Author

Jennie Webb

March is the time of year when breaks are few and far between, but summer is too far away to start counting down. It’s also when I find student behavior issues increasing and work ethic decreasing. So years ago, I started implementing March MATHness as a way to motivate students during that long stretch between winter and spring break.

What is March MATHness?

March MATHness is a tournament-style competition that involves math and a little bit of basketball. It’s also a way to start sneaking in some review from throughout the year. There are lots of ways to implement this, and it can be adjusted to fit other subject areas as well. I just don’t have clever names for them.

Eligibility

Here’s the motivating part. When students know there will be a competition that includes prizes, almost everyone wants in. So at the beginning of March or end of February, tell your students that the competition is coming up and define the criteria that they must meet to compete. Most of the time, my criteria has been that students can only participate if they have no missing assignments. I give them a certain date to have all work complete (mid-term or the end of the quarter, for example). More recently, I’ve been giving less homework, so I made the eligibility requirements that students can not have any discipline infractions for my class during the month of March and they must get at least a 75% on all quizzes (which they are allowed to retake).

Qualifying Round

Around the 3rd or so week of March, I have a qualifying round for those who are eligible. If a student is not eligible or chooses not to participate, they work on an assignment while others compete to see who makes it into the tournament and onto the bracket. I give every student playing a white board and marker. I put up a question on my screen and students answer it on their white board. Once they have the answer, the student holds up the board. The first person who holds up the correct answer gets the point for that question. Whenever a student gets 2 points, they have made it into the March MATHness tournament. I typically write the student’s name on my board when he or she gets a question correct. The next time that student gets a question correct, I write their “seed” number next to their name. That is how they are placed on the bracket. Each “region” of the bracket is a class period. I have 8 students from each class who compete in the tournament. If you have more than 4 classes, you can combine the 2 classes with the least number of eligible students or add an extra section to your bracket and have the winner from that class play in a “final five.”

What You Need

a basketball hoop- This can be an over-the-door hoop, a trashcan, or a bucket.
2 dry-erase boards
2 dry-erase markers
2 dry-erase erasers
2 basketballs- These can be whatever will fit in your hoop. Before I purchased 2 little squish basketballs, I used to have students just throw the erasers into the hoop.
A selection of questions with the answers at hand for you. The best method is to have these on some slides for the students to see.

The Tournament

The March MATHness tournament can last weeks depending on how you want to play. I typically use the last 5 minutes of a class to do a round. It may take less time than that, but it usually doesn’t take more. Each class will play 7 rounds to get a class winner. For each round, two students will sit an equal distance from the basketball hoop. They will each have a dry-erase board, a marker, an eraser, a calculator if allowed, and a ball. Each student can also choose a “rebounder,” someone who will return the ball for them if missed. (It’s enough pressure to shoot a ball in front of their classmates. They shouldn’t have to chase the ball down too). I usually let them choose whoever they want right before their round. Go over the rules with the students- where they must stand, no blocking, no calling out answers from others in the class, students can shoot at the same time, etc.

Display a question for both students to answer. They write their answer on the dry-erase board and show it to you. If correct, you tell them to “start shooting.” If incorrect, tell them it is incorrect, and they can continue trying. A student should continue to try to answer a question correctly even if their competitor already has. The first person to make a basket is the winner of that round and moves on to the next round of the tournament. So if a student correctly answers a question first, they have more time to get a basket, but the other student may still be able to answer and make the shot before them to win. It is often an exciting couple minutes of fun to watch.

I usually do a round or 2 when there is time, so the tournament may last a couple weeks before there is a winner from each class. Each time we do a round, I add the student’s name to the bracket. The class champions will be the “final four” and I will give them a small prize for winning in their class. I work with my teammates to find a time when a student may leave their class to come complete. The other teachers are very accommodating, especially since it is only a few minutes. I’ve even had teachers let their whole class come watch and cheer since the other student has the “home court advantage.” Finally there will only be 2 students left to compete and the winner will be the March MATHness champion. They will win a small basket of goodies that includes candy and lots of passes to use in class such as a homework pass, choose my seat pass, first out the door pass, etc. The funny thing is, in all my years of doing this competition, the winner has never used all of their passes. Some students never use any of them.

If you have a March MATHness competition in your class, let me know! Tag me in your pics on social media.

March 9, 2020 0 comment

Halloween Math Activity Math Games Math Resources

6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Middle School Math Halloween Activities

by Jennie Webb September 14, 2019

On Halloween, the last thing middle school students want to think about is math. All they have on their minds is what they’re going to do that night and all the candy they will get. Well, what if you interrupt their daydreams of trick-or-treating with some math trick-or-treating?

One-Step Equations Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

You can trick-or-treat with your students as a review game. It’s simple. Students are given questions with 2 answer choices (one right and one wrong). When they make their choice, they find out if their answer is a trick (wrong answer) or a treat (right answer). It’s a fun and engaging way to practice math skills!

To add even more engagement, I offer real tricks and treats. If a student gets the answer correct, I let them choose a piece of candy from my candy bucket. If they get it wrong, I had some choices of tricks that included wearing fangs or googly eye glasses the rest of class, acting like a zombie, or wearing a hat that says “I got tricked.” Of course if students weren’t comfortable, I didn’t force them to do anything. It’s all meant to be fun for everyone!

8th Grade Math Trick or Treat Halloween Games

Function or Not a Function? Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Estimating Square Roots Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Square Roots & Cubes Roots Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Angle Relationships (Parallel Lines Cut by a Transversal) Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Scientific Notation Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Rational or Irrational Numbers Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

8th Grade Math Number Systems Review Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Multi-Step Equations with Variables on Both Sides Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

7th Grade Math Trick or Treat Halloween Games

Two-Step Equations Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Percent of a Number Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Integer Operations Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

6th Grade Math Trick or Treat Halloween Games

One-Step Equations Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Distributive Property Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

Combining Like Terms (no negatives) Trick or Treat Halloween Activity

September 14, 2019 0 comment

Free Organization Teacher Hacks

Inexpensive Classroom Organization

by Jennie Webb July 23, 2019

Whether you’re a new teacher or a teacher looking for some help with organization, you probably don’t want to have to spend a lot. Here is a solution I’ve used that is almost FREE.

At back-to-school time, the shelves of many stores are packed with school supplies. The boxes used to hold all of the shiny new items are perfect for storage in your classroom! You just simply need to ask. I often go to Walmart or Staples the weekend or two before school starts and that’s when you find a lot of those boxes empty. I always need to buy something anyway, so I grab a couple empty boxes and ask if I can have them. I reinforce them/ decorate them with some tape, add some labels, and I’m done- cheap storage for my classroom!

Folder/Notebook boxes. For these, you will need to get boxes used to display folders. You can get notebook boxes, but they aren’t wide enough for folders and they may not hold enough notebooks for the number that you need. The ones pictured are from Staples and I used Duck Tape to wrap around the bottom. This was to cover the writing on the box and to give the box a little more support. I have a different box for each class period, so I added a number label on the front of each one. That’s it! You can, of course, use other types of tape to decorate or none at all if your label covers the writing on the box.

I’ve used these for differentiation (leveled student work in folders) but you could use them to store Interactive Notebooks in your classroom. Currently, I have students keep their “I Can” Checklists and formative assessments in their folders. Each time they get something back, they update their checklist and staple the learning check to the back of the checklist. I have one for each unit so by the end of the year, the folder is full of all the things they have learned.

Turn-in Trays. These boxes can be found empty a lot because they are used to sell paper, dividers, sheet protectors, and other things. Follow the same instructions as before- wrap with tape and label. For these, I got the boxes from Walmart and wrapped them with masking tape. I put a post-it on top of the writing before wrapping because it showed through the lighter green color. For my turn-in trays, I wanted students to self-asses their work, so I made 3 and added these FREE Mastery Level Labels. You could also label yours by class period or however will help you to sort papers.

For a video showing how to make the turn-in trays, check out my Instagram stories Organization highlight.

Stay organized and do it without spending a lot of money! Let me know where you get your boxes and how they turn out!

July 23, 2019 0 comment

Math Resources Open Up Resources

How to Make Open Up Resources More Engaging

by Jennie Webb June 20, 2019

If you’ve taught Illustrative Math Open Up Resources (OUR), you know it’s rigorous. You know it is thoughtfully pieced together. You know it contains high quality tasks. But you also know it can be boring. That’s what I (and my students) thought my first year teaching OUR. It was, after all, a workbook.

But I have learned some ways to add engagement while using the curriculum. Here are a few.

1. Set a timer. OUR gives you time suggestions for each task. Use them. I sometimes spent half a class period on a warm-up. No wonder students were bored and I couldn’t get through a lesson! When the discussion lingers too long, that’s when the mind-wandering starts to set in. Use your smartwatch or display your timer for students to see and stick to it. When students know they have a time limit for completing a task that they’re accountable for, they have a greater sense of urgency to begin the task and remain focused. There should be no time for boredom if you stick to the time suggestions.

2. Change student grouping often. If you’re like me and you’ve found a seating chart that seems to be going well, the students will stay in those seats until the complaining starts to get to you. But do your students a favor and change those groups often. OUR suggests group sizes for its tasks. I often had kids complete tasks on their own because the class isn’t behaving well. This lead to frustration, giving up, and ultimately me explaining the work. Please use the group suggestions and encourage students to work together and share their thinking. You can use apps like Flippity Random Name Picker to help make it easier for you.

3. Get students up and moving. Sitting at a desk completing challenging math tasks is some people’s idea of torture. Get students out of their seats using some of simple these ideas. *Don’t forget to give the quiet think time first.*

When sharing responses to a Which One Doesn’t Belong, assign each of the 4 corners of your room as a choice. Have students go to the corner of the room that matched their choice. They can then share with the group who chose the same as them and then the rest of the class.
When responding to a True or False, have students go to parts of the room. For example, if students thought something was true, they would move to the left side of the room. If false, then right.
For a Poll the Class activity, have students line themselves up from least to greatest with their estimates.
Have students get up and point to what they notice in a Notice and Wonder.
Do a Gallery Walk during Group Presentations.
Place some cards from a card match on the wall around the room and only give the group some of what they need. Have them get up and go find the match they need.
When appropriate, ask students to “find another group with a similar strategy to yours.”
During a synthesis, ask students to “stand up if you agree” or “stand if you solved it a different way.”
This may sound simple, but have students bring their work up to place under the document camera. Why was I always doing it for them?

4. Make it personal. If you have a Jada, Elena, or Noah in your class, you may find it easy to make connections with some students. But, even if you don’t, some of your students might adopt those names as nicknames and get a special feeling every time they hear their name in a problem. Build confidence. While recording students’ findings during a synthesis, add the student’s name on the board next to their thinking. It encourages students to hear others refer to what they said as “Kylin’s way” or “Daniela’s strategy.”

5. Have some seasonal fun. Is it someone’s birthday? Draw those triangles as party hats. In October, make those circular grids look like spider webs by adding legs to the points on them. Maybe in December you pretend the volume containers are filling up with eggnog instead of water. Perhaps those lines you draw on your grid in February are actually Cupid’s arrows rather than just simply linear graphs.

6. Change it up. OUR offers online applets for different tasks. Whether you are a one-to-one classroom or not, completing tasks using both digital and non-digital versions keep things from being so monotonous.

I hope these little things can add a lot of engagement to your math class!

Have other ideas on how to increase engagement using the Open Up Resources curriculum? Share your ideas in the comments!

June 20, 2019 0 comment

Classroom Management Fitbit Teacher Hacks Time Management

Time Management: Using Your Fitbit in the Classroom

by Jennie Webb July 25, 2018

Part of classroom management is time management– ensuring that your students have the time they need to learn and complete tasks without wasting time. Over the past couple of years, I have been using this #teacherhack to keep my class running smoothly.

Set Silent Alarms. The best thing I did was set silent alarms for 2 minutes before the bell rings at the end of each class. You know that it doesn’t matter what you do- if the bell rings, the students are done with your class. By setting a timer, you are making sure that your students hear your final instructions and you are giving them time to clean up and put away materials and papers. We want our students to be organized, right? So, we need to give them a little bit of time to put that homework paper in the right place in their binder if we want them to find it later. You know you’ve seen it: students rushing out a classroom door, leaving behind a mess or important papers that they need, all while the teacher yells, “Don’t forget…!” Giving students just a little time and enforcing that they use it wisely not only helps us, but it helps our students be more organized and better time managers themselves.

The best thing I love about silent alarms is that they are silent. If you set an alarm that students can hear, you may as well have rung the bell. They will be conditioned to pack up and talk as soon as they hear it. With a silent alarm, you are made aware of how much time is left, but you can still have your students working or listening until you are ready for them to stop. I’ve had my silent alarm go off right as a student was making a great point to her classmates. Of course I let her continue. There was so too learning happening! Using an audible alarm would have interrupted the moment and, even if I told the class to keep listening, the learning would have stopped and the student would have been disrespected.

Here’s what I do. When the alarm goes off, I tell the students any final instructions or reminders and then ask them to get their things together. During this time, they know they can return their calculator, hole-punch their papers, sharpen their pencil, turn in anything, pack up their books, or return any other items that they used or borrowed. My rule for them is that once they have gotten their items together, they need to sit back down. This allows me to see that all materials are returned and there are no papers “accidentally” left on the ground. It also keeps students from simply using these extra minutes to just get up and talk instead of taking care of business. Another rule I have is that students can’t leave the room until I dismiss them. If everything is where it should be, I’ll tell students that they may go when the bell rings. However, if there is something out of place, I will ask them to clean it up or find whatever’s missing before they can leave. It doesn’t take long for students to realize that they can’t get away with wasting the time I give them.

I currently have a Fitbit Versa, so I am able to set alarms and timers on the watch itself. I used to use alarms with a Fitbit Alta. You can find out how to set silent alarms by clicking here.

Use timers. Time can definitely get away from you in the classroom if you let it. You can also use your Fitbit to set timers throughout class. I do a lot of group work and rotations in my classroom, so using timers is helpful to keep me and my students from wasting too much time. Although sometimes a visual timer is good to keep students aware of how much time they have, a timer they can’t see if often better for smaller chunks of time. I’ve found that when students are rotating around in stations, I can’t get a feel for how long they need unless I use a timer. If I don’t time them, I’m inconsistent with how long I give them and sometimes they end up not getting finished while other times they have been finished, waiting, for several minutes. Just like with the silent timers, you’re the only one who knows when time is up, so if you see students need more time, you can always let them keep working and adjust the next timer accordingly. You can time students during bell-ringers (5 minutes), think time (2 minutes), turn and talk time (2 minutes), group work (10 minutes), transitions (1 minute), clean up time (1 minute), independent work (15 minutes), and more. The more aware of time you are, the less distractions can steal your precious class time from you.

If you’ve got other tips for time management in the classroom, leave a comment and let me know.

July 25, 2018 0 comment

Calculators Classroom Management Math Resources

How to Manage Your Calculators

by Jennie Webb July 18, 2018

In the new school year, everything is shiny and bright. The floors glisten with a fresh coat of wax and the marker bins are full of bright colors. Everything is in its place.

By the end of the year, you consider it a win if the first dry-erase marker you try works.

Markers get used, pencils break, and paper gets tossed. But one thing that you won’t get a new supply of year after year is calculators. Without proper management, calculators often get lost, marked on, or broken. You and your school most likely can’t afford to replace them, so here a few tips to help you still have all of your calculators at the end of the year.

Number each calculator. Clearly label each calculator. Permanent marker is best (because who can resist peeling or scratching off a sticker?) You might want to put your name or team name on them too.
Have a consistent storage method. Decide where calculators will be stored. It could be their boxes, a calculator caddy or pocket chart, a shoe organizer, or some other location. I use a pocket chart from Amazon that I got for $15. It came with cards, but I printed the numbers on colored paper to brighten it up. Whatever storage method you choose, just make sure it is numbered.
Use a sign-up sheet. Make copies of a sign-up sheet (one for each class you have). I usually use colored paper and put them on a clipboard that is accessible to students during class. Have students sign up for a calculator number and tell them that they will use that same number all year long. I let my students pick any number they want because they will remember it better. But if they forget it, they can always look back at the sign-up sheet.
Give Expectations. Give students clear expectations about how to get their calculators each class, how to use them, and how to return them. For example, I explain to my students they will take a “one-way street” at the beginning of class and pick them up before going to their seat. I tell them to know where their calculator is at all times so it won’t be knocked off their desk. I make sure they know not to write on it and report to me if it’s missing or something is wrong with it. It is important that they also know to return them in the correct place at the end of every class. I set a silent timer 2 minutes before class ends to make sure they have time to properly put everything away. I ask them to not put up calculators for friends because that’s when they tend to end up in the wrong spot. Whatever you want them to do, tell them!
Enforce expectations. Enforce what you say! I don’t let the class leave until every calculator is put back. I remind them of my expectations as needed and they quickly learn that it is just part of our classroom routine. I’m not sure how many times I had to say early on, “We’re still waiting on calculator number…” A little pressure from classmates helps. If something is wrong with a calculator, I track down the student who had it the class before and ask them about it. When students know it is important to you, they will treat materials more respectfully.