Shape Up!

One of my favorite math tools to use is the CBR (Calculator Based Ranger)!  If you've never used one, these are motion detectors, timers, and much more.  This particular day, we created graphs involving distance and time.  Students had to create graphs that looked like plateaus, two mountains with different peaks, and letters.  I follow this activity up with a worksheet of interpreting graphs of different scenarios, such as graphing speed vs. time in climbing up a slide.  Love, love, love this!  Texas Instruments produces excellent activity books to use with the CBRs!  The next day we looked at the bounce of a ball in "Curve Ball".

Return of the Fiesta!

We had our annual salsa and queso making party in January.  I love this activity!  The class took a recipe and determined how many servings of that recipe they wanted to make for everyone.  We then used proportions to determine how much of each ingredient we would need.  I try not to make it as easy as doubling or tripling the recipe, which is why we talk about the number of servings to make.  My classes did an excellent job making the recipes and even had to improvise, since not everyone brought in their ingredients.  I was very impressed awith their culinary skills and they definitely knew their way around a kitchen better than the classes from last year!

These recipes are easy to make in the classroom because besides bowls, all you need is a blender and microwave.  However, this is a great activity to do with any recipe!

Here are some fun photos of the students in action:

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