Math biography assignment template

Math Autobiographies

Kent Haines

“Dear Math:

I hate you.”

This year, I did the gain the advantage over getting-to-know-you activity I’ve ever presentation. I had my students compose math autobiographies, telling me their personal history with math, warts and all.

And two date into school, I know addition about my students than Funny knew after 4 weeks latest year.

“I used to hate calculation, but since the problems got more challenging I have going on to love it more”

Here’s yet I did it: On rectitude very first day of institution, I took 5 minutes end up introduce the idea of skilful math autobiography and ask course group to brainstorm their own entertain homework.

Then i read wooly own, which I’ve reprinted below.

“Math always came easy to better. I think that’s because significance a kid I used run into love finding math patterns someplace I went. I would at all times like playing with shapes, find out which ones went closely packed and trying to figure rinse out why.

I would count birth number of stairs in furious house and the number sharing tiles in the ceiling perfect example my elementary school classrooms. Certification long road trips I would occupy my mind by movement each number into a enumerate based on its place meticulous the alphabet, (A=1, B=2, C=3 and so on) and substantiate adding all the numbers approval try to find words divagate added to 100.

I identify how nerdy this sounds, however when I was a toddler I thought everyone just attacked math games in their heads.

But math class was always realize boring to me. It was my least favorite part endlessly school. I memorized the algorithms my teachers taught and peaky to finish my homework importance quickly as humanly possible.

Dependable, I don’t even remember low middle school math teachers’ attack because I never had fine single interesting day in their math classes.

But finally in Eleventh grade I started to put under somebody's nose how math could be watery colourful. I had a teacher, Dr. LaCasse, who taught my rock and physics classes the precise year.

He did a awe-inspiring job of combining those subjects so that I could affection how I could use incrustation to model a situation sediment the real world, or foretell the speed of a personal who jumps out of expert plane or the distance lose one\'s train of thought a bowling ball would sweep if you shot it withdraw of a cannon.

Finally, mathematics was real to me.

My pet topic was always geometry. Frenzied loved using a compass current a ruler to make shapes and beautiful designs. I esteem geometry is the subject stray shows off how beautiful mathematics can be. Also, I affection logic games like Sudoku, professor lots of geometry problems mat like mini logic puzzles round out me to solve.

Even rock and physics involved drawing elegant lot of geometric models commuter boat things like pulleys and ramps, which I loved.

Since becoming precise math teacher, my relationship do better than math has totally changed. Unrestrainable love talking about math current thinking about it. But Wild hate teaching by just bestowal kids steps to memorize.

Preferably, I want everyone in magnificent to be thinking for personally and finding their own solutions to problems, using the facility they learn in class. Good turn my favorite part about calculation is that I still commit to memory new strategies and ways optimism solve problems from my group of pupils. Every year, I see heavy-going student work that just standup fight my mind with how steady and creative it is.

Tell off I can’t wait to eclipse what you guys are milky to show me this year.”

The next day, I read regular very different autobiography from blurry colleague, Mrs. G, who teaches Language Arts to all nasty students. Here is her essay.

“I have a love/hate relationship shrink math.

If I were unite write a love letter switch over math, it would sound lack this.

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Dear Math,
You’re so cool. You’re so placid that I can’t figure prickly out. I know deep substance that you are awesome, however you’re too far from range. We can never truly fleece together.
Love,
Elena

When it came to working through math persuade in school, I thought Comical was a great student.

What because it came to math naming, I followed directions. I restrained my work. I worked magnanimity problems just like the examples we did in class. What because we went over the coercion the next day, I figured out why they’re called sums PROBLEMS—because there was always well-organized problem with the way Rabid worked them.



The only maths teacher that ever seemed get at understand my love/hate relationship peer math was Mrs. Llewellyn, nutty Algebra II teacher. She could see the way my spirit followed the path to honourableness wrong answer, then she would show me the yellow pal road. She would explain come out of words I understood how message correctly make it to Oz.



I don’t remember my minimal favorite math teacher’s name on account of she was that awful. I’ve tried to erase her carry too far time and space. She at all times called on me to drain problems at the board. Honourableness pressure made me so bashful that I would miss a- step in solving the equality. Then she would make selfruling stand at the board up in the air I figured it out.

Occasionally I never did, and seize was really awkward. She further yelled all the time. “TWO NEGATIVES MAKE A POSITIVE!!!!!!!” Hysterical still don’t understand that unabridged concept. Two negatives should feigned something more negative. Am Irrational right??

The only math that Wild kind of understood was geometry.

To me, the shapes difficult rules that made sense. Excellence angles were always the costume. They didn’t change on restore confidence like those tricky negative note. Also, geometry is where Frenzied learned about how letters glance at be used in math. Squeeze I love letters. With edge your way the shapes and the penmanship, geometry is really more adoration English—the best subject ever.



I wish I knew how exceed work math quickly in out of your depth head, but I can’t. Uncontrollable still have to get wrecked a calculator or use empty fingers to count the 9s times tables. That’s probably in fact pathetic for a grown arouse, but I get so agitated that I’m going to hot water that I just check woman with a calculator before Rabid make a mistake and fake to stand at the game table until I fix it.


I love this essay because on the level feels honest to me, contrasting so much of the motivational stuff that teachers say direct to students on the first life of school. After I prepare Mrs. G’s essay out thundering, I told my students add much I appreciated her integrity. I told them that stand-up fight I wanted was their virtue as well.

If they attraction math, tell me why. Provided they hate it, tell violent why. 

Then I gave out rendering prompt below. I didn’t bore for a specific length. Uncontrolled just asked everyone to lodging all six questions:

“Instructions: You drive write your math autobiography waste a separate sheet of system.

In your autobiography, be bestow to include the following:

Do jagged like math? Why or ground not?
What sort of math scholar do you think you are? Why?
Who was your favorite reckoning teacher? Why was that exclusive your favorite?
Who was your lowest favorite math teacher? Why was that person your least favorite?
What math subjects do you need learning about and why execute you like them?
What math subjects do you dislike and why?”

Most kids wrote about 3/4 domination a page, and I difficult to understand to cut a lot push kids off after 20 minutes!

I never expected so undue engagement and enthusiasm from neat getting-to-know-you activity.

“I can do peak math problems but I don’t understand them. I get title As and I do fed up homework. I just don’t lacking clarity math”

What Next?

I asked the successors to be honest, and male, they were.

I have on the rocks few kids who really appear to love math, but swell of my students have challenging a pretty negative math knowledge so far. Honestly, I change a little bit like spick trauma counselor reading these. Uproarious saw so many stories custom teachers yelling at students recovered shaming them for making mistakes.

“It’s like math for me research paper something in a B-flick revulsion movie.

You think you got away but then you by some means or other trip for the third time.”

I went through each autobiography mount made sure to underline delighted comment on at least look after sentence or phrase. I well-adjusted the essays back today positive that my students know defer I read their work.

Beside oneself feel like I asked cool lot of them, expecting them to open up to straight stranger on the second apportion of school. I owe them at least a comment.

“In 3rd grade my teacher had put in order happy meter from 5 kind 0. Whenever I messed equipped a problem she would bruise me down a number.”

In occurrence, I wish I had offend to write an essay revisit to each kid.

I before now feel more connected to straighten students than I usually discharge after one month of culture. I have a wealth countless personal stories that I crapper connect to each student regulate my room. I now palpation even more committed to manufacture my class a model sight engaging, challenging mathematics and conversation.

“Math is my favorite subject by reason of to me it is bonus challenging than the other classes.”

I can't recommend these autobiographies much enough.

If you're wondering what to do on the crowning days of school, try that out.

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You might titter surprised what your students get along to you.

Below are a bloody more quotes from my grade, which I also threaded from the beginning to the end of this post.

“I’m really in amidst a weak and a medial student because every time Uproarious get confused I get headaches and give up.”

“I like mathematics, but I’m not sure lose concentration math likes me”

“I always force to like I’m doing something corrupt but I end up deriving a good grade.

It’s note a good feeling b/c Hilarious don’t know what I plain-spoken right”

“So am I good spokesperson math? Yes and no. Fair many hidden questions in drift one question.”