The fun of using blogs to help mathematics instruction
EQ: What is a blog and how can it be beneficial to me in math class?
BR: Answer each of the following:
Agenda:
Assignment:
First blogging assignment to be completed in class, if not finished in class it is to be completed for HW.
EQ: What is a blog and how can it be beneficial to me in math class?
BR: Answer each of the following:
![clip_image002[5]](http://rdblack2112.edublogs.org/files/2008/08/clip-image0025.gif){kind=small}
Agenda:
Your first assignment this year does not necessarily involve math whatsoever. (Aren’t you excited?) As we discussed in class, we are going to be using blogs quite often during the year. This assignment is going to give you the chance to practice creating a blog post. For this assignment, I am not going to be checking your grammar or spelling. I just want you to get used to the idea of posting to your blog. However, as the year moves on, I will start to more closely examine your posts for grammar and spelling, so make sure you double check everything prior to throwing it up on the net. Therefore, here is your assignment.
At this point in your school career, you have had many experiences in math. Please, describe in detail your greatest math moment. Also, in detail, describe your worst math moment. What makes each the best or worst moment? (A single sentence answer will not be accepted. I want a discussion on each one. Several sentences make sense for the discussion of each one.) Please be sure to post your response on your blog. Remember, we are just starting out with these and I will give you every bit of assistance that you may need. This assignment is due September 5, 2008 by 9 P.M.
If you recall, I gave you the following instructions:
Your first assignment this year does not necessarily involve math whatsoever. (Aren’t you excited?) As we discussed in class, we are going to be using blogs quite often during the year. This assignment is going to give you the chance to practice creating a blog post. For this assignment, I am not going to be checking your grammar or spelling. I just want you to get used to the idea of posting to your blog. However, as the year moves on, I will start to more closely examine your posts for grammar and spelling, so make sure you double check everything prior to throwing it up on the net. Therefore, here is your assignment.
At this point in your school career, you have had many experiences in math. Please, describe in detail your greatest math moment. Also, in detail, describe your worst math moment. What makes each the best or worst moment? (A single sentence answer will not be accepted. I want a discussion on each one. Several sentences make sense for the discussion of each one.) Please be sure to post your response on your blog. Remember, we are just starting out with these and I will give you every bit of assistance that you may need. This assignment is due September 5, 2008 by 9 P.M.
Until you all get the hang of things with these blogs, I am going to work with you by also taking the time to respond to my own questions. I hope you find this one enlightening in your attempt to answer my prompt.
The greatest moment I have ever had in math had to be during last school year. As many of you know, I do like numbers and enjoy math greatly, but sometimes it isn’t the numbers that makes me feel the best. While teaching the Algebra I class from last year, we experimented with blogs quite a bit. During our time doing so, they wrote many thoughtful and thought-provoking responses to my prompts. However, one evening, while reading through the responses, I literally began to cry as I was touched so much by one response. I will not name the student, but I will say that he was one of those really likable kids you just can’t help but pull for in everything he does. (Just like many of you.) He response was actually to a question very similar to the one I have posed to you. He was asked to tell about the most important thing he ever learned in math class. He began to tell the story of how he at one time was very dependent upon his teachers for encouragement to complete assignments and tests, because he had very low self-confidence in his abilities, a trait I had seen him exhibit in his previous two and a half years here at Enslow. He then detailed how the one thing that he really learned in math had nothing to do with numbers. He discussed how he had been forced out of his shell of dependence and made to become independent just from someone telling him he could do it and that he didn’t need the reassurance. He particularly cited myself as that person. I had seen that change in this young man, but never thought it had anything to do with me. I just assumed it was part of his maturation process. However, I was mistaken. His entire post was literally a thank you note to me for making him into an independent learner who knew he could do anything he put his mind to. That has to be my greatest moment in math, just because I knew I had actually made a difference.
The worst thing that ever happened to me in math class was during my junior year of high school. At that time, I was attending, the now closed, Ceredo-Kenova High School. I was taking a Pre-Calculus math course during the second semester of the school year. I had always been a very good math student. I have only made one grade other than an A in a math course during my entire school career, which was Introductory Statistics at Marshall University for which I made a B. One Monday morning, I stroll into class with my classmates to find out teacher waiting to return our test from the previous Friday. I wasn’t worried, because I never worried about math. I was wrong. Before our teacher even handed back our tests, she proceeded to explain to us the absolutely hideous mistakes we had made on our test. I thought I was going to get off unscathed, until the very end. I was the last person to be singled out, even though explaining what everyone did isn’t necessarily singling out. I had made the same, simple mistake a total of six times on this test. Did I say the square root of 9 was -3 instead of 3? No. Did I say that 12 times 12 was 146? No. I said that 2 times 2 was 2. Let me repeat that for those of you who think you may have misread. I said that 2 times 2 was 2. SIX TIMES!!!! I had known that 2 times 2 was 4 since second grade, but yet, on that Friday morning when I took this test, I for some reason, still unexplained by the greatest of minds, thought it was 2. If you think embarrassed is a term describing how I felt, you would be grossly underestimating the effect of finding out I said 2 times 2 was 2, six times. I couldn’t believe myself. I was shocked. I wanted to crawl into the small closet in the back of the class and hide until I graduated, well over a year from the day. Needless to say, I have not made that mistake again.
I hope this helps you guys out. Don’t fret, your responses do not have to be nearly as long as mine. I just expounded on mine quite a bit to show you what you can do if you take the time to sit down and complete the assignment. I wish you guys luck and if you need any help, remember, I am just an email or a hand raise away.
- Mr. Black
EQ: What is expected of me in Mr. Black’s class?
BR: Multiply or Divide.
1. 12(13)
2. 5(17)
3. 148/4
4. 1245/5
Agenda:
1. Review Bell Ringer Sheet, expectations, and BR.
2. Review binder and organization.
3. Handout on Symbols and Measures.
4. Grade Sheets
EQ: What is expected of me in Mr. Black’s class?
BR: Add or Subtract.
1. 48 + 53
2. 79 – 38
3. 12 + 12,345
4. 148 – 129
Agenda:
1. Discuss Bell Ringer Sheet, expectations, and BR.
2. Discuss syllabus.
3. Discuss binder and organization.
Hello guys and gals, Mr. Black here, not Mr. B. Just wanted to welcome you all back to another fun year at Enslow Middle School. I can’t wait to actually get you all in class and see what you are truly capable of doing. I have worked with many of you, on and off, in the past and that has helped me to set the bar high in my expectations for you all. Please take note of the class syllabi which are available online. You were also given a copy to keep in your binder for the course. Remember, I am here to help you on your educational journey as much as to teach you. Anytime you have any questions, feel free to ask me at school or shoot me an email to rdblack@access.k12.wv.us. I wish you all the best of luck and hope we can make this year at EMS the best one yet.
Mr. Black
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