Category Archives: Pre-Algebra

Time-Lapse

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)

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

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

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’

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

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

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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iPhones #WCYDWT

With all the (understandable) iPhone hype lately, I couldn’t help but fall for this math-potential-packed image: #WCYDWT ? (What can you do with this?) Attached below is a PDF I made that displays each of these iPhone models to their … Continue reading

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ThingLink: Anchoring, Pre-Teaching and Gap-Filling

I anticipate my students will finish their first unit test at varying rates tomorrow.  I always take my own tests as if I were the student.  I show all the work.  I time myself.  I multiply my time by 3 … Continue reading

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What to do with only one iPad…?

My mathy friend Eric Milou recently asked me to help a middle school math teacher he knew because she only has access to one iPad in her classroom and isn’t sure how to best use it.  Additionally, she has access … Continue reading

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