My New Addiction ---> Flipgrid

     Like many of us, I was searching for ways to connect with my class during a pandemic. Worried about how I would teach both digital and in person at the same time. Even more, as a person who loves formative assessments as a way to judge where my students are and as someone who wants to genuinely know about their students this pandemic left me scratching my head.     

    I am not one of those teachers who mandate that I see my students faces on camera during zoom sessions. I personally believe that I do not know what is going on in my students home and do not want to make them feel uncomfortable in their own home life and situation. However, because I do want to see them and hear them. That I needed something that allowed them to control the narrative and also deliver to me what I was seeking. 

    And BAM, I found this webinar online featuring Stacey Roshan speaking about Flipgrid! In this webinar she spoke about how Flipgrid allowed her to do three things:

Create a whiteboard style video, with or without your face included

Provide 1:1 attention and support to students with personalized private video feedback

Create mini-lessons with voice and handwriting

So then I was hooked! I could see my students, hear them think and give them feedback! I had to tried it.

Which brings me to this video below, which explains the number one way, I use flipgrid in my class.

If you have any questions, please comment below or reach out to me here. Also let me know if you use Flipgrid and how you use it in your class. 

Working on my ED.S. in Instructional Technology Part One

Here is video on a digital lesson I created for one my classes using internet tools.

The lesson involves students having to create their own lesson.

The internet tools used...

Educreations
Study Stack
Google Forms - Quizzes

Here is the video, I will be back to talk about each tool independently later.

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