New Blogger Initiative Week 3

It's time for week 3's crop of new bloggers. It's hard to keep up with all of the new bloggers, but I do have to say that the group I read this week had some great stuff and I'm glad I made time to read them. Help encourage them and leave them comments please!

Maggie Acree (@pitoinfinity8) - pitoinfinity
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled 'The Why" and the author sums it up as follows: I have never written down the "why" of teaching. This post is for me but also to remind us all we need to love what we do even when it gets hard. Right now, we are challenged beyond belief in so many ways, so we have to keep the "why" at the forefront. I love math and I love teaching! A memorable quotation from the post is: But the answer is simple, I love what I do.
My thoughts: Reading why others teach reminds me of why I teach. I like finding that many of the reasons that factored into why I became a teacher are some of the same things that others feel. I like how she addressed how she could have chosen other professions and why she chose teaching. 

Amy Zimmer - Ms. Z Teaches in Mathland
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "Rocky, PEMDAS, and the Best Darn Article" and the author sums it up as follows: When priorization of operations finally makes sense to students. A memorable quotation from the post is: I wish all of my lessons could be as empowering as this one.
My thoughts: Amy shares a neat way to help clarify how order of operations works.

Sarah Hill - You Can Secant You
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "Misconceptions. (Or, teaching the shortcuts without teaching the concepts)" and the author sums it up as follows: This is a post about how many common misconceptions are caused by students learning the shortcuts, or the easy way to solve a problem, without ever really learning the concepts. A memorable quotation from the post is: Really, isn’t a lot of what we teach in a typical high school math class just a lot of “shortcuts” to solving problems?
My thoughts: I really liked this post. This really resonated with me: "One thing that I have been thinking about a lot lately is the fact that we so often teach kids the shortcuts or the quick way to figure out the answers.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing this, but I am realizing that I need to make sure that they understand the concepts before they start learning the quick ways of doing it." I have also been thinking about it as I have been planning my lessons this year and am consciously trying to make sure my students understand the why behind the mathematics.

Michelle Riley (@mathwithriley) - A Year of Growth
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "Blogger Initiative Week 3: Why I teach" and the author sums it up as follows: My post talks about why I became a math teacher. A memorable quotation from the post is: I used to make my younger siblings sit and play school with me while I handed them worksheets with spelling words and addition problems. (yes, I was that mean big sister).
My thoughts: I really related to this post. I, too, was the older sister playing school. :-)

Lea Ann Smith (@SmithTeach) - Expanding Horizons Through Education
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "Why do we have to learn this?" and the author sums it up as follows: My favorite reply to this question is that they will use the habits of mind they are developing as they learn how to solve math problems. Math teaches you how to think logically and creatively at the same time. The "aha" moment in solving a math problem brings together the synthesis of logical thought and an intuitive leap of genius. This is a very useful skill. A memorable quotation from the post is: The "aha" moment in solving a math problem brings together the synthesis of logical thought and an intuitive leap of genius.
My thoughts: What a nice answer to the ever present question!

Kaleb Allinson To Accumulate a Rate  - -- Integrate
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "A LaTex Sandwich" and the author sums it up as follows: This post is about solving a Calculus problem involving the Sandwich Theorem. It's also about a webapp that allows you to easily get the LaTex code your looking for. If you're wanting to use LaTex to desplay math in your blog you're going to want to read this post and follow the link to Web equation. A memorable quotation from the post is: I’ve used LaTex before and have really enjoyed using it, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to type to get the exact math typesetting your looking for.
My thoughts: I like the title of his post - it fits very well. 

Jennifer Wilson (@jwilson828) - Easing the Hurry Syndrome 
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "Zoom In" and the author sums it up as follows: I tried a thinking routine called "Zoom In" as described in "Making Thinking Visible". I showed students part of a piece of fabric and asked them to write about what they noticed, remembering that we were in a mathematics class. Eventually I showed them the entire piece of fabric and asked them to discuss what they saw in their groups. It worked...they saw transformations...the perfect lead-in to our unit on rigid motions. A memorable quotation from the post is: I had no idea if students would see reflections, rotations, and translations (and in fact, some saw flips, turns, and slides), but they did.
My thoughts: This is the second week I've "drawn" her blog in the NBI. I really liked how she explained how she used and adapted once of the MARS activities for her class. I haven't had the chance to really look through the MARS activities, but this will be one I am going to incorporate into my class.

Cindy W (@finding_EMU) - findingEMU
The third post for the Blogging Initiation is titled "New Blogger Initiative: Mystery Number Puzzles" and the author sums it up as follows: I successfully learned how to insert mathematical equations and expressions into a post by using LaTeX (and a cool "shortcut" to boot!) The lesson involves using "Mystery Number Puzzles" to help jump start Algebra students into solving linear equations involving just one "x" term. A memorable quotation from the post is: I am thinking of a number. . . . When I multiply it by 2 and then add three, multiply the result by 4 and divide by 6, then subtract 5, my answer is 1. WHAT is my number?!
My thoughts: This is the second week I've "drawn" her blog in the NBI also. Cindy does a nice job explaining what she has students do in class and incorporated LaTeX in her post nicely.