Choice Menus: Give the kids options!

One of my favorite grading assignments to give my support class is my choice menus.

My favorite one is attached, 16 squares of different point levels, the board has 37 possible points, students need 25 points to get a "100". I give my kids options, that can do all 37, you get 25 100, do 25, get 25 correct you get 100. The CHOICE is theirs, which is the beauty of it. Here are 2 versions, I just did in my Algebra 2 support class on radicals, and cube roots..

Choice Menu 1

Choice Menu 2

You don't have to re-invent the wheel: Polynomial Functions

I love the MTBoS community love it; If there is a subject you are teaching and you don't know how to introduce it, teach it, or re mediate it , chances are it's out there!

We are on Fall Break, Midterms aka Benchmarks are coming up and I need to review a subject with my Math Support classes that isn't their favorite. Polynomial Functions, so I searched and looked to see what was out there and BAM! 2 great activities that I have to share!

End Behavior games!

Rebecka Peterson, talks about 3 fun activities to do for remembering End Behavior!

I already do the hand signals with my kids, all those Kinesthetic learners love it.

I took my class to the lab while teaching finding the zeros from graphs and used desmos.com, which is awesome, so kids could show full understand of end behavior if they have to change it..

Also the Simon says type end behavior game, where the last kid is eliminated is great! I will have candy for the kids and kids go crazy for candy; Pre-K through 12.

More End Behavior

While I plan on doing Rebecka's activities as the meat and potatoes of the lesson. Jennifer Cook provides the warm-up and exit ticket.

For the Warm-Up, I plan on having the kids do the sort of the pictures and equations, into the 4 groups of end behavior to see where my kids are in understanding before I refine what they know.

The exit ticket is a great way to see if the lesson has stuck with them.

Can I do all of this in 50 minutes probably not but I am excited to try it!  But more importantly, I was wondering how I could refine my students understanding of polynomial functions and I found 2 fellow bloggers that have given me a great lesson and maybe 2 of them!

Matrix Walk Around activity

This was the 1st full week of school for us. We are in our 1st Unit on Matrices. So I am giving you a good around the world activity for Matrices, no calculator needed if you don't have them. Thanks to help from a former co-worker

Around The World

Math Posters Round 2

I have spoken about Math Posters in the Past.

Math Posters

It's a great activity of review and reflection for the kids and it's one that I believe shows you the depth of their knowledge while at the same time providing MEANINGFUL posters to use in your classroom. Here are a few some students in my Math Support class did for me at the end of the school year.

So go and use this activity, see what your students see and let them create!

I promised I am back :) and why I have been gone...

Where have I been on a life changing journey and I am just now settling into the saddle :)

Spring Football


Newton's New HC

Formative Assessments: How to...

If you missed last Tuesday's Globalmath you need to go watch it here... Formative Assessments for Math Learning

Pam J. Wilson and myself spoke on a lot of good topics..

Here is the link to my part of the presentation so you can see what I used, but listening to the presentation is key as well.  Formative Assessments


I am working on a post that may take me a week because I write slow and have a ton going on about a comment that I made in the presentation that I believe to be true..

"You can't wait for the quiz to learn what your kids know. You need to know today."

This cause quite a discussion on twitter some people agreed with me, one didn't and asked what is the purpose of the quiz then and that my statement means that there is no distinction between kids of different abilities. Which is not true.

Which is not the purpose of a formative assessment, in my opinion  I will speak on that more in my next post on how formative assessments lead to summative grading. Bloom's Taxonomy and Marzano based grading, the use of Level questioning.

So I ask you guys, what is the purpose of a formative assessment to you?

MyFavFriday: Properties of Logarithms Foldable

MyFavFriday: Properties Of Logarithms Foldable

I haven't done a favorite friday in a while so I am back with one.

I use foldables a lot in my Math Support class, I thought I would share one that I created for Preoperties Of Logarithms with you.

We used this in class to help with the product, quotient, and power property while working on condense, expand and change of base with logs.

Here are some pictures of the foldable:

Here is a link to the foldable:
Properties of Log Foldable

Also don't forget to join me and the the wonderful Pam J. Wilson for GlobalMath on Feb 19th, we will be talking about Formative Assessments.

#MSSunFun Favorite Math Practice Website

Middle School Sunday Funday!!

I know I don't teach Middle School, but Julie's topic was to good to pass up today.. (and I like some future topics as well)

Favorite Math Practice Websites!!!

I want to share with teachers a fun website that allows students to play games, you to use differentiated instruction and to check progress..

www.mangahigh.com and Yes, IT'S FREE! All you have to do is register your school, there are some pay parts but they have an amazing amount of free material available.

Here is a link to some resources MangaHigh Resources, to get you started.

When a student logins all they see is the games and they have them from order of operations all the way up to factoring..

But the best part is the Quizzes only teachers can upload for their students, called challenges.

Here is a view of one of the challenges

Also as a teacher you can view what level each student scored on the current challenge. (who is doing great and who needs extra help)

For more information on how to set-up mangahigh and use it visit here: Manga High How 2

I go to the lab every Friday with my math support class and they love it! Check out Manga High, I am sure you will love it 2!

Formative Assessment Probes

Formative Assessments don't have to always involve quizzes. Sometimes a nice simple probe with do and can take 10 minutes or less and they can be done anytime in the lesson. Warm-Up, Middle, or Ticket of the door.


Here is one I create for my Algebra 2 Class on word problems involving exponentials.

Discrete or Continuous

A simple 2 problem probe multiple choice and more importantly getting the kids to explain why they selected an answer and if they understand how to use a calculator properly.

Examview making my own questions...

I love examview.. LOVE IT... Until now I had never created my own examview questions.

Then I ran into an old Megan Golding post on writing dynamic examview questions.

And so I created my own!

Go Here to Find out how.. Converting Word Docs to Examview

Here is the one I created for My Stats Class, we used the CPS response clickers and played Jeopardy..

Word File Examview

Next I am off to mix Moodle with Examview Questions!