STILL HERE!

My goodness! It has been a while since our last update. To be honest, it has been really crazy AND we haven't had a full week of school since winter break! After winter break, we had bonus break where we missed 3 days. Since then we have either had a snow day or a delayed opening every week. Needless to say, we have had some trouble getting back into the routine.  

However, lots of great things have been happening. Our kiddos are continuing to impress us with their efforts. We have amazing kids that work so hard! We moved right through our Proportions/Consumer Applications Unit during all the snow days. I'll share more instructional highlights next week.  If you aren't following us on Instagram, you really should! We update daily there. Come follow us @mathinmotionalc

On a professional level, there have been some exciting developments. We recently found out that our proposal was accepted and we will be presenting at VCTM conference in March. So, if you're planning on attending the two-day conference at Radford University stop in and see us! We will also be presenting at a local STEM Summitt later this month. If you are local (Stafford/Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania area) then you should consider stopping by on February 24th at Fredericksburg Academy. We will be highlighting active learning strategies!

Lastly, we had hoped to open our TPT store in January. Honestly, there just hasn't been a spare moment so we've decided to push the opening to summer. We are both disappointed but excited to have some more time to build our resources. Thank you for your continued support!

Oh, did we mention that you should follow us on Instagram?! Yeah? Pop on over there now and check out our cool Connect Four game! @mathinmotionalc

Weeks 15 & 16 - Holiday Festivities

We made it! Winter Break is finally here! Rejoice! 

Let's rewind the week...
Our 7th graders worked on gingerbread house themed activities in preparation for building actual gingerbread houses today. We spent a lot of time using drill and repetition with equations and inequalities. We also incorporated a lot of movement and hands-on activities to reinforce the solving process. Our favorite activity (aside from actually building the houses) involved the kiddos rotating through stations where they solved a problem and were given a part of the gingerbread house to decorate and attach to the house. 






Then we surprised them today with building real gingerbread houses. Take a look at the creativity!!






We've talked a lot about the ease in which we can do stations in our new active learning center. The tables, the chairs, and the verb boards have become vital teaching tools... after having this classroom for only 3 months, we already can't remember how we ever taught without them. Steelcase's grant is currently open. We strongly encourage you to apply. Never, ever did we think we would win and here we are! It has transformed our teaching and the student's learning and engagement. Click the link and apply, you've got nothing to lose! 

Week 10 - Active Learning Symposium in Michigan

There's so much to say, we don't even know where to begin! We were greeted with gifts and personalized notes in our hotel rooms. We felt so welcome from the moment we stepped off the plane.


We spent the morning catching up on some much-needed sleep before heading over to Steelcase University for dinner and keynote speaker, Jeff Selingo. Jeff's message was so eye-opening.We spent the evening talking about all the questions that his speech raised within us regarding education. 

Steelcase was also nice enough to provide us all with Jeff's new book, There is Life after High School,  which he personalized to each of us.


We spent Friday touring both of Steelcase's campus buildings, networking, sharing ideas and hearing inspirational stories from grant winners. 

Julie enjoying some private time

The walkway down to the cafeteria. 

Our only regret is that the symposium was only a day and a half. We could have easily spent 3 days! The symposium was unlike any other professional conference we have ever attended. We were given the top treatment! We all felt like mini-celebrities. We are so grateful for the Steelcase team and for all the grant winners we were able to connect with. 

Dr. Julie Marshall, so inspiring!

Graphic note taking

We spent two days feeling so excited and inspired. We can't wait to go back next year!

Week 7 - Steelcase in the House!

The past two weeks have been super busy. We have been hosting guests in our classroom each Thursday. Last week, I forgot to mention, that we had the superintendent visit us! This week Steelcase and Creative came for an observation. It went so well! We had such a great time chatting with Kevin after the observation. Our kiddos were super and showed off all of their skills!


The 8th graders did a fun activity with lock-boxes... our take on a mini break out room activity. The students solved inequalities in order to figure out the combinations to the locks. The last box that they opened revealed a special treat. We did this activity as part of stations so it was timed. The students really got into it and definitely felt the pressure of having a timer. We will definitely be incorporating more of these activities into our lessons. The students rotated through 3 stations during the class period.



The 7th graders got into the Halloween spirit by building "Frank" (Frankenstein). We found this activity on Lindsay Perro's TPT site. The students evaluated expressions to determine how to assemble Frank. One student didn't even want to go to lunch because he was having such a good time with the activity. We set it up as centers. The students enjoyed moving from center to center to complete the task and add a "body part" to Frank. We will definitely work on developing some of our own activities that follow the same type of set up.

Week 3 - Tables on the Move, Kids on the Move

Our 7th graders continued working on absolute value and perfect squares during the first half of the week. Having the large tables made it easy for the students to spread out their game pieces for a memory game. There’s also plenty of room on each side of the table for two students to sit comfortably.

Students playing Memory

By midweek we introduced integers. The students participated in a blended learning lesson on adding integers. Students were then asked to create their own videos showing how to model adding integers with color chips and numbers lines. Having the verb boards be able to snap into the table provided each group (partner) with the ability to create their own white board where they could stand and model/teach the lesson to be recorded. They did an excellent job with using math appropriate vocabulary (zero pairs). The students enjoyed being the “teacher” and were super creative with their video/lessons.

Using the verb boards to record videos

Using ipads and verb boards to record videos

Our 8th graders spent the week ordering rational numbers. We were able to use the verb boards for individual and group practice. The week ended with the students rearranging the classroom for a game of Around the World with twist. The tables were arranged in a horseshoe manner with all of the chairs pushed to the sides of the room. Students were able to stand at the tables, complete their problem, and then easily move to the next spot. The competition style activity had everyone engaged and up on their feet moving around every few minutes.

Verb boards and ordering rational numbers

Horseshoe arrangement for a game with lots of movement

Week 2 - We're Just Getting Started

We spent the first part of the week establishing classroom guidelines and coming up with the various table arrangements we would be using this year. The students practiced moving the tables to the different layouts. We discussed the benefits of having different classroom layouts.

Students participating in a real number sort.

Hot Seat on the floor with tables pushed to the sides.

By midweek we started our first units. The 8th graders spent the rest of the week working with the real number system. They worked on sorting numbers into the correct subsets. We ended the week playing a super fun game called Hot Seat, where students race to identify real numbers.  Having the ability to roll the tables and chairs out the way made it so much easier to play the game on the floor. The competition was fierce. Everyone was engaged!

Students ready to play Hot Seat.

The 7th graders spent the remainder of the week investigating perfect squares and absolute value.

We both noticed that students seem to be much more productive in the new space. Having the ability to swivel in the chairs is a huge bonus for students with attention/focus issues.

7th graders using Cheez-It's to investigate perfect squares.

Week 1 - Welcome Back!

Our first week back to school was very exciting even though we were not in our new Active Learning Classroom yet. As part of the grant from Steelcase, the students had to participate in a survey before seeing the new classroom. We also took this time to get to know one another and build positive relationships. By the end of the week, we completed the survey and introduced the students to the various new types of furniture located in the room. Students participated in mini-lessons on each type of chair and established class expectations for sitting in the new, exciting chairs. The week ended with the unveiling of the classroom to the students. It was so exciting! The students were impressed with all of the new features from the connected floor and carpet, to the rolling tables and campfire area and even the new paint and lights!

"Campfire" Area with buoys (blue stools), a couch and a cool table the students can write on!

Two types of adjustable, swivel chairs.

Snapshot of our shorter tables.