“A dream within a dream.” That’s one hook you’ll hear in the life of Mr. C’s class. In Algebra 2, there are a lot of activities that I enjoy. They really help me understand the target we are learning.  We walk in, we have a quick check set up from the lesson before and then, and the magic starts. Sometimes we won’t do quick checks.  We’ll see directions that say, “Take out your phone and play…” We’re not really playing a game for fun; we’re playing it because it ties in with our lesson later on in the day. These social interactions help me out because I try to figure out what the lesson is going to be while I’m playing the game and how it’s going to tie in.

During the lesson, Mr. C definitely makes us write notes. This is only me, but I feel as if the notes are important because they really help me out whenever I need help and I understand the target. The dream of going to college and to succeed in life is a real big motivator; when I keep that in mind, I am determined to take down notes and really focus on our lesson. Sometimes, Mr. C points out the connections to the previous lessons in our current lesson and sometimes, he doesn’t. This is what I really like about Mr. C; he really makes us THINK, whether it’s about the connections or something different. It’s the same with mind maps. He makes us think about each of the connections with the mind maps and makes us explain each one and how they connect. The mind maps and connections are an important part of Mr. C’s class and I’m glad they help me out with the lessons.

After we have learned the material and we feel a little comfortable with the lesson, Mr. C makes us do a Gallery Walk. A “Gallery Walk” is when he posts up different level problems on note cards all over the room for you to practice. You have to choose your level and then do the problems and the answers are on the back. The Gallery Walk helps me out because I get to finally stand up after sitting down for half an hour and it also get me whole body and brain going. Tic Tac Toe worksheets (we play with our partners) and the Round Robin (we get up and move again) are other activities we do to practice problems.

The worst part of the whole class is the tough exams and assessments he gives us. In order to prepare for our assessments, we have to practice the lessons we really need help on. He lays out folders of stations we’ve practiced before. We have a choice of what to practice.  When we need help, we ask each other. I like how Mr. C lets us talk to other students in the class and let us get help from them and also from Mr. C himself. The tests are… They’re not hard actually, they’re just long and have a big process to go with it. After the test and after he corrects them all, he hands them back to us and to see where we went wrong. He has other reflection sheets for us to reflect on what did wrong, why we did so and where we think we went wrong. When he writes comments on the test or circles something in specific, that helps me out a LOT. I know what I did wrong and I know what Mr. C was trying to help me do.

Being in Mr. C’s Algebra 2 class is a blast. He makes all the learning fun and he really helps me out as a student. I honestly enjoy being in his class and it gives me a lot to think about. He’s a kind teacher with a lot of humor and knowledge in him and because of that, I love learning in his class and it’s the best way to start the morning.