tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81165655412744032982024-02-19T02:31:16.522-05:00Simplifying RadicalsSimplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-3190158017432759032023-01-05T07:04:00.002-05:002023-01-05T07:04:30.124-05:00Flashback Days<p>I read the book Powerful Teaching by Pooja K Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain a few years ago and the message stuck with me. I highly recommend reading this book and putting it's ideas into practice. The book highlights these four power tools:</p><p>1) Retrieval</p><p>2) Spacing</p><p>3) Interleaving</p><p>4) Feedback</p><p>I created what I like to call Flashback Days to have my students engage in all four of these tools. </p><p>I like to create activities with the Desmos activity builder. The problems and questions that are included can be anything that was previously covered in class (retrieval), there has been some time between when we learned the topic and when we are again practicing it (spacing), the problems are not in any particular order (interleaving), and the students get feedback immediately about their answers (feedback).</p><p>I made the questions in such a way that students were not able to access the next question until the current question was correct. This isn't necessary but I noticed that when I put students into groups to do work they often "divide and conquer". Meaning, they assign each group member certain problems to do, copy from each other, and never check each other's work. </p><p>I also have a little prize if they make it to the end of the activity. I have a lock box at the front of the room with a few small prizes inside. </p><p>Here is a link to the most recent Flashback that we completed. If you are following my Algebra 1 curriculum, this can be used once you have completed at least unit 4 lesson 4.</p><p><a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/639a25cf4b896fd930ef0875" target="_blank">Click Here for Flashback</a>.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZF9ga_PTIovM9MHGoqO6XqfxUEY9mntIu4nkPnbttVGEazUTvOsbFYsjidn8TEvRgc7L5jSahi6k2lLQf02VubI-BRY1Cs-GbY71sG1TFlrliSS7Oyh6UMUGhzCD_ye0IUgKAAIjQBCfe2acobcEbUljPaxAZEnColgvPd2IG6YSmjnIq91VKSCZ0w/s1148/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-04%20at%202.20.46%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1148" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZF9ga_PTIovM9MHGoqO6XqfxUEY9mntIu4nkPnbttVGEazUTvOsbFYsjidn8TEvRgc7L5jSahi6k2lLQf02VubI-BRY1Cs-GbY71sG1TFlrliSS7Oyh6UMUGhzCD_ye0IUgKAAIjQBCfe2acobcEbUljPaxAZEnColgvPd2IG6YSmjnIq91VKSCZ0w/w320-h181/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-04%20at%202.20.46%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Algebra-1-Curriculum-Keystone-Algebra-1-5629480?st=10d7b8cc3a6b72d181fbc16f1b2e54fd" target="_blank">Algebra 1 Curriculum</a></p><p><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Algebra-1-Curriculum-Keystone-Includes-Digital-Escape-Rooms-Test-Generators--4595302?st=10d7b8cc3a6b72d181fbc16f1b2e54fd" target="_blank">Algebra 1 Curriculum with Activities</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-30662526290824931562023-01-02T09:26:00.001-05:002023-01-02T09:26:47.292-05:00Desmos Slope Review: Random Number Generator<p> When we left for Christmas break, my students were struggling with slope. I know I can't really move forward with graphing until they have a better understanding of determining slope, so I created the following Desmos activity.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_zsU9BQJS-_HGv8XYVlNFVA14ON7jTQLzC4Jsg4virQfNJ9fnnH0LqpdIe1MNWzasByuxuod0TTw45MNuBHRDtrlzYpiQcWFPfsRZTGgk0Cujk2l9mA7yfU1FDR2z7Z0bsi8lNU8dG9KY7BiitO2LOXdW8Vs0v75VpbjOc-QRVASyiCizds6RzZK/s2196/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-02%20at%209.21.39%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="2196" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_zsU9BQJS-_HGv8XYVlNFVA14ON7jTQLzC4Jsg4virQfNJ9fnnH0LqpdIe1MNWzasByuxuod0TTw45MNuBHRDtrlzYpiQcWFPfsRZTGgk0Cujk2l9mA7yfU1FDR2z7Z0bsi8lNU8dG9KY7BiitO2LOXdW8Vs0v75VpbjOc-QRVASyiCizds6RzZK/w400-h231/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-02%20at%209.21.39%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/624d5effa8396a0520dca23f" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for the demos activity.</p><p>In this activity, each student receives their very own problems that are different than their classmate's problems. I added a random number generator to do that. </p><p>It also gives feedback to the teacher and the student when they get a problem correct. </p><p>At the end of the activity there are 5 screens where I added a button so the students can practice as much as they need to for each type of given information (table, graph, equation, or ordered pairs).</p><p>Feel free to use this activity exactly the way that it is, or you can copy and paste any screens to create your own version.</p><p>Enjoy!!</p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09666343180736436608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-86160949539477816442023-01-01T17:38:00.003-05:002023-01-01T17:38:20.993-05:00Trigonometry Unit 4 Review<p>I created this Trigonometry break-in for my students to do when we return from winter break this coming week. </p><p><a href=" https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/63a1ff43814c81f5c5410818" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for break-in activity.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3aEP9-smItJtBSXROabJbMQSndWNXU4Ot_Q2zkPJ-7JWANL-PjdHRyiifNTKWClDzpTRzTHYjreL3jW8lyUSS5ZWv1mGxSDv1DW8kVUYP3lO3aipZWOMHYdnt3Z9xPVJhNvjVGLveGd0KMNdOfudgO1phBKlM7KXimps2BfMQ4AFVtXduLOLHKq2/s862/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-01%20at%203.04.31%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="642" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3aEP9-smItJtBSXROabJbMQSndWNXU4Ot_Q2zkPJ-7JWANL-PjdHRyiifNTKWClDzpTRzTHYjreL3jW8lyUSS5ZWv1mGxSDv1DW8kVUYP3lO3aipZWOMHYdnt3Z9xPVJhNvjVGLveGd0KMNdOfudgO1phBKlM7KXimps2BfMQ4AFVtXduLOLHKq2/w149-h200/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-01%20at%203.04.31%20PM.png" width="149" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09666343180736436608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-22190131332010498772022-12-08T06:59:00.000-05:002022-12-08T06:59:00.676-05:00Slope-Intercept Graphing Game - NCTM 2022 Baltimore<p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rqe8l7mASF22SAOtB_pZLLf0m-sBsDs_/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click HERE for the printable game</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/ZP5OqF2bFnM" target="_blank">Click HERE for the setup</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/L08xvVa-jZY" target="_blank">Click HERE for the gameplay</a>.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItsd6cV7CzwBO5pweMtEEvZVmmjcjXlCFV3MHbt1qPSOowswtoBOmAKGBsCHzcJ20edT0I1Qc0HZ37tDXwAQsdOgDgNm4R3ZHDYdQ2fDJ1DhJcAeHnyyErOOUEdHegYCc-0jRaHni8HnKdJaN2An9adypP3bxN-Hiu45655w-OeXblTvFPQC7pvWL1w/s2724/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%206.58.32%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="2724" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItsd6cV7CzwBO5pweMtEEvZVmmjcjXlCFV3MHbt1qPSOowswtoBOmAKGBsCHzcJ20edT0I1Qc0HZ37tDXwAQsdOgDgNm4R3ZHDYdQ2fDJ1DhJcAeHnyyErOOUEdHegYCc-0jRaHni8HnKdJaN2An9adypP3bxN-Hiu45655w-OeXblTvFPQC7pvWL1w/w400-h217/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%206.58.32%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-43206534049139651202022-12-08T06:48:00.005-05:002022-12-08T06:49:42.117-05:00Data Analysis Game - NCTM 2022 Baltimore<p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12n-dZQbhYBPNh9JO5aUs7Hh5n7ESbeod/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click HERE for the printable game</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/StDUGVVaPbw" target="_blank">Click HERE for the game setup</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/c8dZV_gecag" target="_blank">Click HERE for the game play.</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeskhR8_qaL5TKzkiNtzoZWaKoOq6JkqbjH6tYDyhO7PAv7Vc0OH-vMxCiGW48qwQIzg7R_EjDg4_yTDcp_EtZDvwbONPCn__JjY0gb-KZ11crR03hs65avFs7sPODCX8gzlF3dRxAZMRonDvJRre67bVIquceYdivh23a69-dGqn610bRgcLgCSq7uw/s2774/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%206.47.59%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="2774" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeskhR8_qaL5TKzkiNtzoZWaKoOq6JkqbjH6tYDyhO7PAv7Vc0OH-vMxCiGW48qwQIzg7R_EjDg4_yTDcp_EtZDvwbONPCn__JjY0gb-KZ11crR03hs65avFs7sPODCX8gzlF3dRxAZMRonDvJRre67bVIquceYdivh23a69-dGqn610bRgcLgCSq7uw/w400-h214/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%206.47.59%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-68147179916817028542022-12-07T09:44:00.005-05:002022-12-07T09:44:25.598-05:00Factoring Game - NCTM Baltimore 2022<p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uNA2ZPrv78WhCyXUSPVCvvAb1HcXOkLa/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here for the printable game</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/-mTjH51Y_vU" target="_blank">Click here for the game setup</a>.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/_CGZ8b-VNIg" target="_blank">Click here for the gameplay</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbxEAkjUut1XGHt6BEvDSVhrU-TC0Mhbx_XeaKNCxKxxGDCsnBq01Np41tMOjP3t6wQl64HHsvDbegB6jlCNcrY5ueFxJfcBDH-Y1Gqugsz0fVkMdrFXbzYeh5doHJhz61LL-EL0v4TzEO2Y9pKfqTfdkhvTCAmONvL7khrJrPtaJZN6LSHNZ6ILfVA/s2776/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-07%20at%209.43.42%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2776" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbxEAkjUut1XGHt6BEvDSVhrU-TC0Mhbx_XeaKNCxKxxGDCsnBq01Np41tMOjP3t6wQl64HHsvDbegB6jlCNcrY5ueFxJfcBDH-Y1Gqugsz0fVkMdrFXbzYeh5doHJhz61LL-EL0v4TzEO2Y9pKfqTfdkhvTCAmONvL7khrJrPtaJZN6LSHNZ6ILfVA/w400-h215/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-07%20at%209.43.42%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-40922807695432211212022-02-24T15:09:00.002-05:002023-11-29T17:46:25.552-05:0012 Things Game Design Has Taught Me About Lesson Planning<p>My game design story starts about 11 years ago. Two professors from the local community college wanted to teach teachers about educational game design. So, they applied for a grant from the NSF and were awarded the money to do just that. </p><p>I remember sitting in the workshop during the summer of 2011. There were about 25 teachers in this room coming up with example after example of quiz-like games that we use in our classrooms. Jeopardy-style games: get the question right then do something in the actual game. But the professors were gentle and diligent in telling us no, we're moving beyond this. The truth is that none of us ever saw an educational game that wasn't a quiz. </p><p>The professors, Steven Weitz and Mary Rasley developed their edugaming framework. <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/SeriousGamesAssoc/steven-weitz-mary-e-rasley-the-edugaming-framework" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to see that masterpiece. This framework can help educators create games that are educational AND fun. No kidding. </p><p>And I was hooked. I couldn't get enough. I asked to attend the workshop again the next summer and the summer after that. They agreed that I could attend, but I wouldn't be able to receive the stipend again. Who cares about the money when I have the opportunity to design games!?! </p><p>What I found from my time working with Mr. Weitz and Ms. Rasley not only helped me to develop educational games, but it helped with my lesson planning. Here is what I learned...</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqA1Pvyr-MhpVourmnl_21bwM7J45xyTCr1XAiEVFV6botso9QqhLHPvKOMcxO5JdJ0VTsGYP_V6Lx7LqjKV7tfzPeyLB-0Bfu4LgRN3eWQYKCP7aes3iomBM2rXoaiNc_XVCw2cEX-g4XWKl2NSi7F1uKwJ3xsYsBofZ01tXfqt6SscQH9Sx1S1fLxQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqA1Pvyr-MhpVourmnl_21bwM7J45xyTCr1XAiEVFV6botso9QqhLHPvKOMcxO5JdJ0VTsGYP_V6Lx7LqjKV7tfzPeyLB-0Bfu4LgRN3eWQYKCP7aes3iomBM2rXoaiNc_XVCw2cEX-g4XWKl2NSi7F1uKwJ3xsYsBofZ01tXfqt6SscQH9Sx1S1fLxQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>1) GIVE YOUR PLAYERS A SMALL WIN</p><p>In game design it is a good practice to allow your players to have a small win during the beginning stages of the game. It gives them a powerful little shot of serotonin that builds engagement, confidence, and trust. It makes the players feel successful and encourages them to keep playing the game.</p><p>The same is true in the classroom. You want to give your students a small win at the beginning of each lesson. Give them that shot of serotonin that will win their trust, but don't make it too easy that it insults them. Some fool proof methods are to give them a win that doesn't necessarily have a right answer. A few examples include Notice and Wonder, Which One Doesn't Belong, and Open Middle. </p><p><br /></p><p>2) A GREAT STORY CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING</p><p>Can you image playing Super Mario Bros. without the storyline? I suppose it's possible, however you lose so much along the way. Those Goombas that you squash? They're now squares. The princess that you save? That's just the right most part of your screen. Yawn. </p><p>I still remember the look on my students' faces when they entered my classroom to see me drinking a can of soda in the front of the room. They KNEW something was up, and I immediately had them engaged and questioning what was going on. This is how I introduced systems of linear equations; I wanted to know if I should purchase a Soda Stream (<a href="http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/2013/05/soda-stream-vs-coca-cola.html" target="_blank">read about that lesson here</a>). When the question was posed that way, I was bombarded with opinions. Students who NEEDED me to hear what they had to say. This was much different than when I asked where two equations will intersect. </p><p><br /></p><p>3) LET THE PLAYERS KNOW WHERE THEY STAND (FEEDBACK)</p><p>Raise your hand if you look at the Swiffer cloth after you are done cleaning. And why do we do this? I'll tell you why, it's because we want the feedback. We want to know if we actually just cleaned the floor or if we wasted our time pushing a stick around. Along the same lines, canister vacuum cleaners have see-through canisters so we can see when they're full. Elevator buttons have lights so we know that we pushed the button properly. Car dashboards let us know how much fuel is in our tanks. Banks send statements so we know how much money is in our accounts. You get the point. This is important in game design as well as education. </p><p>In game design we want the players to see (feel?) the consequence of their actions. Whether it's seeing the scoreboard (sports), or being able to count how much money they have, or how many cards are left in their hand, this feedback is crucial to making good decisions in the game. </p><p>In education we want the students to see the feedback of their work. Feedback like how a graph changes if the slope is manipulated. Or when a student predicts that two lines should intersect in the 1st quadrant but their solution is in the 3rd quadrant. Or simply asking if their solution makes sense.</p><p><br /></p><p>4) GIVE THE PLAYERS SOMETHING TO DO ON EVERY TURN</p><p>You've hear the phrase: "Idle hands are the devil's playground." No truer words have ever been said about teenagers. </p><p>I don't know about you, but when it's not my turn in a game, I want to have something to do. Or at least have my status in a game impacted in some way. The first game I ever played that did this was Catan. When a player rolls the dice on his turn, everyone has to pay attention to see if they receive a resource. The dice roll doesn't only impact the currently player. Genius!</p><p>You see this with your students as well. "What do I do when I'm done?" I like to have some type of ongoing project or puzzle for the students to work on. Read about my <a href="http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/2018/01/four-4s-posters.html" target="_blank">Four 4s Posters in the this post.</a> I also do not assign homework daily, I assign homework weekly. Homework that opens early each Saturday morning and doesn't close until late Friday evening. This way students can continue to work on that assignment when there is down time for them in class. </p><p><br /></p><p>5) LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE</p><p>I was once told that the best way to gauge if players liked my game was what they said when the game was over. If they said, "Let's play that again!" it means you're on to something. </p><p>Intuitively we teachers know this as well. You've had students say, "Class is over already?". Classic! But more than that, encourage them to possibly dig deeper, to ask more questions, or send them on their way with a challenging question/problem. </p><p><br /></p><p>6) GIVE THEM INTERESTING CHOICES</p><p>One of the first things I have my game design do it play a children's game like Candyland or Chutes and Ladders. I listen and watch them as they play, observing and writing down anything I notice. It never fails that the students are initially excited to play something so easy and nostalgic. But after a few minutes their enthusiasm wears off. They actually start yawning, it looks like work, and some groups have stopped playing. What happened? They tell me the game is boring. </p><p>People, that same thing happens in our math classes. When we make our lessons too easy or the students have no interesting choices, we lead them on a path to boredom. If you think about your favorite game (mine is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wingspan-Board-Game-Bird-Collection-Engine-Building/dp/B07YQ641NQ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3OWU6R2EW3YYK&keywords=wingspan&qid=1645628048&sprefix=wingspan%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-2" target="_blank">wingspan</a>) you must admit that game doesn't tell you want you must do. It gives you options of what you can do. </p><p><br /></p><p>7) INCLUDE INTERACTION</p><p>Ok, I will admit that there are some games out there that offer little in choice but people still argue that they're fun (I'm looking at you Monopoly). Why do people like this game? Why do people insist that this game is awesome? You have next to no choice, or what appears to be a choice really isn't. And the winner of the game is known loooooong before the game ever ends. So, what's happening here? My guess is that this is a game you played with people you really enjoy. It wasn't the game, it was the people. </p><p>If students are able to interact with a lesson or have an activity where they interact with their peers, the interest level just went up a few notches. </p><p><br /></p><p>8) HAVE CLEAR GOALS</p><p>I can't imagine playing a game where I had no idea how to win. I think that's why I turn my kids down so much with Minecraft. They like to play creative mode and I just don't get it. Unless, we create our own goal: like the time we decided to build a house that was modeled after our own house. Now that was fun....once we have a clear goal in mind. </p><p>The lessons that my students seem to like the most are the ones where there was a clear goal: Does it make financial sense for me to purchase a soda stream? How many squares are hidden under each flap? Who will win the race? Where will these lines intersect? How many points will Mario get at this height on the flagpole? </p><p>Our goals as teachers may look different. Students will be able to: solve a system of equations, solve a linear equation, determine the probability, etc. </p><p>When lesson planning, take into consideration your own goals (curriculum standards) plus the goals of your students (storyline).</p><p><br /></p><p>9) USE THE RULE OF LOOP (Reflect and Update)</p><p>The rule of loop with game design is finding a 'problem' with the gameplay, reflecting on why that issue may be occurring, brainstorming a way to fix it, implement the change, record the results, and doing that all over again.</p><p>Teaching is no different. With each unit and lesson we should reflect on the learning through formative assessment, make necessary adjustments, and start the loop all over again.</p><p><br /></p><p>10) MORE THAN ONE WAY TO WIN</p><p>One of the things I love about the game Wingspan is that there are different ways to get points and you as the player get to choose. I could play the bird cards that have high points, or I could play bird cards that might have low points but have more eggs, or I could try for the bonus card points, or the end of round goals. You win by having the most points, but the player has a choice on how to get those points.</p><p>In the classroom, a student will receive an A if they have 93% or higher, but how they earn those 93 percentage points can vary. A written test? A presentation? A project? A video? A song and dance?</p><p><br /></p><p>11) JUST RIGHT CHALLENGE</p><p>There is a reason very few toddlers play Chess and very few teenagers play HI HO CHERRY-O. It's not the right challenge. </p><p>"Why do we have to learn this?" If I had a nickel for every time.....</p><p>When I hear that question from my students I pause and do a quick evaluation of the situation. This question is not that the students don't see the relevance of the material. It's because they are over or underwhelmed. What is being presented is too hard or too easy. </p><p>I think one thing we teachers always like to throw out there is how important math is in the real world (and it is), but students aren't really interested in when they're going to use this. After this question is posed is not the right time for a lecture about how systems of equations are important in their everyday adult life. It's about really listening to your students. Plus, students are often engaged in activities that have little or no use in their everyday lives (Clash of Clans, Candy Crush, Roblox??). </p><p>I have never been asked "When are we every going to use this?" during a lesson with a storyline. Even the lesson on how many points Mario will get depending on where he jumps on the flagpole. When is that ever going to be used in real life?</p><p><br /></p><p>12) APPEARANCE MATTERS </p><p>This is the least important of the 12, but it still matters. I remember reading Harry Wong's book, The First Days of School where he talks about dressing professionally. He stated that a person's appearance shouldn't matter, but it does. In game design a good-looking game is one of life's little pleasures. Again, another reason I like Wingspan. The artwork is breathtaking. I appreciate that the game designers took the time to have great artwork done. Attention to detail!</p><p>Not only are your students judging you on your appearance, but they're judging you on your lesson's appearance. Imagine the impression you would make given a typed assignment compared to a hand-written assignment. </p><p>** BTW, a handwritten well-planned lesson is ALWAYS better than a typed stinky lesson. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-35615575963724744392022-02-21T11:20:00.004-05:002022-02-24T07:49:33.076-05:00Zendo - For the Math Classroom<p>If you haven't played Zendo yet, you are missing out on a fun little logic game. In a nutshell, the "master" is manipulating the playing pieces by following a secret rule that the other players don't know. The players will each create something and the master will let them know if it follows the rule or not giving counter examples as necessary. The first player to guess the rule, wins.</p><p>My Algebra 1 classes are studying graphing and linear equations and I know this could be an interesting topic to use.</p><p>There could be some rules that are created ahead of time or the students could create their own rule. </p><p>Some ideas:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The y-intercept is a multiple of 3.</li><li>The line has a negative x-intercept.</li><li>The line passes through the point (#, #)</li><li>The line is never in the # quadrant.</li><li>The line has an x-intercept that is 1 greater than the y-intercept</li><li>The slope and y-intercept have opposite signs.</li><li>The slope and y-intercept have the same sign.</li><li>If the y-intercept is even, the slope is positive, otherwise the slope is negative.</li></ul><div> </div><div>Put the class into teams and have one group start by sketching the graph of a line. </div><div>**Note - all graphs/equations are displayed throughout the round so that students can refer to what did fit the rule and what didn't. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's say the rule is "The y-intercept is a multiple of 3."</div><div><br /></div><div>Group 1</div><div>Group 1's example: y = x</div><div>Master's answer: Yes</div><div>Group 1 Guess: The slope must be positive.</div><div>Master's Answer: No</div><div>Master's Counterexample: y = -x</div><div><br /></div><div>Group 2</div><div>Group 2's example: y = 1/2x</div><div>Master's Answer: Yes</div><div>Group 2's Guess: The y-intercept must be 0.</div><div>Master's Answer: No</div><div>Master's Counterexample: y = x + 3</div><div><br /></div><div>Group 3</div><div>Group 3's example: y = -x + 3</div><div>Master's Answer: Yes</div><div>Group 3's Guess: The slope must be either 1 or -1.</div><div>Master's Answer: No</div><div>Master's Counterexample: y = 1/2x + 3</div><div><br /></div><div>Group 4</div><div>Group 4's example: y = 2x - 1</div><div>Master's answer: No</div><div>Group 4's Guess: The y-intercept cannot be negative.</div><div>Master's answer: No</div><div>Master's counterexample: y = x - 3</div><div><br /></div><div>On and on this goes until a group guess's the secret rule correctly. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-31222741279819650142022-02-16T13:10:00.002-05:002022-02-18T11:58:29.825-05:00Data Analysis Game<p>Here are my first thoughts on a Data Analysis game. Any suggestions and/or comments are welcome!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5Y0TPgSCQ" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to see a video of a few rounds of play. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb2sA5hzU_nJaZEueLL9T2ep3MzzZ8hHYYMCzCaUdpDvSDC4d-bPL1hiOgawdkuwQkcEIRNYAGntA7OanIRf4VtZ3sW_zckGofpk9jv3OTShXfmgGNeERt37sYUAHzT0HIeeflrfsuaNZqE-EZM3NsechuJdS8N8QM29edfanOXdxouviMsrxSwPBGOw=s2352" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="2352" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb2sA5hzU_nJaZEueLL9T2ep3MzzZ8hHYYMCzCaUdpDvSDC4d-bPL1hiOgawdkuwQkcEIRNYAGntA7OanIRf4VtZ3sW_zckGofpk9jv3OTShXfmgGNeERt37sYUAHzT0HIeeflrfsuaNZqE-EZM3NsechuJdS8N8QM29edfanOXdxouviMsrxSwPBGOw=w400-h206" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Topic: Median, Mode, Range, Lower Quartile, Upper Quartile, and Interquartile Range</p><p>Course: Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1</p><p>Players: 2 - 4 (don't go crazy here)</p><p>Materials:</p><p>8 dice (6-sided), tokens, Data Goal Cards </p><p><br /></p><p>Set up:</p><p>Shuffle the Data Goal Cards and place facedown on the playing surface to create a draw pile.</p><p>Turn the top 4 cards face up.</p><p>Place one token next to each face up card.</p><p>Give the 8 dice to the first player.</p><p><br /></p><p>Game Play:</p><p>The first player rolls all 8 dice keeping any that he wishes. He may re-roll the dice at total of 3 times (like Yahtzee). After the 3rd roll, he uses 6 of the dice to create a set of data. The other 2 dice are set to the side. </p><p>For each Data Goal Card that his dice match, he takes those tokens. </p><p>For each Data Goal Card that was matched, it is placed in a discard pile and another card is drawn from the deck to replace it.</p><p>Add one token next to each face up card. Note - the cards that were not matched will start to have multiple token next to them, making them more desirable. </p><p>Pass the dice to the next player.</p><p><br /></p><p>Winner:</p><p>After a certain amount of time, the player with the most tokens is the winner.</p><p><br /></p><p>FAQs:</p><p>If a player's data set has more than one mode, it is still a match if one of them matches the goal.</p><p>Data Goal Cards stay in place until a player matches it.</p><p>Tokens will start to pile up for challenging goal cards making them more desirable. </p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-63097586052946914272021-10-21T09:50:00.002-04:002021-10-21T09:50:42.742-04:00"Mom, Dividing Fractions is Confusing!"<p>My younger son (we call him Cheese), is in 6th grade and rarely asks me for help with this homework. Not that he doesn't need it, mind you. </p><p>My older son (we call him Big J) who is in 11th grade Geometry won't do a single math assignment without me sitting next to him, even if he knows what he's doing. </p><p>So, when Cheese asked me for help with his math homework last night unprompted, I was elated. I LOVE sitting at the dining room table with my boys (and sometimes their friends) talking about math and whatever else might come up. </p><p>Cheese: I just divided 4 by 1/2 and got 8. That can't be right.</p><p>Me: Why not?</p><p>Cheese: Well, the number shouldn't get bigger.</p><p>Me: I have 4 pizzas and all of your friends can each eat half a pizza. How many friends can you invite over?</p><p>Cheese: Two. No wait, that doesn't make sense. Four, no wait. </p><p>Me: Draw it out.</p><p>Cheese: No, I got this.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>Cheese: I don't know.</p><p>Me: Let's think about division. What is Ten divided by Two?</p><p>Cheese: Five</p><p>Me: Why?</p><p>Cheese: Because I can fit two into ten five times.</p><p>Me: Ok, then how many halves can you fit into four?</p><p>Cheese: Eight.</p><p>Me: ....</p><p>Cheese: Oh! OOOOOOhhhhhhhHHHH!</p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-88514390972013453292021-10-12T12:02:00.001-04:002021-10-12T12:02:48.835-04:00One Small Step Can Change Your Life<p>If I'm being completely honest, I don't really like my job right now. I've even caught myself thinking and saying that I hate my job. Those of you who have been readers of my blog know how much I love teaching, so you know I'm practically in crisis mode as many of you are too, I'm sure. </p><p>I realize there are many things outside of my sphere of control, and I typically focus on those....because I haven't changed, the world has. Literally. Our worlds have been turned up-side-down. And if this stupid pandemic would have never happened, then I would still love my job. But it did happen. So now what?</p><p>On our last in-service day our administration asked us to meet with our departments and answer some simple questions. One question asked us to name an instructional change we would make to help close the learning gap. The pandemic cost our students about 3-4 years of instruction. That's the amazing part isn't it? We lost a year and a half of regular school, but my students are testing 3-4 years behind their grade level. Talk about being overwhelmed. The question they posed first pissed me off, then crushed me, then I put on my big girl pants and answered it.</p><p>I was upset because I feel the weight of the educational world on my shoulders, all us teachers do. I need to figure out a way to make up the learning loss, I need to meet the students' social/emotional needs (which I'm not trained to do), and I need to do all this while absenteeism is up due to quarantines and other illnesses. </p><p>Then I felt the weight of it all and felt hopeless. These are impossible tasks that I'm being asked to do. Usually I rise to a challenge, but this might be my breaking point. </p><p>Then I decided to adult. I'm not expected to fix everything. I'm being asked to move in the right direction. I'm being asked to focus. I'm being asked to work in my sphere of control. </p><p>A few days ago I started reading this book One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer. And it had me thinking....what is one small step that I could take in order to move forward with closing the learning gap? And I didn't have an answer. But I needed one. Mostly because I had to report back to my administration what my next steps were. So here is what I decided:</p><p>STEP 1:</p><p>I realized that I do my best teaching when I blog. The reason behind this is because I need to have something to blog about. Plus writing forces me to organize my thoughts. It also allows me to connect with other educators who might be having the same issues that I'm having. My goal is to write at least one blog post per month. </p><p>STEP 2:</p><p>I was invited to attend a Content Networking session at our IU. I'm going to ask to attend that in November.</p><p>STEP 3:</p><p>Read a book. I am what I read. If I need ideas I should look to a good educational book. I decided on Jo Boaler's book "The Elephant in the Classroom".</p><p><br /></p><p>It feels good to start moving in the right direction. It feels good to have it in writing. It feels good to have others know about my plans. </p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-79221626780688045232021-04-06T12:57:00.002-04:002021-04-06T12:57:40.569-04:00Desmos CL - Lesson 23: Random Standard Linear Equation to Graph<p>Hey everyone! Here is all the code you will need to create a desmos activity where the activity will give the student a random linear equation in standard form and ask the students to rewrite it in slope-intercept form, then click and drag two points to create the graph. AND this will also give feedback to both the student and the teacher. Finally, I'll show you how to add a button in order to allow the students to practice FOREVER! Whew, that was a lot. Let's get started.</p><p>Personally, I think the youtube videos are easier to learn from, but sometimes I just want to read. So, here is a blog post for all of you readers!</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkYlwxSFEE0" target="_blank">Here is a link to the youtube video that goes through the process as well.</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/604f862f7109f23265bdc5be" target="_blank">Here is a link to the desmos activity that we created in the youtube video.</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/p/desmos-computation-layer-instructional.html" target="_blank">Click here to see a list of all the video lessons.</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">To start, you will need to add the following components to your desmos screen:</span></p><p>1 Graph, 2 Notes, and 1 Sketch</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 1: Graph Component</u></span></p><p>Label the graph component --> graph1</p><p>Click on the graph to edit.</p><p>Add the points (a,b) and (c,d) and add the sliders. Change each variable to have a step of 1.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SF62Lpg8Ee1Ra8RTlPMfA40chj37IsNm11ONzUgX2IMCdb4ZvdSpLEOUkJv8GdMxLjRt9YKG85WuJOOYjI_JbmeSOge2yKLyPkRLHOZgNC8dsr5yJj9OziSPp1jSO9BfIzFeJYMp6gX2/s1196/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.16.06+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SF62Lpg8Ee1Ra8RTlPMfA40chj37IsNm11ONzUgX2IMCdb4ZvdSpLEOUkJv8GdMxLjRt9YKG85WuJOOYjI_JbmeSOge2yKLyPkRLHOZgNC8dsr5yJj9OziSPp1jSO9BfIzFeJYMp6gX2/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.16.06+AM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next we'll add the slope, y-intercept, and the line:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpdrjfbIc3zit0P1C91ajpL33KINHdKkno9Um3qdoXa5sRK8JFesrUMq-wuunIyItLhGpULdYeZ_XmAVqiwAOLPbmFnJfnvclki7S7PfW2Rxg42Tmkffwsj5DBzJGC3Fu9AwpmXNljylT/s838/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.50.54+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="838" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpdrjfbIc3zit0P1C91ajpL33KINHdKkno9Um3qdoXa5sRK8JFesrUMq-wuunIyItLhGpULdYeZ_XmAVqiwAOLPbmFnJfnvclki7S7PfW2Rxg42Tmkffwsj5DBzJGC3Fu9AwpmXNljylT/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.50.54+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">m will calculate the slope that they create and z will calculate the y-intercept that they create. We'll need this in order to see if they graphed the line correctly. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">y = mx + z is there to show the line that passes through the two points in their graph.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At this point I like to click and drag the points to their starting positions that I want the students to see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Close this component by clicking on DONE.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 2: Note Component (2nd from top)</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This will give the students the directions and a random equation in standard form.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Label this note component --> note1b</div><div><br /></div>In Computation Layer (look for this symbol </> in the upper right of the component)<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxmmX5SZyDbuKpVmKZVaBiKoXbkzJYt0FYUTsiRO182WUW8OPXRkvEurSJDlb-IzUhHIhfzGg70ea6whP4UpwOTgqKlrjyeqlTtOFhyphenhyphenFLIbrHAQlgLMx87LoTLdNWoMnbx3WkWddqwRUM/s1436/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.55.29+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1436" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxmmX5SZyDbuKpVmKZVaBiKoXbkzJYt0FYUTsiRO182WUW8OPXRkvEurSJDlb-IzUhHIhfzGg70ea6whP4UpwOTgqKlrjyeqlTtOFhyphenhyphenFLIbrHAQlgLMx87LoTLdNWoMnbx3WkWddqwRUM/w640-h580/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.55.29+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 3: Graph Component</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This part will give the teacher feedback if the student has the correct graph or not. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In Computation Layer, type the following:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28_YnLoqTPKqSwQPPeonXPvPQjS6AIuGxWmEiN6VEiqQvHmxnpTdkW1MNpN8cZMIYzjGdeeq9-TzZhTxQztk90wpSzrkqYAms7w1ajjlBp8eRE_KbXtz4Ut1nXgOy6t6l7tySLRwolduj/s520/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.58.04+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28_YnLoqTPKqSwQPPeonXPvPQjS6AIuGxWmEiN6VEiqQvHmxnpTdkW1MNpN8cZMIYzjGdeeq9-TzZhTxQztk90wpSzrkqYAms7w1ajjlBp8eRE_KbXtz4Ut1nXgOy6t6l7tySLRwolduj/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.58.04+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 4: Note Component (The top one)</u></span></div><div><br /></div><div>This part will give the students feed back on if they have the correct graph or not. If you do not want students to see this, you can skip this step and delete this component.</div><div><br /></div><div>Go into Computation Layer and type:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpa7w4Xuljc5u-Nm9_ujKOm_vfwWwsSPWm7P2PtHrExhRXgsJuoN6WrIYYcKBtWkzOdn72E_Bh-8PJ70I9scKRIeYzidUEhQPi67O6UDvRAzOEgvPtfXsSSPVwbZkOYaDY1VcgXHA4eANM/s690/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.59.56+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpa7w4Xuljc5u-Nm9_ujKOm_vfwWwsSPWm7P2PtHrExhRXgsJuoN6WrIYYcKBtWkzOdn72E_Bh-8PJ70I9scKRIeYzidUEhQPi67O6UDvRAzOEgvPtfXsSSPVwbZkOYaDY1VcgXHA4eANM/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+9.59.56+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 5: Sketch Component </u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Go into Computation Layer and type:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVKM0Ijtadi1NDK0SyrtnpDQKTn9w4eyQmS0ZJDKPRr8zF5y-p2NupDhb1vvpPBmrSnqfIL9rXEdp0gdt6VodamAEa-037CLsTgN1xlICfz6gK3U1FepZLTALfKmzXdaFt37t4vpYUT8h/s318/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+10.01.32+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="118" data-original-width="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVKM0Ijtadi1NDK0SyrtnpDQKTn9w4eyQmS0ZJDKPRr8zF5y-p2NupDhb1vvpPBmrSnqfIL9rXEdp0gdt6VodamAEa-037CLsTgN1xlICfz6gK3U1FepZLTALfKmzXdaFt37t4vpYUT8h/s0/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+10.01.32+AM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The reason to do this is so that the teacher can get feedback. If this isn't done, the instructor will recieve a dot instead of the checkmark or the x.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Step 6: Add a button to make this go on forever and ever.</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Again, this step is optional. This will allow students to generate new systems of equations over and over again and have unlimited practice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Add a button component.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Label the button --> button1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Go back into the note component CL for note1b.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">in the very first line that has r = randomGenerator()</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">we're going to change that to...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGjYCT1gXxHwsJp0FoHuw4AhRp6C3VCUQoB6Rmh5iDgyL6jGzsMmTLYZpG4uR0Wdh41I1hXofYJIWN0Ieoo_xVboInlPMtUnOiBSm6NoaGN7zS0IJtfC_EiH74S5F_NVMweehVxdqSyE6/s646/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+10.25.43+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="82" data-original-width="646" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGjYCT1gXxHwsJp0FoHuw4AhRp6C3VCUQoB6Rmh5iDgyL6jGzsMmTLYZpG4uR0Wdh41I1hXofYJIWN0Ieoo_xVboInlPMtUnOiBSm6NoaGN7zS0IJtfC_EiH74S5F_NVMweehVxdqSyE6/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-06+at+10.25.43+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-29793804499718744002021-03-18T14:13:00.006-04:002021-03-18T14:13:49.712-04:00Math Tricks that Hurt<p><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Change Sides, Change Signs</span></u></b></p><p>The other day, I noticed that my students were struggling with rewriting an equation in Slope-Intercept Form (Solving for y). So I created this desmos activity. <a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/603e4bbee9aab20bc7ab5dfb" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>.</p><p>One student in particular would always have his signs incorrect. Like every single problem and every single term. I investigated a little bit more and he was using "Change Sides, Change Signs". This 'trick' implies that terms are moving and changing signs. I can see how this might be the case with adding and subtracting terms, but with multiplying and dividing this 'rule' falls apart. </p><p>Instead, let's teach our students that the sign isn't changing, the operation is. Not only is it true, it works in every case and in much simpler than a catchy slogan. </p><p><br /></p><p>This isn't a negative 3 that will turn into a positive 3. Rather, this is minus 3 and we want to do the inverse: add three. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1rmJlPNVRj6Wo1myzXKrMed5N6n1L6sIcnjzRqKPU5lWgD1cu7epjKXq9PXtBvVLPPMrsGKMPNGhkSP7tRxyM6YbA31jrxGxQQj7X9DkB9TM3TIX1XvzFqxcBpLU1pxook_scHLWwII7/s230/Screen+Shot+2021-03-18+at+2.01.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="230" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1rmJlPNVRj6Wo1myzXKrMed5N6n1L6sIcnjzRqKPU5lWgD1cu7epjKXq9PXtBvVLPPMrsGKMPNGhkSP7tRxyM6YbA31jrxGxQQj7X9DkB9TM3TIX1XvzFqxcBpLU1pxook_scHLWwII7/w200-h169/Screen+Shot+2021-03-18+at+2.01.25+PM.png" width="200" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For this one, that student understood that he needed to divide by 2, but he had it stuck in his head that he needed to change the sign as well and divided by -2. Let's go with inverse operations and divide by 2. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn7Iglz6ilIU3IwyqgvodnUSXJMAiFCfCbkSCX_Ebb2HluuPwYkvCg4aWoUykseQ_VGv6ykKYiNh4txfOOHOHpEHYwEIjiUKHK6-UOcQJawR8gEgFq2RBvvJPeJRRJbzcDa0xuVR9DkU8/s186/Screen+Shot+2021-03-18+at+2.04.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn7Iglz6ilIU3IwyqgvodnUSXJMAiFCfCbkSCX_Ebb2HluuPwYkvCg4aWoUykseQ_VGv6ykKYiNh4txfOOHOHpEHYwEIjiUKHK6-UOcQJawR8gEgFq2RBvvJPeJRRJbzcDa0xuVR9DkU8/s0/Screen+Shot+2021-03-18+at+2.04.00+PM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">FOIL</span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next on my list is FOIL. This is how I was taught to multiply binomials, and this is how I taught my students to multiply binomials, until recently. For me FOIL is now in the category of 4-letter words.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Again, let's look for something true and simple. When we teach our students to FOIL, we are limiting them. This allows them to only multiply two binomials. Instead, if we teach them that polynomial multiplying is just distributing, we open more doors for them. Now, they can multiply binomials, monomials, trinomials, whatever-their-hearts-desire-omials. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>What are you least favorite math tricks?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-54409251924301867522021-03-10T12:12:00.003-05:002021-03-10T12:12:55.031-05:00Infinite Graphing with Slope-Intercept Practice<p> I finally figured it out!!</p><p>I've been wanting to create a screen in desmos activities where the students would be given a random equation in slope-intercept form. They would then click and drag the points in a graph to create the corresponding line. Then the activity will give the feedback on whether they are right or wrong. </p><p>The first 9 screens, the students are simply given a random equation. On screen 10, the students can practice their little hearts out by clicking on the button to receive a new random equation. </p><p>Please, help yourself: <a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/6047b450421b500cbe24c742" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a></p><p>The instructional video will follow once I can organize my thoughts. </p><p>Next: Equations that need to be solved for y. :)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPskNGulY-7R7rH0Ly1tyPh8WDwmzYf614pXWkKTkrWk6Og0djYReRfzlh_Dq5Nq7KHdqZWG7nZd_NLsjqQGX4im1ZYs9TF7NMVyAF77D_ou1G5-PJ1JXjo-VjTWgtJEOF7T1u1N0y0djz/s2158/Screen+Shot+2021-03-10+at+12.09.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="2158" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPskNGulY-7R7rH0Ly1tyPh8WDwmzYf614pXWkKTkrWk6Og0djYReRfzlh_Dq5Nq7KHdqZWG7nZd_NLsjqQGX4im1ZYs9TF7NMVyAF77D_ou1G5-PJ1JXjo-VjTWgtJEOF7T1u1N0y0djz/w640-h312/Screen+Shot+2021-03-10+at+12.09.54+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-47964560486725671002021-03-09T12:11:00.001-05:002021-03-09T12:11:24.204-05:00Cheating. <p>If you're a teacher, I don't need to tell you how much cheating is taking place right now. The students are sharing answers with each other and using math apps to do all the work for them. I know, I know....I should just change my questions to be more open ended. But I don't have the time for rewriting everything and the thought of that grading work is making me dizzy. Plus, these questions are important too. I can't just eliminate them from the curriculum. So, what's a math teacher to do?</p><p>First, I want to say that I don't know the answer to the math app problem. But I have tried a few things. I noticed that if I give the students a problem like this, the math app assumes that it is a system of equations and will solve for the variables. This is just too easy for the students to cheat.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gPbye03uCgX16Ki48k0CaaNClkKT0FeHgA9gpoQ3gkcfh05zDsN45P3hwJ625W3N0lP0juLUq-DS1RhZarsGYZqaKwmwdTWp7t8xJKlJ6PENFreR9OZ2-CoL_1fOlOY-ed_bTFoYz84P/s390/Screen+Shot+2021-03-09+at+11.56.00+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gPbye03uCgX16Ki48k0CaaNClkKT0FeHgA9gpoQ3gkcfh05zDsN45P3hwJ625W3N0lP0juLUq-DS1RhZarsGYZqaKwmwdTWp7t8xJKlJ6PENFreR9OZ2-CoL_1fOlOY-ed_bTFoYz84P/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-09+at+11.56.00+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, when I rewrite the problem in sentence form, like below, the math app wasn't sure what to do or even how to read it. I'm in the process of changing my exams to look more like this. Can the students rewrite the problem in order to have the math app solve it? Of course. But I'm not going to make it easy for them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yet9KyTcOItNaloCboo2bNswI08mdUepCh5Dgf73mrER6Agjjhkb47xqwSYG3SvZqAU8W6qib9EUa5kA3ynGShnhKdxh8ry1MhM7JmTEWawPQjVTidquE6SfiI7LRsfDm3kpKBEr7UJA/s902/Screen+Shot+2021-03-09+at+11.56.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="902" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yet9KyTcOItNaloCboo2bNswI08mdUepCh5Dgf73mrER6Agjjhkb47xqwSYG3SvZqAU8W6qib9EUa5kA3ynGShnhKdxh8ry1MhM7JmTEWawPQjVTidquE6SfiI7LRsfDm3kpKBEr7UJA/w400-h99/Screen+Shot+2021-03-09+at+11.56.05+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p>Second, if there were a way that each student could get a test with different questions, they wouldn't be able to cheat from each other. They can't text their friends the answer anymore. Yes, this is time consuming too, but Desmos computation layer at least makes it doable. Today I created an exam and a review for the students with systems of equations.</p><p>The review allows them to get right/wrong feedback to both the teacher and student, an "infinite" button so they can practice forever, and a predicted score on the coming exam. Each problem has random numbers to help discourage cheating. I tried to scan the problems into the math app and it was unable to read them. </p><p><a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/60479223adad162e6f685f06" target="_blank">LINK TO THE REVIEW</a></p><p>The exam does not have the button to generate a new problem and no longer gives right/wrong feedback to the students. I do hide the last screen (the score) from the students, but did include the screen that lets them know if they are currently passing. The students really seem to benefit from that screen. </p><p><a href="https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/6047668c2ca9cf0cb25bf1be" target="_blank">LINK TO THE EXAM</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Please help yourself to the above desmos activities. Feel free to check out my FREE Algebra 1 Curriculum by clicking on the link on the righthand side of the screen. Or just <a href="http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/p/algebra-1-outcomes.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>. There you will find note guides, quizzes, tests, desmos activities, test generators, and typos. That page is a work-in-progress and will continually be updated.</p><p>Want to learn more about desmos computation layer? I have a few videos to get you started. Check those out <a href="http://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/p/desmos-computation-layer-instructional.html">HERE.</a></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-21275904040576839542021-03-08T14:14:00.002-05:002021-03-08T14:14:46.897-05:00After Hours: End Table Flip<p> Every day I sit down at my computer wanting to blog about something, anything. But this school year has been so trying that I don't feel I have anything worthwhile to share (or positive for that matter).</p><p>How about instead I don't write about education? I'm doing to start writing about what I do after hours, what I think about all day long until the 3:00 bell rings and unlocks the door to my cage: my craft room/garage/tool room. </p><p>It all started with someone asking me, "How did you make that?" I would try to explain, while talking with my hands the whole time. Later I decided that videos were the way to go. </p><p>My latest project was this end table that I purchased from Facebook marketplace for $10.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rkzuT-QTLpE-QNBhnpslfTH5XmSvQLDPpBuM63Ak1YbPhnLpTzd3sTFcnmcgQo-MCK6vbrp0I38whp6M2DLjVOAK4tFhk9pFtJJNuQhn48bTC0BVSrElMyAkx-8240ZM2_r2e93W6Brr/s1082/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rkzuT-QTLpE-QNBhnpslfTH5XmSvQLDPpBuM63Ak1YbPhnLpTzd3sTFcnmcgQo-MCK6vbrp0I38whp6M2DLjVOAK4tFhk9pFtJJNuQhn48bTC0BVSrElMyAkx-8240ZM2_r2e93W6Brr/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.27+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I started by cleaning and scuff sanding the whole table. While doing so, I found the table needed a few minor repairs. After the repairs, I painted the table white then added popsicle sticks. Yes popsicle sticks. Oh my goodness! Check this out:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z0Xx9Momvy_RxJyw0aDWEjQWwgiKibr40AmGukXW-2i-x-pswOX0un0MGW8xyQKDs_bfWT5rOuYAAelG7ZKup1KL5rheXH4AbCaXR4ao9Teynhcmt-mXoMggHgkkk0Ji1gKp2IdMbRKi/s908/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z0Xx9Momvy_RxJyw0aDWEjQWwgiKibr40AmGukXW-2i-x-pswOX0un0MGW8xyQKDs_bfWT5rOuYAAelG7ZKup1KL5rheXH4AbCaXR4ao9Teynhcmt-mXoMggHgkkk0Ji1gKp2IdMbRKi/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.31+PM.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeBsz2UbLMzwTNEOTxBMhlXUBMaUTTTnn6pJ2JbVGYW0156QPv-m4tIzd1XFIJMS_Rs292AqO5Gz8-PSFbAIIa5cCdc5iVD0_xy4b-rytiApWrwy7mXwHdhdtfmWRFXpcuUr04EwCU4kw/s1348/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeBsz2UbLMzwTNEOTxBMhlXUBMaUTTTnn6pJ2JbVGYW0156QPv-m4tIzd1XFIJMS_Rs292AqO5Gz8-PSFbAIIa5cCdc5iVD0_xy4b-rytiApWrwy7mXwHdhdtfmWRFXpcuUr04EwCU4kw/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.37+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXi1Dc_B6L0hpY8IUf5r7qdbE_sbM228vwuYI-U9wocvgDQQ1-YXqhO7nLPwbDbe6D10xMzwl7534jXEzYumvpiBpl5E_ylzuaqEv6G9rQYkOqoVcgHQ8vTFbWX2h1n_qwDv3omaKuU4GF/s1512/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXi1Dc_B6L0hpY8IUf5r7qdbE_sbM228vwuYI-U9wocvgDQQ1-YXqhO7nLPwbDbe6D10xMzwl7534jXEzYumvpiBpl5E_ylzuaqEv6G9rQYkOqoVcgHQ8vTFbWX2h1n_qwDv3omaKuU4GF/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.41+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLL7JjrfGfUBhl7qH7b1Nc4m8RfDRbyquWSOfWXRjS5nAfnpTCxrGxJI3LJ3tbRh8G4N5WsjOaBOl_S011CxQ3gAviIadwjr32NkG5n6JvNNJEID5WT8TJv9cJ4lHiPyatOYQ9ttV8Y3z/s1436/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLL7JjrfGfUBhl7qH7b1Nc4m8RfDRbyquWSOfWXRjS5nAfnpTCxrGxJI3LJ3tbRh8G4N5WsjOaBOl_S011CxQ3gAviIadwjr32NkG5n6JvNNJEID5WT8TJv9cJ4lHiPyatOYQ9ttV8Y3z/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.47+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0LsdOUW7KWjJr6zToPZFNmdHs2wesI__QkBG9mFwuwMOAplrhnVq2ZivAtsNo3PD21OA43UImeETmSF0xzq2n54j9djPjC7kcsigd4Xirn7REewBfnFtAwblnbUmIjD76vqCjWkJLLCS2/s1582/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="1582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0LsdOUW7KWjJr6zToPZFNmdHs2wesI__QkBG9mFwuwMOAplrhnVq2ZivAtsNo3PD21OA43UImeETmSF0xzq2n54j9djPjC7kcsigd4Xirn7REewBfnFtAwblnbUmIjD76vqCjWkJLLCS2/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-03-08+at+2.08.52+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am seriously in LOVE! Just look at that transformation. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For those of you who want to see the step by step procedure, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNi72GK-CMQ&t=9s" target="_blank">check out my video HERE.</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What do you all do after hours that keeps you sane?</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-21108788234241788462021-01-22T07:42:00.000-05:002021-01-22T07:42:22.942-05:00Feeding 5000? People with Desmos Computation Layer<p> You remember the scripture about Jesus feeding 5000 people? <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014%3A13-21&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew 14: 13-21</a>. I was thinking about this the other day while stumbling through creating a desmos activity with computation layer (CL).</p><p>I remember thinking, "I wish someone would just create a video course for beginners on how to use CL." Then I remembered that I am someone. THEN I remembered that I don't know CL. But I do love hearing myself talk :) Maybe one day, when I know what I'm doing, I'll go and create this. But not now....I would be making a fool of myself creating videos on a topic I know so very little about. </p><p>That's when the little boy in the scripture popped into my mind. I can only imagine how he must have felt going up to Jesus and offering his little basket of food. Like a fool. He had so little to give. There is no way that little bit could feed so many.....and yet it did!</p><p>So, even if I'm making a fool of myself, I'm going to create videos as I learn CL. If these videos only help me learn, that's okay. But if Jesus decides to take these humble videos and feed 5000 with them, that's even better. </p><p>I created a page to post all the links to my videos. <a href="https://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/p/desmos-computation-layer-instructional.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for that.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HFviR1Fa_WkuD923SDb297T9KTzY_F2-cFNA4JzDDlKjoMIeMkwH5LQiTUbyfZRU0Ap8AD-zI5bi85UGKrOJiBR0xPJcuXBEtnXws1WM-5QlsNgf-khqw8D4-qxwGUKOyHcJiAOS18SE/s1670/Screen+Shot+2021-01-22+at+7.40.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1670" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HFviR1Fa_WkuD923SDb297T9KTzY_F2-cFNA4JzDDlKjoMIeMkwH5LQiTUbyfZRU0Ap8AD-zI5bi85UGKrOJiBR0xPJcuXBEtnXws1WM-5QlsNgf-khqw8D4-qxwGUKOyHcJiAOS18SE/w400-h144/Screen+Shot+2021-01-22+at+7.40.58+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-32228650509616182352021-01-18T08:24:00.001-05:002021-01-18T08:25:36.492-05:00Desmos Computation Layer - Lesson 1 - Card Sort Student Feedback<p> I've been playing around with Desmos Computation Layer for just a few weeks (ok months), and I wasn't able to find any videos that were for complete noobs like me. I felt that I spent a lot of time making mistakes and annoying everyone on the forum with my noob questions. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTbyLFvw-oZndQKbo-cNJPWJAWJlkU51gtgKXaIa6mTVkfUV1VcA0qMOc8rHrP9ENqSlBHX41MCXQWW0UkUBLyUXbPzszpH_tLiZWOlrT0uoECp-coeGXU5x1YgGInVeX_aKUQITVzU9O/s1516/Screen+Shot+2021-01-18+at+8.25.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTbyLFvw-oZndQKbo-cNJPWJAWJlkU51gtgKXaIa6mTVkfUV1VcA0qMOc8rHrP9ENqSlBHX41MCXQWW0UkUBLyUXbPzszpH_tLiZWOlrT0uoECp-coeGXU5x1YgGInVeX_aKUQITVzU9O/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-01-18+at+8.25.04+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Desmos Computation Layer is so powerful that I think every teacher should learn how to use it. I created a short video for those who have created activities at teacher.desmos.com but know nothing about computation layer. </p><p>This first video will show you how to give feedback to your students in a card sort. </p><p>If this video is helpful to you and you want more, please let me know.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ujBCff0ZQ" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to watch this through youtube.</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B2ujBCff0ZQ" width="560"></iframe>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-64077579346861214392021-01-13T06:48:00.008-05:002021-01-14T12:53:44.207-05:00Dysfunctional Emojis Game<p>This is just a little game I had buzzing around in my head for a few weeks now. Since I've gotten better at playingcards.io, I decided to create it and see where it takes me. </p><p>The players are creating tables with emojis. Player goals change each round. Sometime creating a function (not one-to-one) is the best option, sometimes creating a non-function is. </p><p>As always, constructive criticism is always welcome! 🥶 🤪 😎 😇</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BPBsf8bkz18OxQoKbMM9G66ZrnHdCpom?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here for the files.</a></p><p><br /></p><p>To import the game into playingcards.io:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Download <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mspVCBq1drh7aRQxewISbUf-k7T62mWh?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this file</a> (you don't need to open it, I click and drag the file to my desktop)</li><li>Go to playingcards.io</li><li>Click on Custom Room</li><li>Click on Start Game</li><li>Click on Enter</li><li>Click on the toolbox/briefcase (left side of screen)</li><li>Click on Room Options</li><li>Click on Import from File</li><li>Select the file and TA-DA, you have your own copy of the game. </li></ol><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9HP8nl31NE" width="560"></iframe>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-70577605486396208662021-01-11T14:25:00.008-05:002021-01-14T12:57:01.771-05:00Right Triangle Trig Game<p>Here's what I came up with for a Right Triangle Trig Game. I found it easier to explain/show in a video. </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkTbQuQ4mYs" target="_blank">Click Here</a></p><p>This is played on playingcards.io with <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Tinkhl0VOST67gya6mlrfWwkhkKD-Z9Z?usp=sharing" target="_blank">these assets</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another Update. You don't need to recreate the game yourself: follow the steps below.</p><p>To import the game into playingcards.io:</p><p></p><ol><li>Download<a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Y41k_aLvCHbLfWsBiVqnMT5Y2aE8F5ae?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> this file</a> (you don't need to open it, I click and drag the file to my desktop)</li><li>Go to playingcards.io</li><li>Click on Custom Room</li><li>Click on Start Game</li><li>Click on Enter</li><li>Click on the toolbox/briefcase (left side of screen)</li><li>Click on Room Options</li><li>Click on Import from File</li><li>Select the file and TA-DA, you have your own copy of the game. </li></ol>
<div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WkTbQuQ4mYs" width="560"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE (Thanks for the idea Tina!):</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yii6bZjbo" target="_blank">This video</a> shows how to create the game in playingcards.io</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yii6bZjbo" width="560"></iframe></div>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-50920343768373725902020-12-23T07:36:00.000-05:002020-12-23T07:36:06.943-05:00Each Child Needs to Be Treated Individually in a Culture Where Everything Needs to Be Fair<p>There are aspects of remote teaching that I never saw coming. The main problem I'm having right now is learning how to treat my students. </p><p>Every single student is struggling. They all need something different from me. Some need me to back off because they are at their breaking point. Others need me to be more strict with them because they are having difficulty staying motivated. A few are struggling with mental health. A number of students need one-on-one instruction. </p><p>I don't know how to distinguish between the unmotivated student and the one wrestling with mental illness. I don't which students are required to both attend virtual classes AND watch younger siblings. I don't know which students are dealing with domestic abuse or neglect. To be honest, I never knew these things, but at least the physical school environment had a level playing field. </p><p>Each child needs to be treated individually in a culture where everything needs to be fair. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-38908227623007795762020-12-13T07:28:00.001-05:002020-12-13T07:28:18.790-05:00Right Triangle Trigonometry Game<p> It has been so long since I designed a game for my students and I've really missed it. This game in particular was difficult to design because I have no one to play test it with. This means that I have no idea if this game works or if it's even fun. </p><p>I am teaching Precalculus this year. I haven't taught this course in quite a few years, so I'm excited about teaching new material and creating games for the topics. If my memory serves me, some students had difficultly "seeing" the opposite and adjacent sides of a right triangle. So, I thought a game that would reinforce this was long overdue. Let's just dig in...</p><p>The only thing I have made a decision on is the main mechanic of the game and that it's a farming theme. There are two right triangles as shown below, with a face up pile of crops on each side. </p><p>On a player's turn, he would use a trig function to gather crops. For example, if I were to play Sin(x), I would get the blueberry and the corn since they are opposite and hypotenuse. My problem is why are they collecting crops and why are some crops more desirable than others on a given turn? </p><p>**I want all crops to be valuable all the time, but some crops are more desirable on a certain round and other crops on other rounds. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfl1qwhjTbMtty8RCfFwOXuXWHQ2UiMEZ63wXqqL3Na-ZYrvptyqfNuBoJVIDjCTfnKBTcIqKAniPAyvSeojmftchIM3v8qhAPtJ2OAZJMzOg80g2basORCUOK187XDi7P2zyAoXtANR8/s2048/IMG_0865.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfl1qwhjTbMtty8RCfFwOXuXWHQ2UiMEZ63wXqqL3Na-ZYrvptyqfNuBoJVIDjCTfnKBTcIqKAniPAyvSeojmftchIM3v8qhAPtJ2OAZJMzOg80g2basORCUOK187XDi7P2zyAoXtANR8/w480-h640/IMG_0865.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>The players are taking turns collecting crops, or I suppose they are harvesting the crops. I've had a few ideas about game play but it just doesn't feel quite right yet.</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>First Idea:</u></b></span></p><p>I create order cards that the students need to fulfill in order to get points/money in the game. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHRDK-loxlQjHOsKmKkuFRD_nPD_ZQwJr0ZM0jPhA69jmlnxwbFC7ACmNf4miDpgnqo38Dy0NaEq5gUvEZgd-ckCevRw5Xf0zVdmhl1M0axMKRdWr3LX5Vf306NIA3Ez9h7jvw9N1WJ3A/s2048/IMG_0866.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHRDK-loxlQjHOsKmKkuFRD_nPD_ZQwJr0ZM0jPhA69jmlnxwbFC7ACmNf4miDpgnqo38Dy0NaEq5gUvEZgd-ckCevRw5Xf0zVdmhl1M0axMKRdWr3LX5Vf306NIA3Ez9h7jvw9N1WJ3A/s320/IMG_0866.HEIC" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The problem was that it wasn't too often that the students would have crops available that they needed. Each turn just felt like harvesting crops willy nilly based on the trig functions and angles available. </p><p>Possible fixes: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>decrease the number of different crops</li><li>don't have trig cards. Allow the students to use any trig function and angle they want on their turn (my concern is that this will become an obvious choice and not lead to meaningful choice)</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Second Idea:</span></u></b></p><p>Make this a cooperative game. Perhaps the students all own a farm together and they need to generate enough money to keep their operation going. If they generate enough money by the end of the growing season, they win. </p><p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></b></p><p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Third Idea:</span></u></b></p><p>Let's get together after the pandemic and flesh this out together!</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Art Credits:</span></u></b></p><p><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nurtured-Potential" target="_blank">Nurtured Potential</a></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-20649005710887935702020-12-11T14:21:00.001-05:002020-12-11T14:59:06.160-05:00Algebra Basics Unit with Answer Key<p> I'm sick and tired of piecing together a curriculum: the textbook, math software, worksheets, ugh! I want a curriculum that is all in one place and meets the anchors and eligible content for the end of the year exams. I couldn't find one....so I made one. And now you have it too.</p><p>Here is the first unit: Algebra Basics.</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DdHZlfZr2DcG20IOfq_xyGfV16O_ZPCM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a></p><p><br /></p><p>My plan is to have everything nice and neat for you on <a href="https://simplifyingradicals2.blogspot.com/p/algebra-1-outcomes.html" target="_blank">this page</a>, please be patient while it is under construction.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwBZ1Uc3ajthejSb5P_wzzYqoaIgbAcJHPnea11T73lAWdb7-G5SlfiWdl6lCTBfZO3FzotYhoc5TQKS8rfLfS0IahSaYaaN_w4Mh8jgXhdpP6sHIAjKbG809ky9BU2h9tfiVIjbRcdCr/s1302/Screen+Shot+2020-12-11+at+2.20.07+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1302" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwBZ1Uc3ajthejSb5P_wzzYqoaIgbAcJHPnea11T73lAWdb7-G5SlfiWdl6lCTBfZO3FzotYhoc5TQKS8rfLfS0IahSaYaaN_w4Mh8jgXhdpP6sHIAjKbG809ky9BU2h9tfiVIjbRcdCr/w400-h173/Screen+Shot+2020-12-11+at+2.20.07+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-20728682231347220192020-09-08T18:39:00.002-04:002020-09-08T18:39:53.058-04:00Feeling Distant<p>I'm crying about the status of school, but not in the way you might think. I don't lose sleep worrying that I might contract the virus. I'm not anxious about learning new technology. I'm not frustrated with the extra work that I need to do to teach our hybrid model. And I'm not concerned with teaching a new course this year on top of my usual classes. Frankly, I've been as cool as a cucumber this whole time....until today, our first student day. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13xYOpOfPMmSqrQZvAn25kVlA1wqsSQT0eCX-Vgdmcc7lT7jVnM37-kaKbxi3dtCij2vbD5CVpxhO4oJ_uTDvuyLVYCxJLeXH5aADiuEN5S2rLVYhI64ciqPESIPDYqu9kPuaSIssCasu/s960/empty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13xYOpOfPMmSqrQZvAn25kVlA1wqsSQT0eCX-Vgdmcc7lT7jVnM37-kaKbxi3dtCij2vbD5CVpxhO4oJ_uTDvuyLVYCxJLeXH5aADiuEN5S2rLVYhI64ciqPESIPDYqu9kPuaSIssCasu/s320/empty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I'll admit that I lost it on the drive home. I fought the tears as I knew they wouldn't help anything, but they came regardless. </p><p>My specialty is the student who hates math, who hates school. Nothing makes me feel more alive than when a "non-math" student starts to feel confident. My soul sings when a students starts to trust me and is willing to make mistakes. I love walking around my room and checking in with my students just to see what they're working on. I do enjoy the higher-level classes, but they're not my niche.</p><p>So this is why I'm so upset....I don't know how to reach these students. They're unmotivated and I'm not there to walk with them through that. They're distracted and I'm not there to guide them. They're feeling inadequate and I'm not there. I can't easily see their work. I can't see the expressions on their faces. I'm not there to hear their sighs of frustration. I'm not there. I'm a talking face on the computer screen. I don't know how to build a relationship with each student. I can't have side conversations with students when they're struggling, everyone hears our conversation. Students who generally hate school are going to hate it even more. </p><p>I'm mourning the loss of relationships that won't develop. I've never felt so distance and isolated from my kids. </p><p>This post isn't a declaration that all is lost. I still have hope. I will continue to look for ways to make these connections with my students. </p>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116565541274403298.post-24728857488691521982020-07-30T09:34:00.002-04:002020-07-30T09:34:00.350-04:00Make Math Apps your Friend, Not Foe<div>With the very real chance that we will be teaching virtually at some point this coming school year, I've been thinking a lot about the integrity of students' work. I felt that this past spring when we quickly converted our physical classrooms into digital, I no longer had any control over the cheating that took place. Students who were struggling in the face-to-face setting were suddenly getting all the level 1 type questions correct. Not one single error. However, they were unable to even begin a higher level question. You know, the type that you can't just plug into an app and get the correct answer? </div><div><br /></div><div>I feel that there are a few items that need to be addressed. Why do the students feel the need to cheat? Lack of confidence? Laziness? The need to get an A? The fear of looking stupid? All of the above? I believe that all students want to be good at math. They don't want to look incompetent in front of their peers or teacher. Somewhere along the way, we have to make them feel comfortable with being uncomfortable. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I think I could write an entire book on addressing the concerns that I have above, but for this post, I'm going to focus on how students can use a math app to help them learn, rather than blindly copying the solution. </div><div><br /></div><div>I downloaded the app: Microsoft Math Solver - HW app</div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">1. Learn from the worked-out solution.</font></div><div><br /></div><div>Instead of giving an assignment where the student must complete problems on paper, assign them a problem where they have to explain the steps in a video. Yes, they can use a math app to give them the steps, but they will have to internalize and verbalize them as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the first image, you can see the problem that I scanned from a textbook. </div><div>The middle image is the steps the program took in order to get the solution.</div><div>If you click on the arrows on the right side of the screen, the program will explain each step (3rd image).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0bSWdgrZ3MjXp2grvw_rsD9W4fUHPUqAuHwZYCXiF9aKj-DPQv6xTX88RRaxxbPKy34LMwU-wNAYVm_r5NAGsQ5FmNW_qTsxg2UyRy0_aMCbty7vIoPuwrtXIoRO8SLK4jZhb9xATl3E/s1842/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.50.12+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1842" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0bSWdgrZ3MjXp2grvw_rsD9W4fUHPUqAuHwZYCXiF9aKj-DPQv6xTX88RRaxxbPKy34LMwU-wNAYVm_r5NAGsQ5FmNW_qTsxg2UyRy0_aMCbty7vIoPuwrtXIoRO8SLK4jZhb9xATl3E/w500-h329/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.50.12+AM.png" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Asking the students to create a video explaining the steps ensures that the students are at least looking at this information on the app, rather than only copying the steps. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Am I suggesting that you stop assigning written assignments? No, but include videos once in a while as formative assessment. Plus, watching a video from each student takes a lot more of your time than looking over a written assignment. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An added bonus, is that you can upload their videos to a class website for others to view.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font size="5">2. Which method do you prefer?</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If the app shows more than one way to solve a problem, have students compare the methods. Do they like one method better than another? Why? How are the methods similar? How are they different? Are there situations where you would use one method over another?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is that same problem from above, but now we can see that it was solved graphically instead of algebraically. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVEo5wa47Js3QJhVzJDXV82tQov4udw9Db1V7Cwqb94y0QBffWrJdoDGM6KpVJvEU6zJ2GMRdZYN3-iUvqFPv7wYKyQcuunwcjYlgnlXUKP-cPb9esE4wkxgU-qe8hyphenhyphenbrjnC8npapKGs8/s1792/IMG_0128.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="828" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVEo5wa47Js3QJhVzJDXV82tQov4udw9Db1V7Cwqb94y0QBffWrJdoDGM6KpVJvEU6zJ2GMRdZYN3-iUvqFPv7wYKyQcuunwcjYlgnlXUKP-cPb9esE4wkxgU-qe8hyphenhyphenbrjnC8npapKGs8/w231-h500/IMG_0128.PNG" width="231" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">3. Learn from your past.</font></div><div><br /></div><div>This particular app has a "history" button and the ability to bookmark certain questions. By using either feature (bookmark or history), a student can revisit problems they haven't mastered yet. They can scaffold as needed with some students needing to look at every step for help, and other needing to only check the solution. </div><div><br /></div><div>I just read something interesting the other day about how many students really don't know how to study for math. Many times, the students will look over and complete question they already know. Most effective would be practicing the problems that they haven't mastered. I read this in <i>Powerful Teaching</i> by Pooja K Agarwal and Patrice M Bain. This information took me by surprise at first. But after refection it made sense that some students would want to boost their confidence with problems that made them feel successful. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is an opportunity for us educators to help students figure out what they don't know. To get comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to encourage my students to tackle the problems that they don't yet know. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">4. Partner/Group Work</font></div><div><br /></div><div>One student has use of the app, the rest of the students in the group are working on a problem. The student with the app will scan the problem and help the other students if they need assistance. Repeat this with a different student having access to the app.</div><div><br /></div><div>I visualized this taking place in-person, but I suppose it could work virtually as well. If the conference software you use allows for breakout rooms, this would be a group activity you could give a try.</div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">5. Open Middle</font></div><div><br /></div><div>Create or use open middle problems (<a href="https://www.openmiddle.com">CLICK HERE</a>) or have the students work backwards and have the them check with the app. </div><div><br /></div><div>For example: "Write a system of equations, where the solution would be in the third quadrant."</div><div><br /></div><div>Another example: 2x + ?y = 43 and 5x + 3y = 41. The solution is (4, 7), what is the missing value?</div><div>Once they think they have the correct system, it can be scanned in the app to determine if (4,7) is the solution. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">6. Learn Something New</font></div><div><br /></div><div>Give the students problems they've never seen before and ask them to complete them using a math app all while trying to understand what is going on. I suppose this would be similar to flipping the classroom, but instead of a video they're using the app. Then in class ask the students to explain how to solve the problem, what methods they used and understood, and any connections that can be made to previously learned material. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Simplifying Radicalshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18224970054720193042noreply@blogger.com0