CATCH MY WORDS to find help with teaching strategies, resources, or to enjoy a laugh or music. Blog connected to Catch My Products, the gifted department store with resources for K - 12.
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My humorous thoughts about life.
"My Humorous and Helpful Thoughts About Teaching / Educational Resources for Your
Classroom / Music and Random Fun"
I've been selling teaching items on Teacher's Pay Teachers for a year and a half and sales are going well. Since it's October, check out my booklet on Halloween Activities. It contains logical thinking puzzles and other activities complete with answer keys.
I made this 183 pagepower point for my class when we read the novel. However, Number the Stars is popular and my work became buried among the hundreds of products for the same book. Usually, I sell my literary units for anywhere from $14 - $16. Since there were so many other products, I originally priced it at $10. But alas, it was still buried, so I formed a plan. I practically gave it away at $5 and then decided I would add .50¢ back to the price every time it sells. The unit is now selling at $6 and listed on page two–instead of page 8–of the Number the Stars materials, which is getting there. The more an item sells, the higher up on the listing it becomes, so I had to give it away to make it visible, and technically, I still am providing a great bargain at $6 a copy. If you are interested in purchasing items for your class or home school, please visit my store at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gifted-And-Talented-Materials-By-Joyce-Lansky. I've made 271 items for multiple ages and grade levels and in various subjects. If you purchase something and leave a comment on this blog post with your email address and what you would like, I will send you an additional product of your choice for free, just for shopping at my store and being a blog reader. Not bad!
There was a time in grade school when I considered myself to be good at math. To further my beliefs, we'd take achievement tests where I consistently scored higher in Math than Reading or Language Arts. In fact, I did so well, my dad got the idea that I was ready for Algebra in seventh grade, even though some smart teachers thought otherwise. Thus began my numbers demise. I am living proof that there are few things worse than pushing a kid into a class in which he or she is not ready.
Math fits perfectly into Piaget's psychological theories. Have you ever tried to convince a toddler that a fat wide glass has more juice in it than the tall skinny one? If you succeeded, you're probably the first because there is no way most toddlers can grasp that concept, as there was no way twelve year old me was going to 'get' Algebra. It has nothing to do with intelligence, and everything to do with emotional maturity. I just wasn't there yet.
As a result of being pushed beyond my math readiness, I struggled with math throughout high school. Come college, I enrolled in a required Freshman math class. I took one look at my text and horrible memories of struggling through this stuff terrorize me. As a result, I made the mistake of signing up pass/fail for the easiest class of my college career. The difference? Come college, I was ready for this stuff!
As an adult, teaching math is probably my greatest strength because now, not only do I understand numbers, but I think I have good insight as to why some kids don't. Also, I've seen how my number talented son had no trouble securing a job post college. He used to joke with a friend about how he could add but couldn't read and his friend could read but couldn't add. In hindsight, I'm glad Daniel could add.
Although my youngest did not consider herself to be a mathematician, with her friends, they created a great T-shirt idea. Well the adults in charge didn't think so because it never became a shirt. It read something like this: Holy shift! Look at that assymptote on that mother function. IB. We have class.
