Calculator day is one of the funnest days of the year. We use the Ti 84 calculators. Surely, this is one of the greatest inventions of all time...right up there with sliced bread and WD-40. This calculator can do so much so fast that I can actually teach the math behind the arithmetic and teach the meaning behind all of those tables, graphs, and equations math teachers are so famous for.
Virtually everything we did today was a new skill for kids. We typed in equations. We read tables. We compared graphs. We found answers to contextual questions, not just if x = 3 find y. We discovered what the x = 3 means and what the value of that pesky "y" is and what it means. See, there is a reason for doing all of this math.
I could tell kids were really learning and internalizing stuff today because I have never had it so quiet in my classroom. Normally, there is some conversation. Not today. Kids asked pertinent questions. They listened. They took great notes.
We are finally using the calculator as the second most powerful tool in our tool box...after our brains.
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