Doodle Graph Brain Breaks
I teach two algebra 2 courses that are designed for students who have historically struggled in math class but still want to complete algebra 2 in high school. The state universities here require completion of algebra 2 for admission, so it's a good option for those students who may not otherwise pass the course. Essentially, these classes cover the exact same content in double the time. First semester algebra 2 is covered over the course of a year in "algebra 2a," and the second semester is covered in "algebra 2b." This allows me the time to work on supporting background gaps like factoring while still covering the same rigorous curriculum from regular algebra 2.
I love these classes. They are my favorite to teach. There's something about convincing a kid who thinks they suck at math that they can actually be successful that really gets me going in the morning. Seeing a kid who had an avowed hatred of math class rush in early to show you their homework? Well, that's the real life equivalent of petting a unicorn.
These kids accomplish truly amazing things, and as much as tracking is bad, I stand by these classes. Sometimes, though, these kids' brains need a break. They have to work hard to accomplish a lot of the tasks I put in front of them. This year, I decided to include short, one day breaks in the curriculum after we have collectively surmounted some significant hurdle. I recently reached the first of what I've decided to call "Brain Break Days" in both courses.
Algebra 2a just completed the first unit in our curriculum. It's focused on fully investigating functions and drawing deep connections between multiple representations. Algebra 2b just finished tackling inverses and logarithms, topics that can trip up even the best algebra 2 student. I decided that my first brain break day would focus on a math topic that I personally find interesting-- graph theory.
I started off the lesson by showing the video below (at 0.75 speed because wow, that woman can get going!)
She turns basic graph theory into a set of three doodle games. After watching the video, we briefly discussed what she had done and why it was interesting. Then students had a choice. They could either choose to create their own doodles, or they could complete a Desmos activity that was an extension on what they had been learning. It was about a 70/30 split in both classes.
I was impressed by the doodles that my students created. Some simply took the break for what it was and drew. Others tried to figure out exactly why this worked and tried to "break" it. I encouraged those conversations. The students who chose the Desmos activities tackled some good extension problems but weren't pushed to color pointlessly.
I'm not sure what I did with my brain break day was best practice as an educator. Is it really worthwhile to take a day out of curriculum and test prep? Could our time have been better spent working to strengthen some of their weaknesses in algebra and numeracy? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I enjoyed showing my kids something that I find fascinating, a reason to love mathematics. As the pile of student created doodles on the corner of my desk grows, I can't help but smile.
I love these classes. They are my favorite to teach. There's something about convincing a kid who thinks they suck at math that they can actually be successful that really gets me going in the morning. Seeing a kid who had an avowed hatred of math class rush in early to show you their homework? Well, that's the real life equivalent of petting a unicorn.
These kids accomplish truly amazing things, and as much as tracking is bad, I stand by these classes. Sometimes, though, these kids' brains need a break. They have to work hard to accomplish a lot of the tasks I put in front of them. This year, I decided to include short, one day breaks in the curriculum after we have collectively surmounted some significant hurdle. I recently reached the first of what I've decided to call "Brain Break Days" in both courses.
Algebra 2a just completed the first unit in our curriculum. It's focused on fully investigating functions and drawing deep connections between multiple representations. Algebra 2b just finished tackling inverses and logarithms, topics that can trip up even the best algebra 2 student. I decided that my first brain break day would focus on a math topic that I personally find interesting-- graph theory.
I started off the lesson by showing the video below (at 0.75 speed because wow, that woman can get going!)
She turns basic graph theory into a set of three doodle games. After watching the video, we briefly discussed what she had done and why it was interesting. Then students had a choice. They could either choose to create their own doodles, or they could complete a Desmos activity that was an extension on what they had been learning. It was about a 70/30 split in both classes.
I was impressed by the doodles that my students created. Some simply took the break for what it was and drew. Others tried to figure out exactly why this worked and tried to "break" it. I encouraged those conversations. The students who chose the Desmos activities tackled some good extension problems but weren't pushed to color pointlessly.
I'm not sure what I did with my brain break day was best practice as an educator. Is it really worthwhile to take a day out of curriculum and test prep? Could our time have been better spent working to strengthen some of their weaknesses in algebra and numeracy? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I enjoyed showing my kids something that I find fascinating, a reason to love mathematics. As the pile of student created doodles on the corner of my desk grows, I can't help but smile.
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