Ideas for Algebra 2 Math Workshop

I'm concluding my second year as the Math Workshop teacher. At the moment I have mix of Algebra and Geometry students. It's a para and myself and we make due, but it's difficult to have such a range of students who all have different needs. Next year, there will be three math workshops. One for Geometry, one for Algebra 1, and one for Algebra 2. I'll be teaching the Algebra 2 Math Workshop. Below are my ideas that I want to come back to and develop to support my Algebra 2 students:

Number of the Day - I want to make a warm-up sheet that has students practice important skills on a daily basis with a different number each day. I want the sheet to become habit. I want the skills to be practiced so much they become second nature. I started last year using one that both geometry and algebra students could participate in. I want to be able to refer back to these skills throughout the year. I'd like them to include solving multi-step equations, distributing, square roots, exponents, listing factors, finding multiples, etc.

Interventions - I want to spot when a students needs an intervention (for factoring or solving equations or graphing) and I want to have the materials right then and there to address the issue and practice it until the student feels comfortable. I think I can do this with scaffolded tasks. Also with a large amount of practice questions that differ from those found in classwork and homework. I will also need a way to determine if an intervention is needed.

Attitudes towards Math - I want to address my students feelings towards math. I want this to be a part of our daily routine. One idea I had was having students choose a math goal from this list found on twitter from Renee Chipman:

1. To learn & value mathematics.
2. To learn to think flexibly & strategically.
3. To become confident in my ability to do mathematics.
4. To become proficient problem solver.
5. To learn to communicate mathematically.
6. To learn to reason mathematically.

I think that I can do this by brainstorming with students what these look like in action and how they can be achieved. Then I'll have students choose one that they would like to work on this year (or this semester) and we can track them through actions taken. Perhaps I can create questionnaires based on each goal for students to periodically complete to reflect on their progress.

This list is a work in progress. I will add new ideas as they occur to me. If you are reading along, please provide feedback and ideas. I could use all the help I can get.