Bingo Reveiw

My math bingo game will consist of a chapter review for my math students. The objective is to get the class to have a little fun while learning and practicing for a test. In order to participate in the game, the students must first go through the lesson plans and homework assignments for each section of the chapter weeks before to grasp the concepts for the test. Depending on how long each chapter is and the content of the information, I may include two chapters for the bingo review. At the end of this week, I plan on e-mailing an old math teacher of mine to see if she can help me get some information about what a 10th grade, average level, math course teaches for the first three chapters (just to make sure I have enough information).

For my technology, I was thinking of e-mailing each student a different Bingo card and have them print them out at their home before class so they are familiar with how to open an attachment in an e-mail. Or, depending on time, I may show the students the way to create a Bingo card on Word or Excel and have them create their own card. If they happen to forget their card, I will be able to hand out extras. I will already have the questions and answers so I will give them each a list of x many answers and have them only pick y amount to create a card. The next part of technology is of course the power point for the game itself and the class using their calculators. When a student has “BINGO” then the student will go back to each problem and will have to come to the board and solve each problem to prove that they have bingo, or show me their work on a separate sheet of paper so that I know they did not just copy answers.

In order for me to know if they have learned the material well enough for the test, I will then have about 10 review problems that will consist of definition and showing all work that the kids will receive through e-mail and bring back into class.

I am not sure if I am supposed to write my post in bullet form like the rubric, or paragraph form like the rubric. Next week if you all would like, I can write it with subheadings and write a sentence or two for each one. It may be easier to read that way.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

When I looked in the Webster's New World Pocket Dictionary, I found the defintion for overwhelmed:

1. Cover over completely and 2. Crushed

As most of us are familiar with the game, Rock Paper Scissors, we know that the paper covers the rock and the rock crushes the scissors. What a great example of overwhelmed! Okay maybe not the best, but it got the point across!

I have noticed in a few posts students talking about the amount of work to be done and the little time they have. Since school started I have been under under that rock and piece of paper that feels more like a brick! However, I have started an end of the month resolution! For the last half of school, I am going to try and complain less! If my mom saw this she would be shocked and probably laugh! Haha. I have a lot of things I look forward to after Spring Break and a lot of goals that I am working on this summer. I am a hard worker and love life. I need not let school get in the way of having fun, whether I am learning or not. I think it is a good practice as well for when I start teaching. People are frustrating at times, older and younger.

I have realized, with the help of others, that I need to enjoy life, no matter what the "game" brings. Rock, Paper, or Scissors? The game would not be fun without the three and so life would not be life without feeling a little overwhelemed. Under pressure, I usually get motivated faster, although I hate feeling rushed! Working in retail, I have learned to deal with people and my own feelings a lot better. The managers there say you have to be able to laugh and not take things personal. Of course it is easier said than done, but being able to focus on what I need to get done and where I hope to be by the end of the year, I know I can work on this "stressing out" concept. Philipians 2:14 reads "Do all things without complaining and disputing..." And so a new week will begin. Until next time...

Technology in My Life

"The most “technologically literate” person in my life would probably be my dad. One of my dad’s friends, Paul, built computers and he would show my dad how to install games and things of that sort to work a computer. My dad grew very knowledgeable in that area. Watching my dad show me, I learned a lot about how to get on the computer and play. As the years went by, my dad started his own business, and thus had his accounting system on the computer. My dad taught himself how to operate his own business on the computer which he in turn, showed me how to operate a whole new program."

Not only did that begin my expansion of computer knowledge, but introduced me to the computer world, which I will never be able to get away from.

Writing about my technology in my life was like having a glass of water poured over my head! Or to put it in another perspective, the intial shock of your first year in college. Thinking back on my life as a child and the influences technology had on me, I really was amazed at how much technology I really learned to use. Instead of regular dolls and stuffed animals, I had toy dogs that walked and barked, a glow worm for night time, and a musical Care Bear! As a child I loved my technologies!

But after I got past the emotions and the past "fun times", I really began to reflect (here's that word again!) on how far I have come today in technology. Before this assignment, I would have listed all the technologies I grew up with and what I use today. To be honest, I never really cared what the social consequences were or what the impacts were in my life. At the end of this assignment and even to this day, I take time to think about why technology impacts my life and is such a big deal to the world. My Technology Autobiography has given me a different perspective of my life to think about and strongly appreciate!

Jeopardy or Bingo?

At first I was not too sure if I liked my idea. I had no idea how I was going to make a Jepardy board or Who Wants to be a Millionaire game. I appreciate everyone's comments and I had actually forgot we needed to include three technology pieces, so thanks for the reminder Catherine! So I thought for a couple of days, read everyone's post, and then I had a different idea. What about Bingo? I remember in class we had played Bingo before and I could use power point to display the selected math problem, which would allow the groups to do the problem and check if their gameboard had the solution.

I ruled out the Who Wants to be a Millionaire because I am just not into that show in the first place. I have decided that if I stick to the Jepardy style than I will use power point as well. Dr. Baylen had shown an example today in class and I think it would work. I know I want to teach Algebra at a 10th grade level so I was thinking about e-mailing a previous teacher from high school to see if she could help me out on the topics at that level for maybe the first two chapters.

I am not going to go too far in my revision because I need to think about and find out which game would be a better idea!

Word of the Week...

Reflection.

Another week has come and gone which makes me really glad! This semester has demanded a lot of time and it has been tough. At least once a day this week I have heard this word or thought about it. Dr. Baylen uses it a lot in our activities and I found myself thinking back on a lot more things because reflection has been a part of my studies for awhile! I am almost positive that it will become an involuntary reaction in my life soon! It is not a bad thing. I actually enjoy thinking about the word and it has helped me take a few minutes out of my busy schedule to just relax.

The word itself is beautiful. Being that I love the outdoors, I always think about a lake with the mirror image of trees and mountains. Then I think back to when I would walk around the pool before a swimming competition and just think back to my practices and my last race. Once I jump in, my focus is on that day and what I want to accomplish for myself. The last image that crosses my mind is keeping a daily journal. I used to write about events that happened because I would rather write than think. Now I find it the opposite way. I enjoy reading and then reflecting in a journal about what I read and how I can apply it to my life. It is amazing how a three syllable word can create a multitude of responses and differ for each individual.

Education Milestones

"I loved second grade and I loved my teacher! Mrs. Bergman was very nice. The two things that stand out to me were Mr. Bear and our Writing Workshop. Sitting quietly in the circle, I waited anxiously for my name to be called. I wished this everyday as Mrs. Bergman pulled names from a wire basket. The prize was a weekend with Mr. Bear! I loved taking him home. It was so much fun writing in the small journal explaining what Mr. Bear and I did over the weekend. It really made me excited and I always tried my best to write neatly and spell correctly. The Writing Workshop also did those things for me, but more so fulfilled my creative piece of mind."

The above is an excerpt from my concept map I created a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed this assignment because I was able to use my organizational skills and write in detail! The concept map using inspiration was created as a web in which I designed with my own shapes, sizes and colors from my experiences. I had to think about what sort of details I could use to explain to my readers what it was that made this event important in my life. It came out a lot better when I could write it in paragraph form using a lot more detail. Although I am not in second grade, I realized I still enjoy to write.

The one lesson that I gained out of this project was that it is good to take time and just reflect back on life's events. When I first started to sit down and write, I had a hard time deciding what were the key experiences that I encountered that made an impact in my education. What I realized, is that all of life is a lesson and we do not stop learning. EVER! It is a life long process, whether we are in school or out. I guess why I really enjoyed that assignment was because I took a moment to scan through my life. It is important to do that from time to time and even share with others your experiences. My Concept Map contains a few other milestones if you would like to read them.

Math Competition

Since I am studying to become a secondary mathematics teacher and math is not always a “fun” subject for students, I think it would be nice to start getting ideas to create a math activity. As a student in the past, I remember having math races on the chalk board and then as I reached high school, doing white board activities. From the ideas of past experiences, I would like to create a math review for whatever chapter the class has completed. Sort of like Trivia and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the teacher will have a variety of questions that the groups of students will have a chance to answer. The class can be split up into 3 groups and each student must take a turn answering a question and can ask for assistance from their group or a hint from the teacher. As an incentive, whichever group has the highest points at the end of the game will receive 2 points extra on their test.