Math Teacher World

A teacher asked me the other day about how I get my math students to participate in class.  She stated that she always had the same students answering questions.  I told her that my students have no choice but to participate.  I explained to her that it starts the first day of school.  I tell all of my students that they will participate on a daily basis.  I explain that I will call on students and I will call students from my class list.  This way everyone participates.  When a student’s name is called, the student already knows that he/she will need to answer the question or go to the smart board or chalkboard and put up an answer.  In the beginning, the shy students always have to be called by me.  However, as time passes they begin to volunteer.  All of my students know that it is okay to participate on a daily basis even if he/she makes a mistake.

Now is a great time to stock up on items for school.  In this past Sunday’s newspaper, Office Max has a brown paper bag where you can put items that you choose (read the small print because some items are not given a discount) to get a 15% discount.  This may not have occurred in all newspapers, but hopefully it did where you live.  Another place to buy items are thrift stores.  My school has implemented reading every day for twenty minutes.  I get my classroom reading books from thrift stores.  I am very careful about the ones that I choose, but they are very affordable.  If you have any great ideas about how to save on supplies, please leave a comment.

Summer is here!!  My school ended last week.  As I look forward to the days of summer, I begin to wonder about next year.  Now is the time to reflect on what worked and what did not work.  This is the time to write your ideas down about how you want to start next school year off.  In my first week of school, I want to do more team building activities with the students.  They are also going to be given a basic skills pretest so that I can find out what they know and what they are lacking.  I can then work on those skills in small groups.  I am going to get substitute plans ready.  These will be based on basic skills and problem solving.  My goal is to be better prepared at the start of school than I was last school year. 

Now that the end is near, here are some suggestions for what you can do with your students. 

1.  Play Jeopardy.  It works really well with a LCD projector and smartboard.

2.  Play math equation race on the chalkboard or whiteboard.  This is where the students are grouped in fours and each one takes a turn at the equation.  The first team to get the most correct is the winner.

3.  Play Uno.  The class can have several games going on at once.

4.  Play Math War with multiplication and division facts.  I got my cards from Barnes and Nobles.  The students really enjoy this game.

5.  Play bingo with basic math facts.  I purchased a bingo game from a Parent Teacher Store.  Let one of the students call out the cards. 

I hope you try some of these suggestions and let me know how things turn out.

Have a happy summer!

Check out the teacher forum page.  It is a page for you to share your memorable moments in teaching.  Thanks for sharing.

For most teachers, the school year is almost over.  I know everyone is excited about the summer coming.  However, now is a time for reflection.  Think about the things that worked and did not work.  Think about what you wanted to do, but had no time to do it.  Keep a folder of all the items that you want to use for next year.  What will you do differently at the beginning of school?  For me, I am going to do a basic skills math test the very first week.  I want to know who is having trouble with the basics as soon as possible so that I can work on those areas with the students.  Planning in advance will help you in the future.  Have a great summer!

      Listed below are several math web sites that you might find interesting.  If you have some to add to the list, let me know so that I may add them.

1.  www.edhleper.com

2.  www.tlsbooks.com

3.  www.kidzone.ws

4.  www.sssoftware.com

5.  www.mathskillbuilders.com

6.  www.hsunlimited.com

7.  www.mathfactcafe.com

8.   www.schoolexpress.com

9.  www.brobstsystems.com

10.  www.superkids.com

11.  www.edumath.com

12.  www.algebra.com

14.  www.algebrahelp.com

15.  www.mathfun.com

I have heard so many times that students do not know their basic math facts from several different teachers.  The truth is that so many of the students do not.  I learned my basic math facts through pure rote memory.  The question is:  Why do the students of today have such a hard time learning them?  I do not know the answer because I teach middle school where they are suppose to know them, not learn them.  My only alternative is to work with the students where they are.  On Fridays, we have basic skill review.  Not only do I do basic math facts but also fractions and problem solving.  On a daily basis, I incorporate basic skills in their warm-up or beginning activity for the class period.  This helps a lot.  Perhaps by the end of the school year they will be better at basic math facts than they were at the beginning of the year.

We all have those students who are constant talkers.  What do you do? 

* Have a conference with the student and let the student know that it is a problem that needs to stop.
* Call the parent and ask them for help with their child.  Explain how important it is that the parent be a part of the process.
* When the student begins talking at an inappropriate time, go and stand near that student.
* Address the student when he/she is talking when it is not appropriate.
* Send the student to another teacher’s class to do his/her assignment.  Make sure to explain why you are sending them.
* If all else fails, talk with your assistant principal about what should be done next.

I hope that these are some helpful suggestions for you to try.

Are your attendance records up to date and organized?  Do you forget to give students their make-up work or have to look for it in a stack of papers?  Well, I have a solution for you.  Get a 3 ring binder.  It can be one and a half inch  or two inches.  A one inch binder is too small too keep for an entire year.  Next, purchase some folders with pockets and labels.  Label them with your class periods.  Then print out several copies of each class’s roster and put it behind the correct label.  For attendance, put the dates across the top of the rosters.  Each day put a T if someone is tardy, an A if someone is absent, and leave blank if the student is present.  For make up work, put the name of the student on the assignment and put in the pocket folder for their class period.  When the student comes to school,  you remember to give it to the student because it is in the same location as the attendance.    This has helped me a great deal.  When students tell me they were absent, I can immediately look in the binder and check.  This has also cut down on students telling me they were not  in class when I gave out an assignment.