Pythagorean Theorem is one of my favorite subjects to teach! It is one of those straight-forward mathematical concepts that is easy to teach (at least the 7th grade version is) and that the kids like and understand without me jumping through too many hoops. An interactive application of this concept that I started using this year is having the students build a city which allows them the opportunity to apply the concept in real-life. (This activity is modified from a factoring activity that I have done for years with honors students.) I present the students with the project instructions, questions, and rubric on day 1 of the project. I also specify that their city should be 90% made of recycled materials. This is all that I tell them, I keep the directions vague on purpose. I have found that this allows students to be more creative. Project explanation, requirements, and rubric can be found here . A fancier (but not free) version of this pr...
picture credit Classroom management is an important aspect in teaching students. For those who manage adults, being an effective people manager is important also. Although the intended audience of this post is classroom teachers, many of these strategies can be used to manage adults, also. Here are some strategies that I have used in my classroom to manage student behavior: Stand at the classroom door greeting and talking to students as they enter into the classroom . This can alert you to any student issues before the students enter your classroom. If you notice that a student is having an issue, talk with them and try to get it resolved or diffuse it before it becomes a larger issue. Constantly monitor and circulate around the room as a way to be proactive in your classroom management. As mentioned earlier, becoming aware of an issue before it becomes an even bigger issue will cut down on management issues. Circulating aro...
Posing the right questions to students is one of the most important techniques that can be used when teaching and assessing students. Your questioning techniques can expose misconceptions, uncover gaps in learning, cause students to look deeper at a topic, encourage a higher depth of knowledge, and provide students with opportunities to make connections between many different topics. Because questioning is a topic that has many different levels , I am going to HAVE to spread the techniques that I use over several different posts...Hopefully these posts will come quick and in successive order, however, due to my tremendously busy schedule and A.D.D. (undiagnosed and I which that I had even a slight case of hyperactivity as an adult) I am not sure if this will be the case... This first questioning techniques post will be about questions that require students to extend their responses . As a math teacher, it is easy to fall into the habit of ...
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