The Amazing Race

With Spring Break so close we knew we wanted to do something super fun and engaging this week. We teamed up with a science teacher to create an Amazing Race style activity. Let us say up front that this took A LOT of planning and prep but it was totally worth it. So, let's break it down step by step...

Our recording sheet. 

1. We knew we would need extra help with supervision since the students would be "racing" throughout the school building. We sent out emails to all of our parents asking for volunteers to come in and monitor each station/location (about 2 weeks prior to the activity).
2. With the science teacher, we discussed our students and how we should group them. Together we decided that it would be best to have two different paths in order to incorporate more challenging questions.We colored coded the paths. 
3. We decided on the various locations around the school that the students would need to visit. Then we created the clues for each location. 
4. The questions were actually the easy part! We made the questions and laminated them. 
5. We really wanted to make sure that each group (4 students) had a unique path throughout the school. This was challenging... we came up with 12 different paths throughout the school. 
6. Then the real organization came with setting up the clues. This where our parent volunteers were a tremendous help! We numbered each clue and put it into an envelope. Then sorted the clues based on locations, using bins/tubs. 

7. We created u-turns (if they didn't get the question right the first time then they had to go back and try again) and roadblocks (if they didn't answer correctly on the second try then they had a 30 second time penalty). 

8. Our parent volunteers set up at each station to check student work, monitor, and pass out the next clue. 

On the first day of the activity, we combined classes (about 48 kids) and went over expectations and directions. Then each group came up with their individual team names and created name tags. We had the students wear the name tags while racing so that other teachers in the school would know why they were in the hallway without passes (we are a hall pass school).

On race day, we met in the foyer of our school to give out the first clue... and the race was on! It was so much fun and the perfect activity for the week before break. We were so impressed with our students! We will definitely plan another activity like this in the future. 

February & March Wrap Up

Function review station

Two more crazy months! Our days were full of everything but snow 😒. We managed to have a day off for wind though! Melissa and I attended several conferences and STEM events in VA where we discussed active learning strategies with great success. In the classroom, we have had a lot of great activities going on. We've covered topics from functions to transformations. We even squeezed in a little coding.

Coding made easy and accessible for all. 

We are approaching 8 months in our new classroom. We still feel as excited and motivated by it as we did in September. As we've had the opportunity to meet and train other teachers, we are continually impressed by how teachers are trying to incorporate active learning strategies into their "traditional" classrooms. Also, after being 8 months in, we have really been able to streamline our planning process. We have both said numerous times this year that we can't imagine having to go back to teaching in a traditional classroom. In fact, the furniture and space have had such an impact on our students and their learning that we would like to incorporate even more flexible seating next year. We are excited to be meeting with Steelcase next week to discuss the results of our pre/post assessments. 

We are planning to return to our normal posting schedule in April. As we move into SOL testing season, our hope is to incorporate even more hands-on, active lessons. 

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! 

Weeks 12 & 13

Long time, no see! Week 12 was a short week for us due to fall break. We hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving with family and friends!

On to Week 13... Oh my goodness! This week has been so hectic. Not only did we have to plan and prep for stations for our kiddos, record videos for our blended lessons but we also hosted a visiting county in our classroom on Wednesday AND prepped and led three different sets of PD trainings for our staff on Thursday and Friday. Whew!! But, it was all SOOOOOOO worth it. The PD trainings went so well. Melissa and I lead three one-hour sessions on active learning strategies and we made sure to make the content relevant to our audience.  We trained the science, English and history departments (we trained the Math department a few weeks ago). Making three content specific trainings was a lot of work but we got it done and it totally paid off. Teachers were engaged and excited! We left the trainings feeling positive and hopeful that teachers would step out of their comfort zones and implement some of the strategies we shared. 

Next week we will the blog will return to student focused activities. Hopefully (fingers crossed) we will have a surprise to share with you towards the end of December!

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.