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Math instructor authors text on teaching
Published 9/25/2009 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
LAKIN — In her study hall, about eight students in Wendy Hill's class are taking a pop quiz.
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[if "Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Lakin Middle School teacher Wendy Hill helps fifth grader ric jury with his checkbook on Thursday morning at Lakin Middle School. Students are credited "money" on their accounts for completed assignments and test scores and debited for missed assignments or zero scores. " isnot "nopurchase"]Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Lakin Middle School teacher Wendy Hill helps fifth grader ric jury with his checkbook on Thursday morning at Lakin Middle School. Students are credited "money" on their accounts for completed assignments and test scores and debited for missed assignments or zero scores.
"Can you show me a line without speaking?" Hill asks the students.
The eight students stand up and point their arms straight out — with their hands open, not closed in a fist.
That symbolizes a line because lines go on forever, the students said.
Hill is a math teacher at Lakin Middle School and recently wrote a book titled "Mathjive," that aims to inspire math teachers to help motivate their students.
"If it's not fun to teach, it's not fun to learn," Hill said.
Hill spent about a year and a half writing the book, and she had the idea years before that, she said. When visitors and student teachers entered her classroom, they told Hill to write a book outlining the teaching techniques she uses.
"Mathjive" is a short book that is easy to read, Hill said. The book is for teachers of second- to eighth-graders.
Colby Gugelmer and Bryan Rios, both in fifth grade, said math isn't their favorite subject but Hill's technique helps them through math classes.
"I learn faster," Rios said.
Hill's teaching techniques vary and include visual cues in words, taking field trips to let her students learn about their futures, and having students partner and balance a checkbook.
Several examples of visual cues in math words hang in her classroom in Lakin. Hill has certain words blown up and laminated: Parallel, with the two 'l's' larger than the rest of the word to emphasize that they running parallel to each other, and the word Horizontal, with the horizontal line in the capital 'H' stretching across the entire word.
Students learn so many definitions in math that it's often difficult for the students to remember all of the words, Hill said.
That covers the first chapter in Hill's five-chapter book. She said students who are English language learners also benefit from the words because they can think of a definition without spending time to translate the word into another language.
Other chapters in Hill's book cover motivation, strategies for helping classroom management, other strategies and activities, and field trips.
"Mathjive" is being printed in Newton and will be available the first week of October.
The chapter on field trips emphasizes the unique trips that Hill has taken her students on in the past, including a Futures Tour of the juvenile detention center and a community college and an Extreme Home Makeover trip to a home improvement store.
For the futures tour, students calculate how much they earn if they make minimum wage, how much they pay in taxes and how much they have to pay in bills.
"I want them to know it's all about getting an education — not necessarily four years of college — but to learn a trade," Hill said.
Then students realize if they make minimum wage, they can't afford a new car or surgery if a health problem arises.
"It's neat to see them get the big picture," Hill said.
Hill's book will be available at amazon.com, her Web site, mathjive.com, or by purchasing the book directly from Hill at mathjive@gmail.com. The book costs $22.95 and includes a poster of teaching techniques to hang in a classroom.
Hill will introduce her book to teachers Oct. 5 at the Southwest Kansas Reading and Math Conference in Garden City and Holcomb. She also will have a book signing at Today's Office Furniture, 120 E. Chestnut St., on Oct. 31.
Find out more about Hill's math class on education reporter Monica Springer's Education Station blog at SWKTalk.com/EducationStation.
Note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect e-mail address for Wendy Hill. A corrected version appears here.
Found 2 comment(s)!
With appreciation
Thanks, Wendy, for sharing your gift with the rest of us! I can't wait to get a copy!
Posted by: Larrilee Loeppke on 9/26/2009
Good job
Way to go Mrs. Hill! Kids need to learn how to function in everyday situations. How many times have you gone into a fast food business and the clerk can't even count the change back to you? I'll bet your students will be able to when you are done with them. Too many kids don't know how much fun school can be so thanks you and teachers like you our school system is tops.
Posted by: RH on 9/25/2009
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