Blogging Plan

-

Since I will be starting a new job as a middle school math teacher, my blog posts for the next two months will focus on this journey. Also, because I will be so busy getting my classroom set up, learning the curriculum, etc. I will just be posting one blog post a week. I will start out posting every Tuesday before the school year starts and then after that, I will move to blogging on Sundays.

Here is what I plan to post over the next two months:

Tuesday, August 20th: Desmos Blog
              I will be attending a training on the program Desmos. I have used Desmos before but this class will teach me how to create my own activities. I am very excited about this class and would like to share what I learn on my blog.

Tuesday, August 27th: Classroom Setup Blog
              This week I will be setting up my classroom. Since I have posted about this before, I thought I would post an update including pictures of my progress.

Tuesday, September 3rd: Twas the Night Before the First Day of School
              This will be the day before the first day of school. I thought I would post about my hopes and fears for the upcoming year.

Sunday, September 8th: First Week of School Wrap Up
              I will have just finished the first week of school. I will share what went well and what I am still working on.

Sunday, September 15th: Twitter
              I just started a Twitter account and haven’t used it very much. I would like to post more about my experiences as a teacher and connect with other teachers. I am going to start doing that and post about my experiences on this day.

Sunday, September 22nd: Teaching in a Block Schedule
              This is the first year I will be teaching at a school with a block schedule. This means I see each class only three times a week with two of the classes each week being 110 minutes long. That’s a long time to teach math so I’m going to be experimenting with different structures for my class time. At this point, I will have been teaching for three weeks so I will have some ideas of what is working and what isn’t. I will also reach out for advice.

Sunday, September 29th: Self-Care
              The first month of school can be crazy busy and very stressful. I will take this day to focus on self-care and post about things I do to relax and destress.

Sunday, October 6th: Helpful Math Resources
              On this day I will share a list of helpful math resources. I will share new ones that I have discovered as well as some of my tried and true favorites.

Sunday, October 13th: Incorporating Other Subjects into Math
              Often math feels very isolated so I like to try to incorporate other subjects into math. I have done science experiments and history lessons related to math. I will post about this on this day.

Comments

  1. Mari VenturinoAugust 17, 2019 at 3:24 PM

    I'm looking forward to reading these blog posts! I teach on a block schedule, and feel free to reach out if you'd like to know more about timing and such. I can also connect you to awesome math teachers at my school and in my district who teach on a block schedule.

    I look forward to tweeting with you! I'm @MsVenturino on Twitter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 17, 2019 at 3:36 PM

      Thank you! I will definitely reach out if I am struggling with the block schedule. It is definitely different than what I am used to. I look forward to tweeting with you too!

      Delete
  2. Jake DaltonAugust 17, 2019 at 6:17 PM

    You have some interesting topics on your upcoming schedule. I look forward to reading them. I noticed your block schedule post and I am curious how you will adapt to such a long class! I am sure you will do great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 17, 2019 at 9:51 PM

      Thanks! I will definitely have to adapt to the block schedule. Especially since some days I will have to teach 2 lessons in one day. I’ll just have to get creative.

      Delete
  3. Eric A. SilvaAugust 17, 2019 at 8:48 PM

    That's exciting that you're starting a new role as a middle school math teacher. I'm looking forward to your post on the block schedule. After three weeks, it'll be interesting to see which structure works best for your students.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 17, 2019 at 9:52 PM

      Thank you! I am very excited (and nervous) to be starting this new role. I’m sure I will learn a great deal in the first couple weeks.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Commentary on "Why is Algebra so Hard?"

-
Image
I am currently transitioning from teaching elementary to teaching algebra at a middle school. Algebra is actually a high school course, but more and more students in my district are taking it earlier than that, which is how I got this job. It has been making me think about how algebra is so important but is also very difficult for students. I stumbled across this Ted Talk by Emmanuel Schanzer called, “Why is algebra so hard?” and just had to watch it: One of his quotes that struck me right away was, “Arithmetic is to math as spelling is to journalism.” This is so true because arithmetic is only a small part of mathematics. Much of mathematics is much more abstract than this, which can be difficult for students. Students grow up thinking math is all about finding an answer but algebra changes this. This video then took a turn though. To me, it didn’t really answer the question, “Why is algebra so hard?” but rather the question, “How can we connect algebra and computer scie
Read more

Grading Homework

-
How to grade homework has been something I have struggled with ever since I became a teacher. Some teachers grade for completion and correctness. This means a student must complete all of the questions and get all of the answers correct to receive full credit. Other teachers just grade for completion and effort. In this case, students would have to attempt all the questions but they could still get full points even if they got some incorrect. Also, some teachers just check if the homework is complete or incomplete and do not give any points for it. Then there are even teachers who don't score or check homework at all. They just believe it is practice for the students but not a part of their grade. Right now, I usually focus on completion. Because I teach math, I know students are going to make mistakes on their homework and I don't want to penalize them for that. I do give points for completed homework but I have considered getting rid of points and just putting in my grade b
Read more

Question About Screen Time

-
One of the biggest trends in edtech has been 1:1 devices in schools. Many districts have been working on getting computers or iPads for every student in their schools. That way every student has equal access to technology. This is something I have been passionate about because it is very frustrating to have to share computer carts amongst multiple classrooms. I know that my district is currently working toward getting a cart of computers in every classroom. I do have one concern about this though. In middle school, if a student uses a computer in every class, they could be in front of a screen for up to six hours. That is a lot of screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that there be a limit on screen time for children and teenagers. Computers are such a powerful tool to use in the classroom but how much use is too much? My question for you is: should we limit screen time in the classroom?
Read more