Girl Math

I noticed that my students were great at solving exponentials and logs when they were grouped together with like equations. However, once I gave mixed practice, students were struggling!  A student suggested last week that we should play Bingo for review.  Since I have an intern and plenty of time, I created exactly that - Exp/Log Bingo. Knowing that this wouldn't take the whole class period, I still had my typical PowerPoint review ready for when we finished. However, students wanted to keep playing!  I was planning to create 30 different Bingo cards using Word, but then I found this website . This saved soooo much time. As for the questions, I made the small pink cards that are pictured above. I picked the questions randomly and placed them under the document camera. The students had about 2-3 minutes per question, and I walked around helping those that needed more assistance. When creating the cards, I placed answers on the back because I knew it would help whe...

Last year, I participated in a FREE online PD offered by NCSU for teachers of statistics.  This was an amazing opportunity and I highly suggest checking it out if you're not familiar with what this institute offers .  There are courses for all levels of educators and they promote collaboration and best practices.  And as an added bonus, you receive CEUs! I'm guessing (hoping) my intro leads you to believe that I found this gem of an activity through the above-mentioned PD.  While I have the original PDF from the MOOC-Ed, as always, I re-create activities that I have stolen  borrowed from other educators.  However, here is the copyright info from the original.  I did try the link at the bottom, and it no long works.  So instead of a hyperlink, you get a snip... Here's the breakdown of the activity... I have students fill out a survey on Google Forms with the questions located on the Student and Teacher Mislabeled Variables activity sheet ....

And here we are again... another Breakout session.  One reason I love these so much is that once you create it, it's ready to go for any future class - of course there's also the 100% engagement from students.  Even if you find a typo while the kids are in the middle of working (which happens to me often), they are simple to correct since everything I use is in the G-Suite.  But remember, creating Breakouts is not an easy task.  For this reason, grab that colleague that you trust and enjoy working with - and put together that perfect-for-you Breakout lesson!  (I used our Digital Learning Resource Teacher to help out on this one.) When creating this particular Breakout, we used several digital tools.  Among everything Google, we threw in a Voki and and an  EdPuzzle .  If you have not checked out these online (free) resources, you need to - especially if you plan on creating digital learning lessons in the future.  They are super user-friend...

Systems of Equations: Initial Matching This is a very basic set of systems of linear equations - it is completely designed to get students up, walking around, and (hopefully) a little interested in solving systems of equations.  The goal with this lesson is to start small and grow.  The hope is that the kiddos remember how to solve by elimination and this is the hook to move into solving systems of non-linear functions. We all have those worksheets with the word problems about buying apples and bananas and the students need to set up equations, solve the system, and tell how many of each fruit (or whatever crazy purchases we can come up with) was purchased.  Don't get me wrong, these worksheets are mandatory and the kiddos will need the skills in the future.  However, the hope is for the students to actually remember how/why.  Fifteen (or 60) cantaloupes doesn't necessarily meet the challenge. ~SSB

I could present an application problem on the board, have the students plug into their calculator and find the exponential regression equation. However, I think that visualizing the growth is more effective, and allows students to see how fast something like cancer cells can grow. This activity provides a hands on experience with M&Ms while modeling real world concepts.  I found this activity here , but created my own (slightly different) version. I only had enough time for exponential growth, so I eliminated the decay portion.  I really like how students compare the equation that they found to the calculator's regression model. This activity also causes students to discuss each component of the equation, which I think is very important in AFM. Additionally, this brings up a great discussion regarding cancer cells. Do all cancer cells grow exponentially? If time allows, I like for students to do some research (using their phones) to aid with this conversation....

Scavenger Hunts are always fun (and easy to grade). This particular one is all about applications of exponential growth & decay. My students seem to understand this topic really well, but I still wanted to provide more practice.  When I did this hunt originally, I created the cards with the answer on the front and the question on the back. Once I figured out how to copy and make it work, it was great because I could use the cards over and over again. However, they started looking old, and I lost some of the cards. So t his year, I placed the answer and question on the front. It made it so much easier to copy!  If you would like to try this in your class, here is a copy ! I included the solutions as well.  UPDATE: I created this activity and transformed into a remote version.  Remote Version: SE Scavenger Hunt               TE Scavenger Hunt ~RJ

I have seen other educators talk about speed dating in the classroom. I thought I would give it a try with solving exponential and logarithmic equations.  Each student received a worksheet and one equation card. The card represented their "expert problem." Before the activity began, I had the students solve their expert problem as I walked around to monitor their progress.  Once all students were finished, the speed dating began. They had to find others, switch cards, and solve the equations.  I didn't give a time limit for each "date." Some students finished early, while others worked to the bell without finishing. Next year, I think it should be timed - maybe I'll even get a buzzer!  I really enjoyed listening to their conversations. I sat back and watched the students walk their peers through the solving process - t he students became the teachers.  Knowing that their expert problem was correct, the students who normally struggle with solving h...

Lecture is inevitable, but I like to divide up that time with small, hopefully fun activities. We all need a break from time to time, including ME!!!  I found this activity here , and instantly loved it. After explaining how to rewrite logarithms and exponentials, this game provided students with the perfect practice.  Just like the concentration game, students place all cards face down and then flip two cards over. They look for an exponential and logarithmic pair. If they find a match, YAY! If not, they have to turn them back over and lose their turn.   This is a fast activity; it took my kids about 15 minutes. Even though it was short, I think the students enjoyed not having to listen to me for the entire class! I'm okay with that; I enjoyed taking a break from talking!  :)  I could have cut out the activity that I found online, but I am a little OCD when it comes to fonts. So, I created a new version using the same problems. Here it is: Concentr...

It's a zombie takeover!!!  There are so many ways you can incorporate zombies and exponential functions. My entire unit is full of infections and how they spread. This introduction just happened to be about the zombie virus.  This is a very simple activity that I do before I start teaching exponentials and logarithms. I used the idea from Better Lessons , and I really feel that students can visualize how the infection is spreading and relate it to exponential growth.  At the start of the lesson, I show the G Slides presentation. I call one student up to the front of the classroom. They have now been infected! This student then picks another student to become infected. Those two students pick one student each, and so on... You get the picture.  I have a student worksheet, and I like for students to collaborate in pairs and discuss the answers to the questions. When it came time to write the equation, half of the class had y = 2x and the other y = 2^x.  T...

To connect the graphs of sine and cosine with the unit circle, we created a lesson (somewhat like Illumination's Spaghetti Activity ) to help students see that relationship.  We try to allow the students to figure out the directions, while we just facilitate. This doesn't always work out! At times, we have to give some guidance especially when students use the unit circle to find the lengths of the string.  Once the students start to understand, they actually enjoy creating their sine and cosine graphs. This activity gives them a chance to use crafts while engaging in some really great mathematical discussions.  Here is the String Activity !  ~RJ & SSB 

Modeling is an important aspect of my class...I mean..the title of the class is Advanced Functions and Modeling. This was the perfect topic for my first major project!  Our county has adopted G Suite and has issued each student a google account. Because of this and paper copy restrictions, I utilize Google as much as possible. When the semester begins, I create a contact group with student email accounts helping me to disperse information very quickly. This gives me a chance to share projects, assignments, and activities from G Suite. I absolutely love the switch from paper/pencil to Google. Ok, let me stop...I could go on for hours.  Back to the project: I found the linear regression idea  online  and adapted it to meet the needs of my students by creating a G Slide presentation.  In class, students measured the ulna bones and heights of each classmate. Embedded in the G Slide project instructions was a link to a Google Form asking for the measurement...

You may be wondering... How is the Math 3 Version of the Piecewise Scavenger Hunt different than the AFM Version that RJ created?  Honestly, I doubt there is a difference, except in the approach with the students.  Anyone who has taught piecewise functions understands that the struggle is real - students truly have a hard time seeing the "pieces" of the function, so every little bit helps! My colleague (and co-author of Girl Math), RJ, teaches piecewise functions at a level higher than the one I teach.  Therefore, she uses this activity as more of a review while my approach is more of a learning experience - trying to get the kiddos interested and collaborating with rich discussion (not that RJ doesn't share these goals!)  Anyway, can you really have too many piecewise resources?  Uh, no. In order to create my graphs, I went to Desmos .  I can only assume that if you're reading a blog about teaching math, you already know the awesomeness that is Desmos...

Well, hello!  Back to using Breakouts in the classroom.  Seriously, I cannot express how much I find these helpful, engaging, fun, amazing, etc.  And my students have the same sentiment! If you are worried about how time-consuming Breakouts are to create, feel free to simply use mine.  Just copy/paste this web address so that your students have access to it.  Warning: you should walk through it before giving it to your kiddos... some of the clues are tricky - and some have nothing to do with breaking out! For this particular Breakout, I borrowed some ideas from BreakoutEdu Digital .  Sometimes the storyboard is harder for me to create than finding the actual problems and the use of Google's media - hence, a lot of borrowing goes down on my laptop :)   If you have made it this far, feel free to make a copy of the teacher notes for yourself.  Again, if you do plan on using this for your students I highly suggest that you "Breakout" withou...

Domain & Range...you would think that I was talking in a foreign language, especially when dealing with piecewise functions. This is not a new concept either - most of my students are in the 11th & 12th grade.  To help with more practice, I created a Desmos Activity using a domain/range matching  that I found online.  The students were not happy with the layout of the activity. I had 24 cards to match...I do not suggest using that many cards; it was way too much. Students were having trouble finding matches because cards were covering each other. Also, when the students would move the cards, they would accidentally match with wrong cards. It was a disaster! I think within 30 minutes, I still had students searching for their first pair. UGH. :( Even though the students would have probably liked to have paper copies of the activity, I love using Desmos because I can easily monitor student progress.  Here is the  activity  that I used to...

Lucky for us, we both teach Pre-Calculus... so we share EVERYTHING!!   If you have not done a breakout with your classes, you need to.  All students are engaged and have so much fun - most of them don't even realize they're doing math or higher level thinking :) With this particular activity, we designed it to be a review of NC Math 3 concepts and incorporated both physical and digital components of a breakout.  Our school is lucky enough to have several  boxes (we have 7) so that we can keep group sizes to 4 or 5 - this is just our preference.  I have heard of teachers doing whole-class breakouts, but I am not sure how that works. As with all breakout activities, the real struggle is in the setup.  We actually did this activity last year but revamped it for this semester since we have learned so many more tricks.  Because we are a G-Suite district (I love my Google), all aspects of the digital components were created in Google.  All t...

If your students are like mine, they tend to struggle on the different approaches to inverse functions (graphing, algebraically, and using tables).  In order to help, I created a jigsaw puzzle that encompasses all of these approaches in one activity.  The students were pretty happy to be working with others and putting together the puzzles.  And, the discussions I heard were amazing, especially considering it was the first week of class and sometimes students come to me not knowing how to have a "math-versation".  I just made that word up BTW. The downside of the activity?  The prep work.  All puzzle pieces must be cut out before giving them to the kiddos.  It took forever...  But completely worth the wait! If you're interested in this activity, click here for a copy. SSB 

Over the past 10 years, I have stopped giving homework in my math classes. I was tired of the copying, the excuses, and having more to grade. :) Since I eliminated homework, I can assess my students in class in a much more FUN way.  Since Piecewise Functions are a struggle for most of my students, I created a Piecewise Scavenger Hunt. I made 12 different graphs using Desmos , and I expected it to take about 45 minutes. WELL, I was wrong, most groups took about an hour and 15 minutes!  Even though the activity took longer than I had expected, I really enjoyed watching the students up and about in the classroom. I made the students show all of their work as to stop students from just looking at the domains. I created groups of 3 and asked the students to make sure each person in the group was participating. Next time, to make sure I hold all students accountable, I will offer a place for students to write their name next to the problem they are completing. With group...

Since I'm reviewing, I figured that students would know how to graph and shift functions. However, I wasn't sure if they were comfortable writing the equations from the graph, so I wanted to give them practice. I had seen the headbands/heads-up game from other educators, and I thought it would work for this lesson. I created 12 cards with shifted functions (quadratic, cubic, square root, & absolute value) using  Desmos . Here is the link to this activity . Students seemed to enjoy themselves, and most were laughing when trying to guess how far the graph had shifted. I graded their work, and tomorrow, I will pass back the handout. I want the students to use the cards again (this time looking at them) to fix any mistakes.      ~RJ

Hello!  Let us tell you a little bit about ourselves... Together, we have taught secondary math in Wilmington, NC for over 30 years.  Our mission as educators is to try new and fun activities in the classroom.  Some work - some don’t.  But we are okay when things don’t work as this is how we learn.   We have spent many years looking for activities via Google, other educators, paid sites, blogs, etc. Basically, all of our ideas have been stolen borrowed from other sources.  However, we take the time to make them more suitable for our students and our situation.  Feel free to use whatever you find on here!