Fun Times in the Middle School

Two things happened this week that made me laugh or smile.  The first was the picture below:

 

Our male students are required to wear ties on "Eucharist days" and this particular tall student came in late to class because of an orthodontist appointment.  Well...he didn't know how to tie a tie, so his friend came to the rescue.  At one point the shorter boy tried to tie it from behind the taller one and it was quite comical!

 

The second fun thing that happened, was the girls won!  We play this wonderful Smart Board game that I acquired from some wonderful teachers at an NCTM conference.  This particular game you either win 100 points for getting the problem right or lost 100 points if your team gets it wrong.  At one point today, the girls were in the positives and the boys in the negatives...the girls said I should have taken a picture then.

 

Now I know I shouldn't celebrate one gender over the other...last time the boys won, so I was glad the girls won this time.  They said we should keep a running record to see who wins at the end of the year!  They are very competitive!

If you would like a copy of this game, shoot me an email and I can send it to you.  It can be adapted for any subject and any level...you just type in your own questions!  leslieadams@aseschool.org



Enter with Integers

Today my Pre-Algebra students reviewed adding and subtracting integers.  Last year they worked with two-colored counters and talked extensively about zero pairs.  The game "Enter with Integers", from Exploring Algebra and Pre-Algebra with Manipulatives by Don Balka, was a great way for them to refresh their memories and get up to speed.  The students did a wonderful job and once we removed the counters and practiced integer problems without the counters, I could see that they really understood how to add and subtract!