Category Archives: General

A Few Thoughts

By Fawn | Published: May 4, 2016

A few questions and thoughts are bouncing around in my head this week. What is computational thinking? How much of what my students are doing can be considered computational thinking? I like this related post from today. Hoping to talk a lot more about this after I’ve gathered more background and practice. Many of our students needed a […]

Also posted in Shallow Thoughts | Tagged #MTBoS30, computational thinking, Under Lock and Key | 4 Responses

Hashtag MTBoS30

By Fawn | Published: April 30, 2016

I’ve written two posts in the last 8 months. Naturally that means I’ll [try to] write 30 posts in the next 30 days. Anne Schwartz @sophgermain is entirely behind this. Hashtag MTBoS30. We, Anne and I, each drive 70+ miles toward each other to catch up on life over a late lunch. Unknowingly we both order the steak […]

Also posted in Teaching | Tagged #MTBoS30, Anne Schwartz, blogging challenge, lunch conversations | 6 Responses

Not That You Care about My Schedule

By Fawn | Published: June 1, 2015

Another two weeks and I will have completed 22 years of full-time teaching. Time flies when you’re grading papers and having fun. Says no one. I have a handful of commitments that I’d like to share — maybe you’ll be in attendance or in town and we can say hello! Now: I’m working with Max Ray-Riek, Rafranz […]

Posted in General | Tagged PD, presentation, workshops | 5 Responses

A Tale of Two Gyms

By Fawn | Published: December 12, 2014

Quick post about a scenario that I was sharing with the kids just to share and how they just took off with it. A brand spanking new 24-Hour Fitness is opening up near me. It’s a no-brainer to switch over to this facility because I’ll save gas and travel time. However, the 2-year membership [from Costco] will cost […]

Also posted in Problem Solving | Tagged comparing plans, gym membership, rate | 2 Responses

Bratwurst

By Fawn | Published: September 8, 2014

We currently have 145 patterns on VisualPatterns.org. I’ve updated the key — intentionally did not use equation editor as some folks are not able to read it. I color coded it for quicker reference to the function types. Dropbox: Equations KEY. I’m going to leave the key out in the open for now. What students would visit this space. […]

Posted in General | Tagged visual patterns, VisualPatterns.org | 21 Responses

MathTalks.net

By Fawn | Published: September 6, 2014

My old math talks site needed to die. It was riddled with missing image icons and plagued by shitty formatting. I had to fix the main blog and do other things, so this could wait. Only 2 or 3 people in the universe were checking it out anyway. Although traffic to math talks is low to nil, I’m really fond of it. […]

Also posted in Teaching | Tagged algebraic thinking, math talks, mental math, Number Talks, pattern talks, student thinking, warm-ups | 15 Responses

VisualPatterns.org Again

By Fawn | Published: September 4, 2014

Who needs sleep. It’s been an exciting past couple of months sitting at my desk rebuilding blogs and websites. The only thing more stimulating would be to poke needles in my eyes. I re-created visualpatterns.org so you can now copy and/or save the patterns. It looks pretty much the same otherwise. Once again, I want to mention all these good people who have contributed […]

Posted in General | Tagged algebraic thinking, contributors, visual patterns | 12 Responses

Pacing Guide

By Fawn | Published: August 19, 2014

For someone who has openly admitted to not following curriculum pacing guides, I sure spent a ridiculous amount of time churning one out. Our middle school is adopting CPM Core Connections 1, 2, and 3. Aside from our own reviews, the decision to go with CPM were also based on: Desmos is embedded in many lessons Other teachers’ reviews, […]

Posted in General | Tagged CPM, CPM Core Connections, math talks, pacing guide, supplementing the curriculum, warm-ups | 15 Responses

Math Talks and 180 Days Restored

By Fawn | Published: July 18, 2014

It often takes just one teacher* to ask me to do something — like putting the sites back up — that motivates me like no other. Because I know that if I could do this for this one teacher, then I’m doing this for his students. I have heard a few teachers say, “I’m not sharing my stuff […]

Posted in General | Tagged 180 Days, How To Learn Math: For Students, Jo Boaler, math talks, Number Talks, teachers helping teachers | 9 Responses

Playing With Math: Stories from Math Circles, Homeschoolers, and Passionate Teachers

By Fawn | Published: June 20, 2014

Sue VanHattum’s blog Math Mama Writes was one of the earliest math blogs I frequented. Sue and Shireen, Dan, Kate, and Sam were among the first people who showed me – through their passionate writing – that there was an online community where we may share the teaching and learning of mathematics in the classroom. When I started this blog, Sue dropped in to […]