Ryan Churchill's Blog (8)

Today was a good day here at the ole Western Middle School. Student behavior was great, the lesson was good (teacher directed, mostly, but good), and I was very happy with my student results. The lesson was geared on using cubes to find volume and surface area, then using cubes to find formulas for volume and surface area. At first, I thought my students might not be able to grasp the connection between using cubes to find volume and transferring that information into finding a formula, but… Continue

Today was a somewhat challenging day again. First, let me go through my lesson plan.



1. Sponge.

2. Biggest Gainer review activity over Fractions, Decimals, and Percents.

3. Finishing up Problem 2.2 in our textbook.



Two of my three blocks today did really well. They really strived for, and achieved, success. However, my 2nd block class (which is typically my most difficult anyway) was especially hard today. It's not that they were bad...it's that they were too… Continue

Today was a really good day for me. My lessons went really smoothly, and student behavior was impeccable. Today was one of those days where I say, "Do I really get paid for this?!?" Haha, not really, but it did go really well.



Here is how my lesson went:



1. Sponge.

2. Review of Biggest Gainer material (in note-taking format)

3. Problem 2.2 in our textbook.



Problem 2.2 is a complex problem that requires the use of manipulative cubes to find the surface… Continue

Well, today was a bit of a wild one here at the ole Western Middle School. Student behavior was not where it was supposed to be (to say the least). Fridays typically are challenging anyway, but today was especially difficult...I feel like it's the warm weather's fault. Last block was especially tough because the students would not get focused. Indeed, there had been a couple of fights in related arts, so the students were especially talkative about that. Furthermore, two of the related arts… Continue

Today was a pretty good day. Here is how my lesson went:



1. Sponge

2. Review for the Biggest Gainer

3. Lesson 2.1 in our Filling and Wrapping textbooks.



The sponge was fine as was the Biggest Gainer review, but the lesson fromt the book was great! We were able to use manipulatives to find volume and surface area. There was a couple of problems (ie, a few blocks were thrown) but overall, it went very well. It even allowed me to show students the formula for volume… Continue

Today was a good day for me. All three of my 90 minute classes went really well. Here was my lesson plan:



1. Sponge

2. Biggest Gainer notes

3. Finish Problem 1.3 (end of Chapter 1 in our Filling and Wrapping books)

4. Start Chapger 2 (problem 2.1)



The notes went well for all three classes--we solved some real world problems involving dividing ribs among people at a family get together and finding out the correct amount to tip at Texas Roadhouse for a bill of… Continue

Today was a little more difficult than yesterday. The students seemed to have a bit more energy and seemed to be a bit more talkative. Nevertheless, here's how the day's lesson went:



1. Sponge. 1 problem over what we were doing in the Biggest Gainer and one over what we are currently covering in our CMP 2 books (that is, surface area).

2. Review for Biggest Gainer. We spent about 30 minutes solving problems that were similar to those on the Biggest Gainer post-test. I gave a few… Continue

Today I gave a pre-test for our new Biggest Gainer unit. So, I guess I now need to describe what the "Biggest Gainer" is. The Biggest Gainer is a program here at Western Middle School that the math department uses to help our students review for the CATS standardized test. It is quite simple in idea. It goes through 2-week cycles. In week 1, students start by taking a "Pre-Test" over a unit that they learned this year. The pre-test helps us see where students are lacking in skills within a… Continue