Author: Geoff
-
Math Syllabus Bootcamp Part 1: Identity. Who is a Mathematician?
Part 1: Identity: Who is a mathematician? (Good morning and welcome to Math Syllabus Bootcamp! This is Part One of a five part Emergent Math mini-series. Today’s topic is on how to incorporate and welcome diverse identities from the very outset of the school year. Be sure to check out the other parts of this…
-
Your Math Syllabus Boot Camp
This blog post introduces a new mini-series from Emergent Math: your math syllabus bootcamp. Also, be sure to check out Geoff’s previous mini-series: Routines, Lessons, Problems and Projects. I often stumbled into the school year. August appeared and suddenly I was aware that I needed to get back into a proper working routine. Most of…
-
A rubric to assess the eight Common Core State Standards of Mathematical Practice
Update 8/2/21. After reviewing feedback from teachers who have implemented the rubric in its draft form, I feel confident in removing that modifier of “draft.” Consider the rubric below for the Standards of Mathematical Practice as Version 1.0. The Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice (MPs) have been available for a while now. They lay…
-
Where does a letter occur in a word? A matching activity
Whenever and however we come back together as math classes this Fall, we’re going to need to spend considerable time building up students’ mathematical identities. Chances are students are going to be entering your classroom with a wider array of math learning experiences over the prior six months than ever before. Therefore we need a…
-
Active caring: now more than ever
I don’t know jack shit about teaching remotely. There are many, many blog posts and articles that’ll inform you of best practices, useful websites, fun apps, sample schedules and the like. The most helpful of which I find to be open and honest reflections on what it’s like to teach entirely remotely, unexpectedly, and without…
-
How a problem becomes a lesson
Sometimes we overthink it. We (*ahem*) create big curriculum maps full of dynamic problem based lessons created by the most intrepid teachers on the internets. As useful and helpful as these are, the most reliable-to-hit-the-content, easiest-to-plan problems come from stuff that already exists. Textbooks and online problem sets are the most robust source of quality…
-
Transversals Lesson: Street Views
The following Problem Based math lesson covers the concept of transversals crossing parallel lines and their angle relationships. The scenario of the task predicated on needing to determine “safe” and “troublesome” intersections in town. Intersections that are closer to right angles are deemed “safe,” while intersections with extreme angles result in limited-vision turns. But that…
-
Geometric Constructions Task: Pizza Delivery Regions
The following task is probably best suited for the a beginning unit on Geometric Constructions or use of a compass and straight edge. However, you may also wish to use it as a fun review as students reenter your classrooms in January, groggy from two weeks of sleeping late. The task is adapted from the…
-
Why don’t students feel like they’re learning? (when they actually are)
It’s something we’ve all experienced: we’ll lecture and feel like students got it. Maybe they’ll even do well on the practice problems we assign them. Then the next day or the next week we try something a bit more open ended – a problem based lesson, a 3-Act Task, an Open Middle task – and…
emergent math 