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Math by the Mountain

Teaching secondary mathematics in the Pacific Northwest

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Email: mathbythemountain@gmail.com

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Need an easy classroom decoration? Students were very excited to see our makeshift Christmas tree made out of lights turn into a heart to start celebrating Valentine’s Day. There’s this notecard with my name on it that someone pinned to the back wall eons ago. My name has now been the top of the tree and the center of the heart, which is sweet of the students who made it. I told my TA to start planning her 4-leaf clover skills for March! “Oh, boy, gotta start planning” was the response 😂🍀 #iteachmath #iteachgebra #mtbos #mathteacher #mathteachersofinstagram #mathteachertribe #iteach678 #iteachhighschool #highschoolmathteacher #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers
Finding ways to practice writing and solving equations is HARD and can get very repetitive, but what an important skill! This is a great resource to use during a unit on solving equations OR (top secret pro-tip) use it prior to solving systems, particularly by the substitution method, to get students in the right mindset. It’s also perfect for end of course review and getting ready for state tests, since it requires students to think at a deeper level. ✳️⚠️✳️ Comment if you see my silly mistake on the top half of the first page 🤦🏻‍♀️ ✳️⚠️✳️ #iteachmath #iteachgebra #mtbos #mathteacher #mathteachersofinstagram #mathteachertribe #iteach678 #iteachhighschool #highschoolmathteacher #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers
When solving equations with variables on both sides, I always have my students move/cancel out the smallest variable that way they always end up dividing by a positive number in the end. To help them remember which one to move, I ask them to think about them and their sibling wanting to watch tv. The younger sibling was already there, laying on the couch and watching their show when the older sibling arrived. I ask them, who’s going to get to get their way and get the couch? Most of them say instantly that the younger sibling will get booted so the older sibling can now lay down and watch what they want. A few students over the years have added that their younger sibling will always get what they want in their household and if they would try to boot them off the couch they’d get in a lot of trouble 😂 Almost always, though, most say the younger sibling has gotta go. I use this as a launching pad for solving equations. If ones got to move, who’s the one that’s going to have to go? The younger sibling (or the smaller variable). ❓What do you tell your students? Link in bio to this resource! #iteachmath #iteachgebra #mtbos #mathteacher #mathteachersofinstagram #mathteachertribe #iteach678 #iteachhighschool #highschoolmathteacher #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers
Solving multi-step equations is at the very core of all that we do in Algebra 1, so it’s essential that students really get a good understanding of what’s going on and how it relates to what they already know how to do. Learning how to verify solutions and what the check is actually doing is also critical. The link for this set of notes is in my bio! ❓How do you have your students show their work? Do you explicitly teach that skill, or just model? Preferences? #iteachmath #iteachgebra #mtbos #mathteacher #mathteachersofinstagram #mathteachertribe #iteach678 #iteachhighschool #highschoolmathteacher #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers
Students get so excited to write on their desks. Have you tried it?! We played a game of risk on Wednesday in precalc and students begged me yesterday if they could play again. It’s a super easy game to play (virtually zero teacher prep) but has crazy high engagement from students. Here’s how you play: 0️⃣ teacher comes prepared with review problems (pick them from a Kuta worksheet, a section from your textbook’s homework exercises, task cards, wherever) 1️⃣ all students start with 50 points (I have them write on their desks with expo markers, but you could easily use whiteboards or plain old regular paper and pencil) 2️⃣ teacher picks a problem for the class to do. Before students can try to solve it, they must write how many points they are willing to risk on their answer. They must risk one, but cannot risk all points. If they feel confident, risk a lot, of they don’t feel confident, risk a few. This is a game of knowing their own skills. Once they write their risk, they can begin solving! 3️⃣ teacher sets a timer for the problem (optional). During this time, the teacher quickly solves it themselves then circulated the room with the remaining time. At the end of the timer the solution is revealed. If a student is right, they increase their score by their risk. If they’re wrong, they decrease their score by their risk. Use this as an opportunity to discuss questions your students may have. 4️⃣ Repeat with different problems. If a student gets down to only 1 point, roll a dice. The number you roll is how many points they get for free to get back into the game. 5️⃣ Keep playing until students have racked up quite a few points. Then, it’s time to add more rules! Start by adding that rolling a 6 means instant death for everyone’s score and the whole class starts back over at 50 points. Add that rolling a 5 means something good, like bonus time for the next round. Let the class help pick the remaining 4 dice roll outcomes, half good, half bad. 6️⃣ keep playing as time allows. When students need a “redemption roll” because they’re out of points, the stakes are MUCH higher now. What are they willing to risk?! 7️⃣ winner gets a piece of candy!
We’re comparing methods of solving systems of equations today in Algebra 1! This is part of my systems flowchart bundle! There’s 4 examples that are great practice and better conversation starters to launch the discussion about which method is best for which types of problems. The link the this specific method comparison flowchart is in my bio! #iteachmath #iteachgebra #mtbos #mathteacher #mathteachersofinstagram #mathteachertribe #iteach678 #iteachhighschool #highschoolmathteacher #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers

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