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Look at me - I'm a blogger! Yay!

Geometry Day 30: Perpendicular Chalk Lines

Today in Geometry we are learning about theorems related to perpendicular lines. Yay! First we looked back to what we learned about parallel, perpendicular and skew lines:

what I asked for

what they came up with

Big realization was the difference between parallel and skew lines. Neither touch, but parallel lines are in the same plane, skew are not. The visuals, and trying to represent 3-D in 2-D for the skew lines, really helped drive this home.

Then...

Those are my examples on the door and the file cabinet. But it was a nice day...so we went outside! Results varied and I'll improve the direction in the following class periods, but here are some of the clearer pictures...

All right angles are congruent.

If two lines are perpendicular, then they intersect to form four right angles.

If two lines intersect to form adjacent congruent angles, then the lines are perpendicular.

If two lines intersect to form adjacent congruent angles, then the lines are perpendicular.

If two sides of adjacent acute angles are perpendicular, then the angles are complementary.

If you give freshmen chalk, then they draw pretty flowers.

Fun activity - next time I'll make sure to show clearer examples. Also, I ended up taking pictures on my phone and uploading to shared google drive folder. They could then download from there. 

We went outside and created something - a good day!

Corn Hole and Life Skills

Yesterday we began making corn hole sets. What a blast to put a drill in a student's hands for the first time. Watching them struggle with keeping it aligned while stripping screws and getting accustomed to the sensitivity of the trigger brought me back to my first job in construction (using the same exact drill!) when I stripped a dozen or so while decking before finally getting it.

Whew! Run on sentence?

But I learned from failure, and so will these students. Yesterday we only got the frames completed, not even the top boards, but I could tell those working on it were proud.

The model I follow for instruction in this setting I take from Mike Breen, a church planting guru of all things. It is the following:

doesn't look like much...yet...but a great first step!

I lead, you watch
I lead, you help
You lead, I help
You lead I watch

Now, this takes place on both the micro and macro scale. Microscopically, I fastened the first 4 screws and made the first 4 pilot holes.

Then I helped while they lined a few up.

Then I walked away with another set still to go. By the end, they had done it on they're own!

Any day a kid can take the lead on a project...and use power tools, is a good day. Needless to say, it was a good day!

dm

And the blogs begin!

Algebra 2 began their Math Blogs today. I learned a couple of things:

1. Getting the ball rolling and getting out of the way is an ok way to teach. That is, there is nothing sacred in the students watching me, listening to me, and writing down everything I say for 55 minutes.
2. I get a rush watching students individualize their work...and so do they!
3. When you give a blog post prompt like, "something you may not know about me is..." you learn some amazing things about your students.
4. Quiet students have the opportunity to be fully creative with the right digital format. 

Just a few things - I'm looking forward to this!

On a technical note, I do want to mention that I am using a Google Drive spreadsheet to list the blogs. I first made a form in Drive asking for name, period, and blog link. I embedded the form in the html of a schoology page that can be accessed from the Algebra 2 group page. That way all the data entry is sortable and, more importantly, taken care of already. 

Yay Google Drive! Yay Schoology!

Why Maker Club?

Well funny story. Well not really. Well Anyway...

I want my students to start blogs this year. Yay math blogs! I want to be disciplined in documenting my first full year back in the saddle as a teacher.

I wanted to through the process of starting a blog so I can tell my students. I wanted to use "Created to Create"...that was a one-posted back in 2008. A worship leader, interestingly enough. So I checked "Created 2 Create" - another one-poster back in 2010. Oh well!

The maker club embodies what I'm going for in the classroom anyway so why not expend the tent poles of said "club" to include all those called to "make" (hint: YOU!)

So why maker? The first verb in scripture is "created". We, of course are part of this creation. But there is something more profound. Humanity was created in the image of the creator...thus...we have been created WITH THE INHERENT BENT TO CREATE!!

That's what drives my teaching. We each have been gifted to create and contribute differently but the bottom line is, WE ARE ALL CALLED. In education, it is the responsibility of the educator to foster that call. Lord, help us! Lord have mercy.

So, to all those feeling that deep down thumb print of a creator on you, welcome to the Maker Club.