So my Math (K-5) District Instructional Officer is nothing short of amazing! Both as a person and as a professional. She awes me each and every time she gets up to present. She's not flashy or overly passionate. She's simply a math geek who loves her craft and does everything in excellence.
I sat in on a training of hers last summer as she introduced to her sea of teachers around the district a website that has no doubt changed my vantage point both as a teacher and a coach/specialist. As a teacher I was "that teacher" that when I learned something new, I was implementing it in my class immediately! I wanted my kids to be 100% engaged and to subtly fall in love with math b/c of my approach in instruction. I no doubt carry that same passion when I turn around trainings and PDs for my teachers. I seek to capture their interest and ignite a fuel in them that sparks their desire to "flip their classrooms". And by flip I don't just mean technology wise, but to take a transformed and reflective attitude into their next lesson. I want them to seek to capture the imaginations and interest of their students through the delivery of their lessons, so that students walk away amazed and more so walk in the next day, eager to see what they will be learning that day...and how!?
So I say all that to say, I was geeked when my younger sister was playing on my iPad and discovered my Geoboard app through www.mathlearningcenter.org. I walked her through some cool things she could do and I went back to minding my business on my phone. A few minutes later, I look over and she has completely transformed the app and begun exploring other things to do with it. She's a music major, vocal genius and musical arts teacher so I'm sure she was exploring the app from that premise. However, I literally drooled (a healthy educational math drool) as I snatched the iPad out of her hands and began to play around with the app from the perspective of the K-5 TEKS that nest in my own mind.
Here's what I discovered. Keep in mind, this is for those of you who teach 5th grade 5.4CD (in the state of TEXAS) and/or use Common Core and teach the Additive/Multiplicative Patterns standards.
Side note: The lesson approach I use in the video is taken from a lesson plan I discovered weeks ago, online. So the idea is not my own. However, the interactive use of the Geoboard as a coordinate grid was my amazing discovery!
