Space Mud & the NYCTF, Wrapping Up This Year, Planning for Next Year, My Favorite Math Resources, and Mastering the Art of Living

Space Mud and the NYCTF
On April 5th, nine years ago, when I was but a Stony Brook senior about a month away from graduation, I went on an interview for the NYC Teaching Fellows.  Part of this interview included me doing a 10 or so minute demo lesson.  I chose to do a science lesson on the properties of matter and had my "class" (aka other interviewees) make "Space Mud", which I had made several times with the kids at the Child Care Center.  I don't remember why I chose that particular activity.  I suppose I thought it would be fun, educational, and (hopefully) memorable enough (in a good way) to get me into the Teaching Fellows.  Today, nine years later, I made Space Mud again, although the context was in the form of "potions class" and it was with my 6th & 7th graders who are part of our Harry Potter elective.  I hadn't thought about that demo lesson in years, but it was (at least partly) what set me on this journey called teaching.  I would ultimately get accepted into the math immersion program two days before graduating from SBU, and moving back home, and had to let them know in less than a week whether or not I accepted.  And it all started with Space Mud.

Now that state tests are over, I've been thinking a lot about next year, as most teachers do.  I am looking forward to Spring Break next week as well (as all teachers do) even though I'll be scoring math state tests every day during the break.  Being in a new district this year, I'm curious to see how it is different than in my old district.

Wrapping Up This Year
As we wrap up this year, my 6th graders began their final unit on statistics and data analysis, Data About Us and my 7th graders will began their Gameathon Challenge projects and then it's right into Algebra 1.  I'm happy with how this year is turning out so far.  My goal in the next few months is to continue to use this blog as a place for me to reflect on my practice, ultimately with the goal of being a better teacher.

Planning for Next Year
As I begin to think about next year, I started formally collecting my favorite math resources from the past nine years.  I'm sure I will be adding to it as the year goes on.  This summer I will be taking grad classes (yet again) for six weeks at Hunter for my G&T certification.  I have some awesome sounding District 30 PDs coming up on the Algebra 1 Regents, and Creating a Student-Centered Math Classroom, and I'm staying optimistic about getting into Math for America, as well as the NY Teacher Leadership Summit with my colleagues.

Before I close, I wanted to share a quote that I heard for the first time yesterday, that I think sums up my goal when it comes to teaching and you know, life...

Engineering Design, Harry Potter, and Growing Professionally

Wow, I cannot believe that has been over a month since I posted on here.  Mid-winter recess is behind us and we in the middle of probably my least favorite month of the school year.  March is long, state testing is right around the corner, grades are due, and the end of the year just seems so far away.  I've been busy, but productively busy as opposed to overwhelmingly busy, which is nice.  Not every day has been good, but there has definitely been some good in every day...

6th Grade Coke Engineering Design Project
So my 6th graders have been working on their engineering design projects where they had to come up with a new box for Coke that was not the same as the original 3x4 and 2x6 can configurations.  They had to come up with a rationale why their box was the next big thing, both a net and a 3D model of their package, accurately calculate the surface area and volume and cost of their package, and come up with a pitch to present their ideas with visuals and enthusiasm.  It was a two week project that they worked on in both their math and science classes and between yesterday and today both classes gave their presentations to their classmates and about 25 parents and adults.  The parents acted as "representatives" from Coke and had questions and eventually picked the "winning" design.  This was a fantastic project and I was so very lucky to have the support of the science teacher and my co-teacher.  I was so proud of my students and got to see so many of their talents.  They enjoyed working on it, and the parents really appreciated coming in to see their kids shine.  I also learned a lot from this experience, and got many ideas for other project-based learning opportunities.  I hope to do something similar with my 7th graders for their current unit on statistics and probability.

Math Museum Field Trips
Tomorrow is my first of two field trips to the Math Museum this month. Tomorrow I am going with my 7th graders and in two weeks I'll be going with my 6th graders.  I am looking forward to and I think they'll have a good time exploring Mobuis strips, plus the weather has been so nice, we should be able to enjoy a nice lunch in the park afterwards.

Math Competitions
Next month, I'll also be taking two different groups of students to two different math competitions, the 2016 MoMathalon and the Girls Math Olympiad.  I was also looking forward to possibly going to Pi5NY this year, but I have another engagement that day, so maybe next year.  

Ten Marks Math Madness
Ten Marks Math Madness began again this week and interest has been OK.  We are taking a break from Khan Academy, which will be a nice change before the state test next month.  I am hoping that once my students see the week 1 standings they will be motivated to try for the grand prize, a class set of Amazon tablets, which would be awesome.  We'll see how they do....

Service Learning
My advisory will be volunteering with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen later on this month as part of their service learning project.  I am proud of them for picking a huge topic like homelessness and finding a way to give back.

Harry Potter Elective
Our current elective cycle is coming to an end at the end of the month, and I think I want to take a break from Math Club.  I was thinking about doing meditation/ yoga or photography, but some of my 6th graders asked me if I'd want to do a Harry Potter elective, and I told them I'd think about it.  Well, they were very persistent, sending me several documents that they created outlining inclusive activities, rules of conduct, and even a schedule.  So I did some of my own research (here, here, and here) and submitted a proposal to my AP and it looks like I will be a headmistress next month for our first Harry Potter elective and I am kinda super excited about it.  I will definitely be sharing more details as it develops.

Growing Professionally
One of the reasons I changed schools last year was because I felt I wasn't growing anymore.  Despite being Lead Teacher for the past two years, my thinking was stagnating, which is never really a good thing.  One of the best things I did was take on the new challenge of finding a new school to force me out of my comfort zone, which I am happy to say has worked.  So what next?  Well I finally started my application for the Summer Institute for Gifted Certification, which will get my my G&T certification, and I am also applying to the Math for America Master Teacher Fellowship for next year.  I went to an info session a few weeks ago, and I just had stars in my eyes!  Math for America sounds like an amazing organization to be involved with and I want to be amazing!  I started my application for there too and even signed up for the math Praxis exam next month.  I won't hear anything until the summer, but I think I have a decent shot of getting in.  I want this!  Lastly, I was also inspired by a former colleague to sign up for EdCampBROOKLYN next month.  It sounds like really amazing teacher-led PD, so I am looking forward to that.

So lots of good things happening and lots of good things to come!  Like I said before, every day may not be good, but there is some good in every day.  I am very lucky that I am in a place in my life where I can keep growing and learning.  Isn't that what education is all about?