Flipped Lesson: Triangles

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I just finished my first flipped lesson. 😀

I decided to do it on triangles…since I will be teaching that during the first quarter next year. I really enjoyed making this flipped lesson and look forward to making more…especially after I learn more about making videos. 🙂

Triangle Study Guide

Triangle Study Guide KEY

A few lessons I learned:

  • YouTube annotations will not connect to outside links, unless they are approved fundraisers.
  • There is a site you can use called LinkedTube to add outside links, but it is not aesthetically pleasing.
  • When you upload your Powerpoint to Google Drive and/or Drop Box your slides do not always look the same. I ended up saving all my slides as pictures. Then, I replaced the slides that transferred incorrectly with the picture.
  • If you add annotations on YouTube they will not transfer over to the awesome site that makes your YouTube videos safe to watch.

A few lesson I need to learn:

  • I want to make my questions more interactive.
  • I want to make my video more animated.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!!! 😀

For this video I used…

Impatient Problem Solving

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“The way our textbooks…teach math reasoning and patient problem solving is functionally equivalent to turning on Two and a Half Men and calling it a day.” Dan Meyer

Below is a TED Talk with Dan Meyer, a high-school math teacher. He states that we have created impatient problem solvers and gives ideas as to how to create patient problem solvers.

Dan Meyer’s List: 5 Symptoms you are doing math reasoning wrong

  1. Lack of initiative.
  2. Lack of perseverance.
  3. Lack of retention.
  4. Aversion to word problems.
  5. Eagerness for formula.

Dan Meyer’s List: How to make patient problem solvers.

  1. Use multimedia.
  2. Encourage student intuition.
  3. Ask the shortest question you can.
  4. Let students build the problem.
  5. Be less helpful.

Last year, I had the pleasure of teaching 2 math classes each day! 😀 I really love math…and pretty much all subjects (this is one of the reasons I want to teach elementary school). It was so amazing to watch my students develop a love for math. I would hear them talking about math in the hallways. When they came to class they would want to share a conversation about math with the class! 🙂 It was so exciting! I tried to make math exciting, applicable, and their own.

I would have them create word problems. I would create real life problems for them to solve. However, I never thought about incorporating videos to make problems for them to solve. I love how Mr. Meyer makes videos for problem solving. Instead of just having a picture…actually have the problem on the video or do it in the classroom. Instead of just using a sports word problem…actually show a video clip of a sports game and draw problems out of the actual game.

Check out his TED Talk above to get great ideas to incorporate into your classroom.

“Math is the vocabulary for your own intuition.” Dan Meyer

Mind Map

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I think this is the assignment…I am not sure though. This Summer, I decided to take 2 graduate classes, 1 undergraduate class, and test out of 3 classes through clep exams in order to complete my Masters program and Virginia licensing requirements. I am also planning large events, getting ready for my new teaching job, moving, and all the other stuff I always do. I have to complete all this before I leave for a mission trip to Kenya in 2 weeks! I am really excited!!!!!!! My mind just is not working as well as I would like, but it is getting done. 😀 Praise the Lord!

Now that my rambling is over…Here is a mind map I made for a unit I am working on that covers the Civil War. I made the mind map on this awesome website! 

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Digital Story Telling

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A few of my classmates and I made a digital story based on one of my favorite books.

What Are You So Grumpy About? By Tom Lichtenheld

I loved creating a digital story and can’t wait for my students to make one.

Google Glass…what???

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I might be semi-obsessed with Google. Today, I was listening to an awesome podcast on EdReach about Google Glass!!!

I often see things all around that I wish I could share with my students. The teacher they interviewed talked about how now he can easily record what he sees and share it with his students to teach.

Google Glass are glasses that can video record, search Google, take pictures, etc… all by your voice. 😀

I feel like my mind is overflowing with different ways I could use these in and out of the classroom. Especially, if they changed them to include more features…like being completely 3D and being able to manipulate images with your hands… What are some ways you would use Google Glass? What would you like to see them change about Google Glass?

Flipped Classroom

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I love the idea of a flipped classroom!

I think it would be wonderful if the students could watch the lectures at home at their own pace and then come into the classroom and have the whole time applying the new learned knowledge.

In the blog post To Flip or Not Flip? I love how Stacey Roshan, an AP Calculus teacher, pointed out how a flipped classroom can decrease students’ anxiety level.

I also love how in a flipped classroom students can easily go back and review lectures.

A flipped classroom can be an amazing approach to teaching. However, while trying new things I think it is important to reflect. The following was stated so nicely in  The Flipped Classroom: Pro and Con…”I am often brought back to the question: “Are we doing things differently or doing different things?” As educators around the globe try to flip their class, it’s an important thing to reflect on.”

The Nuts & Bolts of 21st Century Teaching

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Shelley Wright in her blog post “The Nuts & Bolts of 21st Century Teaching” gives a beautiful illustration of student-centered collaborative learning.

She discusses her struggles to let go of control. How it was difficult but so rewarding to allow the students to figure it out and just be a co-collaborator.

Her class was assigned to turn the classroom into a Holocaust museum. One group of students discovered that the average inmate only ate 300 calories a day.

“Some of them have since found out that you could eat a small fries from McDonalds, with McNugget sauce. Or ice cream & salad dressing for 300 calories. The discovered this while discussing our exhibit at McDonalds. I’m surprised how much they talk about this class outside of our scheduled class.”

When you allow your students to discover and collaborate with hands-on projects it is amazing how excited they get. Their curiosity and excitement help them to discover and retain more than they would if you just dictated to them.

Teaching 5th Grade in Virginia :D

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If you teach in the state of Virginia…

okay…I actually don’t have anything quirky to say, but you are probably familiar with the VDOE website. 🙂

Fifth graders in Virginia take 5 Standards of Learning (SOL) tests!!!

With all of these tests, poor History/Social Studies sometimes gets overlooked.

One of my goals this year is to incorporate all the History/Social Studies standards into other subjects.

Come back later this summer to see how I am going to use Geocaching to help me with this endeavor. 🙂

Hint: I will be integrating math, writing, technology, and social studies