Time to Wrap Things Up!
Well, another year done and last day pictures to go with it! Thanks to all the students for such a great school year and for all their hard work. Have a great summer and we will see you in August!
Probability GamesNo better way to finish the year than a game fair, right? Geometry students were tasked with coming up with their own game and determining the probability of winning (or losing) that game. This activity was a great way to tie together the discussions of calculating probability as well as tapping into their creative sides. We had a vote at the end of the unit on who had the best game, so congratulations to Kelly Wagner on the fan favorite. I purchased the game from Kelly for $25 for my room, so we will get to enjoy the game in the future!
Great work everyone! |
Congrats, You Math Geniuses!
A 3-way tie for the highest score on the Math 8 Test! Congrats to Abby, Gunner and Levi for their outstanding work on the last unit test of the year!
So Many Possibilities!
These sophomores have gotten pretty good at talking me into whatever they want! We were having a discussion during our probability chapter about the number of possible combinations of sandwiches that can be created at Subway, and the idea came up to actually make this investigation happen. With the approval of Mr. K, we were able to take a little roadtrip to Creighton Subway and answer some questions in regard to the possibilities of sandwiches at our local store. In case you are wondering, there are over 1 million sandwich combinations at this store, between the options for bread, meat, cheese, veggies and dressings. With all those options, do you try something new when you go in? Or stick with the same old sandwich you always do? Don't worry, you are not alone! Most kids knew what they were ordering before they walked in.
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The End is Near
This is really happening! This is a picture of Jace and Haylee handing in their last math test in high school....EVER!!! Big day in the pre-calc room. I know senioritis is taking a toll on these girls, but they have been troopers and powered through it. We are finishing up the year with a much needed reward--MOVIE DAY! We are watching Hidden Figures as a way to motivate these girls to go on and do great things. Who are we kidding? We already know they will! Thanks for such an amazing year you two and best of luck in college!
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Recognize This?? |
There is a bulletin board under there somewhere. If you scroll down to the bottom of the Classroom Highlights page you will see how the Cougar wall started out and how far it has come. A HUGE thank you to the Verdigre Eagle for all the highlights they publish about our school. So much has taken place over the last year!
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That's Right, it's a Math DebateThis really does happen! Bryson and Emily are debating how to simplify trigonometric identities and I was able to catch them mid-convo. Hopefully they won't be mad at me for posting this picture and allowing everyone to see just how much they really love math class. I guess I will take my chances!
Keep up the good work you two! I love seeing people talk about math! |
Math & Technology...Two of My Favorite Things!
I was lucky enough to accompany our technology teacher, Mrs. Miller, to the NETA (Nebraska Educational Technology Association) conference this year and we had an amazing time! We were able to see some of the upcoming advances in technology and how they are incorporated in schools across the nation. Speakers and presenters from all over the US were on hand to introduce and educate others about the latest and greatest tools and gadgets that we can use to help students become more interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers. Stay tuned to this page to see how I am bringing what I learned back to the classroom! It was a great opportunity that I hope to take part in again soon.
USD Math ContestIf you can't tell, I am a little proud of my alma mater--The University of South Dakota. That can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow in the heart of Husker country. However, I was able to convince a few students that SD life isn't too bad either. Twenty-four students attended the USD Merten-Hasse Math Competition in Vermillion, SD on Saturday, April 22nd. That's right, I said 24! And a SATURDAY! Not sure if I just caught the kids on a good day or what, but I was so happy that so many of them decided to go.
The contest consisted of an individual testing competition, where students were placed in content areas and tested on their skills, and a team competition, where students completed a number of math challenges and problems as a group. Verdigre had students testing in Geometry, Algebra I and Algebra II. Savannah Wagner earned an Outstanding honor in the Geometry division and Max Hollman gained an Honorable Mention in Algebra I. Great job you two! Overall, the students did an outstanding job and we had a great day! I really hope to go back again next year. |
Keith Does Math.....Sometimes
Let's just say this doesn't happen everyday, so I thought I would get some photographic evidence to show that Keith does do math...sometimes. We have been working on factoring polynomials in Applied Math and Keith has been improving his factoring skills over that last couple of weeks. I am proud of his hard work, especially this close to the end of the school year!
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Keep up the great work, Keith!
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Way to Go! Good Job! You Rock! Congratulations to these students on high scores on their unit tests! Keep up the hard work and it will pay off in the end. Just a few more weeks to go and you can stop working so hard ;)
Lea--Applied Math & Trigonometry, Haylee--Pre-Calc, Savannah--Geometry, Levi--Math 8, Abby--Math 8, Kelly--Geometry
Lea--Applied Math & Trigonometry, Haylee--Pre-Calc, Savannah--Geometry, Levi--Math 8, Abby--Math 8, Kelly--Geometry
FlipbooksRotations, reflections and translations have been our focus in Geometry these past few weeks, so we are also discussing the use of these transformations in animation. Students got to try their hand at animation through the use of flipbooks, combining all the different motions of objects. The flipbooks turned out great and it was fun to see how creative the students could be!
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Pi Day, Ya'll!
Searching For Pi!Learning about circles seems to always bring up the question, "What is with that pi thing all about?" Why does finding the area and circumference of a circle involve that value 3.141592653589.....? Well, the 8th graders now know that when you measure the circumference of a circle and divide by its diameter, you are SUPPOSED to get pi. You can see some were closer than others, but not bad! We need to work on our precision when measuring to be a little more accurate. Always fun searching for Pi!
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Modeling Motion in Trigonometry
You may not think of sine and cosine curves when you think about Tarzan swinging through the trees or alien temperature, but I guarantee these students will keep them in mind when they encounter repetition in motion. We have been studying the properties of sine and cosine curves and their applications to real world problems, including predator and prey models, motion of a Ferris wheel and the rise and fall of buoys in the ocean. It has been a learning experience and the posters turned out great as well! Great work guys!
Survey Results Show......Math is the crowd favorite! Applied Math students were tasked with finding results for questions they came up with for the students in grades 7-12 here at Verdigre Public School, and wouldn't you know it? Math is my favorite subject too! Great job on finding data and displaying those results graphically. The posters are hanging in the hallway for those of you that are wondering what the favorite vehicle brand is, or which sport is the crowd favorite, or how many states people have visited! |
Chess, Please!"This is the best math class ever!" These were the words out of Anthony's mouth today after just a few go rounds at the game of chess. It was surprising how many of these freshmen and sophomores had never played before, but honestly, I couldn't tell you how old I was when I learned how to play either.
Just so you know, we don't just play games in math all day. We are talking about translations of objects in class and this is a great way to model slides of objects and motion. The students had a great day learning (and teaching, for those that already knew how to play) and have possibly found a new past time when they are not busy doing homework. |
Reflections in GeometryMIRA, MIRA on the wall, who's the coolest Geometry teacher of all? Lame, I know. But, we did get to do some pretty cool reflections with MIRAs in class as an introduction to reflection transformations. Students were able to see how reflections still preserve shape and size, but create a new image from a line of reflection. |
Back to Work!
We are back at it! Now that I am back to work, so are these kids, up and out of their desks showing me how much they have learned over the last few weeks. The 8th graders are working on Pythagorean Theorem and finding missing sides of right triangles. We mixed things up a little with a scavenger hunt for practice and a good way to wake up during 2nd period.
We had a lot of fun and will definitely be doing this again in the future!
We had a lot of fun and will definitely be doing this again in the future!
This Counts as a Classroom Highlight, Right?Remember me, the pregnant teacher? Well, I'm back! And not pregnant anymore! Say hello to Crete Wade, born December 29, 2016. It is hard to leave him at home, but it is so good to be back. A big thank you to my substitute, Mary Eiler, for doing such a great job while I was gone. And thank you to the students for not being too rough on her!
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Saved the Best for Last
A final congratulations to the last, best high-scorers for the year on their unit tests!
Alexis--Trig, Haylee--Pre-Calc, Stephanie--Geometry, Gunner & Abby (tied)--Math8 |
New Addition to the High-Scorers List!Just wanted to give a special shout-out to Lea for the high score on the Applied Math test! We have been working in Accelerated Math for the first semester of this year, which has not allowed for the opportunity to give congratulations to the best test score on tests since everyone is working on different material. We have now made a change in that class and she was the first, best-score on the chapter test over lines and angles. Lea is one of the three foreign exchange students in the building this year. She is going to be taking on the challenge of two math classes next semester, with both Applied Math and Trigonometry....and she doesn't even have to!! I am excited to see how she does as she continues to work hard in both classes. Keep up the great work, Lea! |
Dilations and Pigs....Wait, What?
I feel like if this statement was made during Geometry class, there would be no confusion. Students in Geometry are working on their last project for me before the end of the semester, which is dilating a picture by a certain scale factor. Of course, I should have guessed the majority would pick the easiest image to draw, which in this case was a pig. Either way, there were some really great pictures out there, including a few that either enlarged or reduced the image of a frog or an alligator. Take a look at some of the work that resulted! Good job Toby, Jordon and Bailey to name a few of the awesome dilations! |
Trig Students Learn All About Conic SectionsNot one of the favorite topics in math class, but also not one of the worst! Students in Trigonometry have been moving through all four types of conic sections, learning about their equations, graphs and properties. What are conic sections, you ask? Well you can watch a short tutorial with the video provided, or just ask one of the 5 students in trig and they can give you the rundown.
We have found some ways to make the topic a little more interesting at least. Between some card activities, online games and a little flyswatter tournament, I would say they have had their fair share of content coverage this chapter. Great job to everyone for sticking with it, and especially to Alexis for the tournament win and highest score or the chapter test! |
The students had a lot of fun with the flyswatter tournament, identifying types of conic sections by their equations. However, we did suffer a loss of a flyswatter in the madness....may it forever rest in pieces. |
More Mathletes to Brag About
Big shout-out to these three all-stars on their latest unit tests! Their hard work is really paying off and I think they are enjoying the math too!
Keep it up, you math studs!
Stephanie--Geometry, Jace--Pre-Calc, Gunner--Math 8
Keep it up, you math studs!
Stephanie--Geometry, Jace--Pre-Calc, Gunner--Math 8
Cougar Wall Filling Up Fast!
I knew it wouldn't take long for this board to fill up! These are just highlights from the first semester at Verdigre Public, which means we have a lot to be proud of. It is so great to look back over the accomplishments of all the students as the year goes on, and I'm excited they will go out of these borders. We'll see what this looks like come mid-May!
Mathematical Art
The 8th graders have been working on solving for missing information using proportions these last few weeks. Part of that work required a little artistic ability, which meant drawing a picture to depict the given situation. Gunner Vargas showed off not only his awesome mathematical skills, but also his amazing art skills! Look at these pictures!
Thanks for the extra effort, Gunner!
Thanks for the extra effort, Gunner!
Kelly Wagner Saves the Day!
Who knew I had a master carpenter at my disposal? A big thank you to Kelly Wagner for fixing my book shelf, which does not double as a chair as it turns out. In case you are wondering, that is a solid oak board on the top and I am pretty sure the shelf is now worth more than when I brought it to school. Thanks again, Kelly! |
Vector Hunt in Pre-Calculus
Jace and Haylee had fun creating their own treasure hunt in pre-calculus this past week, as well as finding buried treasure of their own! We have been studying vectors, which have both magnitude and direction, referring to distances and angles. Following a set of clues and vectors, Haylee and Jace were able to dig up buried "treasure" on the school playground. It was a great way to have some fun in math and learn something at the same time! |
And the Winner Is.....
Bailey, Kelly & Megan!! Congrats to these three all-stars on an outstanding performance on the last chapter test in Geometry! Competition is tough on the highest score on the math tests lately!
Keep up the great work!
Keep up the great work!
Calculating Speed
Students in Math 8 got to find out exactly how fast they are, not just compared to their other classmates, but in miles/hour. It was an eye-opener! Many of them weren't really sure how fast they were, compared to a car, or the local speed limits around town.
A fun day of converting rates and determining who our speed demons are! |
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Gunnner & Levi Make the Grade!
What are Fridays for Anyway?
Math 8 students have been working on inequalities and solving inequalities the last few days and needed a little down time! We were able to get away from notes and examples for a little bit, but still practiced our inequality skills with the "Inequality Match Game" and an inequality coloring sheet....who doesn't love to color once in awhile?? Great way to end the the week and relax on a Friday, I think!
All Fun & Games...Well, Most Days :)
It may not look like it, but I swear these guys are doing math! Angles and triangles are the name of the game with the table activity, and we were also able to see who are gamers were with a video game using angle relationships in Geometry. The kids had a great time, and said they like it way better than homework! Should I tell them that they were actually still doing homework??? Nah.
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The up-side to only having two students in Pre-Calc?? They get to do the teaching! Ha, only kidding!
Haylee and Jace may not have the advantage of working in different groups or mixing it up when it comes to doing class projects or reviews, but they are learning a lot from each other! These girls have been working their tails off the last couple of weeks preparing for the ACT and I can't wait to see what we will get covered during the remainder of the school year. Keep up the great work ladies! |
Bazinga!Who doesn't love a little twist??? Especially when it comes to a boring math review?!? Students in Geometry prepared for their chapter test and had a little fun in the process. "Bazinga!" the game has become a quick favorite for these guys, mixing in Geometry questions and fun challenges and twists to spice it up. Everyone loved the "Have the Losing Team do 10 Pushups" card, or the "Double Your Score" card. Hudsen was lucky enough to draw the "Take Away All the Other Team's Points" card. BAZINGA!
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Way to Go, Guys!
Angles All Around
Are you sick of your kids being on Snapchat all the time? Well don't yell at them this week! I had them go around their houses and farms and find me pictures of the different types of angles we have been talking about in Geometry. Do you recognize those shoes? Is that your tractor? It could very well be! These were just a few of the great examples students were able to find me of the vocabulary words we have been discussing in math class. Snapchat for education...who knew??? |
Spaghetti Graphs....Because We Can
Graphing can sometimes be a little boring, so we mixed it up a little bit in Trigonometry and used other, more creative means of coming up with the answers we needed. Students graphed systems of equations and determined polygonal sets with spaghetti noodles as their boundary lines. It made picking out our intersection points a little easier, and just mixed things up a little. And again, why? BECAUSE WE CAN! |
Congrats, Smarty-Pants!
Congratulations to these ladies on the high-scores on the latest unit tests! Way to go, girls!
Abby--Math 8 and Savannah--Geometry
Abby--Math 8 and Savannah--Geometry
Best Part of Geometry?? Proofs, of Course!Okay, maybe that isn't exactly true. They may not be the best part of Geometry, but these students don't seem to be doing too bad with them. We are starting slow with proving algebraic statements and working our way up to segments and angles. Baby-steps! Here are a few pictures of the group proving project we did in class to warm up to how handy proofs can be!
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The Cougar Wall Continues!
Puzzle Table & Tangrams
During the time students aren't busy with math homework and projects, they can always fill the gaps with either one of these. The puzzle table is proving to be a little more challenging than last year, with the first puzzle being a 1000-piece. And students are developing a love-hate relationship with the tangrams....they either love doing them or hate me for putting up more difficult puzzles. :)
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