Joining the mathtwitterblogosphere!

I have wanted to be more reflective on teaching practices and put my own creations out to share with others as those that I have learned from have shared, so here is my first venture into that world.  To get started, I'm going to put out my summer to do list which will also keep me on track to finish most of it I hope!

This summer, I am reading the following books:

- Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess
- Learning to Love Math by Judy Willis, M.D.
- Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe
- Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church and Karin Morrison
- Styles and Strategies for Teaching High School Mathematics by Edward Thomas, John Brunsting, and Pam Warrick

I will be teaching Algebra 1 to students that have already taken it and not been successful as well as teaching sophomore Geometry.  This puts several items on my list!

1. Update Algebra 1 lessons that I taught last year with fresh hands-on activities since the students will be repeating the course.
2. Create a plan for using an Algebra Interactive Notebook and have example as complete as possible to guide instruction this coming year.
3. Review Geometry TEKS and our district scope and sequence to create a flow of topics.
4. Begin lesson plans for Geometry.
5. Create a plan for using Interactive Notebooks for Geometry and complete as many pages as can to help guide instruction for the year.
6. I'd also like to create menus or tic-tac-toe boards for each unit as far as homework assignments to allow for more differentiation for my students, especially with the Algebra 1 classes, but I'd also like to try with Geometry.
7. I will be moving rooms, so I would like to come up with a fresh arrangement and some new posters, bulletin boards, and organization tricks to change up the setting.  I will have some of the same students I had last year, so I'd like to change it all up a bit to freshen up!
8. I'd like to become regular with this blog, updating information, and helping out fellow teachers!

Wow, that is quite a to-do list!  I'm sure there is more, but I'm beginning to get overwhelmed, so I'm going to stop there until I get a few of these completed!  I'm sure I'll be adding after attending CAMT this week in San Antonio!  Maybe I'll see a few of you there!

Thank you for stopping by to enjoy the journey and I hope this will help keep me accountable, reflective, and growing as an educator!  Happy Summer!