Tip Jar

Vimeo has a feature where their users can add a "Tip Jar" option to a video. Yes, viewers and users on Vimeo can monetarily tip other users to show their appreciation for a video. Today, I activated that on most of my videos.

I started typing this blog giving some examples in life where I gladly tip, reluctantly tip, and refuse to tip specific services in life. I changed my mind as I'm not here to cause waves, offend people, or get into an argument about tipping when the decision to tip a service is completely subjective.  Bottom line: I gladly tip others for their services when the service was completed in an efficient, professional, and satisfactory way, the service was something I can't do on my own, or they're sharing some passionate artistic talent that touched my heart in a compelling way.

I'm not putting my lessons, videos, or pictures on Teachers Pay Teachers. I don't work for a textbook publisher who pays me to do this stuff. I'm not selling this stuff to teachers, schools, or curriculum writers for profit. I've simply put it out there (on that wild internet) for others (teachers) to use, enjoy, and most importantly use with their students for learning math. Please don't think of this as a tip jar at a restaurant or specialty food service. Think of my Tip Jar as that open guitar case in front of the person pouring their heart out on the street giving you a few seconds of raw talent to brighten your day. I might sing out of key a few times, forget the right chord, or might have a string out of tune, but I'm sharing this stuff because I'm passionate about it, love doing it, and enjoy seeing other students learn math. If you feel obliged to tip, my gratitude will be eternal. If you don't tip, I still love you for taking the time to check out my stuff and possibly use with your students. That's the best tip you could give me!

TJ,
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Styrofoam Cups

Tuesday, I was on my way to BTSA and my subconscious screamed something at me. Find Dan Meyer's Stacking Cup lesson. Seriously, go read his post right now. I hadn't read this post for over a year now and I had to get my lessons ready for the next couple of days as my Algebra classes finished up Pixel Pattern. I was on the road dreading the idea of sitting through a couple hours of BTSA, so I asked Dan if he had the link to his lesson since it wasn't in my bookmarks (that was silly of me) and he came through like a champ! Seriously, check out his post. I'm promoting his blog post more than anything further I have to say here.

First, by all means, spend about $10 and do the lesson with your kiddos. This is one of those 3 Act lessons that just screams "hands-on" activity with your kids. It's tough to capture the overall excitement and energy with a video. If you can't do the "hands on" with your kids or you want to be environmentally friendly, here's my version of the Styrofoam Cup 3 Act lesson: a cheap backup.

It felt most natural to stage this so the cups stacked to the top of the door frame. Even then, I'm not convinced my Act 1 screams the question I'm looking for, "How many cups will stack to the top of the door frame?"

Enough about me and the video, to my classroom with the students. Dan's got a great script for you to follow, so do it! One of my classes was actually able to finish writing their rules before the bell on Friday so we had time to actually stack cups. Check out their rules and predictions for stacking cups to my height.

We started stacking with the lowest number and went from there. The kids went bonkers. Each group thought they were the best, but knew that they all couldn't be correct. When we revisit the lesson this next week, we'll be discussing where groups went wrong in order to learn from those mistakes. Watch Styrofoam Cups - Act 3 Stadel to find out who won. But I recommend you watch the door task also.

Styrofoamed out,
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Best Halves [Square]

A few months ago Dan Meyer reached out to Timon Piccini, Chris Robinson, Nathan Kraft and me to participate in what would eventually become his Best Midpoint, Best Square, Best Triangle, and Best Circle series of 3 Act lessons. I was honored to be part of a stellar group and great lesson. I love the potential of these lessons and can't wait to use them with my geometry kiddos later this year. Currently Dan and Dave Major have kicked it up a notch with some great interactive play/learning for better best squares, also providing us with an interactive teacher's guide. Check it out: I nearly cried tears of joy upon reading their two posts: Dan and Dave.

Recently, I've had conversations with Fawn Nguyen about fractions and although fractions aren't the spotlight of my Algebra and Geometry curriculum, I'm still fascinated by them and in turn want to help students build their number sense or spatial reasoning. I had an idea to extend Dan's Best series into the realm of fractions and emailed him for his blessing, hoping I'd do it justice. Here's what I came up with so far:

You might notice it closely resembles Dan's format with very few stylistic differences. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's my motto here. I called on Dan and a few other comrades to make an appearance and compete in this first installment of Best Fractions. This first installment: "Who drew the best half?"

Thanks to Dan, Fawn, Sadie Estrella, and Shauna Hedgepeth for taking the time to contribute. They were great sports! I still don't know who drew the best half yet.

I see a lot of geometry potential here: area, perimeter, midpoints, distance, coordinates, polygons, etc. I'd love to target primary grades with this activity as well (not just secondary), finding an entry level that elementary kids are capable of exploring. I'm not too sure calculating the area of trapezoids would be appropriate for a 4th and 5th grade classroom, but I might be wrong.

I'm not pretending to nail this 3 Act lesson and I'd love some feedback on how you would apply this in your class or make it better. I'm still working on the Act 2 information and will gradually chip away at it over time.  I gathered enough information from the contestants to keep me busy for the next year. I plan to release other installments of Best Fractions, specifically the best half, third, fourth, and fifth of both a square and circle. Just imagine the fun with circles: area, sector area, arc length, degrees, percentages, and more. Stay tuned!

Test it out on your students in the meantime and give me some feedback. Click here for directions and handouts to use with your students.

Best,
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