Miscellaneous Posters

While I am pondering my next blog post, I decide to show/offer some of the posters I have created over the years for my classroom.  As I come across/make more, I will post them too!

All About Relationships 

Angle (Anatomy)

Reduce Test Anxiety

Classroom Expectations

Lack of Planning

Log Form to Exponent Form 

Math Analogy

Olay CC Cream

CC Cream is made from swirling AA Cream and BB Cream together.  This is one of my originals!  I started laughing when I saw the commercial, then hit rewind and starting sketching my idea!

Polygons

Rationalizing the Denominator

Studying for Math Test (2 pages)
I have found that many students want to blame "test anxiety" for their poor grades, when in actuality it's the lack of proper preparation and studying.

Using a Formula
I use this one very often in all my classes.  Students tend to either not write the formula or they will try to combine steps 2 and 3, often making mistakes as a result.  Step 3 has a + because it may take more than one step to completely simplify a problem (order of operations).

Standards for Mathematical Practices Bulletin Board

Everyone had his/her own version of a Standards for Mathematical Practices bulletin board/display. Sarah at EverybodyIsAGenius posted her kid-friendly version of the MPs.  I took her idea and made it into a bulletin board.

A month or so back, I made 5 multi-colored owls on my Cameo and wanted to use them in some way to decorate my room.  I modeled them after an owl border I bought at Dollar Tree.  Sunday, I made 3 more and decided they would go on a MP bulletin board.

I used Sarah's version, chose a cute font (HelloQueenie) and printed them out on colored scrapbook paper that matched the bellies of my owls. I decided to use the purple background owl duct tape as my border.

While at school on Sunday, I completed one bulletin board and started three more.  I have been waiting for our laminating film to come in to laminate all my decorations, but it's not looking like we will have if before our first week back.  So, I went ahead and started on my boards.

Once I get my room ideas done, I can get back on the reorganization/planning of my classes.  After attending a Common Core training last week, I need to get busy before I forget what I learned.  Watch for a post on my progress...

Here's the bulletin board...

Trip to Target Dollar Deals Section & Dollar Tree

Today, my daughter and I went to Target.  Of course, I couldn't resist stopping by the Dollar Deals Section!  Here's what I found...

* red and yellow dry erase pockets for $1
* turquoise and yellow pocket charts
* yellow bulletin board border storage/pocket chart

Here is a close-up of the bulletin board border storage/pocket chart.  (Border not included)












This is what it looks like closed with its velcro straps.













A few days ago, I stopped by to check out all the new teacher stuff at Dollar Tree and look what I found...their teacher stuff wasn't in yet...

The paw print kraft paper is for a bulletin board background.

The tissue paper will be used for bulletin board borders.

Word Wall Pocket Chart

A couple of years ago, I found these online and asked my school to buy a couple for my classroom.  Well, apparently, they liked my idea of using them as a word wall so much that they bought several and gave them out to anyone that wanted them for their classroom.

At the beginning of last school year, I bought a pocket chart stand to hang it since the Command hooks wouldn't hold it on my freshly painted walls.  I used butterfly duct tape to divide it into 3 subjects.  That summer, I had bought a lot of word strips from Dollar Tree, so an idea was born.  I put them in "rainbow order" because that's what I do...I know, OCD!  (I passed it on to my girls, too!  They always put their crayons, colored pencils or markers in rainbow order before they could start coloring!!  Hope they pass it on to my grandchildren, too!)

On the right in the pic, is a lime green shoe organizer from Walmart.

Close-up of shoe organizer with trays of word strips.  The letter sticker on the end is for the subject.

Close-up of tray of word strips organized by subject and section.

Close-up of words on the word strips for the first section of Geometry.

Here are 9 more handled trays for other miscellaneous items.  Three fit perfectly into each plastic magazine holder.

 Another angle...

I got these from Big Lots with no particular plan in mind for (I think) $1.80 each.  I found them on the same aisle as the hotdog containers, cracker containers, etc.

There are even 2 of them in my medicine cabinet at home.  I look for more every time I go into Big Lots, but haven't found any lately.

Small Pocket Chart Idea

Before I had a chance to start this post, I saw this on Pinterest using a small pocket chart to hold journal prompts.  Last year, I bought 4 small pocket charts from either the Target Dollar Deals or Dollar Tree.  I shop at both frequently and many times my purchases become a blur!

The ones I bought are purple, blue, green and red (wish they had yellow because my subject colors are purple, yellow and green).  You can see 2 of them below hanging on awesomely strong magnet hooks from Lakeshore Learning in Tampa.

My plan is to create challenge problems (or take some from here) and print them on business cards (numbered).  The problems can be used as a station or whole-class.  The charts will hold 3 business cards on each row.  I will definitely use the purple (Geometry), but not sure about other colors yet.

Pre-Cut Paper Circles...WCYDWT?

Oh the possibilities of these pre-cut circles... I found these last week at Michaels Arts & Crafts for $5.99.  Middle School OCD said she found a pack of 100 at Lakeshore Learning for around $4 a few years back.  I looked in their store in Tampa last week and couldn't find them.  They also don't carry it on their website.

This year (and two years ago), I used paper plates (the cheap, unwaxed ones) and had my students demonstrate their new vocab and labeling of a circle.  Here's the activity and the picture of them hanging on 2 clotheslines the width of my room (60+ students/plates).  The 9 backwards plates on the left are waiting for absent students...

I think this coming year I will use these circles and display them temporarily before having students place them into the INB.  If they put them in their INB, I won't be able to have them use the back...just a thought...

Middle School OCD uses them as a hands-on activity to show diameter, radius, circumference and area on one circle.  On another circle, she demonstrates complementary, supplementary and vertical angles.

My ideas:
GEOM - central angles and their intercepted arcs, inscribed angles and their intercepted arcs, area of sector and circle, arc length and circumference, right triangles inscribed in a semicircle, cyclic quadrilaterals, discovering pi using circumference and diameter,

TRIG - unit circle - radians, degrees and coordinates

I'm probably going to have to make a trip back to Michaels because I have more ideas than circles!!
I will keep thinking... Leave me a comment if you have any suggestions!

Discrete vs. Continuous Poster

I just found a blog that I haven't read yet through a Pinterest link.  The title of the post was Marshmallow Minute.  John Berray uses examples of a Lite Brite and an Etch-a-Sketch to differentiate between discrete and continuous.

Even though I'm not currently teaching Algebra, I could use it to clear up misconceptions in my Pre-Calc class.  Here is the poster I made from his inspiration.

More Silhouette Decorations for My Classroom

Math Chick

Grading Percentages Pie Chart

Bulletin Board Ideas

When I moved out of my old room, I took my three 4' x 4' bulletin boards with me (they would've been demolished with the room otherwise!).  There is only one 4' x 6' bulletin board in my new room, but the room has a lot of empty wall space.  Over the summer, I am gonna talk my hubby into hanging them for me!  (He won't mind because he gives me so much support, even offering crafty suggestions!)  Hopefully before that half of the school is demo'ed, I can find one more 4' x 4' board.

So, I have written about my Silhouette Cameo in previous blogs...well, this one's not any different.  I have created 4 bulletin boards and 1 wall decoration using it.

College BB 4' x 6' - I made these pennants using my Cameo and as time goes on, I will be adding other colleges/universities.  FAU and UF were my first designs seen here, hubby took one of the UF Gator ones for his office.  The other 2 are local and many of our students go there.

Keys to Success 4' x 4' - the background for this one is actually cream colored duck fabric from Walmart with black skeleton keys on it.  The border will be scrunched black tulle.

Data Wall 4' x 4' - on top of the 11" x 17" colored-coded sheets, I display a bar graph showing letter grades by test.  Thru the holes on the banner pieces, I am going to put 1" lime green ribbon and tie it at the ends to make it look like its hanging.  My old version can be seen here.

Facts & Quotes 4' x 4' - to display fun facts and famous quotes...facts/quotes printed on colored paper will be displayed over each of the thought bubbles. That's me at the bottom with the pi shirt...LOL!

Myths about Math - this design will go on the wall over my front whiteboard.  I want them to be able to see it without having to turn around.  Perhaps, if they read it enough, it will sink in!

For the other 4' x 4' BB that I am hunting for, I'm going to either make into a station board, a challenge board or change it with my geometry lessons...  

Ticket out the Door Poster

Next year, instead of using index cards for exit tickets, I am going to use post-it notes. You can get them for less money (think Dollar Tree and Big Lots) and they don't really have to stick well or for a long time.

I found a generic brand of hot pink "thumbs up" stickies at Walmart and had a great idea!  I would apply the stickies to a poster board, apply numbers and a title, then laminate. When students leave the room they will stick the post-it to their number on the poster.

I created my vinyl numbers and title on the Silhouette Cameo my hubby bought me for my birthday last year! After an expensive trip to Michaels, I had the perfect pinks for the title!

              

A Blooming Butterfly

I saw a post on Pinterest about Bloom's Taxonomy posters being displayed in classrooms.
I googled images of them and came across this one. Since I love butterflies and lots of color, it was a perfect fit for my classroom. 

"I am...remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating."
Using my Silhouette Cameo, I created one for my classroom.
"I can... remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create."

College Wall Decorations

Saturday, my wonderful hubby took me to Michael's (Arts & Crafts) and bought me a new cutting mat and a blade for my Silhouette Cameo.  I haven't been able to use it for a while, but hadn't been properly inspired to go out of town to buy the needed supplies.  After shopping, we went to the movies and didn't get home til midnight.

I got up early(ish) on Sunday and started creating.  When I move into my "new" room, I want to start a college wall.  I graduated from Florida Atlantic University and my hubby and I love the Florida Gators, so I started with those 2 teams.  Sometime back in the fall, I found 5 plain white pennants for $1 at Dollar Tree, so I decided to do pennants for each team.  I ended up making 2 of each team, one horizontal, one vertical.  I used push pins to prop them up on my bulletin board to take the pics...see below...

After I got those done and I was again bored, hubby suggested I make a Steelers pennant for his boss.  So once again inspired, I got to work.  Then, for our friend that is going through chemo for breast cancer, I made the breast cancer awareness ribbon with the Steelers logo...see below...

Ideas for Next Year

It's always around this time of the year that I start thinking about the next year.  I write pages and pages of ideas, mine and those "borrowed" from other teachers (Thank you blogs and Pinterest!!).  Two years ago, I kept it all in a word document, which I reprinted last year and adjusted.  Last year, I used most of a 70-page spiral.  Since we can not use electronics during FCAT End of Course Testing, I couldn't use my computer.  As I proctored for 6 days (3 for Algebra 1 and 3 for Geometry) in the computer lab, I fantasized about how I wanted my room to be organized and decorated.  On my walks around the lab, I would stop by and write an idea or sketch a picture.  Over the next 3 months, I would read and reread my notes, changing and tweaking til I thought it was perfect.

Well, I have pulled out last year's spiral and printed the previous year's ideas.  The big difference is that I am supposed to be moving rooms at the end of this school year.  We will find out the first week in May if they will be starting demo of half of our old school and construction of the new one on the same land this summer or next.  I have been promised an existing room on the other side of the school, since my room will be in the first phase of demo.  A couple of other teachers will be placed in existing rooms, while 7 others will get rented portables.

I am extremely excited about my "new" location.  It's not quite as big as my room now, but is laid out a little better (has a foyer and an attached office).  The principal told me about the relocation a month ago and due to my slight, ok not so slight, OCD, I have made a floor plan of the room with 6 different arrangements in MS Excel.  Here is one of them... The left side of the room will be for students daily.  The right side is where my desk and supplies will be located along with occasionally used student computers.  BTW, Lys (on pic in pink) is my daughter Alyssa.  She uses my room as her locker because I am conveniently located.  The green rectangles are 2 (1.5'x2') tables.

Here are the wall layouts with ideas...

I will post pictures as I clean and organize the new room.