Category Archives: Algebra 1

Some Top 4’s – Another “Reflecting on 2014” Post

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Cathy Yenca

‘Tis the season for reflection and hopefully a bit of relaxation.  I’ve taken a break from math and ed-tech the past few weeks to spend QT with family (some days I took a break from just about everything… darn you, … Continue reading →

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Book Creator Student Math Authors: Take 2

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

Last May, my students took Book Creator for a test drive.  As the school year came to a close, student-authored review eBooks seemed like a worthwhile task to try.  Students learned a lot about working cooperatively, using new apps, and presenting mathematics … Continue reading →

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Bottling Up the Perfect Balance

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

I feel like, as a teacher, I have a lot in common with the video gaming industry. We both want to draw kids in to a challenge. That challenge has to be feasible but not too easy. Students have to … Continue reading →

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Time-Lapse

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

The last day of classes before Thanksgiving break, I set up my iPhone in an attempt to record some time-lapse footage in each of my classes.  Since middle-schoolers can smell a camera a mile away, there was nothing secretive about … Continue reading →

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Kahoot (With Embellishments from Desmos)

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

Students ask to “Kahoot” practically every day.  They never tire of this incredible (free!) gaming platform.  If you’ve never “Kahooted” before, you can sign up for a free account here. In a nutshell, Kahoot takes multiple choice formative assessments to … Continue reading →

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Twitter Hodge-Podge

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

Lately, busy days lead to spits and spurts of reflection and PD rather than lengthy blog posts.  I love this time of year – I feel like my students and I know each other well, and expectations are clear all … Continue reading →

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Desmos Function Carnival: Tech & Teacher Take-Aways

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

When I learned about Function Carnival from Dan Meyer’s blog last school year, I first tried it with students on a wacky-schedule day during a unit that didn’t connect well to the fabulous Desmos lab.  In that first instance, students sought … Continue reading →

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Just Playin’

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

We just wrapped up our first quarter of the year, and I’ve noticed something. We like to play. Every class period has it’s own culture… it’s own “thing”.  It’s usually not very math-related, but I’d venture to say this “thing” … Continue reading →

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Socrative and Slope-Intercept Form

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

With new TEKS in tow, my 7th graders taking 8th grade math have been studying proportional and non-proportional linear relationships (wow, right?).  The progression has been a refreshing, concept-based study of LOTS of scenarios featuring “constant rates of change” represented in … Continue reading →

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Functions – Nearpod Learning Check

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Cathy Yenca

Looking ahead to our next unit, I was sifting through some ideas about introducing relations and functions to both my algebra students (8th graders) AND my pre-AP Math 8 students (7th graders experiencing new 8th grade TEKS and therefore, experiencing more … Continue reading →

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