April 19

So after a week's vacation, I expected to be refreshed and ready  to conquer the last two months of the school year. But ironically, I find myself in a slum and pessimistic about the quickly approaching week ahead. I supposed that now is the time where the most energy, effort and creativity will go the furthest. The weather is getting warmer, the ELA and Math Exams are over for my 8th graders. My biggest dilemma is getting them to realize that their year is only half way through with two more State exams to complete, the Science and Social Studies. Raising the question to fellow colleagues on their tactics that are sure to get me through the last 8 weeks, I stay tuned for some encouraging feedback.

April 11

Last week I was concerned about what kind of work to give my students over the break, so I posed the question. Of course, I didn't get a response in time. i suppose that some teachers have already started their vacation. i just ended up giving a  small project instead of the usual busy-work packet. I figured that I would have some work to display for my bulletin board.

April 4

Blog or Discussion Board Name: New Teachers Times

Summary: A teacher that is teaching 9th grade integrated algebra is trying to prepare his students for the Regents. He was thinking that maybe he could ask the students to go out and purchase some review books in addition to using some online department of education resources. However, he is concerned that the students will not buy the book. I agree. Students will not recognize the urgency in purchasing the review book, not to mention that it is important that every student has the material to get the same test preparation. Another teacher commented that maybe a small sum of money can be collected from each student so that the teacher can go out and purchase the books for every student. I foresee another problem that may arise. Although, it might seem like a small amount of money to us, we still must realize that many of our students may not be able to come up with the money. So I raised a question to the teacher who posted the original comment. I asked if he had spoken with his principal to see if there were already funds allocated in the budget for this sort of request, or maybe the school may already have some books laying in a storage closet waiting to be used.

March 22

Blog/Discussion Board Name: Math Teachers at Play

Brief Description: Shares ideas and practices that have worked for experienced teachers.

Questions/Comments Received: Two people responded to my question. One person suggested that I use the a Internet as a source, but i find the Internet to be quite overwhelming with information and I end up being even more discouraged than when I first started. Then I checked back on Thursday to find an idea that was right in front of me all along. This person suggested that I used a quote of the day, much like a problem of the day is given in many math classes. The quote can be motivational to get the students in the right mind set for conquering the days' lesson and i can still use the Internet as a tool to search quotes of the day.

Questions/Comments Given: I posted a question last week about how to get the students motivated before a lesson. I find it difficult to come up with good motivations for certain topics. I asked if anyone had any ideas as to what I should try.

March 15

Blog/Discussion Board Name: MathNotations

Brief Description: Looks for fully developed math investigations, math challenges, problems of the day and standardized test practice, with an emphasis on developing conceptual mathematical understanding.

Summary of Topics Discussed: "A Middle School Mental Math Practical Problem"  is a discussion on assigning students a practical problem that requires them to think outside of the box and gather the informational needed to solve the problem rather than being given all the necessary information

Questions/Comments Received:

Questions/Comments Given: I commented on how our students tend to lose interest when we as teachers try to explain how a problem is solve rather than giving the answer or a formula for them to substitute. I asked for suggestion on how I can give motivational hints that move students along to solving the problem rather than giving away the answer