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!