Learn the Foolproof Method to Stop Your Classroom Calculators from Disappearing

I teach at a community college which I love. I also spend three hours a week in the Math Lab which is a place where our students can come for math tutoring, to study or just to work in a group. It is staffed by math instructors. We try to have the supplies available that our students might need like a stapler, hole punch, white boards, pencils, scrap paper etc. We also have a set of scientific calculators which our students may borrow while in the Math Lab. 

Most of our items tend to remain in the Math Lab. Of course, a few pencils disappear now and then, but generally, most supplies seem to stay put EXCEPT for the calculators. Now I must say, students who take these home do so unintentionally. They just pick it up, slip it in their backpack and head out the door. Fortunately, most students are honest and eventually return the calculators to us. The dilemma is we only have so many calculators; so, we want to make sure that if a student needs one, it is on hand. We needed to find a way to make sure the calculators didn’t walk off.

One of our team members came up with an innovative but simple solution.

She purchased small clip boards and attached the calculator to it by using Gorilla tape. The calculators are still accessible, but much too big or bulky to accidentally stick into a backpack. In addition, since they are on a clip board, they are easy to stand and display in the white board trays. At the end of the day, it is simple to count them to make sure none are missing. This idea has worked so well, that some of our math instructors are now using this method in their classrooms.

So if you teach math, and have a set of classroom calculators, why not give this idea a try?

Using a Back to School Glyph to Gather Student Data with Ease

Sometimes I think teachers believe glyphs are just fun activities, but in reality, glyphs are a non-standard way of graphing a variety of information to tell a story. It is a flexible data representation tool that uses symbols to represent different data. Glyphs are an innovative instrument that shows several pieces of data at once and requires a legend/key to understand the glyph. The creation of glyphs requires problem solving, communication as well as data organization.

Remember Paint by Number where you had to paint in each of the numbers or letters using a key to paint with the right color? How about coloring books that were filled with color-by-number pages? Believe it or not, both of these activities were a type of glyph.

For the fall, I have created a Back to School Glyph. Not only is it a type of graph, but it is also an excellent activity for reading and following directions. Students are to finish the Glyph using the nine categories

listed below.

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1. Draw a road to the school (girl or a boy?)
2. Trees (age?)
3. Flowers (pets or no pets?)
4. How did you get to school today? (transportation)
5. School Yard (what do you like to do best?)
6. The Sky (what grade are you in?)
7. School Flag (prefer outside or inside?)
8. Name (number of letters in first name)
9. School House (prefer books or T.V.?)

Reading the completed glyph and interpreting the information represented is a skill that requires deeper thinking by the student. Students must be able to analyze the information presented in visual form. A glyph such as this one is very appropriate to use in the data management strand of mathematics.  If you are interested, just click under the resource cover page.

Streamline Your Classroom Management with Six Simple Class Rules

Now that most of us are getting geared up for a new school year, it's time to think about what classroom rules need to be established. Maybe the ones you had last year just didn’t work, and you are looking for a change. I could recommend many "Do this or this will happen" or "Please don't do this as it will break my heart" statements, but lists can become very long and mind-numbing. Maybe that is why God only gave Ten Commandments. Fewer rules mean less has to be memorized. So, maybe we need to ask ourselves: “How many classroom rules are really needed?” 

I would suggest making a few general rules that are clear and understandable since being too specific often leads to complicated, wordy rules that might cover every possible situation. Most of the time, I post six simple classroom rules (only two words each) in my room which encompass my main areas of concern. I find them to be more than sufficient to govern general behaviors, and because alliteration is used, the rules are easy for all of my students to remember.

1.  Be Prompt – In other words, be on time to school/class/group.

2.  Be Prepared – Bring the items you need to class or to a group. Study for upcoming tests. Have your homework completed and ready to turn in. 

3.  Be Polite – This rule focuses on how we treat each other. Show respect for your teacher(s) and your fellow students in the classroom, in the school, and on the playground.

4.  Be Persistent - The final rule spotlights the need to stay on task and complete an assignment even though it might be difficult. 

5. Be Productive - Always put forth your best effort! Grades are achieved; not received; so, do your best at all times.

6. Be Positive – Bad days happen! If you are having one of those days, I do understand. Please just inform me before class that you are having a bad day, and I will try to leave you alone during class discussion. This is not to be abused.

I firmly believe that class rules must cover general behaviors, be clear as well as understandable. Being too specific often leads to complicated, wordy rules that might cover every possible situation, but are impossible to remember.  (A good example are the IRS tax rules which I still have difficulty comprehending). 

Here are a few things to consider when communicating your classroom rules.

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• Establish clear expectations for behavior from day one.
• Use techniques such as interactive modeling to teach positive behavior.
• Reinforce positive behavior with supportive teacher language.
• Quickly stop misbehavior.
• Restore positive behavior so that children retain their dignity and continue learning.

If you are interested in using these six rules in your classroom, check them out on Teachers Pay Teachers. Each two word rule is written as a one page chart, and is ready to download and laminate to hang in your classroom.

Who Needs Math Study Skills? Everyone!

This semester, I am teaching a new class called Math Study Skills.  We are finding that many of our students who do not qualify for college algebra in reality do not know how to study math.  When you think about it, math is different than other subjects in that it continues to build.  You might do well on the test over Chapter #1, not so hot on Chapter #2, but for sure, you will not succeed on the test over chapter #3.  I am putting together lots of supplemental materials for the class which I hope to share with you on this blog. 

In our next class I am going to ask the students to determine if the following statements about math are true or false.  See what you think.

1. In math, there is only one way to get the answer.
2. To be good at math, you have to be good at calculating.
3. If you are good at math, you skip steps and do all of the work in your head.
4. Men are much better at math than women.
5. There is a "best" way to complete a math problem.
6. You have to have a mathematical mind to understand math.

Believe it or not, all of these are false statements! I think my students will be surprised as well. But of course the best study skill I can give them is depicted in the cartoon!

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Math Profile Sheet

Are you interested in a Math Profile Sheet that will help you to measure the mathematical success of your students?  Check it out by clicking under the resource cover above.