For the first time in forever...

Y'all.

It's  been approximately 2 years.  Cuh-razy!

Well, I've been teaching for 5 year years now.  I no longer  teach compacted math and am completely engulfed in the wonders of 8th grade math.

The past 2 years were nothing short of tiring.  I dealt with a lot of anxiety with wanting my kids to test well and feeling inadequate to show growth with them.  It definitely wasn't one of the high points in my life.

But now..!!!  This school year is shaping up to be one of the best ones yet!  I am teaching with the incomparable Shauna Hedgepeth.  She always brags on me, but she is the absolute best!  She has so many grand ideas that I would be too cautious to try on my own.    Shauna is my educational "pusher."

Ok.  Let's get into some stuff being done in my classroom.

Pythagorean Theorem.  Shauna and I spent approximately 2 weeks on this topic.  TWO WEEKS!!  On Pythagorean Theorem.  This was unheard of for me, but our approach was the definition of learning through discovery.  The very first day, Shauna, our assistant principal, our 1st block of students, and I all huddled into Shauna's room.  Students were in groups of 4.  They were given 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4,..., 10x10 squares.  They were instructed to put the vertices together to see what shape was made in the middle of the squares.  It was so funny to see them realize it was a triangle.  They then went on to using different sized squares to make triangles.  They made the triangles on graph paper to determine if it was acute, obtuse or right.  This discovery was incredible.  Students could really understand it!  We worked with different angled triangles for about a week before we even introduced it as "Pythagorean Theorem."  It was truly beautiful.

Pythagorean Theorem in Rectangular Prisms.  Shauna and I combined classes again.  Students were given toothpicks, play dough, and tape to construct their cube.  They had to place a face diagonal on the bottom square by using overlapping toothpicks and a space diagonal through the cube going in the same direction as their face diagonal.  Students then determined how many right triangles they saw in their cube.  We wanted the students to see that the space diagonal, the face diagonal on the bottom, and the height made a right triangle.  After seeing this, students discussed what information they needed to determine the length of the space diagonal.  We gave students this picture.

Then students were quick to get started on calculating the space diagonal.  Most groups realized they first had to calculate the face diagonal, then use that to calculate the space diagonal.  Being able to see those connections made...  Wonderful.

I wanted to extend this and have students actually measure the length of their space diagonal, but I can't remember if I forgot about this, or if we ran out of time, or if I didn't have rulers.  I believe it was a combination of all three..

Next year, we decided we will have to make our own squares.  The ones we used weren't actually squares and it made finding the true right triangles a bit tough.

Hmmm....  What else is new.

This is the first year I feel like I have a true connection with my students.  Before, I would tell people that I'm Ms. Watson at work and Cononiah everywhere else.  This was hard!  My students this year know me.  ME!  We laugh, talk and play, but they know when to get down to business.  It's so interesting to see such a change from last year to this year.  It's crazy!  I was ready to leave the teaching profession, but God has definitely reignited my passion!  :)

Well.  Until next time.

-Cononiah W.

Too Tired to ....Function!

**This post was written about 2 weeks ago.  Whoops.

Is it Fall Break yet?  No?  Four more weeks?  You've GOTTA be kidding me!! No?  You're not?  Ok.

Things have been up and moving in 8th grade!  I am utterly enjoying teaching Compacted Algebra.  There was a moment when I was a bit overwhelmed by how fast we were flying through information.  It seems like we've gone through (I mean learned) so much material in a matter of only 5 weeks.  The only way we're all getting through it is by our use of bellwork.  Y'all, I'm really loving this bellwork.  I'll have to post a sample of it on here (mental note).

Right now, our main topic is functions and function notation.  They're really into because it looks like real math, something difficult, something that makes them look smart (I wish I could put an emoji here).  :)  I'm using a lot of stuff from Math=Love (Sarah Hagan is pretty much the best, I'm a silent fan).  I also get some stuff from...Hmmm.. I'm not sure where, but she's really good as well!  The students are LOVING the interactive notebooks.  They enjoy taking notes, and Algebra has taken a ton.  I'm almost wondering if they'll run out of pages in their composition notebooks.  I sure hope not.
I'm also revamping how I do homework.  I try to make homework something fun, easy to do at home, or but requires some level of higher level thinking.  I'll have to share some of those as well.  I hate grading homework.  Hate it.  Absolutely.  The main reason I assign it is because some students want homework because they have something to practice at home.  For this, I am thinking about doing a modified flipped classroom.  These videos won't be mandatory, only because I don't want to hear the excuse of not having internet access at home.  I want these videos to be a topic of conversation in class.  I got this idea from a fellow teacher at PMS.  She's pretty much AWESOME!!  She has become a voice of reason and a constant uplifter.  Ok.  I'll get back to a flipped classroom now.  But she really is pretty great.

I'm not sure exactly what videos to assign that aren't necessarily required, but will enrich the lesson.  I'll continue to think on it.  If you have any ideas, please share!

One thing I've changed since last school year is how much I contact parents.  I have called parents more this year than I did all of last year.  No, not bragging.  That's horrible.  I call about positive behavior.  Concerns.  Homework.  Updates.  Everything.  I also LOVE Remind (formerly known as Remind101) with my parents and students.  It's lovely.  I don't have all students or parents signed up yet, but I hope to get most of them.  Of about 60 students, I have 63 subscribers; these are parents and students.  I'm also planning on sending out monthly reminders via email.  A lot of my parents check their email, but of course some don't.  Boo.

Ummm... What else can I talk about?

I think that's about it.

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson

17 Down, ...(183-17) More To Go!

**Disclaimer:  I actually wrote this about a week ago.....

Well, we've been in school for about 3 weeks-ish.  It feels like it's already been a semester.  Well, let's get started.

8th grade math's first unit started with the number system.  Blegh.  But we made it through.  Changing repeating decimals to fractions and approximating square roots.  There were others, but this is what my students struggled with the most.  BUT, once they got it, I nearly jumped for joy.  I was sooooo excited!!  They understood perfect squares and square roots.  They knew the mathematical process for changing repeating decimals to fractions, not just the shortcut.  Y'all, I was happy.  Then, it was quiz time (insert ominous music hear).

Quiz results were less than what I had hoped.  Much less.  Extremely less.  Exponentially less.  You get the point.  I questioned myself and my teaching first.  Had I covered everything correctly?  Did I present it in a form where students understood it?  I went through every single question, and wondered if that type of example was reviewed in class.  What had I been doing for about 2 weeks?  Well, that whole process lasted for about 5 minutes.  Once I realized this is what we were doing since the beginning of school, I wondered what happened to the students.  Why did they bomb this test (not everyone bombed it, there were some really good grades)?  Once I gave them back their quizzes and we reviewed it, the students confirmed they knew how to complete the problems, but they either made careless mistakes or they didn't ask questions when needed.  I was very disappointed.  The only thing that comforts me as of right now is that it was the first quiz.  They're still getting accustomed to me, the way I teach, and my layout for quizzes/tests.

Compacted Algebra just finished covering parts of an equation, and understanding the parts of an equation which models word problems.  They had a quiz as well.  Refer to the above paragraph concerning that, but they had much more higher grades than 8th grade math.  Enough of that.

This is a very choppy blog post.  Oh well.

One thing that I've changed for this school year is how we do bellwork.  It serves as a constant review for the entire school year.  For the first week of school, it was a review, basically seeing what they remembered from 7th grade math.....which wasn't much.  Now, however, it will always be something we've covered in class.  Therefore, at the end of the school year when we review for state tests, they will not have forgotten everything we've learned.  When we review converting repeating decimals to fractions, it will be fresh in their minds because they're doing it everyday for bellwork.  Bellwork is usually about 5-10 questions each day.  Currently, it leans to being only 5 questions.  As the year progresses, this number will probably increase, but I don't want it to exceed 15 questions.  The students like the bellwork, because they see it as a way to constantly remember what we've been doing.

My goal for this year is to make sure that my students think on a high level every day.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I know this will be a task, especially as the school year picks up, but it has been working well so far.  Even when we learn "basic" topics, I want them to know why it's true.  Is there a proof to it?  Can they understand the proof?  I want my students' minds to be blown every day.  I want them to walk out of the door having learned something crazy about math.  I want them to appreciate learning mathematics, not necessarily enjoy it.

The best thing so far this school year has been talking to parents.  They all tell me that their child loves math because I make it fun, and that I seem like a fun, laid back teacher.  I love this because, at the same time, they respect me.  Niiiiiice.

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson

Bye, Bye Summer. Hello Students!

Summer is over.  So is my first year of teaching!  But now, it's time for year two.

My summer was amazing!  No, I didn't dive into Common Core studies, activities, or curriculum.  I enjoyed summer!  Somehow, it seemed as if summer break was over before I knew it had really started.  Two months flew by!

Last year, I was so excited about decorating my classroom and setting up everything.  This year, I wanted to wait until the first teacher work day.  I didn't want to step foot into those doors!  I knew this would be a terrible idea, so I went a few days prior.  I didn't do anything special.  At all.  I was surprised at myself.  I knew this year, however, that my main focus was going to be increasing those test scores!  I have a new teaching partner (of whom I'm extremely excited to be working with), and I really want to construct awesome Common Core aligned lessons, activities and assessments.  Decorating my classroom was almost the last thing on my to do list.

It wasn't until the first day of school that I truly remembered that I love teaching!  Yea, I know.  I had to be reminded of this.  I was too focused on summer being over.  Nonetheless, once those students began to flood the halls of PMS (Panem Middle School), I was overjoyed!  I was so excited!  This time around, however, I knew where the cafeteria and bathrooms were.  I was no longer a newbie.  Students were walking in saying "Hey, Ms. Watson!"  It felt so good.  Like this school was where I needed to be.  Where I belonged.

First day of school activities.  Blegh.  I mean, who really wants to go over expectations?  I surely didn't want to.  But I did.  For a small bit.  But before that, we started class by doing a "Find Someone Who..." worksheet.  They really enjoyed it.  Here's where I pinned it!  We also did the Marshmallow Challenge.  They loved it!!!  We didn't have time to watch the TED Talk.  I was a bit bummed about this, but we used this activity to introduce the fact that we do a great deal of group work in our class.  Between me and you though, we did it because it's fun!  The tallest standing tower was 69 cm.  I was impressed with their structure!

Now.  Hmmmm.  I should probably share some goals for this upcoming school year.  Here you go.

1. I want my students to be able to say that I am a fair teacher.  This is very important to me!
2. I want my students to know they are learning at a high level in my class.  I want them to be appropriately challenged.  
3. I aim to grow exceptionally as an educator.  I know everything I try will not turn out perfectly, but I want to learn from my mistakes and improve my victories.

Again this year, I am teaching 8th grade math and Algebra 1.  However, our Algebra 1 class this year is a compacted course, including standards from 8th grade math.  Whew!  We'll make it.

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson

The Brillo Pad

Hello all,

It has definitely been a while since I've posted.  Yes, I'm still alive.  Still teaching.  Still winning arm wrestling matches.  Ha! Not really.  I will forever be known as the champ!  Nonetheless, I'm still being Ms. Watson.  I have began to find my groove in teaching.  I no longer stay after school extremely late or come abnormally early to get work done.  I have began to utilize the time that I have during the day, which actually isn't much.  However, because I try not to take work home, I am constantly busy at school.  But... I had a rough patch.  A very rough patch.  Rougher than a brillo pad in the middle of the desert.

I had an extremely hard time at the beginning of the 3rd 9 weeks.  No, I didn't tell anyone about this time, but I muddled through it.  It was hard!  The students seemed like they didn't know the expectations of them.  Also, I had changed.  I wasn't teaching the same way.  I was (dare to say it) boring.  I had lost my drive.  My passion.  My excitement.  My fun.  Then, my grandfather was in the hospital for approximately a month.  This took a greater toll on me than I realized.  He died at the end of the 3rd 9 weeks.  Because of various, ill-timed meetings and the funeral, I was out of the classroom for 6 consecutive days.  Six days.  SIX DAYS!  Then, I came back for 3 days, and went on another professional learning venture.  Let me tell you about it.

I, along with another teacher at PMS (remember, Panem Middle School) were chosen to go on a trip with our school district to visit.... wait for it.... keep waiting.... build the excitement...  THE RON CLARK ACADEMY!!!  I was beyond excited!  He spoke to our school district at the beginning of the school year.  When I got the email about the trip, I responded as fast as my fingers could type.  Because I knew other teachers would be interested, I didn't get my hopes up too high.  I got a call from my assistant principal and principal about a week and a half before the trip saying I had been chosen to go.  Y'all, I'm not sure what type of noise I emitted, but it definitely did not contain any words.  It was the first time in a while that I was genuinely happy and excited about something.  Words can't even describe how much I was looking forward to this trip.  Want to know what I was really excited about?  You know, other than the chance to see great teachers and interact with the children.  This EPIC slide!!

It's like I was a kid all over again!!  It was wonderful.  However, the rest of the tour was amazing!

My first stop was in Ron Clark's math class (I believe they were 6th graders).  It was marvelous!!  Every single student was engaged.  He was standing on tops of tables, moving around, dancing, and excited.  It was great!  One thing that was great was.... wait.  Pause.  Have you heard the song "The Fox"?  It's quite annoying.  Here ya go.  Well, when he introduced a particular topic, he said "What does Mr. Clark say..." and he would say the topic (that day was order of operations) in a sing-songy voice that went along with the song.  It was GREAT!!!  There was a drum in the class that 1 student used.  When it was time for applause congratulating a student for getting the correct answer, the drum would play as well as other students' applauses.  I mean, how awesome is that?!  Aaaaaand, to get the class's attention, he said "Y'all ready?"  The class would all respond "We ready!"

The thing I loved the most was when students worked problems on the board.  The students were literally the teacher.  They had to make it fun and interesting and engage the students like Mr. Clark.  Then, when the student was finished, the class would score the student and give feedback.  It was amazing!  While there, one boy did this and I thought he did a fantastic job!  Yes, I saw how it could have been better (handwriting was a bit messy), but overall it was great!  Guess what?!  The class gave him a D.  Y'all, a D.  I wonder what I would have gotten!  However, Ron Clark said that it was not about actually teaching or wanting to become a teacher.  He is trying to teach his students how to command a room and to grasp the audience's attention.  This is BALLIN'!  I love it!  I left his classroom alone with so much more enthusiasm about teaching!

A lot of people ask "Now, after going to that school, do you really think all schools will be able to do that."  My initial response is "YES!"  But this isn't really what they want to hear.  So here's my response.  "I do believe so, but all teachers at the school aren't like Ron Clark.  They bring their full personality into their classroom.  The theater teacher is cool and laid back.  The science teacher is a regular guy.  The English teacher loves her job and likes to bring English to life.  That's what his school is all about.  The students actually know their teachers because they are not putting up a front, trying to be someone they're not."  I absolutely loved this experience and am highly grateful for the opportunity.

Immediately after this trip was Spring break.  So yes, I was out of my classroom for 6 days straight, came back for 3, was out for another 2 and then it was Spring Break.  I'm sure some of my students thought I was going to quit.  Some were probably happy about this.  Some may have been hoping it was true.  Nonetheless, the majority of them were happy I was back.

After Spring Break, I was ready to start back teaching!  I was excited!  Happy!  Elated!  I was thinking of ways to engage all students so they wanted to be in class.  I love to hear "Ah man.  Ms. Watson, this class went by fast."  It's like music to my ears.

Well guys, my rough patch is over and I enjoy teaching.  Yea, I have my off days, but we all make it through those.  I am looking forward to the end of this school year, summer and the beginning of my 2nd of year of teaching.

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson

The Champ is Here

Well, hello there.  Long time, no post.  I promise the students haven't eaten me alive.

Ok.  So, let's catch up.

My first semester of my first year of teaching is done!  Yes!!  Praise God!! The end of the 2nd 9 weeks was so hard to get through! I could barely sleep.  No, let me change that.  I didn't sleep.  At all.  And y'all, I love sleep.  Other than God, my bed is the number 1 relationship that I can maintain.  ...Until December rolled in.  I was worried about my students not passing my class.  I didn't want to seem like a bad teacher.  I didn't want parents to say "My child is failing.  That means you aren't teaching well.  You're no good at your job.  What are you even doing in the classroom?  Do you know how to teach?"  Yea, I thought of all of this.  So, I was stressing.  Majorly.  Students had some pretty fun extra credit opportunities.  I actually think these will be project-based assignments for next school year.  I hate tests.  Really.  A lot.  Anywho, some students did the extra credit.  The ones who needed it, however, were the ones who didn't complete the extra credit.  I took this opportunity to call parents.  At this time, I realized that I had been awful about communicating with parents.  Well, parents were pretty upset at their child for not completing the extra credit, especially if they were close to failing.  I got a good laugh from this.  I loved hearing the students attempt to explain themselves in the background while I was on the phone with mom/dad.

One thing I enjoyed last 9 weeks was the idea of a "Celebration of Learning."  I saw this on somebody's blog.  Or twitter.  I don't really know.  My memory now-a-days is horrible.  With some tweaks, I tried it out with 8th grade math.  They LOVED it!!  So on test day, we decided to call it a Celebration of Learning instead.  While taking the test, they were celebrating what they learned over the past few weeks.  And when you think of celebrations, you think of parties....and parties mean PARTY HATS!! Ok.  You hate that?  Well, you're not an 8th grader!  They loved those stupid hats.  They wore them while they were yet celebrating (taking their test).  Once they were done celebrating, they took the hats off.  They had them on their heads, on their foreheads (like a unicorn), on their mouths (disgusting), and any other way they could wear them.  It was quite hilarious.

On the last day before break, we had a small celebration for our students - an actual celebration, not a test.  We called it a "block party."  Each grade pretty much stayed on their hall and rotated from different activities in various classrooms.  It actually turned out to be nice.  Well, earlier that day, 2 of my students were arm wrestling during class.  In my mind, I was thinking "I could soooo beat both of them."  But being the professional that I am, I didn't ask.  So that day went on.  During the block party, one of them got SUPER upset and started huffing and puffing - it was quite ridiculous.  So I wanted to diffuse the situation....I asked him to arm wrestle.  He smiled soooo big!  He lit up!  Well, it was a huge deal.  We had a crowd.  I was winning  for a bit, but of course he beat me.  I mean, he's big ole boy.  Well, the guy he was arm wrestling from class wanted to try to beat me.  Because there were a lot of guys who now wanted to arm wrestle, I asked them to get the strongest of them, and I would arm wrestle that person.  It ended up being the student who arm wrestled my first opponent.  Y'all, I beat him!!!  It was so EPIC!!  He was slightly embarrassed.  All of the girls were saying "Oh, yea Ms. Watson!!"  I laughed.  And laughed.  .....And laughed!!  I will never tell my students this, but my arm was sore for 2 days.  Never again.  But I am now a champ at arm wrestling.  THE champ!  Just don't tell the student who beat me.

Y'all, I really love teaching!  And I know I do some crazy stuff in the classroom, but hey!...I'm a crazy person.  I'll try nearly anything.  The kids know this.  Sometimes, however, I wonder if I'm too mean.  Well, I'm not mean, but am I too harsh?  I'll be honest.  I'm hard on my students.  Just like I'm hard on people who know me from outside of the classroom.  But my friends are my age and a little older.  They can take it.  These students are 13/14 years old.  It may be taken as being mean.  I have, however, tried to show them more of the fun side of me.  I laugh and smile more.  I tell jokes.  I'm more laid back.  Oh gosh, these students probably don't know how to take me.  I guess that'll keep them on their toes.

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson

You're Great... You're Awful

Y'all, it's Thanksgiving Break!  I haven't gotten a week off for Thanksgiving since high school (which was only 5 years ago).  Wahooo!!!!

Let's get to it...

So, I often have Algebra 1 to write about how class is going.  At the beginning of the school year, they nearly hated math.  They didn't like the way I taught, they hated the activities, and they knew that they were driving me crazy.  Well, I changed A LOT of things in class, while also working on classroom management.  (Side note:  every time a student makes a smart remark, I immediately follow up with a an even smarter remark.  I'm always a step ahead.  I think it's because I'm young.  Students know this.  They actually like it.  They never know what I'll say.)  Anywho, after changing a few things up, I had them to write again.  It was a complete 180.  They enjoyed the way I was teaching, they enjoyed taking notes (thanks to ISNs), and they enjoyed the activities we did.  The only constructive criticism I received was to do the activities more often.  They love them.  Also, they want their calculators back.  For the 2nd 9 weeks, we have been doing math without calculators.  The only reason we stopped using them was because I realized they had forgotten basic math.  They didn't know how to add/subtract positive and negative numbers.  They didn't know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions.  Fractions!  To students, that's nearly a swear word.  Profanity.  The dreaded "F" word.  BUT they have gotten better with basic math computations.  Next 9 weeks, however, I want to use them so students may better understand systems of equations.  Or I may use this as an opportunity for students to play around with Desmos.

Speaking of Desmos, students will have a few projects for the end of the semester.  The first thing, they will have an equations project.  For some reason, a lot of students struggle with solving equations and inverse operations.  My goodness!!  It's so frustrating.  So my math curriculum specialist gave me this great idea for an equations project.  I'll get back with you on more info concerning that.  I think it'll be fun.  It will, however, be an extra credit assignment.  I think.  Mainly because I don't want to grade 75 projects.  *insert shrug here*  Also, I'm putting up a Christmas tree.  Students will be able to create an ornament for the tree.  I want it to be math related - dealing with something we've learned this semester.  Any suggestions?  I want it to be worth a few bonus points, but I also want it to be fun.  Feel free to comment.

And alas...  What all of the students are complaining about.  #EvilLaugh

WE ARE WRITING ESSAYS!!!  They hate it.  They write essays in English, History and Science.  Math is the LAST subject they thought they'd be writing in.  Well, they aren't really writing an essay.  They have a choice.  I'm still thinking it through.  They can either write a fictional story dealing with slope or research a topic and think of ways slope is involved.  It's in the very early stages of my thought process.  I basically want to do this so that on the very last day, we can watch Polar Express and talk about ways in which slope is seen.  Y'all, Polar Express is my all time favorite movie.  While we watch the movie, we will drink hot chocolate, eat candy canes, and wear pajamas.  I haven't gotten that last part approved.  Hopefully it'll happen.  Y'all just don't know how excited I am about this!

Ok, now what was I talking about?

Oh yea, writing in Algebra 1 about how class was going.

Well, I asked 8th grade math the same thing.  The first time I asked them at the end of the 1st 9 weeks, they weren't really honest.  But!!...last week, they were!  I got what I wanted from them - the truth!!  They said that I move really fast, they want calculators back, they want to listen to music, they want more notes, they want less notes, they want more activities.  I wasn't surprised by this.  I treat 8th grade math completely different than Algebra 1.  COMPLETELY different!  Last 9 weeks, Algebra 1 was my main concern.  Now, it's 8th grade math.  I guess I should find a balance, huh?  So, I've gotten the Algebra 1 students to enjoy math.  Now I need to work on 8th grade math.  That'll definitely be a task.

So to tie in the title of this post, Algebra 1 loves class now.  They think I'm doing a pretty good job.  8th math on the other hand, thinks differently.  Very differently.

And now for a bit of reflection...

I absolutely love teaching.  My 1st nine weeks, I was worried about the kids thinking they could run over me because I'm a first year teacher.  Well, they found out they couldn't.  I mean, they tried EVERYTHING!  At this time, they found out I have a smart mouth.  A clever tongue.  That'll set kids straight.  After students realized they couldn't act a fool in my class, they began to straighten up and fly right!  (I love the phrase "act a fool."  Students think it's funny.)  Now, I can have a bit of fun with them - show them the real me.  Algebra 1 really knows me.  My 8th grade math classes think they know me, but they have no idea.  (I've always wanted to say this to someone.)

Ooh, I got teacher of the month.  I was shocked!  Me??  Really?  I nearly cried.  Nearly!

I thank God for this job! I really believe he is showing me favor with my classes, the students, my fellow teachers, and the administration.  I can't thank Him enough!

Until next time,

Ms. C. Watson