Should we do Another Example?

"NO!"  In Ms. Jen Barnhart's class this morning, this was the response that she received from one student who figured out all on her own the steps to doing a 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication problem.  To begin the lesson, Ms. Barnhart worked through 3-digit by 1-digit examples with students on the board.  Students were very attentive and knew exactly the steps to do.  When they were given the Math Journal assignment and set out on their own, they came to a problem that was 2-digit by 2-digit.  This didn't stop them!  They understood the process and why it worked and were not afraid to try the "unseen" on their own!

Way to go, Ms. Barnhart!  Your students rock!

Multiple Personalities?

Does Ms. Laquita Walker have multiple personalities?  NO WAY!  She just did a super job today with multiple formative assessment techniques.  From having students on the board showing homework problems, to having multiple students give answers in class she was a super teacher.  At times she also had her students give choral style answers, which works well in her classroom since her students are very well behaved. 

After giving the practice questions for homework, she required the students to show her one or two completed problems before leaving class to make sure students were on the right track.  Student mistakes were corrected and reviewed a second time and kudos were given to those who completed the problems correctly.

Great job, Ms. Walker!

Technology Rocks

Students in Mrs. Nancy Williams class are doing a rockin' job using the graphing calculators to create tables from equations.  They are able to find related information on these tables with proficiency and TALK ABOUT THE MATH!  Way cool, Mrs. Williams!  Keep up the good work.

A Super Model

Ms. Fara McDonald is a super model in my book!  She did an excellent job modeling the completion of a table for her students today.  Not only did she show the students how to complete the table by using the equation, but they also looked at the pattern that was created and continued the pattern to finish up the table.  Wow, two GLEs for the price of one, equations and patterning!  I love it.  She also stopped along the way and had the students relate the y-intercept back to the equation as well as look at the rate of increase/decrease and connect it back to the equation.  At the very end, she went back to the equation and plugged in the last y-value, just to check themselves and make sure they had followed the pattern correctly.  I think she gets credit for another GLE!

Model job, Ms. McDonald!  Way to go!

Connecting the Dots

Connecting the dots is so important for our students.  Ms. Laquita Walker was doing a bang up job of that with her students when I observed her this morning.  She did this by referring back to previous problem situations they had encountered and connected the new learning to the previous learning.  Way to go, Ms. Walker.

I also loved that she is requiring her students to define the variables they use in their equations.  It really makes the students stop to think what their varibles stand for and why they are using them in the equation.

Nice work!

It's Hip to be Square

It's hip to be square, if you are a square number, that is!  Ms. Madden's class was in the groove today learning about square numbers.  Ms. Madden was doing an awesome job reminding her class about the definition of a square number and the difference between 3 squared and 3 times 2.

We all know how important wait time is when asking quesitons and Ms. Madden did an excellent job waiting for all of her students to formulate an answer to the question before calling on someone.   I also loved that her room is arranged so that she is able to instruct the class while walking around to see that everyone is participating and following along on their paper with the correct answers.

Teach on, Ms. Madden!  Way to teach those squares!

A "Prime" Lesson

Mrs. Edwards students were in "prime" form today.  I loved the way Mrs. Edwards had students complete arrays for several different numbers as their math message and then used these numbers as a jump off for the lesson.  After having the students show the different arrays for the numbers on the board, she reminded students that the dimensions for the arrays were also the FACTORS of the number.  I LOVE IT!  Nice work, Mrs. Edwards!  Once the definitions for Prime and Composite numbers were in the students' notes, they went back to those same numbers and decided which numbers were prime and which were composite. 

And her smart students are deep thinkers!  One student asked about the number 1 and where it fit into the definitions.  Through a closer look at both of the definitions, they decided it didn't fit either of them and was "special."

Way to go, Mrs. Edwards!  Keep up the great work.

Making the Complicated Simple!

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple – that's creativity.” ~Charles Mingus

And isn’t that what teaching is all about!

Honors Classes Rock at 7th & 8th Grade Center

Mrs. Hahs and Mr. Savage are doing a wonderful job with the honors students at the 7th and 8th Grade Center! I spent several hours with these bright students on Wednesday and was very impressed with what I saw. Students were showing evidence of their learning at the board in all of the honors classes. In both Mrs. Hahs's and Mr. Savage's classrooms this caused other students to point out flaws in their classmates work and begin excellent discussions that made the students justify their answers. Talk about "things that make you go Hmmmm!" I love it!

Way to go, Mr. Savage and Mrs. Hahs! You are doing it right!