Nonsense & Foolishness

I have heard the principal use the terms nonsense and foolishness to describe the students' behaviors.  They are often the best (and only!) words that can describe students' antics.

Today a girl took a post-it note from my desk and wrote "Press the Button" on the top.  Below, she drew a circle and shaded it in.  She then put it on her forehead so it extended down, nearly covering her eyes.  When other students walked by and touched the "button" she would say loudly, "Honk, honk!"  Is this nonsense?  Is this foolishness?  Is there some mathematical value to this exercise that I clearly missed?!  (No, she didn't get in trouble because it was at the end of the school day and more annoying - to me - than disruptive to hear her honking!)

World Metrology Day: Measurements in Daily Life

Today is World Metrology Day!  WMD (?!) celebrates the signature by representatives of seventeen nations of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875. The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal application. The original aim of the Metre Convention - the worldwide uniformity of measurement - remains as important today as it was in 1875.  The theme for this year's event is "Measurements in Daily Life."  As luck has it, we're working on a measurement unit so there is a perfect tie-in.  Believe it or not, there are careers in the science of weights and measures!

Class Size

News Report:  50,421 Chicago kids in homerooms over the class size limit
Data obtained by WBEZ show 18 percent of elementary school homerooms in Chicago Public Schools have more kids than they are supposed to.

One of the biggest challenges I've had this year is the large size of the classes.  Each of the Grade 7 homerooms at my school has 36-37 students.  These homeroom groups rotate through my room for math during the day.  "The district’s own guidelines say classes should be capped at 28 kids for younger students, 31 for third graders and up."  While it is difficult having so many in the upper elementary/middle grades, I can only imagine what it is like for the younger grades to have just as many.  I admire the younger grades teachers who have classes exceeding the caps (which are also high) and maintain their sanity!

Scaffolding Tasks

As the end of the school year approaches, it's clear (to me) that project-oriented lessons are going to be necessary to keep the kids engaged.  They (and me!) are not in the mood for working out the textbook.  I have been drawing on things from Connected Math Project and opted for the project:  Package Design Contest.  We hadn't done all of the lessons that preceded the project in the CMP Filling & Wrapping unit.  Still, we had touched on several of the ideas and had worked extensively (for us!) with pentominoes and hexominoes.  After "launching" the task with the first class - reading through the description and requirements and my asking some questions to be sure students understand the intent - I set the students off to begin working.  It was clear few students had the ability to focus on a project of this magnitude without some support.  It turned out to be a successful start after I wrote several questions to support the students as they first worked on the small package.  I will continue with other sets of questions for the other packages as we work through the project on successive days.  I wonder:  Is there value in giving this project to future teachers and asking them how they could scaffold students' learning/progression through this project?  What are some of the key questions to focus on completing the project?  What are some key questions to focus on the ideas to be understood in the project?  What are some key questions to develop and extend all students?  What are some additional questions to help struggling learners without taking away opportunities for mathematical thinking?

Another (Faux) Context

This is one of the student worksheets that comes with the textbook I'm using.  I can understand having differently sized boxes for paper clips.  They seem small enough that they can fit into a variety of packaging.  But pens and envelopes?!  Isn't there a missing context here:  pens and envelopes have a fixed size!  Would the pens (#2) in the 4x5x3 box fix in the other boxes?  How long are they?  Likewise, what size are the envelopes (#3)?  Are they a standard size?  It seems that any link to reality must be omitted for a student to be successful with questions. 

A Typical Day

What do CPS teachers do all day?  The articles linked below let you know!

A Chicago Teacher’s School Day: It’s Already Long (At Least for Teachers) - Chicago Magazine


Chicago Public Schools Teachers Regularly Work Nearly 11-Hour Days, 58-Hour Weeks: Report - Huffington Post

Chicago Wants Longer School Day; Foes Want Details - NPR

The biggest waste of time (in my opinion) is collecting lunch money and sorting lunch tickets every morning.  That, along with waiting for the attendance system to boot on the computer, easily takes 15 minutes each day.  

Teacher Appreciation Week

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  There is a little "goodie" for teachers at school each day this week:

• Monday:  Breakfast Treats
• Tuesday:  I Heart Whiteboard Day (markers for teachers)
• Wednesday:  Teacher Luncheon
• Thursday:  Donuts Day
• Friday:  "Orange You Glad It's Friday?"

I think the teachers are more appreciative of the other teachers than some of the students are of the teachers!  (Or is that just the feeling I get from a few of my "darlings"?!)

Cup Song

 The "Cups Song" is alive and well with students in my classroom!  Students do it before school, at the beginning of the day, during math, during other classes...  I haven't heard the whole song until I found the clip on youtube (above)!  The clip below tries to explore the origins and impact of the ditty.

 

Bloxorz

One of my students was playing on the computer during recess.  I thought the game he was playing looked interesting.  He shared the site:  http://hoodamath.com/  I haven't had time to look through the various games on the site, but Bloxorz, the game he was playing, gave me a few minutes reprieve from end-of-the-quarter grading!  Give it a try... Tell me what you think of the game.  Also, do you find any other interesting games on the site?

Estimation - Flowers

As a follow-up to the earlier estimation bulletin board (March 22), the same teacher replaced the eggs with flowers.  This time she added the clues on the left to help students get an exact answer while still considering the estimate.  (Did it take away thinking opportunities or add multiple strategies?)  Again, it seemed interesting and engaging for students.  (This bulletin board is near the lunch room so students see it coming and going from lunch.  I noticed many of them working on the problem.)

April Fool's

I saw this online and thought it was interesting...  From where comes the 'hole' when the pieces are rearranged??

Spring Break - Newspaper Math Scavenger Hunt

Spring break!!  One week off with no students!  I think both the students and the teachers are ready for the coming week.

Several students inquired about extra credit they could do over the break.  Some presented it as a way to "not get rusty" without classes; really, I know they just want a higher grade!  I was made aware of Math Scavenger Hunts using the newspaper.  (Thanks, Mom!)  I thought this would be a good way to combine some math and literacy while the kids are out.  We'll see how it turns out!

The Scavenger Hunt activity is adapted from By the Numbers:  Mathematical Connections in The Forum for Middle-Grade Students at the Learning Forum.

Here are some examples of Scavenger Hunt prompts:

See if you can find each of these in the newspaper or a magazine.  Clips out the headline/paragraph/page and attach it to construction paper.  Label each item you find.

• A fraction that is more than one-fifth.
• A money amount less than $1.
• A date other than today's.
• A five-digit number.
• A decimal that is not an amount of money.
• A store giving a discount of 20 percent or more.
• An ad larger than half of the newspaper page.
• A temperature higher than 40 degrees.

Estimation - Spring/Easter

Various teachers take turns at putting up the "math" bulletin board.  A third(?) grade teacher created this bulletin board.  Students were to estimate the number of eggs in the basket.  I thought it was interesting to see the students working on this.  Younger students would try to count one-by-one and ended up either (a) losing count or (b) running out of known numbers!  Older students were just as easily thrown by the "jumble" of eggs or they would lose patience.  It seems like a (momentarily) engaging task that students could revisit more than once to try their count again.  Students could submit their guesses and the closest guess was the winner.   It is, in my opinion, one of the better math bulletin boards I've seen at school this year.

Pi Day!

March 14: Pi Day!  I considered several activities for the students.  In the end, it worked best to have the students make "piems" (poems for pi day)!  The number of letters in each of the consecutive words of the poem had to follow the digits of pi.  3.1415...  The students wrote their piems on round plates and decorated them as they wished. We also had a "digits of pi" contest.  After a week of practice, the winner knew 52 digits without an error.  (Not even close to the world record holder!)

Here are some of the student examples (not all are correct):

• Can I have a large milkshake an’ eleven Cokes plz?
• It’s a fact:  A human is extremely stupid about Xbox.
• Hey!  I want a candy.  Delicious or creamy candy.  Bye!
• Can I have a piece?  Pineapple or Banana, Mango and Peach. Mmmmmmmm!  Smoothies? 
• All I know, I didn’t determine (establish) or decide fate.
• It’s a fact:  I never remembers to listen while math class!
• Can I have a panda?  Beautiful it always looks!  Yes!
• Can I have a husky, Clarrissa?  Is having pretty dogs tough?
• May I bake a tasty, delicious pi before Jared can steal?  Everyone chocolate?
• Can I have a fresh container of coffee and Pepsi?
• May I have a piece, Jacqueline, of cookie?  Thank you.
• It’s a bird!  O great, beautiful, so pretty thing.  You great creature!
• Hey, I love U!  You’re wonderful to every1.
• Can I have a puppy?  Christmas is around.  Santa can bring Precious.  Christmas Holiday.  Beautiful day to get Precious.
• Hey, I want a pizza, Esmeralda.  So please leave the pizza.
• Wow, I have a funny alligator.  It cannot laugh, tho.
• Hey, I love U 4ever!  Beautiful as candys!
• Hey, I cook a great spaghetti to Adison today, two times.
• Hey, I have a large container of orange roses.
• May U pass a large container, ur purple alien guy thing occupied beautiful flowers.
• All I want, a lover unwilling to forget about our dates…
• May I have a large container to string lions for being numerous?
• Can I have a candy, delicious.  It tastes yummy.  Its yummy delicacy, delicious.  Amazing Delicious!  It’s so yum.
• Pie:  I love a great delicious pi, except apple pie.
• Hey, I want a pizza:  delicious!
• Can I love a thing, something so dreamy, maybe sleeping?
• How I hate a sleep interrupt on calmly large bed using foolishy reasoning!
• How I love to swear, eternally, my family today.  And great kindness expressed towards ourselves.  Fun we see together.
• How I love a city’s glamorous or lovely views.  The light reflects buildings, sunsets enlighten and as the mornings come, bright as lights like our new firework.
• You, I said, a grand adventure… It awaits.  Lives are never ordinary existence without brilliant end…
• How I hate a weird muffin-man.
• Can I have a great chocolate in London today?
• Can I play a piano Saturdays or travel Earth the great?
• How I love a sport, waterpolo.  In freezy water.  The water, swimming, wonderful whistle.  Whistling how, on the children keep saying me, amazed when you are shouting.

The Knife Song - Chop, Chop

This song has taken off among the kids - boys and girls - this week.  Some of them tell me they don't know the words but they do it anyway!  (I'm not sure it is necessary to know the words to be annoying.)  The kids do it before class, during class, while testing, etc.  What's the attraction??  I wonder how long it will last...   Oh, I should mention they use pencils instead of knives in class.  Some students have assured me, however, that they do use a knife when they are at home.  "Oh my!"  (There are other youtube clips with people going faster, but you can hear the words on this one.)

Algebra

One of my students wrote this in her notebook...  A web search shows it is not her original work.  Nevertheless, I thought it was clever!

What's the Point?

An exercise in the textbook:  Karen walks 0.7 miles.  Write the decimal as a percent.

Am I missing something?  Do we care about Karen?  Does Karen add anything to the exercise?  This seems to be an instance where textbook authors try to dress up a low-level task by providing a "context."  But is it relevant?  Does it motivate students and provide a connection anything meaningful?  If so, I have missed it!  In fact, I wonder if the context is confusing... does "Karen walks 70% miles" even make sense?!