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CONNECTING KNOWLEDGE
with UNDERSTANDING 
{ONE LESSON AT A TIME}

USING GRAPHING CALCULATORS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL MATH

6/13/2022

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Students learn tips and tricks to help them check their math work and solutions. The graphing calculator can be instant feedback to help students confirm answers or catch mistakes. There are so many topics to use it for... systems of equations, linear inequalities, evaluating functions, rational functions, factoring, and so many more!!!
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I am a HUGE advocate for teaching students how to use a graphing calculator to check their answers. In fact, it’s probably one of the MOST important skills I’ve taught my students. Yes, I know…being able to find a solution algebraically is extremely important, and of course, I teach them that. And, of course, I require them to show their work. BUT, when they turn in an assessment, I want them to be confident that their answers are correct. Feedback is extremely helpful, and by using the graphing calculator it can be instant!


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You know, I probably should have titled this post “The Lost Art of Checking Your Answers”. Sometimes I simply don’t understand why students don’t check their answers?!?! I know that some students are just too “lazy” to check, algebraically. Yes, I said it! BUT, at they could at least use their calculator to confirm or disaffirm their answer. Just think, if students were able to check every problem BEFORE they turn in their work? Then, they would know immediately if they have an answer right or wrong…and if wrong, they can fix it!

There are soooooo many math topics that students can use the calculator to check their answers. Here are just a few ways:
  • Factoring: graph and check for zeros
  • Converting fractions to decimals and vice versa
  • Inverse Functions: graph two functions to see if they reflect over y = x
  • Linear Inequalities: use shading features on the calculator
  • Radicals: type in the original radical expression and your simplified radical expression to see if the answers match
  • Evaluate Functions: enter the function in Y= and use the YVAR function to evaluate for a specific number
  • Rational Functions: view asymptote(s), hole(s), and zeros
  • Systems of Equations: check substitution/elimination method by graphing
  • Logarithms: evaluating and confirming two statements are equal
  • AND SO MANY MORE…

​Do you want to make it easier for your students to navigate the TI-84 graphing calculator? Watch my video that covers some tips and tricks you may not know about the TI-84. You will also learn some great ways for students to check their algebraic answers using the calculator, as well as unique ways to graph. After all, calculators are only as smart as their user!

​To watch the VIDEO and receive FREE Graphing Calculator Reference Sheets, click on the image below:
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​If you are looking for a complete bundle of all of my TI-84 or TI-Nspire calculator sheets, to help your students easily maneuver though the calculator, you can click on one of the images below:
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​​These sheets will help you integrate calculators into your lessons as a central tool in developing students’ mathematical connections, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency.
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MATH AWARD CERTIFICATES

4/25/2022

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Students love to be recognized for their strengths! These math award certificates are perfect for highlighting student achievement in middle and high school math class.
Have you ever had a student that was AMAZING at one math concept and was either average or poor at other math concepts? I had such a student. I nicknamed this student “Factor Master”. He found factoring so easy and was able to do it extremely fast. I could tell he was very proud of this skill, as was I. It’s then that I realized I wanted to give math award certificates to highlight the math concepts that students were specifically strong at in middle and high school.
 
I searched the internet first and found math awards that were general for math achievement, but not specifically for certain math concepts. I decided I’d have to create my own. I wanted the award certificates to be fun, but not too cutesy for middle and high school students. I decided to use my friend, Sarah Pecorino’s, Dot Dude clip art. She is the BEST clip artist…I absolutely love everything she creates AND she is an awesome person too!

Next, I made a list of grades 6-12 math concepts to use. I was able to come up with 50 fun superlative and alliteration award certificates! I made them ready to print AND editable, so teachers can type in the student names and dates.
 
I found that recognizing my students’ strengths helped develop a positive culture within my classroom. When students know that their hard work is being noticed AND appreciated, they tend to work even harder and feel better about it.

You can see all of the math awards in this video:

Here are what other teachers have to say about these FUN math awards:

Very creative and my students really enjoy these at the end of the school year and just from time to time. – MathBott
 
I absolutely adore these! Make math class so much more fun! – Math with Ms Calabro
 
So creative! I'm excited to use them this school year with my high school students.
– In Math Class
 
These are so fun and creative! My students loved receiving them as an end of the year treat! – Ashley B.
 
These are fun and great motivators for the students. – Julie L.
 
My students loved choosing who earned what award. Great math twist! – Susan M.
 
Love these!! Every year I am required to give math awards and always struggle to come up ideas. These will make my life so much easier! – Fractions are Friends
 
What a great way to celebrate our students. – Karen K.
Click on the image below to go directly to the math awards:
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Looking to boost teacher morale too?!
My friend, Kacie, from The Efficient Classroom has created some fun teacher superlative awards that you can use with your colleagues! In her blog post, she explains how you can have teachers nominate each other.

​The end of the year is sooooo busy, but awards and a celebration can go a long way in making everyone feel loved and appreciated!
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TEACHER SUPERLATIVE AWARDS

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STRATEGIES FOR PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

2/7/2022

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Feel prepared with these Strategies for Parent-Teacher Conferences! Several free handouts included to help you prepare.

​​I want to preface this post with the fact that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy for how to conduct parent-teacher conferences. There are MANY ideas and methodologies that have been used by all levels of teachers. It is important to choose the best method that works for YOU.
 
I’d like to share a strategy that worked for me and can be used to help you set up your parent-teacher conferences. I have included two FREE templates for you to use to prepare for parent-teacher conferences.


Begin by using the SET IT UP template to decide WHAT you want to achieve during the conference and HOW you want to achieve it. This handout can be used digitally by typing in your content or if you are a paper/pencil person, you can print and complete it that way.
Free handout to help teachers set up and prepare for parent-teacher conferences.

CREATE A GOAL

​Decide the important topics you want to share and/or discuss during the conference. Let’s face it, you simply cannot cover everything you want to during the conference. My conferences were always set for 15 minutes, so I had to pick and choose 3-5 areas I wanted to discuss to give the parent/guardian a good picture of their child’s progress.

CHOOSE A METHOD

​I find having some kind of form filled out prior to the conference helps keep the meeting focused. I prefer a RUBRIC in which I fill out for each student that includes the level of understanding for the units of study for the semester, work ethic, attitude towards learning, and attention. This has been by far the best thing I’ve done for having successful parent-teacher conferences!
 
I usually print the rubric and highlight each area, so parents/students can leave with a hard copy. But, you can also share each rubric with them virtually by sharing your screen and/or via email. Click on the image for an editable version of this rubric.
Free handout to help teachers set up and prepare for parent-teacher conferences.

ATTENDANCE

I used to only meet with the parent/guardian, but one year I changed it so that the student had the option to attend. I found that students enjoyed hearing about their progress and the good things they were doing in class. It was also helpful for them to be part of the honest conversation on areas they could improve. I truly think who attends varies on each teacher’s situation, so again, do what is best for YOU.

EXECUTE YOUR PLAN

​What needs to be prepared in advance? For me, I filled out a rubric for each student and made a checklist of appointments to keep the meetings efficient and on time. During the conference, I explain each area of the rubric and give a few examples. Parents were also happy to walk away with something they could reflect on with their child.

REFLECTIONS

​I am the type of person that always wants to improve! I am constantly analyzing lessons, projects, activities, etc., so of course I want to reflect on how I set up and execute my conferences to make them even better the next time.
 
Using the SET IT UP document helps me plan for conferences each year and having a RUBRIC I can edit for each quarter/semester helps me make the necessary adjustments for each conference.

Here are some other strategies my fellow mathtastic friends have used with their students:


TARGET BASED GOAL SETTING
by Brooklyn's Brightest
​
Learning Targets Based Goal Setting- a way for students to own their progress, and reflect on mistakes. A great piece to present to parents when you want to show what needs improvement in regards to academics but also celebrate what has been mastered.
​(free resource included)
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TEAM APPROACH
by Math Giraffe

Work together as a team to prepare for each conference.  Students do self-evaluations that they present to parents alongside the teaching team's evaluation. 
 
Homeroom teachers act as representatives of the entire teaching team, while students take accountability and share input about any discrepancies / similarities between the two forms.
(free download included)
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​DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PARENTS
by Mrs E Teaches Math

Even with perfect classroom management and planning, you will encounter a student with parents that take issue with your teaching. These ideas and tips for dealing with difficult parents will help you enjoy your kids and have a great school year!
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Document, document, document!
by Mrs E Teaches Math

​Document everything! Save work samples and take notes.

We hope you find these
​parent-conference strategies helpful!
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10+ PRINT AND DIGITAL MATH RESOURCES

1/18/2022

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Discover a variety of math resources that can be used both in-person and virtual! Grades 6-12
​Have you had a few school days when you wake up to find out you are teaching virtual today instead of in-person learning? And then think…NOOOOOO, I had the BEST activity planned today! This is becoming more and more common. It causes teachers stress, disruption to learning, and overall, is very frustrating.
 
Well, guess what?! I have some MATHTASTIC resources to share with you that you can either use in-person OR virtual because they are printable and digital. That’s right, with ONE resource you have access to both versions, which means you can switch from in-person teaching to virtual (and vice versa) and continue with your original lesson plans.
 
Start using these resources today to save yourself the frustration of having to change your lesson last minute!

ALGEBRA AND BEYOND PRINT & DIGITAL RESOURCES:

REAL WORLD PROJECTS – Are you out for a few days and need students to do independent work? These projects are perfect! Students learn how to connect what they learned in class with real world scenarios.
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​BATTLE MY MATH SHIP – Students love this spin on the classic game of Battleship! Students try to sink their opponents' ships by solving math problems. Perfect partner activity to review any math topic. Set them up in a breakout room and away they go! Over 70 battleships to choose from!
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​NAME THAT FUNCTION – Working with functions? Great! These activities help students critically think about graphs and their attributes. These were the best for when I had half my class in person and half virtual because students could discuss and learn together no matter their location.
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ALGEBRA LESSONS WITH VIDEOS – Teaching a new topic today? No problem. These lessons can be shared with your students via a password protected site. They include a video warm-up, guided notes, and homework. You can demonstrate the learning in Zoom or use some of the FREE pre-recorded videos you will find here: INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS
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MORE MATHTASTIC PRINT & DIGITAL RESOURCES:
*Click on the name or image to go to the resources.
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GEOMETRY TASK CARDS from Kacie Travis – Task Cards are great for independent or collaborative work! They are also a fun station activity. These can also be assigned digitally for another helpful option! Read more about these task cards HERE.
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STATIONS MAZE from Mrs. E Teaches Math – Stations mazes are great because they get students up and moving around the room. They also encourage students to check their work carefully since an incorrect answer will eventually send them back to a problem they have already solved.  A digital version is included for absent students.
BOOM CARDS from Kate's Math Lessons – Your students will LOVE getting instant feedback with these digital task cards!  In a nutshell, Boom Cards are interactive, self-checking activities.  Students are shown one question at a time and get immediate feedback on their answers.  Boom Cards can also be printed if you prefer paper task cards for stations, games, or scavenger hunts. Read more about these activities HERE.
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BINGO from Teaching High School Math – Playing bingo is a great way for students to review topics that they have been taught. Fun for the students and a formative assessment for teachers.   Having an online option makes it even better! Read more about these BINGO activities HERE.
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MINI MYSTERIES from Lauren Fulton  –Who doesn’t love a good mystery? With Mini Mysteries, students use standards-based math problems to solve murder mysteries! Each mystery comes with a mystery story, clue sheet (AKA, math problems that don’t feel like math problems), and a class set of suspect cards. As students work their way through the clue sheet, they narrow down the suspect list to find the guilty suspect! Print & digital versions come in each set.
MATH CHOOSE YOUR OWN JOURNEY BOOKS from Math Giraffe – Within the story are situations in which the reader must solve problems that are integrated into the storyline. Students make choices on how to proceed as well as how they’d like to solve the problems and head to the pages that they are directed to. When a student chooses a method that is not the most efficient way to solve a particular problem, the book explains why their choice was not the best and directs them how to continue. When they choose an incorrect equation, they are corrected. Since the book is partially self-correcting, the teacher correcting and grading is very minimal.
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OLD MATH GUY from Free to Discover - Engage your math students in interactive matching activities TWO different ways! Students play Old Math Guy (think Old Maid) in small groups. “Matches” are mathematical matches between 2 cards (ie 2(x+4) and 2x+8). Need a digital solution? The same cards can be used to complete an individual drag-n-drop practice activity in Google Slides.
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​PRINT AND DIGITAL MATH PUZZLES from Scaffolded Math and Science – Each set of math puzzles comes in both print and digital form. The digital versions are drag-and-drop in GOOGLE Slides. The puzzles make for engaging classwork, station activities, partner work and review.

We hope these print and digital resources help you teach in-person and virtual!

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A STRATEGY FOR LEARNING TARGETS

9/17/2021

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In this post I will be using the term learning targets, also known as objectives, benchmarks, indicators, and standards. Each school uses different verbiage, so I wanted to clarify before reading further.
Display learning targets for each unit of study in math class for students to see what they've learned, are learning, and are going to learn.
​
I need to preface this post by letting everyone know I did not come up with the idea of clip charts. I have to give the credit to a colleague of mine named Joey. When I was a Curriculum Director, I was observing Joey giving a lesson. That’s when I saw the clip charts hanging in the front of his classroom. I LOVED everything about them! Find out why…

What are clip charts?
Clip charts are a way for teachers to display content they want students to refer to during a lesson and/or unit. In my classroom, I use them to show all the learning targets for a unit of study. They are great to hang up at the beginning of a unit, mark off as you work through each learning target, and highlight the learning target of the day with an arrow. Simple and easy way to show what students learned, are learning, and are going to learn.

Display learning targets for each unit of study in math class for students to see what they've learned, are learning, and are going to learn.

​Why are clip charts helpful for teachers?
I don’t know about you, but I constantly was forgetting to post the learning target each day. I was getting mad at myself, not only because it is an expectation set by our school and I was dropping the ball, BUT because I knew my students wanted to understand what their learning goals were each day.

I was having a hard time planning, organizing, and consistently posting the standard on the board for various reasons. When I saw the clip charts hanging in Joey’s room, I knew in that instant that they were going to solve my problems…​
  • Ever have to change a lesson last minute? No problem! All you have to do is move the arrow to the different learning target.
  • Have a substitute? No worries, the learning target is already posted.
  • Forget to post the learning target on the board? No you didn’t…it’s already posted for the entire unit of study.
  • Can’t remember which learning targets you used last year? Problem solved. You can reuse these year after year, so you don’t have to remember.
  • Ever have a student want to know what they are going to learn every single day? Great! All the learning targets are posted for the entire unit.
 
These will help you stay organized, save you time, and benefit your students…basically make your life easier, with simple preparation that lasts years.

Why are clip charts helpful for students?
One of my former students came up to me one day and said that she missed me as her teacher. One of the reasons was because she always knew what we were learning each day, as I had made it so clear with the clip charts. With her current teacher, it wasn’t posted anywhere, not even by topic on the handouts. She felt this was negatively affecting how she was able to prepare and study for assessments.

Maybe this teacher was having the same issues I had before I started using clip charts? Either way, students NEED to know thee learning targets in order to be successful. Clip charts are an easy way to solve this because students are able to view the learning targets throughout the unit.
 
How do you use clip charts?
  • HANG in the front of the classroom for students to view the learning targets each day
  • EVERY unit, heading, and learning target slides are EDITABLE
  • EDIT slides to meet your unit of study learning targets
  • The targets are meant to SCAFFOLD topics within a unit of study
  • Use the TODAY arrows to identify learning targets of the day
  • Cross off the learning targets that have already been covered
  • Use more than one arrow for a lesson when covering several learning targets
  • SAVE and STORE these clip charts to use year after year
Display learning targets for each unit of study in math class for students to see what they've learned, are learning, and are going to learn.
Ready to solve your learning target problems?!
​Awesome! I have a free clip chart set on linear equations waiting for you in my resource library. Subscribe her to get instant access!
SUBSCRIBE

​Do you already know you want full sets that are EDITABLE?!

​I have that too! Click below on the classroom set you need.
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Want to see other ways you can use clip charts in math class?
You can use them for formulas and step-by-step instructions to simplify expressions and solve equations. Many uses to help support students during the learning process! Check out Mr Jones Online for these types of clip charts.
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    Hello there,
    ​I'm TYRA!

    I'm an educational blogger and curriculum designer. I am enthusiastic about providing creative, comprehensive, and clear resources for middle and high school math teachers. My goal is to create content that is easy to implement for the teacher, and helps students Connect Knowledge with Understanding - One Lesson at a Time.


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    Students battle using their math skills to attack their opponents ships. Correct space and solution = a sunken ship. Algebra fun at it's best!

    TEACHER: And that is how you find the MIN/MAX on your calculator. *BOOM* Drop the mic! STUDENT: What do I put in Y1? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ No more of this! Give your students a great reference sheet to put in their notebook and NEVER ask you the keystrokes again!
    Parent Function Graphic Organizers - domain, range, continuity, intervals of increase/decrease, min/max, end behavior, intercepts, and the graph
    Graphic Organizer: domain, range, intercepts, asymptotes, intervals of inc/decrease, max/min, and end behavior.
    Students will create a roller coaster that demonstrates their knowledge and understanding of the following skills: • Graph a continuous function that represents a roller coaster using parent functions. • Write a piecewise-defined function to represent the entire roller coaster. • Attributes of functions: Domain/Range, Min/Max, and Intervals of Inc/Dec
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