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Math is Important Because...

The days are going by so quickly!
I just wanted to share my first Tagxedo creation:) 

Yesterday, I had the students complete the sentence, "Math is important because..." using post-its to record their answers on the board, as explained in the post on Middle School Math Rules.

I took all of the responses from the 85 students that I have, entered them in the Tagxedo creator, and this word cloud was the result! I love it!
In the "word options" section, I set it so that common words were not removed, and identical words were not combined, so that the students could see how often the same words were repeated. Some of the phrases that so many of them wrote, like "everyday life," or "helps in everyday life" or "helps with obstacles," were separated, but I think their message still comes through...that math is important in everything in life!

I wish I could print this on poster-size paper, but do not have the capability to do so. So for now, I printed it using my color printer at home and will hang it on the board at school on the 8.5 x 11" paper.

Any suggestions for enlarging, without losing the quality?


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Comments

  1. KimSeptember 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM

    Hi Ellie:
    I am so excited to have found your blog (and to be a new follower). I am wishing you a wonderful new year!

    Kim
    Finding JOY in 6th Grade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ESeptember 5, 2013 at 4:50 PM

      Thanks! It's great to be able to see what other 6th grade teachers are experiencing!

      Ellie

      Delete
  2. CassieSeptember 6, 2013 at 8:42 PM

    I love this... I did a post-it activity with why is school important. I was struggling with the best way to go about using it and making it important/ meaningful. This is a great and easy way to display what they think. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. PaigeSeptember 8, 2013 at 10:00 AM

    I teach 8th (coming from 8 years in the elementary)! The first day, I had them rate math from 1-5 (1 low, 5 high). The 18 highest math students in the 8th grade are in algebra, so the majority of my 8th graders rated math 1, 2 or 3 on a scale of 1-5. So I did a post-it activity where they actually told me why they don't like math.

    Main reason: It's too hard / I don't get it.
    Next reason: It's boring.

    So I had them brainstorm ways to make it easier and more interesting. I think they started to see the role THEY play in it, but I also wanted them to see that I was in it for THEM and wanted to change how they feel about math. It was pretty interesting...to me anyway. :)
    -Paige

    ReplyDelete
  4. Controlling My ChaosSeptember 8, 2013 at 12:20 PM

    This is my second attempt at commenting, so if it's duplicated, just delete one of them. I think as long as you keep your background white, you can print it as an enlargement without the proportions matching up. I have printed lots of posters at Sam's Club photo with great success. They have the best prices and a good variety of sizes. I've printed up to a 24x30 inch poster and I love the quality. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ESeptember 8, 2013 at 2:36 PM

      Thanks so much for the information! I'll check it out!

      Delete
  5. Letters and NumbersJune 25, 2014 at 9:31 PM

    I am excited for this idea, I think I'll be using this a lot in my classes. I'm really looking forward to sharing with you what my students will be sharing too!

    ReplyDelete

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