The Ultimate Middle School Math Movie

October Sky Middle School Math MovieThe only movie that I ever show in my math classroom is October Sky.  It is a fantastic movie not only because of the inspiring story of Homer Hickam, but also because of the messages it presents to students to work hard and to never give up.  Oh yes, the importance of MATH is also highlighted in the movie in several scenes.

In this post I will give an overview of the movie, highlight some of the teachable moments, and explain how I have used October Sky as a source of inspiration and enjoyment in my classroom.  I also include a link to a printable October Sky worksheet that you can use with your students.

The Inspiring Life of Homer Hickam

Based on a true story, October Sky is the story of Homer Hickam’s determined journey to escape his fate as a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia.   [Read more…]

Spider Man

It was a recent cool, dark morning as I walked onto my middle school campus.  I had no idea what danger awaited me just outside the door of Room 13 as I innocently approached the classroom.  The campus was quiet, and when I am not too tired I enjoy the chance to get to campus early to work undisturbed in my room. 

My wife and two kids were still at home asleep when the incident occurred.  Just outside the base of my classroom door, suspended in mid-air, was a gigantic black widow spider.  I knew that she lived in the little hole between the student lockers and the block wall of the classroom building (I had seen her web) but I had not been to school early enough to run into her.

These little ladies can be dangerous.  I didn’t like the idea of a black widow spider so close to the students and their lockers and frankly I was tired of the widow mucking up my door with its messy webs.  I had gone so far as to stuff construction paper into the hole to try to block the spider’s access to us all.  No luck.

It was time for a showdown.  Six in the morning and dark.  No one else around.  It was either her or me.  Slowly I removed my shoe, raised it high above my head, bent at the knees like someone about to hike a football, and came down on the  intruder in a lightning flash of power.  That’s when it happened. [Read more…]