Monday January 11, 2016  

First day back from Winter Break!

7:30 a.m.  I met with Kari and Jamie.  Kari’s a 50% teacher who just picked up a math intervention class for second semester.  Jamie’s our principal.  We discussed a plan of action for the class.  I provided her with lesson plans for that day.

8:15 a.m.  I drove to my second school.  First two periods, I was scheduled to teach in Tiffany’s 6th grade inclusion classroom.  Shawna, the special ed teacher, was also working with us.  The plan was to run my new Desmos Activity Builder:  Algebra Tiles:  Why are They Named 1, X and X²?  That was the first time I tested the activity with students.

8:25  a.m.  Touched base with Tiffany.  Ran back to my office to grab my plastic name tents.

8:30 a.m.  Checked in with Joshua – Had a quick conversation about first semester exam scores.

8:45 a.m.  Ran Tiffany’s period 1 class.  The activity builder went OK.  I learned a lot about how to deliver the activity in order to reach the learning goal.  Made necessary adjustments.

9:45 a.m.   Ran Tiffany’s period 2 class.  This time the activity builder ROCKED!  Tiffany and I discussed plans for the next day.

11:00 a.m.  Checked in with Robert, principal of my second school.  We discussed future PD plans.

11:30 a.m. – 1:10 p.m.  Drove over to the District Office (DO).  On Monday’s, I’m supposed to be at the DO.  BUT…  Today is the first day after break, and teachers were starting Algebra Tiles.  The incorporation of Algebra Tiles is still new and it felt wrong to ask Tiffany and Kim to delay plans until Tuesday.

Ate lunch with my fellow math coaches.  Worked on plans for an upcoming District Desmos training.

1:20 p.m. Ran the Algebra Tile Activity Builder in Kim’s period 5 class.  Kim took notes, asked questions for she was going to run the activity with her period 6 group.

2:20 p.m. Drove back to the DO to continue working on the Desmos PD Training.  Run into Michelle as I walk to the parking lot.  Had a quick conversation.  Made a mental note to follow up that night with an email.

3:15 – 5 p.m.  LCAP planning meeting.  The team was preparing for the upcoming LCAP committee meeting in which we were presenting data and discussing the program’s progress.

5:10 p.m. Met my Husband and daughter at my son’s basketball practice.  Drove the kids home (hubby went back to work), heated dinner for my children, sat with them as they ate, drove my daughter to play practice (Community theater:  Heartland Theater/Stars of Tomorrow Theater)

6:00 p.m.   An idea hits while driving her to practice.  Once stationary, I madly start writing down notes and peppering my colleagues with texts.  Left the theater. Drove home.

7:00 p.m. Once home, I coded my thoughts into a new Desmos Activity Builder.  Took a break to eat dinner with my Hubby.  He cooked :).

8:oo p.m.  Tweeted the class code for feedback.

9:00  p.m.  While my hubby picked up my daughter, I called Marcy in response to her email.  We’re scheduled to meet on Friday. Plans changed.

9:10 p.m.  Emailed Michelle with pictures and notes on the Algebra Tile Activity Builder. I also asked if she wanted to collaborate on Thursday and Friday.

9:20 p.m. Outlined plans for the Algebra Tile Day 2 (Tiffany and Kim).  Tuesday:  The plan is to work with the actual tiles.

9:30 p.m.  Organized notes for another early morning meeting with Kari (50% teacher), Jamie (principal) and Tim (coaching partner).  The plan was to show her a Desmos Polygraph on Rational Numbers.  A fun game her math intervention kiddos would enjoy.

10:00 p.m.  My husband and children were now sleeping. I crawled into bed with my computer and chihuahua (Paco) to begin this post.

10:35 p.m. Lights out!

Side note:  Normally we eat dinner as a family – This is a priority.  Although when the kids have dueling extra-curricular activities, dinner time gets creative.

My#MTBoS blogging mentee is Amber Thienel.  Here’s her post for Week 1 of the #MTBoS Blogging Initiative:  One Good Thing