WARNING! There's a Blizzard of Polygons!

The forcasters may not have called for any snowstorms in our area, but a blizzard of polygons fell in my classroom last week. The students had just completed Envisions Topic 9 with an assessment. They worked diligently throughout this unit to understand geometric shapes and attributes. We needed a way to celebrate our learning...Geo-Snow!

1) The students were each given polygons to use to create a snowflake.

2) They traced their polygons onto white paper.. (I used the old paper turned dingy that someone has been giving a way in the copy room-thank you!)

3) I witnessed two techniques:

A) Some students  actually created their snowflakes on the white (dingy) paper.
They then wanted to cut out their snowflake along the perimeter and not in seperate pieces (aka area).   
  Not my vision but really smart!

B) Other students randomly traced their pieces on the white(dingy) paper and created their snowflakes
in individualized pieces.
( When I was in 4th grade I would have chosen option B. However, as an  adult who must plan out every detail of everything..I would go for option A)

4) After the polygons were glued into place the students had to complete a polygon record sheet.
Snowflake Polygon

I loved the plethora (I love that word), of math skills within this one geometric lesson. All the learning, mixed with laughter, was a wonderful sight to see and made my teacher heart so happy! This will definitely be an activity I will repeat in the future.

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The timing of the lesson was also perfect as we are in desperate need of some type of white "stuff" in our lives! This time last year we had a total of 12.5 inches of snow. This year...0.2 inches! We had one mini-snow day in December but that is it so far. This week's forcast is rain and 60's so it looks like I may have to work in some more snow themed learning

Favorite Finds to Free your Frazzles

When the pressures of state testing, No Child Left Behind, and Race to the Top, become overwhelming and cause me to question continuing in this profession-it only takes finding a little spark of something fresh and new to rejuvenate the teacher in me! Here are a few of my latest discoveries that calmed my frazzles...

Clapboards

Talk about student motivation! During an inservice with Kim Sutton, from Creative Mathematics, I was introduced to using chalkboard contact paper. What a magical discovery! I quickly ordered my chalkboard contact paper from Amazon and began my preparations.

1) Cut a file folder in half horizontally.

2) I created a "Clapboard" cover to match our Hollywood Theme and laminated them to the file folder.

3) Cut the chalkboard contact paper to fit the inside (you will have to trim about 1/2 inch off the end).

4) Peel, Stick, and Personalize! The technique I liked the best was to keep the backing on the contact paper and remove it as it stuck slowly. This gave the smoothest results. Finally, I added the student's number, rather than name(in hopes of re-using next year), to the front of each clapboard.

5) I gave each student a clapboard, tissue and neon chalk. The tissue acts as the eraser, as well as, a protective place to store the chalk when not in use.

My students just love their clapboards. I like the way they have a bit of privacy while working and can close their boards to hid their answers. Some days we use our dry erase boards and other days we use our clapboards. It really keeps us feeling like things are fresh and new and not the same old routine day after day.

The Magic Hat

 

The Magic Hat

It takes great thought and strategic planning when putting students in groups or with a partner. At times I need them to be grouped heterogeneously and other times homogeneously. Then there are times when they can simply be with any partner.My students also learn early in the year that we are a family and should be happy to be in a group or partner with any of our family members. Yet, there are those times when you get the "eye-roll" or "groan" when students are not put with the family members they would have preferred. Well, The Magic Hat is a perfect solution for random groupings or even just calling on students randomly in class discussions.

“The Hat” is a free app by Harmony Hollow Software that you can use to pick random names one by one from a list. You can enter your own names manually or import them from a text file. To pick a name, press the “Shuffle” button and “Stop” to randomize the list. To pick out a name from the hat, click on the “Pick Individual Names” menu option. The app can be used on an ipad, ipod, or in my case just a laptop. My students' moans and groans are replaced with excitement and anticipation when I use The Magic Hat.