I am linking up with Carol at Real and irrational who is inviting High School Teachers to add to her First Day Activities for High School Math Teachers. ( This is really kicking my butt to remember all the years! I have notes in my planners like: Card Sort...and guess what? I have moved rooms so many times and packed up so many times, I have no idea what that means)

Here goes:  (90 minute block)

Action:

Finding your seat. I put students is groups of 4. As the students enter, they get an index card with an equation to solve or expression to reduce. Sometimes the number is related to trivia: The number of children Ms. Z has (2) , or silly, like what a golfer yells before he hits the ball. There are 8 sets, the students have to find their table and take one of the seats. It always a good idea for them to figure out if they are in the correct place with each other. The difficulty of the card relates to the subject.

Rationale:

Students get the mindset straight away "This is a math class and we do mathy things, even on the first day."

Action:

Students find a "mathography"
survey at their table that they can begin filling out.  Also, there are very bright card stock "calling cards, " that have my email and the class website on the front and a supply list on the back.

Rationale:

We all need time to find the classroom, I need to take role, I want the students to know right away that I care about who they are,  and I don't want to overwhelm the students on the first day with a big 'ol long syllabus with a bunch of dense language making their heads spin. They need to get the essentials right away.

Action:

Uncommon Commonalities:

The students make 2 concentric circles on a piece of paper. Then quarter the rings. First they write their names in each section and something unique about them. Then in the center they have to figure out something they all have in common. (No age, grade, where they live...gotta dig deeper!) We then go around the room and introduce ourselves. (I have the eldest be the speaker, the youngest be the scribe)

Rationale:

It is important for the students to get to know each other and I use this activity for my first seating chart.

Action:

Ignite speech. First time for this. Running with Andrew Stadel.

Rationale:

Why are we here? I notice and I wonder. Setting the tone of collaboration and grit, self-determination and growth mindset.

Action:

I have done many math tasks, depending on what I am teaching.

For Algebra I start with 4 fours. Students need to number their papers 0 -10. They must use exactly 4 fours and any operations to achieve the values from 0 to 10. I have them work silently at first, then in pairs, then in whole table groups. We do a whip at the end.

For Geometry and Advanced Algebra I have started with CPM's: Yarns.
Basically the students get a length of yarn per table. They then must build a square, a 5-pointed star, a square based pyramid, etc...

For Pre-Calculus we start right away with family of functions. Tell me everything you know.

Rationale:

Working together, working on math tasks, students get a feel for what assumed knowledge I am expecting.

Changed Actions for this fall because I am smarter and wiser and taking Jo Boaler's How to Learn Maths Class, a Stanford supported MOOC.:

Instead of the above Action, I am starting both Geometry and Advanced Algebra with a number talk. (See Jo's Class for this).

Rationale:

We all have something to bring to the table. Math study is fluid, not static.

Advanced Algebra Action:

I will use Math Munch's notion of Fraud from the Park City Mathematics Institute with flipping coins and cryptography.

Rationale:

Multiple entry points, and where's big kid panties at the same time.

Geometry Action:

I will be stealing, finding/using something from the CCSS or MTBoS



Have a great opening day and best wishes for a growth year! 

(Come back for links to my ignite speech slides, my mathography blank, and uncommon commonalities blank)

My amazing and talented friend, Carolyn, sat with me yesterday and showed me a thing or two around Blogger. The results are twofold: For you, the dear reader, Labels! Woot! (This is the least I can do to match the quality and generosity of my fellow MTBoS writers).

And the second is fodder for this post.

The set up:

I took a year off from my permanent school for 2012-2013 (mostly because my ride share partner, and Environmental Science teacher extraordinaire, Stefan, took a leave of absence to be the Director of Education at the Sonoma County Water Agency. As it turned out, my daughter's HS (9th and 12th graders) school needed an Algebra teacher. Stars aligned and I had an 80% job for the Fall. And as you all know, WHAT A RIDE! Every teacher should have the opportunity to teach in a different school every couple years. Gives you some awesome prospective. AND if the new school were smart, they would take advantage of your expertise, instead of relegate you to the "low man on the totem pole." To work again with a staff and in particular, an administration, that appreciates the risks you take to learn more, stay fresh, and increase student engagement will be, oh so very, welcoming...

The deal:

About 2/3 of the way through labeling all 58 posts, I decided to try and see if I could get any information out of the labeling process. I was delighted to find that the labels were being counted! Labeling most recent post to oldest here were the most popular titles:
Aha (6) Classroom Management (6) Good Ideas (4), Algebra (13), Community (4) CCSS (10),  Professional Development ( 7) Philosophy (15) and Food (0).

When I finished labeling, the counts looked like this:
Algebra 1 (21), Classroom Management (9), Community (13), Food (3) and MTBoS (8).

When I started with the Math Blogger Initiative, I wrote most about what I love: food and sharing.
As I moved through the year, I got more into educational philosophy and had the opportunity to play with Common Core State Standards. I began to write more for me, and my passion for community. (Being away from the active professional learning community at my old school was eye-opening for me.) The development cracks me up. Maybe I should get back to writing more about food and how to feed a family healthfully and quickly when you are all moving a billion zillion miles per hour during the school year. Yeah, I will leave you with one of our family's FAVORITE of all times meals, AKA "heat it, eat it and beat it." Good for any time of the year! Enjoy!

The goods:

Yum Bowls  

On the table have wide, empty bowls, like these:

•  A heated can of Great White Northern Beans.      
• Shred a Carrot
• Chopped Spring Onion
• Sliced Avocado
• Chopped Tomato
• Grated Cheese
• Chopped Lettuce
• Tin of Sliced Black Olives
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Shred 1/4 of a Cabbage
• Chopped Cilantro
• Toasted Walnuts
• Steamed Broccoli (I do mine in the microwave)
• Pesto Sauce
• Salsa
• Tamari or Soy Sauce

I have been on vacation. Phew. Much needed. I was delighted to see two new posts in my feeder,
One from Kate at f(t) and one from Approximately Normal. I missed the Global Math Department meeting because I wasn't aware of it and, well, I was on vacation.

Having read the editable Google Doc from the conversation, I say yes! Yes to where we are at. Some more reflections: are you out there, anyone, anyone?

What constitutes a " newcomer?" I have just finished my first year of MTBoS with 57 posts. Am I still a newcomer? I have been teaching for more than a quarter century and don't know crap about Twitter ( though willing and trying) or Gavatar or Keynote, am I still a newcomer?

I was invited here, so glad to be here, and being here makes my job less lonely, especially when I want to talk shop. I have no expectations or desires for it to go this way or that. Like Andrew, over at Divisible by 3, I am just grateful this is here and I was lucky enough to find it. (Willing it, as Cheesemonkey Wonders so poetically suggests.)

Maybe:
There is no time to talk during the school day.
Maybe:
I am too burnt out to talk about math and teaching during normal people hours and when I am ready to get back to it, no one is awake.
Maybe:
I feel inspired and want to acknowledge those who've inspired me.
Maybe:
There is a question someone has about teaching math that I might be able to lead them to in a helpful direction. ( argh, it is getting late!)
Sometimes:
I can't sleep until I process an event.
Sometimes:
I cook like America's top chef and I want you to know it!

Mostly:
I want to connect with the math "poets." The people who care about people, who are multi- dimensional, not celebs, and are interested in forming genuine relationships around shared values, acceptance, interests, and the common good.

I like the quirky- throw-out-ideas-out-there-research-geek- try-to-do-our-best-for-the-students style going on out here in the MTBoS.

And maybe I blog because I really do want to be a rockstar and make a small difference.

And I am always hopeful by writing I will keep criss crossing my passions along the way.

and leave him some comments.

If you haven't really been privy to the differences between CST and Common Core, Andrew has put together the most illuminating video over at Divisible by 3. It is short and sweet and oh so educational! Should be required viewing by EVERY secondary administrator.

http://mr-stadel.blogspot.com/2013/06/cst-and-sbac-questions.html

Hey Andrew, have you sent this up to UCDMP? I will make sure Josh Dies gets it at SCOE (Sonoma County Office of Ed...he will have good and loads of things to say!)

I just had a job interview at a lovely independent school in Northern California. I have watched this school grow up for 14 or 15 years and have been such a die-hard public school wonk, it took me a long time to have a paradigm shift in order to apply. So I did apply. It was a lovely interview, so different than a public school:

Public school: 11 Questions must be asked in same order to all interviewees
Independent: Wow, so you took a year off from your school to teach at your daughter's school? How was that? What was different about those experiences?

Public school: 10 minute demo lesson to 5 or 6 adults
Independent: 30 minute live lesson with kiddos and the ENTIRE interview committee, plus head of school

Public school: Interview
Independent: Interview with all members of math and science department (one department). 30 minute live lesson, 30 minute meeting with Head of School and Asst. Head of School and Champ (head of school's furry chihuahua)

You know, I just let it rip. I had nothing to lose for being absolutely me. My given topic: Intro to Logic 2.1 to 2.3 McDougal Geometry.

Here is my the lesson:

Find the next three terms in the pattern: 2, 4, 8, ....

I was thrilled! 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64
                       2, 4, 8, 64, 3904, 15,990,784                     Can you figure these out?
                       2, 4, 8, 14, 22, 32                                       Did the adults keep quiet...heck no! They
                                                                                          raised their hands with wild enthusiasm.

Then we played the four letter word game: I am thinking of a 4 letter word...book...2 correct, food, 2 correct...what do you know? Must be the oo...tool...3...pool...2...must be too...took...3...toot? BINGO!
How are these two different! Bingo again! Tha,t my friends, is the difference between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning...blah, blah, blah.

We then wrote our favorite Law of Syllogism sayings from Laura Numeroff's series "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," in if-then form and made them syllogisms and then I had them write them in symbolic form stating, "If P equals If you give a Pig a Pancake," and If "Q equals, She will want some syrup to go with it, " etc...


Oh, did I mention:

Public School: 32 students
Independent:  12 students (In that case, I had five Mouse a Cookie type books by Laura Numeroff...plenty to go around)

They were cutting me off and ripping those intellectually thirsty students out from under my spell!

Anyhoo, I got home from a run the next day,with this This American Life podcast chirping through my earphones. (Episode 464, Act 2). A must for any geek. See, Tig Notaro, keeps bumping into a certain celeb around Los Angeles. She is desperately trying to make a connection to this celeb whom she adores. With the same fan line, Tig goes for it...every.single.encounter. Wish I had had this lesson in my hat...