Poise in Blogging

       Initially, blogging seems like another "thing" to check off my ever growing To-Do List. I’m a type-A personality and it is very important to me to not only make lists, but to actually check off tasks on my list! So to add another task weighs heavily on me. Blogging seemed like I would have to spend lots of time that I may not really have just to post something, anything online in hopes that someone somewhere would actually find interest in something that I have to say. I even feel that blogging seems like another mode to bring unwanted attention inside my professional world of teaching middle school students. Over all, I have not been too excited about blogging regularly.

     Interestingly enough, this course on “Learning to Blog” has taught me more about the purpose and potential that blogging can bring to others. The technicality of actual blogging (i.e. composing a post, adding widgets, changing the layout, etc.) came very naturally; however the content of the posts seems to be my largest hurdle. If you read my initial thoughts on blogging, you should have noticed that it was mostly written in first person (I used lots of “I’s, me's, and my's”). Blogging seems to be about sharing and learning for others not just another task to check off the To-Do List. Once you have the idea/topic of your post, it’s pretty simple to just put your information out there and even ask for feedback! It’s about people helping people and who really does not need any help?!

    I plan on using my blog to highlight my classroom activities. I believe that the general public think that middle school is all about those awkward, uncomfortable years. By blogging, I can give a glimpse inside the middle school classroom to show that these students are more innovative, outgoing, and confident than what you could ever imagine.  My students take ownership of their learning and are excited for what their future holds! But posting classroom activities, I can help others grow their personal learning network (PLN) as well as grow my PLN as I follow and subscribe to fellow bloggers.

     The only limitation that I still see for myself is making time to publish posts regularly. I am beginning to see the importance of blogging and all its grandeur. All the while, I am wanting, hoping, anticipating following through with regular posts because I really do understand the impact and importance that blogging can and will have for my PLN and even my classroom. Typehe best way for my blog not to fall wayside will be to “make a date” every week in my planner to make sure that I publish something! Remember: I am type-A. Lists are wonderful, but checking of tasks on the To-Do list is even more fulfilling! 

Understanding Volume with Technology

One of the hardest concepts to teach in  middle school math is VOLUME. This topic generally sends all my non-math friends running for the door. Fear not my friends! Once you are able to understand a few basic concepts of volume, you will soon be on your way to mastering this mind boggling topic.

I am so fortunate to have wonderful staff support and coaches that locate all kinds of goodies for me to use in the classroom. So when my teaching partner and I began planning for our volume unit, we quickly asked for some web apps and sites that we could use that would help us to enhance the learning experience for our kids. The web app that we chose to use is from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives called How High?. This is a great activity for all levels because you are able to cross compare volumes between different 3-D shapes! However, since 7th grade math requires our students to understand volume of prisms and pyramids, we stuck with the rectangular prism.

The Lesson

The first task we had for our students was to simply predict the height or "how high" the liquid would be if we were to pour the liquid from one take to the next. We allowed for exploration without much reasoning behind the task.

After the kids performed this task several times, their predictions began to be more accurate! They even began to get excited and explain to me how they were able to make more precise predictions. 

         

The second task was to make exact predictions of the volume. As a class, we discussed how several of the groups were were doing. Some well, others not so much. We then furthered our discussion to explain how the area of the base is important to finding volume. Upon completion of the discussion, we allowed for more time to make the most accurate predictions of "how high?" 

Lesson Reflection

The lesson went extremely well! Students were engaged and were surprised that they were acquiring an understanding of a topic that is generally difficult. After the lesson, my students were able to explain how to find the volume of prisms and they were more excited to move forward with the unit and felt at ease as they were moving into a difficult lesson. 

I enjoyed the lesson and would encourage this activity as an intro to volume. The only thing I would change is that I would probably set aside time prior to beginning the activity to have the students write about what they know and what they would like to learn about volume.

Lesson Assessment

To assess the progress of our students, we actively monitored the activity, viewed predictions make during each task phase. We then had students write reflections of the activity in their journals. 

I hope that you have a new activity that can help ease the tension on starting your unit on volume! If you use this activity, let me know how it went in your classroom. Do you have some activities or other web apps to help students conceptualize volume?