Learning about integers, the fun way

I LOVE TEACHING!!!!!!

Not to say I’m the coolest teacher at the school, but I am. I had students who passed me in the hall counting down how many more classes until they got to go to mine. One student walked past and goes “Ms. Lee! Only 2 more classes!” He has me for 3^rd period, that means he hadn’t even gone to his first class and was already looking forward to my class.

On Friday I gave my students their math workbook and had them write their name (first and last), and period on the side of it in sharpie, we said together as a class like 10 times that they would need it on Monday, as they walked into class today I announced they needed their workbook, I had it written on the whiteboard outside my room Friday after school, and that morning, I had it written on the board when they got into class, but, in every class there was at least one student that did not have their book!!!! There were two students that asked me, yes me, where there book was!!! I don’t know what you did with your book I told you to put it in your locker and bring it to class Monday. There are a few things that I am learning about 7^th graders, one of them being they have no clue if they have two shoes on.

Back to how my class is more fun than any math class you’ve ever been in. Since I’m a first year teacher people constantly stop by my room to listen to my lessons, see how I’m handling my classes, etc., well today when my new teacher mentor stopped in on my class she stayed after class, which was odd, and told me my teaching makes her want to go to math class every day! That’s like the best compliment ever. No one wants to go to math class, I don’t even want to go to math class.

Now you’re wondering what on earth was your lesson about? I’ll tell you. Today we learned about integers and absolute value, nothing very exciting about that. But I don’t let that stop me from making it fun.

We graph the integers after we learn what they are and students are notorious for putting the negative number on the right and the positive number on the left, which is wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. So I ask them if they know the song that goes to the left to the left to the left to the right to the right to the right (I googled it and it’s called the Cupid Shuffle), and they all look at me like no, you’re weird and crazy, but I just keep going with it. I tell them the positive numbers are over here to the right to the right to the right as I slide over to the right then I go back to zero ( I have a number line above my smartboard) and I say negative numbers are over to the left to the left to the left and they all laugh at me then I make them repeat it. I say so the positive numbers are to….. and they all sing the right to the right while I jump over to the right and then I go so the negative numbers are….. and they sing to the left to the left while I jump to the left and they all look embarrassed, but amused to be singing in math class.

Then we get to the fun number, the number zero. So I ask them is zero negative or positive what is zero doing here in the middle? They usually give me one of two answers; 1. The book says it’s not positive or negative or 2. They stare at me like I have no idea there’s not a negative sign so it’s positive? Then I go “WHAT if I told you it’s not POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE!!” then some students look at me like well then what is it so then I go “Zero is like Switzerland!” and they have no clue why Switzerland is like zero so then we have a mini History lesson in math and learn about Switzerland’s neutrality in everything from war to joining the Euro.

They love it! And I love it, I get to jump around and have fun and it’s still aligned with the core.

I haven’t come up with a super fun way to remember absolute value but today I said that the absolute value lines are like the guards at Buckingham palace and only positive things are allowed out of the palace so if the number inside the gates is negative, when it comes out it must be positive (Fun thing about 7^th graders they don’t get the political undertones). It’s not as fun but they mistake absolute value lines for the number one a lot less if they remember that they are guards, guarding the number on the inside.

That was my lesson today. And yes I can teach this lesson with questions and all the fun in 30- 35 minutes.

Have I said I love my job?