Impact of Mass on Distance

As part of our campus-wide STEM certification process, class observations have been occurring throughout the second semester.  The focus of our classroom visits is to collect data regarding domain I.  Indictors from this domain include maintaining a positive classroom environment where a growth mindset is fostered and students are willing to take risks.

Because our 8th graders had already taken their state math assessment, we, as an 8th grade team, welcomed our STEM leadership team into our classrooms!  Our current unit of study focused on solving equations with variables on both sides, so we wanted to do something that connected our math TEKS to science.  Knowing our students had prior experiences with speed and acceleration, we created a learning opportunity where students would gather data about various factors that affect the speed of a vehicle and the distance traveled.

Blendspace shared the day to activate prior knowledge

Hot Wheels & race tracks were gathered and the learning began for both our students and ourselves!  Our time together began with a Knows & Needs to Know chart, a strategy I learned about during PBL training.  Students read over their packets and determined what their group knew and what questions they still had  prior to beginning the investigations.  As we created a class chart, I was beyond impressed with how much prior knowledge our Falcons brought to this experience!

As students began to dive into our investigations, questions began to surface regarding what do we measure?  Why is this car going faster?  How do I read this triple beam balance?  Seeing their math and science worlds collide into one made the learning much more powerful!

Once our students (and teachers) became comfortable with the idea of not "doing" math how they have been doing it for years (imagine a classroom with rows and a teacher direct teaching), students were conversing and asking questions, explaining to each other their reasoning and most of all justifying their solutions to our investigable question:

"Does the mass of a car affect the distance it will roll beyond the ramp?"

As we moved throughout the day, my teaching partner and I modified the investigations based on the needs of our learners.  Such modifications included limiting the number of trials and having a blockade to limit the distance.  We loved that our students were owning their own learning and able to justify why they made the modifications they did and what impact it had on their data!

After our day of learning, I was exhausted.  Exhausted from loving every bit of our day in Room 27!  Learners were engaged and curious.  Their conversations and excitement reminded me why I love what I do and why I look forward to each day!   

Spring DL Conference #birdvillelearns

 This past Saturday, I teamed up with my colleague and friend, Mollie Sheridan, to present about digital goal setting and the impact it has had on the success of our learners, as well as our growth as educators.
Some background information on Mollie and I and how we got to where we are today....both of us were teaching 7th Accelerated math in GCISD, as well as implementing a digital classroom.  Because neither of us had a teacher to PLC with on our home campuses, we decided to create our own PLC.  We met several times throughout the year, as well as compiled our files on Google drive.  We too were digital citizens in the 21st century of education!

As our paths took different directions, I found myself teaching math in Birdville ISD and Mollie transferred to Grapevine Middle, as the Algebra STEM teacher.  With Mollie's transfer came the implementation of 1:1 at the middle school level.  I, in turn, was working with a classroom set of chromebooks.

Just as we stressed during our Saturday morning of learning, never let the number of devices determine the implementation and success of technology within your classrooms!

When I asked Mollie to present with me, of course she said yes!  That's how we operate, always sharing our experiences and learning from others :)

As I was setting up our Google classroom, I found myself refreshing my mind on various formative assessment tools I had previously used.  One of my favorites is Padlet!  After spending some time playing around with it, I found that I remembered why I liked it.  I began to using this tool as a digital form of 4 corners.  For Saturday's presentation, we started with the sentence stem, "Goal setting is like..."  Participants had to choose from a soccer ball, a pair of glasses, a mirror and a stoplight.

As we began planning our presentation and determining how we would go about reaching our ultimate goal of implementing digital goal setting, we realized we needed a platform to share our ideas.  Unanimously, we decided Google Classroom would be the tool we used, as we both use this on a daily basis within our own classrooms.  This would also allow participants to see Google Classroom from the student's perspective!

Facebook Live Footage:  Implementing Digital Goal Setting

Announcements and Assignments were posted as far as our TEKS Mastery Charts in Google Sheets, Goal Setting Conference Sign Ups & Written Reflections in Google Docs.  While making our presentation, I used the option to create a question for the first time.  Again, another example of how we are all lifelong learners!

As participants answered the question, "How are you tracking student success?" we showed the teacher view on the board.  Again, we wanted our learners to be able to see both sides of this learning opportunity!  I shared with our participants that the answer choices were actually based on the current practices that the learners of room 27 encounter.  Thankfully, nobody chose the last option of we don't have time to track student success!

As we moved throughout our time together, we had a special member of our team, share her experiences with digital goal setting.  Audrey, a learner of Room 27, explained how she was scared at first with the digital part of tracking her success, but now uses the tools in her other classes.  Audrey has taken goal setting to a new level, by changing her second semester classes to better utilize her time as she prepares to determine her field of study in college!  

To close out our morning of learning, we had the participants complete a questionnaire made with 

Go Formative  Again this was something new I learned and can't wait to implement it into our classroom!  

We encouraged our participants to follow us on Twitter and share their implementation of goal setting, as trying something new can be challenging, yet so rewarding!  One of our participants, Lindsey Barber, an English I teacher, gave us some Twitter love and reminded us both that we love growing with other educators!

Digital Learning Day 2017

You can learning more about the day here:  http://www.digitallearningday.org/

Thursday, February 23, the learners in Room 27 embarked on a new learning adventure...Digital Learning Day 2017!  I first heard about this learning opportunity as a I scrolled through my Twitter feed.  Following one of my favorite authors, Eric Sheninger, (@e_sheninger), I immediately reached out to my NRMS teachers, when I saw his tweet about Digital Learning Day!

With the help of our awesome librarian, Mrs. Pursley, learners embarked on a day of working with Spheroes and coding.  She had the library set up and ready for our learners with obstacles created out of painters tape and computers turned on ready for coding to begin once the 8:40 bell rang!

Students were given the option of continuing to work on computer coding or work with Spheroes.  Most chose to work with the Sphereos since they had never had an opportunity to do so. A Sphero is a robotic ball gaming device that you control with a tilt, touch or swing of your smartphone or tablet.

While most learners were working with Spheroes, some continued to explore coding, after our initial experience with coding during Hour of Code!  

Throughout the day, teachers would stop by the library to check out what we were working on.  Learners loved teaching the NRMS teachers how to use the various digital devices!    

Throughout the day, learners helped me learn about creating videos and photos using a green screen!  I made photo booth props for our day which added to the excitement of our day. 

 

Below is one of the videos that was created by the learners of Room 27! 

Welcoming Our New Team Member

On Monday, January 30, we welcomed a new member to the NRMS Family and the newest member of the 8th grade math team!  Mrs. Parr came our way from Carroll Middle School and brings experience in the accounting world.  She shares a love of learning mathematics, as well as fosters a growth mindset in her classroom.  

Because Mrs. Parr and I "share" students, she often time is pre-teaching our lesson, filling in foundational gaps, or covering current material.  We spent several hours talking about learning expectations, how to manage and set up our classrooms and most of all, getting to know each other.  After hours of talking with Mrs. Parr, I knew we made the best choice for our Falcons! 

Setting up her word wall the Saturday before she officially began at NRMS

Knowing that our learners are being held accountable for their learning is huge!  One of the best parts of our team is that all of our learners know they can go to any of our rooms and get help on their Falcon Work!  This is such a huge blessing for both learners and teachers :)  

Mrs. Parr and her family came up the weekend before her official start at NRMS to brighten up their classroom and add a personal touch!  The walls went from a neutral color to bright, vibrant colors.  The classroom went from a cold environment to an environment where students felt welcomed and where learning was encouraged and supported!  

Activating Our Prior Knowledge with AngleLegs

My first exposure to learning with AngleLegs was during professional learning in June 2016!  I had never used these "toys" and was beyond excited after my first encounter.  During our professional learning, we were each given a set and asked to build various polygons.  Using academic vocabulary, we described our figures to our partners.  Because of the colors of each AngleLeg, we were able to visually see the congruent sides.  I couldn't wait to try this investigation with my kids this year!  

Because of how our schedule is set up, we pre-teach/reteach foundational TEKS for our upcoming units, during our intervention time.  During February, we spent two weeks revisiting similar figures, which was taught in 7th grade, as well as learning how to use a protractor to measure angles.  

 

Students were each handed set of AngleLegs and allowed to play for a few minutes.  It was interesting to watch how they sorted the figures, some in neat stacks, while others, immediately went to building and constructing.  To start our investigation of similar figures, we constructed various triangles:  equilateral, isosceles, scalene, right, acute, and obtuse.  This provided insight to our upcoming lessons, as to what learners already understood!  

After constructing our triangles, it was time to use the protractor and measure the angles inside each triangle.  One of the best parts of using AngleLegs to learn how to use a protractor is that there is a place to "snap" the protractor on and lines to help where to place the protractor.  

As we measured the various angles of our triangles, learners were given the opportunity to share their learning, by walking a new partner through the activity.  

Feeling Fabulous in February

Despite February being the shortest month of the year, it is one of the longest months to get through during the school year!  A group of us decided to take it upon ourselves and spread kindness and love throughout our campus, during the month of February.  

On Thursday, February 2, we set out after school to spread some love across our campus.  With this being my first year, I ventured into parts of the building I never knew existed.  From the fine arts hallway to the coaches' offices to the world of learning that exists in our portables, hearts were placed on all teachers windows or computers.  We had so much fun putting hearts on our coworkers doors :) 

 

Even our learners got into the fun of the day! 

Donuts on Thursday, February 9, brought smiles to many teachers morning!  It was a chance for all of us to mingle before school started, as well as share a donut.  Teachers brought various treats to share and conversations were heard saying we should keep this tradition going :) 

The most participated event in our Fabulous February Fun was the Couples Challenge!  We created broken hearts of famous couples and created necklaces similar to those like Best Friend necklaces from years ago.  We hung the various broken hearts on each classroom door on Monday evening.  Much to our surprise the first 5 couples were found by 7:30 AM (and our official day begins at 8:15!).  To say the staff loved this activity is an understatement.  

Again our students got into the fun of the day! 

Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell reunited at NRMS

 Below are some of the funny emails exchanged in regards to finding our "missing" Valentines!

The next couple of weeks would prove why February is such a challenging time of year!  From being out for numerous days with the flu to professional learning, we forgot to remind our staff about snack day & nachos.  However, everyone had had so much fun with our Couples Challenge that we just "rescheduled" our events a few days later!

Even when teachers were off campus, they took care of each other!