Education with DocRunning

See you in August...

Math Mondays is a bi-weekly blog post (2nd and 4th Monday of each month) sharing tips, ideas, resources, and products for teaching math. If you have questions or think there is something I should include, you can leave me a message in the comments section below or at the store in the question and answer section.

Some years I am not ready for the end of the year, but this year I am counting down (just 4 days to go!) It has been a fantastic and exhausting year. And while I will miss my students and their amazing energy, I am ready for the break. As such, this will be the last Social Sunday post before the Summer break.

I thought quite a bit about what to include.

My students spend time at the end of the year reflecting on the past year as well as looking forward. I also like to reflect, because after many years of just surviving, I finally have time to look back, evaluate and learn so that the next year I can improve upon previous years.

This year was filled with "new." I took on an integrated math class that merged Algebra 2, Geometry and Statistics. I tackled Pre-Calculus. And I tried out several new types of resources to continue to run my classes in a self-paced, mastery learning program. Here's what I discovered:

The idea of centers (or stations) started largely in elementary schools. As students get into middle school and high school, centers or stations start to disappear. Less and less time is spent on different learning styles and more time is spent by the teacher talking. Lectures often become king in the secondary history classroom. Lecture is easy yet also the least effective way of teaching. Centers take time to set up and implement, even in flipped classrooms. Still the engagement that comes out of well-designed centers make them a valuable part of secondary classes even if you only use once a week.
Here's what I have learned about setting up and using centers in the secondary social studies classroom:

I suppose in some ways it's a little silly as a teacher myself to thank all the other teachers out there, but I am grateful for my colleagues as well as my own teachers: from Mrs. L. who used manipulatives and problem solving in math when others were teaching times tables to Mr. G. who started every class with classical music in the background and made each of us know that he cared and wanted us to understand and excel in Calculus. I learned so much from Dr. J. who never let me get away with the easy answer and pushed towards deeper thinking and Dr. T. who reminded me that there are many ways to approach problems. I am thankful to all the great teachers I had. And to thank all of those great teachers out there today, my friends and I got together to give back a little something to many of you in our TEACHER APPRECIATION GIVEAWAY.

Here's how it works:

1. Enter in the giveaway below. Increase your chances by entering up to 12 times.
2. 12 lucky winners will be randomly selected to win a product at one of the co-sponsoring stores.
3. 2 lucky winners will also receive a $50 TPT gift card each courtesy of Education with DocRunning and Jean Adams.
4. Entries begin today and end Tuesday May 9th, 5pm PST.
5. Winners will be notified no later than May 10th.

And even those who don't win will win with savings up to 28% at the participating stores on May 9th and 10th. Just enter code THANKYOU17 at checkout.

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Thank you from all of us to all of you.

The end of the year is just around the corner, and I invited some friends to share their ideas on ways to ROCK the end of the school year. Grab your favorites

For me the end of the school year is an opportunity to learn and reflect and have a little fun, too. Here's five of my favorite ways to end the year in a way that students won't soon forget:

There is no question that deeper learning is the way to go, but reality sometimes warrants a need to pay attention to the details in problems. The reality of exams is that students are asked to evaluate and calculate. As math concepts become more complicated, the opportunity for "little mistakes" increases.

A favorite activity which both addresses a specific math concepts and requires students to examine the details is what I call "Be the Teacher" (a free copy is available at the end of this post). I use this activity for concept practice or for assessment.

It's getting towards the end of the year and of course, that means lots of assessments. I try to use a wide variety over the course of year, so by the end of April it's getting a bit more challenging to add a new one.

Recently, we just completed an assessment that is both a personal favorite and a favorite of students. I call it "If You Wrote the Test." The concept is simple really - students write the exam and answer key for the unit we are studying. If you can teach it; you understand it. In this case, the students have to show what they know. This is one of the best assessments I have used to gauge mastery.

Here's what I find works:

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