In This Issue:
∞
Algebra Ace
∞
Right Angle
Approach
∞
Stop Sine!
∞
Summing Up
Success
∞
Volunteer
Spotlight
Written By Larry Winkler, AmeriCorps Tutor
at Memorial High School
As tutors, we know there is little that
is more satisfying than seeing a student
excited about what they are learning.
This was the case with one of our
students at Memorial. It was a
wonderful week, and Faith was having
geometry epiphanies. Looking at the
multiple steps in finding the surface
areas and volumes of objects constructed
with spheres, cones, prisms and
pyramids, she perfectly calculated each
step of what she had to do before
starting the problems. Furthermore, she
was able to see the solutions without
using her calculator! With grins, and
giggles, she pumped her arms in victory
as she announced, truthfully, "I'm
smart!" After a long journey of
struggling with math, Faith has finally
reached a point in her learning where
she was no longer striving to believe in
herself. These heartfelt moments are
the little victories that have made this
year a great success.
Explaining
Exponents
Total Sessions: 9660
Volunteer Hours: 7100
Currently Serving
430 Students
Students often ask why any number to
the exponent of 0 equals 1. One way to
explain this is to think of "multiplication"
as always including an extra "1" as a
multiplier. Since 1 is the multiplication
identity, the product is never changed by
multiplying by 1. Consider that an
exponent is the number of times you need
to multiply the base and also multiply by
the number 1. For example, 5 to the 3rd
power would be 5 x 5 x 5 x 1 = 125, and 5
squared would be 5 x 5 x 1 = 25, etc.
Featured Above: Denominator Wall at
James Madison Memorial High School
Featured to the Left: Spartans Mascot
Math Tip of the Month
Exam Readiness
Students often show understanding of
concepts in tutoring sessions, but “blank
out” when a test is put in front of them.
Here are a few suggestions you can give
students to help them get unstuck.
1. Tell them to remember their name.
No, really—just thinking of something that
they DO know is the first step in
remembering those lost concepts.
2. Have the student unfreeze their
mind by unfreezing their body. Have
them take a quick stretch and encourage
them to remind themselves that they are
OK. Have them take a deep breath or
three to help them settle down.
3. Encourage them to work around the
panic by finding something on the test
that they can do. Focus on the ones they
feel comfortable attempting, then go back
and try the others. They might be
surprised to find that they can now tackle
the problems that were originally
causing them frustration.
Let's keep reducing the exponent:
5^3 = 5 x 5 x 5 x 1 = 125
5^2 = 5 x 5 x 1 = 25
5^1 = 5 x 1 = 5
5^0 = 1
If "5 to the 3rd" means multiply 1
using three 5’s, then 5 to the 0 means
that I also want to multiply
using zero 5’s!
Written By Maiyer Xiong, AmeriCorps Tutor at East High School
As we reflect on our first year, we are pleased with the
successes we have had in the Achievement Connections Math
Tutoring Program. Since September 2014 we have had over 9,600
tutoring sessions, and we have had over 430 students enroll in the
tutoring program across Madison East, Madison West, James
Madison Memorial and Middleton High Schools this school year.
There are also almost 200 volunteer tutors who were instrumental
to the program and served the majority of our students. Gaining
tutors at the beginning of this past semester was a great addition
to our team, allowing us to both reach a wider breath of students
and lessen the pressures on our AmeriCorps team. With the
support provided by our volunteers, we were able to respond
Memorial High School Recognizes:
faster and more creatively to our students’ needs.
Our AmeriCorps team has worked to develop different
Pam Woodruff
methods over the course of the year to encourage our students
Background:
and guide them towards progress. At East, one method involved
changing the look of our reminder slips to convey a positive
Pam Woodruff is a retired professor with a
PhD in Physics. She taught at University in
message and help our students learn to internalize a growth
Scotland, as well as UW-Madison. She came
mindset. The reminder slips, which originally started with just
across the pond from England to tutor with
a name and time which the student was scheduled, now has a
our
program! Aside from being an amazing
positive image and interesting quote. We have also
tutor, she keeps herself busy with an array of
restructured a number of our documents to be more
activities, including gardening, yoga, and
informative and helpful, including streamlining our studentresearching family histories. Pam also loves
tutor sign-in sheets. Each site also has systems to share
Haggis, which is a dish she discovered in
notes from classes and homework assignments with
Scotland. For those looking to venture into
volunteers. This allows for volunteers to learn the material
Scottish cuisine, Haggis can be it can be
found here at Woodman's!
that the students are taught through class notes taken by
AmeriCorps members and see what the assignments look
Why She’s Awesome:
like. This is an incredibly useful resource for our
She has tutored at Memorial since January and our
volunteers, especially for classes that don’t use textbooks.
students love her English accent. She is extremely
Furthermore, the addition of snacks and fun incentives
dedicated to the Achievement Connections Program
have made our room more comfortable for students,
and shows this consistently through the hard work she
especially the ones that have opted to come in during their
puts in with our students. She tutors two students and
lunch hour to receive the support they need.
says the best part of tutoring is seeing a student’s
Overall, we have grown a lot as a program but even
progress. Pam is very intuitive with her students and
knows how to incorporate basic mathematical
more as a team. As individuals we each come from
fundamentals in tutoring, specifically with her
different backgrounds and have different career interests,
Geometry
students. Thanks Pam for all of the time you
but our AmeriCorps team has collaborated with our
put in with the Achievement Connections Program!
volunteers and school staff to become a team united with
Favorite Quote:
one goal. Our goal is to help these students find
excitement in learning and an interest in school while also
“… you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very
closing the achievement gap. We are so proud to be tutors
Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out
into the open and has other people looking at it.”
and feel honored to have had the opportunity to work
–The Pooh Story Book by A. A. Milne
alongside members of our community to become givers of
knowledge, teachers of patience and persistence, and
Thank you Pam!
examples of triumph.