A Game That Students Love + Growth Mindset = Win Win

Gimkit was one of my kids' favorite things to do last year. I loved how engaged and excited they were.  You can check out this blog post if you want to know more about all the reasons that I love Gimkit.  As much as I loved it, there was definitely a learning curve for me.

At first, I thought I would use Gimkit similar to how I use Kahoot.  However, I quickly figured out that it didn't work the same way for me as a teacher. In a Kahoot, I would immediately know what questions the kids were getting right and what questions they were missing.  We could talk as we played about misunderstandings that needed to be addressed.

11 Awesome Math Halloween Activities Your Class Will Love

Halloween is a tricky time in middle school.  Some kids are disappointed to find out there are no longer going to be Halloween parties at school, but most kids are still excited that it's coming! If you're wanting something fun to do on Halloween, but know that you need to keep your class learning, here are some fun Halloween ideas for a middle school math classroom.

Gimkit: You and Your Students Will Love It

       Does your class love Kahoot?  Now is the time to learn about Gimkit!  Gimkit was definitely a new favorite last year, but I found there was a learning curve to figure out how I liked to use Gimkit.  Here are some of the reasons why I really love Gimkit.

Number Talks Modeled Multiple Ways: A Sure Fire Win!

    If you are ready to start using number talks in your secondary math classroom, it's time to start thinking about how you will represent different strategies as students describe them.  Personally, I like to use a variety of strategies including equations and visual models such as number lines and the area model.  I feel that seeing the connections between different models can be very powerful for student growth.  Here are a few reasons why I like using different representations of student strategies during number talks.

Expert Planning Tips So You'll Love Number Talks

     Number talks are beneficial for many reasons such as increased student engagement and number sense.  The idea of a number talk is that you give students a problem to solve mentally.  After giving time to solve the problem, students share their strategies.  In my experiences (which you can read about here), students have lots of strategies and they are excited to share them.

     If you're ready to start with number talks but not sure how to get started, here are a few things to consider.

The Truth About Why You'll Love Number Talks

       Have you heard about number talks?  Are you on the fence about using number talks in your secondary math classroom?  Maybe you think they might be ok, but you just don't think you have the time.  Or maybe you don't know what a number talk is.  Here are a few reasons to convince you to start using number talks in your math classroom tomorrow!

2 Resources That Will Make You Love Coding in Math Class

      If you've been afraid to give coding a chance in your math classroom, I'm here to tell you about a couple of my favorite activities that will convince you that it is time to give it a try.  They are easy to implement (even if you have NO experience), and you'll be excited about the math that is involved!

  My journey with coding began a few summers ago.  On a whim, I decided to try the "Summer of Code" on Khan Academy.  I had always heard that math skills were needed for computer fields, but I really didn't know what kind of math was needed for computer programming.  That summer I spent quite a bit of time completing the Beginners JavaScript course on Khan Academy, and I loved it!  I'm still no expert, but after that summer I started a Coding Club at my school.  It turns out there IS tons of math involved in coding....and lots of it even relates to what is taught in middle school.

        You may not be ready to take on an entire JavaScript course, but there are lots of great resources out there to introduce kids to coding.  In this post, I want to highlight my two favorite coding options.  They are both great for a beginner skill level yet can challenge those with more experience.  As a bonus, both resources do a great job of showing some of the connection between math and coding. 

     Code.org has lots of great resources that are perfect for people with no coding experience...both kids and adults.  If you don't have any coding experience, the Hour of Code activities from Code.org are a great place to start.  These activities are user-friendly and high interest.  Code.org has a wide variety of quick coding activities to choose from, and they have all kinds of themes that are fun for kids. 

       My favorite is their Frozen themed Hour of Code activity.  It has tons of math involved in the coding and it's so fun!  This series of 20 puzzles starts out with some relatively simple puzzles, creating a series of lines that turn into a square.  The challenges get more and more complex as you begin to write code to form a series of squares that rotate to form a pattern.  This is a great activity if you are studying angles, and your artistic kids will love it too!  I had my 7th graders try this as enrichment as part of our Shapes and Designs unit (focusing on interior and exterior angles, angle sums of polygons) and it kept them involved and challenged!  These activities use blocks that you drag and drop in place...easy peasy!

       My other favorite resource for a beginning coding activity is Khan Academy's beginner's Hour of Code activity.   I love these Khan Academy resources.  The teaching videos are easy to understand and interactive.  While the Hour of Code activities from Code.org use drag and drop blocks, Khan Academy actually has students type in the code.  I've had students tell me how "smart" they felt when they were typing in their lines of code.  This set of JavaScript challenges will give your students a taste of coding as well as some of the math that is used in coding as students create simple drawings using code. Students really get a feel for how geometric figures are used in coding, as well as how it relates to the coordinate plane.  If you like this Hour of Code activity, the full Intro to JavaScript course on Khan Academy is great as well (although probably not something you will have time to tackle in math class)!

       If you don't have any experience with coding, now is the time to give it a try!  These two activities may be just what you need to convince you that there may just be a place for coding in your math classroom.  Leave a comment below with your favorite coding resource.