Changing my warm-up

Today for a lark, I asked students which had the better odds
1. Winning the lottery or
2. Giving birth to quintuplets.
This on question lead students on to the internet to find out what quintuplets are and the odds.  They discovered the odds of winning a lottery depended on the type of lottery and could range from 1/14million to 1/175 million.  The offs of giving birth to quintuplets was found to be only 1/800,000.  This actually opened up a discussion on the octomom - the lady who had 6 kids and gave birth to 8 more and the Dion quintuplets. 
The other question that opened up a fair bit of discussion was simply that if you worked 28 hours in a week and earned $195 would you be earning a good wage.
Points included during the discussion:
1. Minimum wage is $7.25 so it is below minimum wage.
2. It would be a bad wage for someone under 16.
3.  If you had no money coming in, something was better than nothing.
It isn't often I get this type of discussion going and it was great.  Many of my students are classified ELL (English Language Learners) so this type of discussion really helps them improve their English.

QV lite

I had several of my classes today try the QV lite.  The QV is short for quantitative vocabulary and has the two sections. I had most of my ELL students try the grade 3 quantitative  and most of my students did ok but didn't get 100%. These ELL students are in 9 to 12th grades, so it didn't really surprise me.  The higher performing students in grades 11 and 12 tried the 9th grade tests and they struggled.  I suspect they would have even more trouble with the vocabulary part.
I know that I have to use different methods due to the majority of students being ELL.  I just bought a book called "The trouble with Math is English."  It addresses the issue of teaching math to ELL students and after a quick glance it looks like it will provide me with some really awesome ways to help my students.  I plan to read it and choose one or two methods to integrate into teaching.
I have decided to change my homework assignments.  Instead of more practice from the book, I am looking up complex tasks or performance tasks to assign. Research is indicating that having students do such problems will help improve their understanding of math.  I will hand out the homework assignments and post a digital copy in either Showbie, Schoology, Edmodo or the wiki but I think our school wiki is having issues.  I figure if a student has a digital device, they can download the appropriate app, do the work on the app and then submit it back to me.  Even with digital devices I have a few students who will loose both digital and hard copies.

Too many apps not enough time.

I read about what others are having their students doing in math classes and want to try them in my classroom.  Unfortunately, I am a bit like a child in a candy store and want to try to integrate everything I can into my classroom but it won't work.  A little more than half my students are classified ELL so they do not always have a good grasp on Mathematical language while others are still struggling with the basics such as their multiplication tables.  With the increased pressure for students to do better with standardized test, the new common core standards and assorted dictates by the state, I am coming to realize that I cannot do all the activities I want to do.  I have to take a step back and really look at what concepts so I need my students to grasp, what vocabulary do they need to have and what is the best way to accomplish it.  I've got apps that will quiz my students on certain math topics but I'm not using those as much as I should. I've found websites which have nice instruction that I don't use.  I think over the holidays, I need to rethink my teaching to focus on those topics and see if I can improve my integration of the iPads in the classroom.  It is too easy to get caught up in using apps just to use them.

Dictionary app

As part of the warm-up I have the students do, I include a compare and contrast.  Since over half of my students are classified as ELL (English Language Learners), this type of exercise helps my students develop their vocabulary.  Research indicates that many mathematical terms have both an English and a specialized definition while others are specifically mathematically oriented.  I am hoping my students knowledge of mathematical terms increases.  One of my students asked if I could get a dictionary app put on the iPads so they can look up the definitions.  This is a nice request.  Currently many of my students automatically head to the internet to look up information.  I also allow them to check the internet to help them answer standardized test questions.
I also had my first period students take a quick quiz on ratios using Thump Ultimate.  Most of them didn't do any better than the first time they took this same quiz.  I also had them take a quiz on fractions and decimals.  Something else they need to work on.  The nice thing about this app is that it explains why the choice was wrong.  They get to try the problem again.
As I check the various quizzes in this app, I am finding more and more quizzes that I can use in all of my different classes.  This makes it even more valuable to use in the classroom.

Exit tickets

I know exit tickets are a great thing to use for the last few minutes of class after the students clean up. I have posed a couple of questions and had the students create a QR code with the answer but I'm thinking that instead of writing something I can have students play a short game on one of the apps I have on the iPads.  I think that giving a short time to play certain games will allow the students to enjoy a round without getting bored. I have a couple of students who have a very short attention span and easily give up if they can't win.  Using only the last 5 min or so would allow them to develop skills yet not get frustrated or bored.  I am hoping they will also learn.  I could make it the last 10 min and have them play the game, then create a QR code of what they learned from the game. 
Since my students are ELL, any chance I can have them speak or write will help increase their vocabulary development.  Yesterday, three students came up to the smartboard and discussed how to find the answer to one of the standardized test questions.  This is something they were not doing at the beginning of the year but now we have increased mathematical dialogues.  I am thrilled with the developing conversations.

Break through

Since the beginning of this school year, I have been integrating literacy techniques into my mathematics class.  I have also been using open ended questions and questions that require my students to discuss materials among themselves.  One of the things that I have been having my students do recently is to create word problems using certain key words.  As students share their problems, we take time to correct the grammar, the word usage, etc in the hopes that my ELL students improve their vocabulary and understanding of mathmatics. 
I have a class where I work with students who did not pass the graduation test in Mathematics.  Although most did not pass the test this last time, the majority of them improved their score from last spring and today we looked at all their scores and they decided what they should study next.  This is an awesome shift in their attitude and they seem to be taking ownership of their learning.  This is a tremendous step for these students.
Yesterday, I attended a teleconference where the presenter was suggesting a app called Aurasma but honestly it is something I need to investigate and see if it is worth integrating into math.  I am still not sure what it actually does and how it fits into Blooms Digital Taxonomy.  I know the idea is to have students create but is the creation being used to make something that is digital that is just a regurgitation of the material or if it is a true creation which uses higher order thinking skills.

Schoology

I am getting quite a few students signed into schoology. So far my seniors have reacted the most positively because the interface reminds them of facebook. One of them posted a comment before anyone else.  I had a hard time getting them to actually log off and start today's work.  The next step after I get everyone registered and on is to start sending information to them so they will get in the habit of checking for messages or posting messages.  This means I need to start a discussion so they can comment tomorrow.  I think the discussion will focus on the word problems they are working on.  Since I work with ELL students, I am trying to increase the opportunities they have to communicate both in written and oral formats. 
Early next week, I am going to have them use a google earth math lesson so they know more about using the program.  I know there is one on linear equations and I need to see if there are others they can use.  On Thursday afternoon, I get to help the tech dept run a training session on using Nearpod.  I am so excited about that.

Logs and Lns and reading the textbook.

We have a short teaching week so I am going to have my college prep class do some research.  They will find out how logs and lns are used in real life, prepare a report on it using any app on the iPads. They have to find one for logs and one for natural logs, include the specific situation, a graph and write an explanation of who is using the function and why.  This may help them make the real world connection they miss in the book.
 The textbook we use has real world examples but the students try hard to avoid reading the textbook.  I've started using a reading for meaning exercise where I make a table with three columns and four rows.  In the center column, I write four things out of the chapter.  The left column is for agree and the right most column is for disagree.  The student reads the chapter and decides if the statement is true or false and writes the sentence out of the book that proves the statement is true or false.  They have to include the page number with the information. 
I find students read much more carefully, especially if I tell them that I will  not help them.  The may help each other.  The next time I do this exercise which will be next Monday, I am going to try it using the iPad.  I just have to decide what will be the best app to use to share the form.
I do this type of exercise because most of my students are classified ELL (English Language Learners) and they hate to read.  So this helps them read the material and get a chance to understand it.  They help each other.