Signed Numbers

* taps mic * Is this on?  I haven't been here in years , but there is so much that I have been reading, thinking about, and planning in the past few days.  I needed to get some of it out.  Maybe this will forever live in drafts, or maybe, just maybe, I'll be brave and #pushsend. I crawled out from under a rock and started using TweetDeck on my computer last week.  For years I have missed the #MTBoS community, but have felt that it was too overwhelming to keep up with on top of all the typical day to day activities.  Also, I joined Twitter back when I was one of two math teachers at my school.  That community was my lifeline during my first 3 years of teaching.  Now, I have a workroom filled with teachers in real life with whom I can and should collaborate.  The richness and depth of these workroom discussions are not usually the same as what I found online, but it is still critical to support and develop these relationships. Now comes to the r...

I'm getting really excited for this week. Plans include catapults with Calculus and Algebra 2, complete with video instructions (really hoping that technology is my friend this week) and peer mentoring. The goal for catapults is to work through the project in Calculus on Monday and Tuesday. We'll be taking it a bit more in depth than Mr. Sweeney's Algebra 2 project, talking about velocity and position relating to the initial discussions of derivatives. Then, on Thursday, Algebra 2 student will make a catapult from my model, and begin his investigation. Friday, Calculus student will join Algebra 2 student to help with the "math" of the project. All this will happen without me being there, which is why we need video directions! I'm really excited for this, and the excitement easily turns into anxiety and thinking of all the ways it could completely bomb and blow up in my face when I return. But, it's worth a shot, right? Two-thirds of my Alg2 class is g...

I've been a bit frazzled lately. I feel like I'm constantly running around at school and I don't have time to get my head on straight. When I sit down to work on planning the next day's lessons, or creating materials, I get sidetracked by other things that I *know* must be done while I am at school . I then leave the rest of the planning and creating for time over the weekend or at home. I'm not really liking that strategy. I know that, as a teacher, it is almost innate within me to bring work home and to think about work when I am not actually working. I seriously think it's in our genes or something. What I don't like, though, is that I feel ineffective in the time I do have at school. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to manage planning time more effectively? How to use resources available online and from textbooks to develop lessons without feeling like you're recreating the wheel every time you make notes for a new topic? I'm at the b...