Middle School Math Moments (now Cognitive Cardio Math)

It's funny...at the beginning of the school year, and as the year progresses, we decorate our rooms with a variety of things. This year, I have added so many more math-concept related items in my room, thanks to the fantastic ideas I have seen on Pinterest. I often feel, though, that the students don't notice these posters, charts, etc, and that the things I've worked to create just kind of fade into the background. BUT, as I've started taking things down as state testing approaches, it's been funny to hear the kids' comments as they come into the room. I had taken just a few items down on Thursday, and on Friday, I heard... "Mrs. N, your room seems strange," "Your room is weird today," "I can see the whole blackboard," "Why does it seem so empty in here," and so on.....I can't wait to hear what they say on Monday and Tuesday! As we did some review yesterday, it was a little bit amusing to see the students look for...

I don't have much time to write...so busy:( Feel free to link up!! An InLinkz Link-up

There's a giveaway at More Than Math by Mo, to celebrate her new blog design!  Enter for a chance to win some great products. Good luck! Click to go to the giveaway!

What are you working on this week?  Link up below to share! We have been working with ratios and proportions for several days; yesterday and today we worked on problem solving with proportions - challenging for some! We will be ready to try the "Something Fishy" lesson soon...I think that this year's students are better prepared to fully understand the concepts in that lesson...we'll see. Happy Wednesday! An InLinkz Link-up

Check out my new site:  www.cognitivecardiowithmsmm.com Please link up below! I've been working on more ratio resources! Over the weekend, I worked on creating more Fold it Ups, specifically for ratios this week, but others for the rest of the year as well. This particular Fold it Up reinforces terms we have discussed (ratio, equivalent ratios, rates, and unit rates) and then adds the ideas of proportions and cross products. Click to download - pic of inside notes included. The Fold it Up should be cut on the horizontal lines on the left-hand side. Those sections are folded over, and the vocabulary terms can be written on the outside by the students....mine's not so decorated...the kids usually decorate better than I do:) The other picture below shows the Fold it Up with the notes filled in. I've become frustrated with the idea of having students staple or glue these Fold it Ups into their spiral notebooks or putting them into a pocket...somehow some stude...

Getting started with ratios! We pretested ratios, rates, and proportions last week, and I found mixed results in the item analysis. I was surprised to find that very few students were able to write a ratio (the pretest question was: there are 2 hamsters and 1 gerbil - write a ratio of gerbils to hamsters). It wasn't that they wrote the ratio as hamsters to gerbils rather than gerbils to hamsters....they either left it blank, or wrote something that did not resemble a ratio. So, I was glad that I had prepared a couple of Fold it Ups for them to use this week! I think this is the first time I've used this version of Fold it Up (with the triangles folded in) this year, and a few students commented that they like this version better than others (like the one I made for Wed...bummer), because this type won't rip as easily. Click to download...a pic of the inside is in the document. Do you have any favorite ratio activities? Subscribe to Middle School Ma...

Happy Friday!  The sun is actually shining, which is such a mood lifter. There is still snow on the ground, but I can see patches of grass trying to peek through! I just ordered pizza and am going to watch The Hunger Games and Catching Fire with my daughters. Good day:)

Workin' On It Wednesday 3/5/14 I'm kind of behind this week, so I don't have any materials to share. But, what I have been working on is making my daughter "struggle" with math...does that sound wrong? During the past week, I started thinking about how I used to spend time figuring out my math (Alg, Trig, Calc) when I was in high school. I had no one to help me or show me what to do if I made mistakes in my homework. I would check the answers in the back of the book, and if they were wrong, I took the time to work backwards and forwards again, until I figured out the solution (or got as close as possible!). Sometimes it was a real struggle for me, but I am the kind of person who likes to figure things out, and I tend to not give up until I find the answers. Reflecting on this, I believe I became a better math student as a result of these struggles. Thinking about this made me realize that my daughter (9th grade) never really has to struggle to figure out her a...