brooklynsbrightest Math

How I Use Pixel Art in My Math Classroom

Pixel Art is nothing new for the classroom- but my students still love it. I pretty much use it for every unit. It’s great self-checking practice I can’t argue with.

But I do like to change things up and keep things fresh in my room! So here are some simple ways that I spice things up a bit.

  1. I make it into a relay! I have students break into groups of 4 and make a line in front of a computer. Each students solves one problem and goes to the back of the line, etc. You can set up where students have say 3 pixel arts to complete this way, because they will finish one really quickly.
  2. Award tickets! Check out my super student approved ticket system.
  3. Musical chairs. Similar to the relay, you may want to set up 3+ pixel arts to solve. Play music and when the music stops, everyone bumps over one seat. (Good practice for learning clockwise + counterclockwise.) Play the music and students pick up on the new pixel art in front of them.

Be sure to check out my pixel art that I have created for my own middle school math students!

If you have some creative ideas for pixel art in the classroom, drop them below in a comment.

brooklynsbrightest Math, Teaching in General

How I use Color by Numbers in my Classroom

-Turn Some Questions into a Google Form! I love to take a color by number sheet and screenshot 5 questions to pop into a Google Form. I like to leave these activites for a sub, and then the next day have them pull out their paper to pop answers into a Google Form. That leads me into the next idea- 

-Sub Plans! These are perfect because the coloring take some time, so they are great for a sub. I always leave an answer key for them! 

-I make them redeemable for tickets! Depending on the level of difficulty, I will make color by number worksheets redeemable for 2-3 tickets once the front and back are complete. (Check out my ticket system here if you aren’t familiar.) 

-Early Finishers. My early finishers also like these because they know they can be redeemed for tickets! 

-Quiz or Test Review. I love to pull out a color by number before a unit test to use it as a review. I will also have students circle questions that mirror any on our upcoming assessment so they can pay attention to that problem type.

brooklynsbrightest Math

[Better Than] Spiral Bellwork

I presented at Summer Math Summit last year about my spiral bellwork- and it quickly became a bestseller on TpT. There is a reason why- I prefected this for 2 years in my own classroom before I shared anything about it. I always wanted to do a spiral review in my math classroom, but it was such a struggle. I am on 55 min, period. When I did a spiral review, it was like okay half of my class does now even know where to begib- maybe more.. and so it turned into a mini-lesson to explain that I really did not plan for. And then it all repeats tomorrow because the spiral review topic is different. (Sound familiar?)

I also want my bellwork to be meaningful. I want it to serve multiple purposes- I want students to come in my classroom and have a routine daily with how to start class. I want students to also get a review for a meaningful skill, and I want them to take the bellwork seriously and not sit there refusing to do it.. but I also do not want this to take long. 5-7 min. is ideal for me in my class period.

To make all of these things happen, I developed a plan. Monday-Thursday we review the same skill- different problems but all mirroring the same concept. Then on Friday I give a quiz over that concept using one question from each day. It’s such a great routine- it is truly beautiful. My students actually attempt the problems- they know it’s important for thie quiz on Friday- they are getting that meaningful review- they are bulding repition on a skill.. you get the idea!

You can check out my bellwork here.

You can also get a free editable template here to make your own! You can also download from the drive link as a PowerPoint which I recommend.

You can also download a free month’s worth of bellwork grades 5-Algebra here!

If you have another grade request please email me or comment below! brooklyn@brooklynsbrightest.org

brooklynsbrightest Math

Vocabulary in the Math Classroom

Math vocabulary is something I have really started to focus more on this year. (I actually hosted a webinar and if you want to catch the replay click here and I will send it to you!)

I have made two activites for my students to incorproate more math vocabulary into the classroom.

Error Analysis

I love error analysis, but I wanted to take it a step further and have some task cards with errors in the definitions, and some without errors. It really makes students pay attention because they cannot assume something is wrong! If there is an error in the definition, they have to re-write the definition. If there is no error in the definition, they state there is no error.

Bingo

I have a whole blog post here about 3 ways to use bingo in your classroom. I have created multiple vocabulary bingos to make math vocabulary fun.

Check out all my math vocabulary resources here. Have a topic request? Send me an email! brooklyn@brooklynsbrightest.org

brooklynsbrightest Building Relationships, Management, Teaching in General

Positive Interactions in a 55 min. Period

Seeing the good and teaching and intervening and spiral reviewing and reteaching and assessing and doing all the things.. in 55 minutes.. is hard.

One hurdle I have had this year is the group I am teaching. They are truly a dynamic and challenging group all around- academically, behaviorally, personality wise.. it’s a lot. (I knew them when I taught at our feeder elementary school- it’s just always been that way with this bunch.)

We have 9 weeks of school left and I am working really hard to see the good. I know it is there if I look. One simple way I have incorpated this is to pass out these ‘Today I noticed’ cards. I print a stack and have them sitting on my desk. They are short and simple and take all of 10 seconds to write.

  • Notice someone who never pulls out their bellwork and they actually did today?
  • Someone give someone a pencil so you don’t have to go hunt for your spares because your kids literally have depleted your stash this year?
  • Someone showed their math work and they like *never* do that?
  • Someone particiapted who usually does not?
  • You caught someone actually referencing an anchor chart?

One thing about middle schoolers- they don’t outgrow wanting praise. I slip this to them on the way out the door and they know that I noticed something. It’s been a simple yet effective way to not only let them hear something positive from me, but it also reminds me something good happened this period.

Grab your free template here to make your own!

brooklynsbrightest Math, Teaching in General

3 Ways to Use Bingo in Your Classroom

Everyone loves bingo- but I like to mix up how we play it.

  1. What I think of as a traditional way to play: Cut up one of the bingo cards and mix up all the pieces. Choose one from the stack to display under the document camera. Students will answer that question on their board. You can laminate their cards, put them in sheet protectors so students can use markers, or simply print them out and let students actually write on them. You can do the perimeter of the board to get a bingo, a blackout where all the pieces are filled in correctly, and your typical 4 or 5 in a row vertical, horitzonal, or diagonal.
  2. Set a timer for 10 min and have your students answer as many questions on the bingo as possible. When the timer is over, pull out cards as I mentioned in idea #1 where you would display under the doc camera. If they have answered the one you display correctly, they get to mark that one on their board.
  3. Have students swap papers with students- kinda like ‘find someone who’- and set a timer for say 15 min. or so. When students swap papers with someone they have to each answer a bingo question on their peer’s paper. When they swap back, they check other’s answers! This is great because when I do ‘find somone who’ they don’t really stress about the accuracy of the work. They mostly want to get every answer filled in, right? But for a bingo, accuracy matters!

Simple Prize Ideas for Bingo

*Sticker packs from Amazon

*Mini eraser packs from Amazon

*Pencils

*Give out tickets to winners! I have a blog post for tickets here.

brooklynsbrightest Math

Pi Day

All math teachers love Pi Day, right? But I like to keep it simple! It’s always right around spring break for me and my kids are full of energy. I want to have fun but not stress myself out. Here are some simple ways to do just that!

How do you celebrate Pi Day? Be sure to comment below and let me know!

brooklynsbrightest Math

Math in the Real World

I teach middle school math- so you know I am constantly asked ‘when will I use this’ but to be honest- I don’t blame them for asking!

I have created some graphics that can be displayed at the start, middle, or end of a math unit that explain why a topics is important and five real world examples you can share/discuss.

I have posted a few of these on Instagram and have even been asked to compile quite a few. I have a download you can grab here, but also- if there is one you would like to request simple fill out this form and I will work on that for you!

brooklynsbrightest Math

Top 5 Desmos Lessons

I am teaching Summer School & we are using Desmos to keep our lessons fun + engaging. Here are my top 5!

Land The Plane: Linear Functions

Students have to and the plane safely on the runway by manipulating equations.

Marbleslides: Linear Functions

Students try to make their marble take out all of the images by manipulating equations.

Transformations: Translations

Students explore what a translation is.

Turtle Crossing: Time Distance Graphs

Students make their own time-distance graphs & get to watch it in action.

Equation Balancing

Students solve and balance equations, as well as match equations to what they have balanced.

Be sure to check out my Instagram Reel for each lesson in action!

brooklynsbrightest Math, Teaching in General

Learning Targets Goal Setting

I use this learning targets goal setting for mid-unit assessments as well as summative assessments to group student learning needs based off specific targets. This is wonderful not only for my instruction, but also for student ownership. Students are able to reflect why they missed a particular learning target, and celebrate learning targets that were mastered. This is a great piece to present to parents to break down learning progressions and what needs to be mastered, WHY, and still celebrate what targets have been successful.

In the example above, the quick check consisted of 6 questions. Three involved one step equations with addition and subtraction, while the other three addressed one step equations with multiplying and dividing. As you can see, the student mastered the multiplication and division, known as target two. This student needs to practice the addition and subtraction, and reflected that this was due to mistakes with inverse operations.

What I love about this tool is that it’s so versatile- any subject can utilize this, and you can have multiple targets. Sometimes I have four! I try to stay between 2-5 so that it is not overwhelming and can remain concise.

I have a reel on Instagram showing how I used this for a summative assessment on rational operations.

The bottom number of each target represents the number of questions there were. For example, there were 4 questions for rational operations: integers. Students write the number they got correct for those and put as the numerator. This takes some practice, but after 2 times my students really grasp the concept and don’t need as much support filling this out. I usually write on the board questions 1-4 addressed this target, etc.

Students reflect on why they missed particular questions as we work through them. I allow them to glue these in their notebooks, and they can be pulled out for conferences. You can also file these in a folder. Then I conduct small groups based on who needs to still master what target. P.S. YOU decide what mastery is- 4/4 or 3/4, etc.

Grab your free template here.

Nov. 2022 Update: I have now started a product line of quick checks for formative assessments that have a pre-made goal setting template to match! You can check those out here.

Have a topic request? Fill out this form.