ANOTHER YEAR---> D-O-N-E
It may have felt like it was never going to get here, but now that it is, can you believe it?!? What a whirlwind this school year has been! Another year in the books and another senior class graduated. Thanks for being so great this year in math class, and I can't wait to see you all in 12 short weeks! Enjoy the break!
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RUBE GOlDBERG MACHINES
Maybe my favorite project of the year!! I was hoping to get a few more successes, but for the first year of creating these, I was pretty impressed with the creativity and engineering skills of these Algebra 2 and Applied Math students. If you aren't sure what a Rube Goldberg machine is, check out the classic "Goonies" clip below! These students were tasked with using at least 5 simple machines to complete a simple task. The task was there choice, and from the Grape Smasher to the Balloon Popper, we had some great ones!
Good work to all the students and can't wait to do it again next year!
Good work to all the students and can't wait to do it again next year!
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Rubber band CarsThis should be a fun way to end the year! The 8th graders in Algebra 1 were tasked with creating their own cars that operated solely on rubber bands....and they did a great job! Bree ended up on top and managed to get ANOTHER meal from Cozy Corner from her math teacher :)
Great work guys! It has been fun being your teacher this year! |
Probability Games
Another year in Geometry almost complete, with just enough time to sneak in some activities over probability. The probability games are always a hit, especially when it comes to game day! Students are tasked with creating their own carnival type game and calculating the probability of winning. A great way to think outside the box, tap into your own creativity, and do math at the same time. Check out some of the awesome ideas they came up with! Kaylie was our favorite game this year, with her "Smile More" game, a crowd favorite. Great work to all the students and can't wait to do it again next year!
SUBWAY-EAT FRESH!!Well, I think these Trig students deserve a little treat, so why not a trip to Subway? Hold up, not without a little math involved of course! We just finished talking about counting techniques and how to determine possible combinations, what better way than to look at the daddy of them all, SUBWAY! Turns out, there are over 912,000 sandwich combinations in the Creighton Subway restaurant! That's a lot of "Have it Your Way!" Great work to these students this year for pushing themselves to take a high level math class. They deserve this!
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Spring is in the Air!!
We are starting to get it...Spring Fever! I can feel it setting in with these kiddos, which means it's time to get outside and do some math. Applied Math students did some measuring to find area and volume of objects around the patio, and Algebra 2 tried their hand at some patio math with simplifying rational expressions. It can be hard to keep these guys motivated when it gets to be this nice outside, but we are doing are best. Keep up the hard work!
VERDIGRE REPRESENTS AT USD MATH CONTEST
So proud of these guys! We attended USD Math Contest on April 6th and managed to bring home some honors! In fact, the most to ever place at this contest in the last four years. Congratulations to Gunner, Chaney, Michaela and Coltin in the Geometry division, Max in the Algebra 2 division, and Gabrielle in the Algebra 1 division.
Way to represent Verdigre!! |
Clinometers in Geometry!
Ever wonder how tall that mountain is? How how high that tree reaches in the sky? Well, these Geometry students are using their math skills to answer those questions and putting trigonometric ratios to use! We created and demonstrated our own clinometers to measures the heights of tall objects with just a few quick measurements and angles. These aren't the most sophisticated tools, but they did the job! Levi and Gunner were the most successful in their measurements with the fewest errors. Great work guys!
Pi-Day Bust |
Well, Pi Day came and went with little success this year. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans and crashed our party...check out some of the flood damage pictures below. BUT...we did manage to celebrate with one class (Trig), with students bringing in circle food to celebrate the occasion before early dismissal, and some emails and texts made March 14th a little better for me! Next year we will party...come rain or shine!!
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Food Always Makes Pi Day Better :)
Scale Drawings in Geometry
It is always a great day when students can showcase their art skills along with math! Take a look at the work the freshmen and sophomores did on their scale drawings after we learned about similar figures. This was a welcome break from the day-to-day and they were given some freedom on designs to dilate. Great work guys!
Way to Go, MathLEtEs!!
Couldn't be more proud of these guys for their hard work at the Chapter MathCounts competition in Columbus, February 2nd! Gabrielle, Bree, Isaac, and Gavin all did a great job representing the Verdigre MathCounts group and placed 5th as a team. Out of the 73 kids that competed that day, Gavin placed 12th! What a great day and what a great season of MathCounts. Already looking forward to next year!
Quadrilaterals Never Looked so Good!
Take a peek at the handy work done by our Geometry students being able to define quadrilaterals and their properties! Ever wondering what type of quadrilateral you are looking at, use these charts to decide.
Basketball Launchers
What better way to get back in the swing of things than to have a little engineering activity?? Remember the highlights from our Skittles Launchers? Well, we did a little modifying! The Algebra 2 students came back over break and were tasked with creating their own basketball launchers and mapping the flight to predict landing. It was a fun way to get back to the math we had been talking about and display some of their ingenuity. Check out some of the cool designs these kiddos came up with!
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IT's a Party!!MathCounts kids have been working so hard, it's time to celebrate that work! A little holiday party to have some fun and actually permit students running in the halls. Out of the 17 students participating in MathCounts this year, 15 were able to make it to our holiday party with food, fun and math games of course!
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Always Time for Chess
Every year in Geometry, we discuss translations and the movement of objects as a slide. Well, no better way to teach translations then to model them in the movement of pieces in the classic game of Chess. Lessons like this go beyond math, because it is never a bad day when you get to teach students to play a game and a math lesson at the same time.
Now discussions have started to bring back a Chess club! I'm game! |
Skittles Launchers
By far one of my all-time favorite lessons! I wish I could take credit for this lesson, but I can't. So to the math teacher that made this lesson happen, my hats off! The kids in Algebra 2 have just learned about quadratic equations and how their graphs are parabolic, which is also the flight pattern of many objects under the force of gravity. So, their task is to build a Skittle Launcher, map their flight, and then create an equation to predict landing when the Launcher is moved. Stay tuned for Basketball Launchers after Christmas break!!
Math in the real world |
Even though these boys may think they aren't using Algebra, I am going to show them that they are! You might think you are not using Algebra in your everyday life, but stop in when you get a chance and I can assure you, I will show you that you are! It may take all year, but I am determined to prove it to these three Applied Math kids too. In the meantime, they are busy just doing "everyday" math in Applied Math :)
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Points, Lines & Planes
Stuff in math class does actually occur in the real world! Just take a peak at pictures the Geometry kids found of the different types of angles that exist around their homes. This was a fun project that allows students to apply their definitions of angles and understand the relationships of the measures. Good work, guys!
How are these kids seniors already! Happy Last Homecoming Week you guys!!
Pre-Calc: No problem for Bailey
What do you do in a class all by yourself? Physics labs of course! We are getting creative with the content we are covering in Pre-Calc this year and reaching out into the Physics realm to mix things up since Bailey is braving this class by herself. We will investigate vectors and navigation this year, look at recurring patterns, and hopefully master derivatives before she sets of to college and makes the Dean's list.
Keep up the great work, girl!! |
He Just can't get enough!!
Sean is back!! Even though he is not in a math class this year, I am happy to have this guy back in my room to help out as my Teacher's Assistant. There is never a shortage of papers to grade or files to organize so I will keep him busy this year. Even small things like decorating my room have been on his to-do list. Thanks for the extra hand, Sean! I really am going to miss him next year.
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MIRAS in Geometry
MIRAS never disappoint in Geometry class! Students are always amazed by how much easier a simple tool like this can make a task like reflecting an image easier. This is definitely one of the best lessons to watch as kids get creative with the images that they reflect.
Game table: a favorite!!Brain-breaks are well-deserved in math class, so what better way to rest the mind than with some games! Everyone deserves a break from the daily routine sometimes so I am hoping this community of critical-thinkers will keep a presence in my room all year. Jenga and Mancala are new additions, as well as some coloring books that allow these kiddos to take a break from the grind.
Stop in sometime to check it out!! |