Scaffolds FTW

• In Algebra II I’m teaching completing the square to convert standard form quadratic equations to vertex form. My lower A2 class actually accomplished more than the higher and in less time. My scaffolded handout based on Mimi’s geometric idea works so smoothly. I can’t imagine teaching it any other way.
• A student was in in-school last week and said the instructor did not give him his work from me. I felt like he was lying but yesterday another student brought the work back to me. Today in class he worked hard to copy old notes, finish a quiz, and then jumped right into the new lesson with us. From someone who goofs off and spent the first weeks slacking, this was a big improvement!
• I’ve been behind on making answer keys and that usually gets me into trouble at some point. All morning I gave tests or study guides so I had a lot of time to work and get caught up and I took full advantage of it. For once, I didn’t procrastinate my work time away.
• I didn’t actually teach until 5th hour and I thought how nice it must be to only teach 3 periods a day. I didn’t even feel tired yet.