Tuesday, February 24, 2015

16 Secondary Mathletes You NEED to be Following!

Ever notice that the internet is flooded with elementary math ideas, but that finding quality secondary materials is virtually impossible.... LOOK NO FURTHER! I'd love to introduce you to the

Secondary Mathletes! mathlete image 9

livelovemath

Live.Love.Math - Danielle Krantz
Grades 5 - 9
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
lindsay perro
Lindsay Perro
Grades 6 - 9
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
button
MissMathDork - Jamie Riggs
Grades 4 - Algebra I
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
Nautical Blog Button
Lessons With Coffee - Jameson Ivey
Grades 5 - 8
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
4mulaFun_Logo
4mulaFun - Jennifer Smith-Sloane
Grades 4 - 9
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
gina
All Things Algebra - Gina Wilson
Grades 6 - 11
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
secondary math workshop
Secondary Math Shop
Grades 8 - 12
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
to the square inch
To the Square Inch - Kate Bing Coners
Grades 4 - 9
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
teaching math by hart
Teaching Math By Hart - Kim Hartikainen
Grades 5 - 8
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
teaching high school math
Teaching High School Math - Jennifer Lamb
Grades 6 - 12
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook  
hodges  
Hodges Herald - Elizabeth Hodges
Grades 5 - 8
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
21st century
21st Century Math Projects - Clint Clark
Grades 6 - 12
TpT Store
Blog
scaffolded science and math
Scaffolded Math and Science - Shana Donohue
Grades 8 - 11
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
for the love of teaching math
For the Love of Teaching Math - Andrea Kerr
Grades 6 - 12
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
rundes room
Runde's Room - Jennifer Runde
TpT Store
Blog
Facebook
math station central
Math Stations Central - Adrienne Meldrum
TpT Store  
While you are out looking at some new Mathletes in your grade level (and hopefully adding some great things to your wishlist), what are you looking for in resources? How can we help your further your teaching at the secondary level? We'd love to here from you HERE!


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Deep in the Heart of Texas Blog Hop


Welcome to the "Deep in the Heart of Texas" blog hop!  Over 40 Texas teacher bloggers have joined together to share what we love about our state as well as ideas and freebies that we love.  You will also have the opportunity to enter to win TpT products and/or TpT gift certificates by entering using the rafflecopters included in each post.  Down at the bottom, you will see all of the blogs participating in the hop.  Just click and you will be taken to their posts.  We hope you love what you find.  Happy Valentine's Day!

I am from originally from Sugar Land, TX, but now we call Rosenberg, TX home. It is about 30 miles from downtown Houston, but we have just about everything we need right in our own backyard! From shopping to restaurants--we almost never leave! My husband wishes we would move to San Diego where he is originally from and I will admit that the weather is wonderful. However, I just couldn't imagine my life not in Texas!

It feels like a small town in my neighborhood, but we really are suburbanites that can get to Houston for anything else we need. The schools are great, people are super friendly, and the weather (except for the heat of the summer) is amazing! I absolutely hate the humidity, but I think it is a trade-off to not have to shovel snow like we did when I was a little kid living in NJ. Then again...we would have snow days..

There's also something about Texas in general that you just can't put your finger on. It's got city life, country charm, and a whole lot more. I think you could live your whole life here and not see it all!

A lesson that I love deals with teaching volume of pyramids and prisms and having students discover the relationship between the two. You can read more about that here! In fact, it was almost a year ago that I blogged about it and it is such a great activity.

I LOVE writing in math class. I try to do it a few times each unit but, truth be told, I wish I had time everyday. Here is a sample of 10 writing prompts for the middle school classroom. It is part of a larger product, but this sample is enough to get you started!



It's always fun to win something, right? You can enter to win one of 8 $10 TPT gift certificates or a fantastic resource prize pack! My 6th Grade End of Year Activities is included in the 4-8 Pack so be sure to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Click on the buttons below to visit some other awesome Texas bloggers!

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Sunday Scoop!


I have been trying to make a little more time for blogging lately and these easy link-ups are perfect! I am linking up with Teaching Trio for the Sunday Scoop!


Sometimes 4-day weeks are the slowest and busiest, am I right??

My husband had a total knee replacement (no, he's not 80!) almost two weeks ago and my weeks now consist of running home right after work to pick him up and take him to physical therapy. It's amazing to see the progress that he has made in such a short amount of time! Tomorrow is his follow-up appointment and we see if he is ready to go back to work. I hope so!

I am just getting back from my sister's bachelorette party this weekend in Austin and in less than 3 weeks her bridal shower is at my house. I haven't been focused on that since I have been planning the bachelorette weekend, but now I can focus on that. 6 weeks until the wedding!

And, lastly, I am so excited to have tomorrow off! Nuff said. How does your week look??

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Secondary Smorgasbord Link-Up: Out of the Deep Freeze!

I sure would like things to thaw out around here...we haven't seen the sun in what seems like weeks! Cold and rainy around these here parts! This seems like the perfect time to join in with a bunch of secondary bloggers and take our best products out of the deep freeze!

This link-up is hosted by the ELA Buffet and Desktop Learning Adventures.

I don't know about you, but when we come back from Winter Break, the focus is on test prep. And, since I am from Texas, it is all about the STAAR test! I have worked tirelessly to make sure that the task cards I made last year have been updated to reflect the new TEKS and I have even started using them in my classroom as warm-ups and exit tickets to spiral in some content that was taught first semester to ensure that my students don't see questions like this for the first time on the actual test. 



Right now, I have completed sets for 6th and 7th grade and half of the sets for 5th grade completed. For 6th grade, I need to finish the TEKS for Personal Financial Literacy, and that will be done within the next few weeks.

This is such a great resource because each set has 4 task cards per standard. That means your students will get exposure to STAAR-type questions multiple times whereas on a released test you might see one or two if you are lucky! The other bonus is that there are VERY few materials to help prepare for STAAR math this year since the TEKS are brand spanking new.

This was one of my best selling products last year and many teachers saw great results. If you own these, remember to go back to TPT and re-download so that you get the newest version. 

Don't have them? Click the images above to be taken directly to the listing or click here to view all of my STAAR resources. Be sure to check out what other secondary teachers are taking out of the deep freeze!



Thursday, January 1, 2015

Currently January 2015!

Oh my goodness. I used to LOVE waking up on January 1. Literally. Not because of all that clean slate nonsense that everyone gets all crazy about. I mean, that is great, too. But, the reason why I literally used to jump out of bed on the morning of January 1 and run all over the house is because it would begin the countdown until my birthday which is on May 1.

No joke. Every year I would tell anyone and everyone who would listen that "it was now 4 months until my birthday and you better start planning whatever it is you are planning for me because you only have FOUR MONTHS to plan and if you wait a month you will then only have THREE MONTHS and are you even listening to me?!?!"

Well.

Today is different.

Today marks the start of the 4 month countdown to my 30th birthday. I am in mourning.

BUT! January 1 also means time to link up with Farley for her monthly link-up! I have been a terrible blogger lately because there is so much going on that I just haven't had a second to think about blogging. I hope to get back into it because I really love having a place to document what is going on in my classroom and my life at home.

Ok, without further ado:



I am listening to THE BEST station on Pandora if you love 80s music. Right this second, I am listening to Kenny Loggins' "Playing with the Boys" and I am jamming out right along with him. It is so good.

I am LOVING that for some reason this winter break seems to be going slower than usual. This is the first time in 4 years that we have been home the entire time and it is a wonderful feeling! I should probably find some wood to knock on now.

I have been working on revising my STAAR Task Cards for way longer than I would care to admit. It takes so long to look at each standard and make sure that the way that the question is being ask aligns and blah, blah, blah. I am about 2 hours away from posting the 7th grade revision on TPT and I am pumped!

I want chinese food in the worst way. My husband hates chinese food. Like with a passion. I daydream about a surprise romantic date at Panda Garden but it hasn't happened. Maybe that should be my "I wish" at the bottom?

I need our insurance company to get the heck together. My husband has a knee replacement scheduled for Tuesday. As in 5 days from now. We are both employed in the same school district and we changed insurance companies as of today. Or so we thought. Turns out we have a big 'ole gap in coverage because our district scheduled the new coverage to start on the 3rd. I mean, have you ever heard of anything so stupid?? Regardless, the new insurance company won't authorize the surgery until we are "customers" and that won't be official until the first business day after we are customers. Which turns out to be next Monday. A whopping 24 hours before said scheduled surgery. We are ridiculously stressed out. My sister's wedding is in 8 weeks and we are both in the wedding--no walkers or canes allowed! And, being that we are both teachers, you KNOW how much planning went into my 3 days of sub plans (teaching two different grade levels) and his 2 WEEKS of sub plans for his 8th graders. Just UGH. Here's hoping that everything proceeds as scheduled!

And, I think the last three things are pretty self explanatory. The last one will be difficult since we don't play the lottery...haha! Be sure to click the link below to see everyone else who has linked up!

Oh' Boy 4th Grade

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

My Favorite Moments of 2014!

I always say I am going to do some sort of recap at the end of the year and I never do. So, here goes! Some of my favorite moments of 2014 in no particular order!

My sister got married at the tail end of 2013 and is getting married in just 2 months! I cannot wait to stand next to her when she says "I do!"


This was one of my favorite days of teaching last year when I actually remembered to snap a pic! This girl was so into what she was doing she had to take her glasses off to concentrate ;)

The first of many moving pictures. We decided just one week before state testing to put our house on the market which meant we needed to declutter and start packing!


One of the days that our sweet pup, Banjo, was at day camp there was a party! He came home with party favors and pictures. I cannot stop loving this picture!

They were getting ready to pour the slab...things were getting real!

My love took me to the Melting Pot for my birthday! It is the only time of year that we go since he isn't the biggest fan. But, the birthday girl always gets to choose!

My best friend and I took our mommas out to Pinot's Palette to celebrate my birthday and  Mother's Day. We had a blast! And, no. I do not have a bald spot...not sure what that is!

We took Banjo to see the house and he fell in love with the lake across the street!

How cute are these hardhats!?

The highlight of my summer was meeting TPT Amy at the conference! Swoon!

My sister and I at a math conference in Fort Worth.

We hosted our first Thanksgiving in our brand new house. It was a success!

We just celebrated at my sister's first wedding shower last weekend. I am not sure why I don't have a picture with her, but my BFF and I look great so I had to post something :)

See you in 2015!