:


Danielle's Tweak:
Give the students some index cards with the same slope in equivalent fraction form. Have students graph them on horizontal, first quadrant graph paper. Have students use protractors to discover the slope angles. Go find the other people with the same slope angle as you have. What do you notice and wonder?



I am one of the luckiest teachers alive. We are certainly better together.