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You know those TIkTok videos of "Amazon Must-Haves"? They inspired this post! I am certain this will become a series, so here is: E P I S O D E 1 !
Episode 1 is all about my classroom posters! They're colorful and pretty, but they're also FUNCTIONAL. I have downloaded freebies and purchased products for each of these posters from wonderful insta-colleagues and can't wait to share the links to their products and posts with you!
The Number Line
Visuals are everything in an abstract class like Algebra. Any time you can create a concrete or pictorial model of an abstract concept, it's going to benefit students. Some of my students are learning English as their next language and visuals are also an invaluable form of communicating with them.
Even though I have ninth graders in my classroom, many still have not mastered basic skills such as adding integers. Last year I added this number line to the front of my room
so I can quickly reference it and demonstrate basic operations with my laser pointer. Doing this helps my students clear up the confusion based around completing the operation so that they can focus on the skill in which it is embedded; such as solving equations, combining like terms, etc. When my students don't have to focus on why I got -3x from combining 5x and - 8x, then they can focus on the bigger process at hand.
The fabulous Sarah Carter, author of mathequalslove.blogspot.com shared the all of these printables for the number line, Left and Right, as well as the infinity symbols.
Another skill that students are often expected to have mastered at this point is rounding. It's an anticipatory skill and it can be really frustrating when it takes up time in your lesson to reteach. Instead of being reactive, I try to be proactive by using another poster set from Sarah Carter that prompts students with a visual reminder for place value and rounding rules.
Fundamental Symbols, Numbers and Graphs
Besides the fact that these posters add some fun color to my old, bland room; the wall space above my windows is home-base for fundamental mathematical concepts. First, I purchased the "invisible math" posters from Amy Harrison on TPT and chose the ones that I knew I'd reference often in class. Next, I added the perfect squares and cubes that Sarah Carter shared on her blog. Last, I created a space to highlight the function families that we study this year, including their graphs and parent functions. I adapted these posters from Sarah's husbands' files, which are shared here. I love to reference these in class all the time because it builds a resource that students can start to use independently and it guides students to build the skill of being able to recall this information on their own without me prompting.
Current Topics Headquarters
This space in my room was TOTALLY inspired by Rory Yakubov from @iteachalgebra ! I purchased her anchor charts a few years ago and use them whenever I can, but I make my own when I need or want to as well. I also purchased her Algebra 1 word wall and I love to put the current words on this wall and then "graduate" them to the big word in the back of my room when they are ready to go!
This space serves as another opportunity for me to reference resources in class and encourage students to use independently. In a non-Covid environment it's also a quick reference for students as they are moving around the room in various activities so they don't have to return to their seat to find notes, etc.
My Virtual Classroom
Last Spring my classroom posters were sorely missed as I created screencasts for my instruction. I'm a firm believer that object-location is an important form of memorization and learning for students and I needed to find a solution in the virtual space. So that's when my "Daily Slides" and "Bitmoji Classroom" were born! I mean, who DIDN'T make a bitmoji classroom during the quarantine??
As I write this blog I realize how much I'm still missing (number line, rounding, perfect squares...) but this little Google Slide packs a punch.
I screenshot the @iteachalgebra word wall that I purchased (Note: Slides are shared on a closed LMS, not available to the public) to recreate my current topics space.
I add pictures of anchor charts or even make interactive anchor charts using Google Slides, like I did in the photo above!
I add screenshots of the my priority posters (invisible math, function families) in my classroom.
I made sure to include the American Flag and our school's core values, as those are important to my classroom.
I also added a hyperlinked button to our district's tech help desk to support students when they are having problems with their Chromebooks, etc.
Lastly, I have a running agenda with a moveable pin so students can follow along with activities and transitions as we move through the lesson.
Thanks for checking out EPISODE 1 of the High School Math Classroom Must-Haves! I look forward to sharing many more with you in the future!!
Share your questions, comments and experiences in the comments below!
Which poster is your favorite?
What questions do you have about implementing posters effectively in the classroom?
What challenges or successes have you had with creating virtual classrooms?
What would you like to see more of in the next episode of Must-Haves?!
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