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1/26/2016 3 Comments

Team Building in Middle School - A Complete, FREE Integrated Lesson Plan

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Team Building in Middle School
We all know that team building is essential for middle school students (if you don't know this, jump to the "Why" section first!), but it can be hard to really implement well.

The team building activities that are thrown in here and there are often just fillers, or supposed to act as a get-to-know-you exercise.  The students instantly recognize these as "lame" and often do not even enjoy them, because they are either forced out of their comfort zone, or feel that the process is pointless.

To make a truly valuable team building experience, put together an activity that is:
  • well-planned (or even scripted)
  • hands-on
  • integrated throughout their classes
  • reflective
  • reinforced over time
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Doing this effectively is going to be really easy, because we have done all the work for you!  The "Spiral Studies" team is a group of 4 teachers from different subject areas working together to integrate curriculum seamlessly (Read more about the team below).

We think that one of the most important tips is to keep a focus on why you are incorporating a team building day or lesson into your curriculum.  The goals listed here are what we feel are most important in each individual subject during a team building lesson.

WHY

The goal of any community-building activity in the middle grades should be more than just getting to know one another.  In fact, it should even go beyond trusting and respecting one another.  Trust and teamwork is obviously important, but there is so much more that you can do with this type of activity. 

Make your team-building exercise a learning experience that sets expectations for all cooperative learning for the rest of the year!


Our team decided to target an essential question across the 4 major subject areas: 
"What does a team player look like in______ class?"

We incorporated the most important skills that we want kids to have within each specific classroom.  Collaboration in math class has a different look than collaboration in English class, and we wanted our team building day to reflect that. 

As a math teacher, I want my students to know how to describe and discuss a problem solving approach.  I want them to be able to reach out to another group when they get stuck.  I want them to be able to explain their own strategies and try to understand a classmate's strategy.  I want them to keep going when a problem seems impossible.  I don't want them to give up when they get stuck.

A Science teacher wants different results.  In a lab, it is important for each team member to know their own lab role.  We broke it all down and came up with the following "WHY" goals for the reason behind a solid team building day in each class:
Spiral Studies - Team Building
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HOW

It is amazing to be able to meet all these goals in just one class period for each subject area!  Here are some key tips for how we make it happen:
  • Plan really carefully.  I wanted my students to first try a puzzle, then feel like it is impossible, then get stuck.  Then I wanted to pause and have them communicate what was happening.  Next, I wanted to subtly hint that they could try reaching out to another group, without giving it all away!  To do this, I carefully scripted my lesson, and even made "hint cards" so I could use just the right wording at just the right time for each different group as they worked.  It turns out that the puzzle seems impossible until they realize that it requires TWO team's sets of cards to complete it!  They have to ultimately reach out and work together.
  • Make it hands-on.  The math activity has cards, The science one has water and is all about sinking and floating.  The ELA one requires students to gather pieces of the story from different people.  The Social Studies one has them making crazy little pictures.  The kids have to be engaged!
Team Building Puzzle Activity for Math Class
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  • Require reflection.  The effects of the lessons they learned will only stick if they really take time to reflect on the experience.  We decided to include worksheets that ask students to notice how things went, how leaders came out, what they felt before and after a cooperation breakthrough, etc.  This way, they can stop at the end of each activity and pull all their thoughts together before moving on.
  • Integrate!  We really feel that it's important for students to see these important values threaded through each subject area and mirrored by each teacher.  They can see how a team player looks in each classroom.  Plus, they see that even their teachers worked together as a team to put this lesson into action for them!
  • Reinforce.  We bring it all together at the end of the day and have students create a little bookmark that they can then use as a punch card.  Throughout the next weeks, any time one of the teachers sees the team behaviors coming through, the students can earn a punch in their cards.
Team Player in Each Class - Free Middle School Lessons

Here's the Best Part!

We created the full lessons for each subject area, including student printables and lesson plans.  Each has one version of the bookmark, which requires students with different versions to work together to fill in the blanks!  The entire integrated project has been built for your teaching team to try!

And it's all completely FREE!  Click the images to download all four lessons.

Meet the Team

Click the links to visit the blogs and learn more about the "Spiral Studies" team:
We hope that your students love these lessons, and that they help you teach the guidelines for collaboration that will work well in your classroom.

This set of activities is great for the first day of school, and also works really well on those weird last days before a break.  You can really insert this in anywhere you want throughout the school year.

Please let us know what you think!
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1/21/2016 12 Comments

Relevant Math Articles to Share with Teens

Relevant Math Articles to Share with Teens
I am always looking for extra little assignments that do not quite fit into the curriculum or require background knowledge.

When I find cool articles or resources that will interest teens, I keep them on file (or usually just paste the links onto those little computerized desktop sticky notes on my laptop) to save, and they always come in handy!

These are great for your emergency sub kit as printed articles, but also, now that kids are connected to their devices all the time, you can just put the link on your class web page.  Kids can access these as snow day assignments.

For those of you who offer quarterly projects or extra credit, this might work well for that too!
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I also find that sometimes students (or math clubs) are interested in this type of thing just for fun! 

There are just so many uses for a good article that feels relevant to teens.  Just have them read and summarize for a quick no-prep assignment.

Choose a few that are appropriate for your students - I've included a few notes about what level each article is, so you do not have to browse through every one.

The Math Equations that Determine the Fate of Refugees

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The equations in this one will definitely overwhelm most middle schoolers.  This is best for a high school level challenge, and can be awesome for connecting to current events.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/formula-european-union-refugee-crisis/404503/

Gaussian Curves - Applications in Pizza, Corrugated Metal, Grass, Eggs, & More

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This one is awesome for any level.  There are math applications you can discuss at a higher level (hyperbolas, etc.) but everything is written in junior-high friendly language.  Perfect for any math class beyond 5th grade!

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/

Winning Strategy for "Rock, Paper, Scissors" (video)

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This one is fun for 6th-8th grade.  It's just a quick video, but you can make some quick stats connections and fit it into a short class day or the end of a period.  The video is a little under 6 minutes.

http://digg.com/video/mathematic-strategies-that-will-help-you-win-at-rock-paper-scissors

Why Roller Coaster Loops are not Perfect Circles

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This article is long and for older students, but is packed with information and amazing diagrams.  It really gets into the math and physics!

Reserve this for 11th or 12th grade students who are up for a challenge.  This is ideal for an end-of-the-quarter project.  Students can take time to really read it and try to understand at least part of the math and science concepts involved. 

Have them summarize the basic principles that the article covers.

http://www.datagenetics.com/blog/march42014/index.html

Why You Are Not "Bad at Math"

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I love this article for developing growth mindset in middle school.  (And it can't hurt high school kids to see these facts, either!) 

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/the-myth-of-im-bad-at-math/280914/
For more about growth mindset, head back to this post.

The Math Principles Behind Juggling

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The math in this article is perfect for Algebra 1.  It's a great one for around 8th to 10th grade.  It's not too long, but you can spend time looking at each of the 6 variables and the basic algebra equation that is shown.  A little video is also included on the page.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/20130509-model-behavior-the-mathematics-of-juggling/

The Story of Yitang Zhang & His Work on an "Unsolvable" Math Problem

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This article is an incredible start to so many great discussions.  I love this one for persistence, the beauty of true mathematics, history of math, and so much more!

The biography part is long, but well suited for 8th grade and beyond (and maybe even some 7th graders).  It's ideal for students investigating primes and the Sieve of Eratosthenes.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/02/pursuit-beauty

Why Are Raindrops Mathematically Impossible? (video)

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The video is super short, but a fun one for Algebra 2 / Pre-Calc students.

This one is best used as a quick add-on, unless you want students to do further research or watch it again while pausing frequently (it flies by!)

http://digg.com/video/why-raindrops-are-mathematically-impossible

We are Born with Math & Number Instincts

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As a nice, simple article, this is great for 5th to 7th graders.  It shares research about babies' reaction to different numbers of dots and what it means about our "number crunching" brains.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/02/we-are-instant-number-crunchers/

The Math Behind Computer Color Glitches (video)

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This 4-minute video shows how Algebra concepts (roots, powers, etc.) fit into the way colors blend on a computer screen.  If the math is not done correctly, there is a common problem with the lines between colors!  The video goes into the specifics of the math.  This one is awesome for high school students, and so relevant!

http://digg.com/video/why-computer-color-is-broken

Card Shuffling Strategies

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Persi Diaconis has been analyzing card shuffling, and now is attacking the toddler method: "smooshing" the cards all across the table! 

The article is long, but can be used pretty broadly across grade levels.  It's an interesting look into one mathematician and his very specific studies in randomizing.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150414-for-persi-diaconis-next-magic-trick/

Pascal's Triangle - The Beauty & Secrets of Mathematics (video)

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This video is so well done.  It goes into binomial coefficients, which is beyond many middle schoolers, but is still a good one to show them.  There is still plenty that they can understand that you can focus on.  I love how this shows all the amazing mysteries of Pascal's Triangle.  It will get students of any age interested and engaged with the math.

http://digg.com/video/pascals-triangle-explained-video

A Playable Polygon "Parable"

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This last one is absolutely fascinating to try, and does have math applications.  It is a great discussion starter for teenagers.  The click-and-drag interactive article shows the effects of diversity in society using little triangles and squares.  Very interesting!

http://ncase.me/polygons/

I hope your students enjoy these!  I have so much fun collecting links like this, and am always looking for more.  Feel free to share additional articles that you have found in the comments, so we can keep our collection growing!

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1/10/2016 0 Comments

How to Play "Conquest" in Math Class

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Hi... Just a quick post today because I know some of you have been waiting for it.  I have put together the much-requested video to show how to play Conquest. 

This should make it easier for your class to get set up and started, just show the video and then they can play! 

If you did not already download your free Conquest game, enter your email in the sidebar to get the file.  Have fun!
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Playing
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To continue as an ongoing game, get more card sets here.

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