Heart of Florida Math and Science Conference


Saturday morning found me in Gainesville at the Heart of Florida Math and Science Conference hosted by the Alachua Council of Teachers of Mathematics. It was great to meet so many teachers who were willing to travel across the state to get new ideas to improve their classroom instruction. I expected to mainly find teachers from Gainesville and was surprised to find teachers from Tallahassee, Okaloosa County, Marion County, all parts of Central Florida and beyond. This was the second year for this conference and it will continue to grow. A special thanks to Pam Morgan for inviting me and to all the wonderful teachers I spent time with.

The picture I'm adding is an adaptation of a GEMS activity for density columns. In the ones I've seen the liquids of different colors and densities are place in a straw which has been stuck in a potato. I've always had the potato absorb some of my liquids, or turn brown. These straws have been placed in modeling clay (which also makes a better base as it sticks to the tray) with the liquids added using eye droppers. Great improvement on an already wonderful activity. Great idea!

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