Jay Waggoner
37 Followers
Lima, Ohio, United States
About the store
Jay Waggoner, a native of Fremont, Ohio, received a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Ohio Northern University and a Master of Arts in Math Education from Bowling Green State University. Jay spent his entire 39 year career teaching for Shawnee Local Schools, near Lima, Ohio. Though he started at the junior high level, he soon moved to the high school level where, at one time or another, he taught every math course ever offered at Shawnee, including AP Calculus, which he taught for the last thirty years of his career. Now retired from teaching, he picks up spending money for vacations by selling used books on eBay and abebooks . . . and writing puzzle books. With the used books, he hopes to sell them for more than he paid for them. With the puzzle books, he hopes to either help many learn or relearn math, and eventually wishes to make math a mainstream recreational activity. That goal will have been attained when John (or Joan) Q. Public sees the license plate - MW1331, and thinks: "My Word, eleven cubed."
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15 Mark Twain puzzles,Tom Sawyer,Huckleberry Finn,Jumping Frog,Hadleyburg
This offering is a 15 puzzle set of puzzles on Mark Twain, two of his more popular books - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; two of his short stories The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County; and one of his essays - Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences. Included is a math essay puzzle giving critical dates and numbers about Clemens/Twain. The math is NOT hard. I'd like for it to be done mentally . . . and seventh grad
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
25 Puzzle Edgar Allan Poe Package,English Curriculum Director's Dream
This offering is a 25 puzzle set of puzzles on Edgar Allan Poe and eight of his more popular works: The Cask of Amontillado, The Purloined Letter, The Raven, The Black Cat, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Pit and the Pendulum. Included is a math essay puzzle giving critical dates and numbers about Edgar Allan Poe. The math is NOT hard. I'd like for it to be done mentally . . . and seventh graders should be able to handle it easily, the 12
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
4 Puzzle,Edgar Allan Poe,Pit and Pendulum,Adverb Search,Vocabulary Puzzle,X-word
This offering is a four puzzle package of puzzles involving Edgar Allan Poe and his short story The Pit and the Pendulum. Included are an "arithmetic essay" on general knowledge about Poe in which addition and subtraction and smaller exponents are used to come up with the appropriate dates and numbers. (The arithmetic is NOT hard, just good to learn/know. The INTENT is for the problems to be done mentally . . . instructions are given. Students from 7th grade to 12th grade will be able to do the
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
4 Puzzle,Edgar Allan Poe,Tell-Tale Heart,Adject. Search,Vocabulary Puzzle,X-word
This offering is a four puzzle package of puzzles involving Edgar Allan Poe and his short story The Tell-Tale Heart. Included are an "arithmetic essay" on general knowledge about Poe in which addition and subtraction and smaller exponents are used to come up with the appropriate dates and numbers. (The arithmetic is NOT hard, just good to learn/know. The INTENT is for the problems to be done mentally . . . instructions are given. Students from 7th grade to 12th grade will be able to do the probl
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
Combining Like Bodies, A Combining Like Terms Cornwellian Puzzle
This puzzle, along with most of the other puzzles that I write, is an attempt to integrate, review, and blend. I want to integrate more than one subject in a learning activity, cross-curricular learning as it were. All of life’s experiences are integrated activities. I want to review previous material a student (puzzle doer) has been exposed to. We get better at tasks in life by repetition. I want to blend a learning experience with as many other learning situations as I can. Few life expe
7th - 11th, Adult Education
Algebra, Basic Operations, Literature
3 Puzzle Merchant of Venice,Word Search Crossword,Vocabulary,Characters
This offering is a three puzzle package of puzzles involving Shakespeare and one of his plays, The Merchant of Venice. Included are a "math essay" on general knowledge about Shakespeare in which addition is used to come up with the appropriate dates and numbers. (The addition is NOT hard, just good to learn/know.) There is a word search on finding the 18 major characters in The Merchant of Venice that will make a nice introduction to reading the play. And there's a crossword puzzle that would pr
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
4 Puzzle,Edgar Allan Poe,The Raven,Adjective Search,Vocabulary,Crossword
This offering is a four puzzle package of puzzles involving Edgar Allan Poe and his classic poem, The Raven. Included are an "arithmetic essay" on general knowledge about Poe in which addition and subtraction and smaller exponents are used to come up with the appropriate dates and numbers. (The arithmetic is NOT hard, just good to learn/know. The INTENT is for the problems to be done mentally . . . instructions are given. Students from 7th grade to 12th grade will be able to do the problems and
7th - 12th
Basic Operations, Literature, Poetry
5 STEM puzzles,Blending English & Mathematics,Grammar,Exponents,Spelling
This offering is a set of five STEM useful puzzles blending together both English and mathematics. Each of the five puzzles is accompanied with a Prelude which gives a brief review of the English and mathematics needed to complete the puzzles as well as explaining how the puzzle part is to be done. The English topics reviewed are grammar, using the correct homophone, how apostrophes are employed, and spelling. The math topics used are raising two, three, and ten to powers, using negative expo
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Grammar, Spelling
7 Mark Twain puzzles,Tom Sawyer,Huckleberry Finn,Bio Essay,W.S.,X-Word,Vocab
This offering is a seven puzzle set of puzzles on Mark Twain and two of his more popular books - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Included is a math essay puzzle giving critical dates and numbers about Clemens/Twain. The math is NOT hard. I'd like for it to be done mentally . . . and seventh graders should be able to handle it easily, the 12th graders should get some mental practice/review. There are two word searches (one for each novel), two vocabulary p
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
Deducing Some St. Pat's Stats, A St. Patrick's Day Mental Math Event
Here's a St. Patrick's Day Puzzle that yields a bit of history and lore while enriching mental math abilities. To fill in the blanks, and find the answer to the anonymous quote, match the date below the blank with the letters and events below. If you do not recall the date of the events listed, I’ve given you the math wherewithal to calculate the date. Of course, it might help to learn/remember that a quick way to subtract mentally is by “over-subtracting.” Consider 736 – 198. Instead
6th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Mental Math
Bible Study,Sunday School,Bible History,4 Puzzle Package,Mark,Bible
This offering is a four puzzle package which would be very useful in a Sunday School Class, a Bible History Class, a Bible Study Class . . . or merely as a set of puzzles for anyone who has an interest in the Bible and enjoys puzzles. Two of the puzzles are word searches, one puzzle is a crossword, and one is a "math essay." Two of the puzzles involve The Gospel of Mark and two of the puzzles are more general puzzles about the history of the Bible and the types of literature found in the Bible
Not Specific
Basic Operations, Literature, World History
6 puzzle package,Charles Dickens,A Christmas Carol,2 x-words,2 matching,"bio"
This package consists of all six of the puzzles I've written that involve Charles Dickens. Four of the puzzles are centered about his A Christmas Carol, another is a brief "arithmetical biography", and the other a blended math/literature puzzle that introduces the "doer" to 14 of Dickens' aptly named characters. A Christmas Carol is a foundation for four of the puzzles. Three of the puzzles might work nicely before reading the book - a "math essay" wherein the doer calculates some middle schoo
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Basic Operations, Literature
Signs of the Sea Turtle,Mathematical Essay,Operations with Signed Numbers
In this mathematical turtle essay you’ll learn a bit more about turtles. To be honest, there aren’t many negatives about turtles, but you will have to recall/relearn something about negative numbers in order to complete the essay. In order to complete the blanks the student will have to do some adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with signed numbers. There IS a Prelude that explains these students that accompanies the puzzle for the student who has forgotten, or needs some remi
6th - 10th, Adult Education
Algebra, Basic Operations, Biology
2015 March Madness 6 Puzzle Madness,Word Searches + Powers of 2 & 3 "Math Essay"
This is a collection of six puzzles involving NCAA basketball. Five of them are Word Searches (a word search for each of the four region's 2015 teams involved and one for the Champions over the last thirty years) as well as a math puzzle that employs powers of two and three to give a sort of history of the tournament. By the time a student has finished the "math essay" he/she will know their powers of 2 & 3 plus they will have practiced some basic binary operations . . . and decoded the messa
4th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Mental Math, Reading
NCAA Basketball by the Numbers, A March Madness 3 pointer
This puzzle, along with most of the other puzzles that I write, is a mental exercise in integrating, reviewing, and blending. I want to integrate more than one subject in a learning activity, cross-curricular learning as it were. All of life’s experiences are integrated activities. I want to review previous material a student (puzzle doer) has been exposed to. We get better at tasks in life by repetition. I want to blend a learning experience with as many other learning situations as I can.
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Mental Math
4 Puzzle,Edgar Allan Poe,Fall House Usher,Verb Search,Vocabulary Puzzle,X-word
This offering is a four puzzle package of puzzles involving Edgar Allan Poe and his short story The Fall of the House of Usher. Included are an "arithmetic essay" on general knowledge about Poe in which addition and subtraction and smaller exponents are used to come up with the appropriate dates and numbers. (The arithmetic is NOT hard, just good to learn/know. The INTENT is for the problems to be done mentally . . . instructions are given. Students from 7th grade to 12th grade will be able to
8th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Literature, Vocabulary
Mothers by the Numbers, A Mothers' Day Math Essay
Here is a timely, informative, and helpful extra credit opportunity for the enterprising student who wants to know more! This puzzle, along with most of the other puzzles that I write, is a mental exercise in integrating, reviewing, and blending. I want to integrate more than one subject in a learning activity, cross-curricular learning as it were. All of life’s experiences are integrated activities. I want to review previous material a student (puzzle doer) has been exposed to. We get b
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Algebra, Basic Operations, Mental Math
3 Puzzle Thanksgiving Day package,T-Day Arithmetic Essay,Food Search,Crossword
This offering is a three puzzle package involving Thanksgiving. Included are an arithmetic-based essay where the student does elementary arithmetic to supply the numbers for my prose . . . hopefully mentally. The student will need to know how to add and subtract (which I've given instructions for), evaluate simple exponents, and obey the order of operations. There is a food search where the student will find 20 of the more common foods partaken on Thanksgiving, then uncover a hidden message u
4th - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Vocabulary
The Positives and Negatives on Sea Shells, Basic Integer Operations
This puzzle, along with most of the other puzzles that I write, is an attempt to integrate, review, and blend. I want to integrate more than one subject in a learning activity, cross-curricular learning as it were. All of life’s experiences are integrated activities. I want to review previous material a student (puzzle doer) has been exposed to. We get better at tasks in life by repetition. I want to blend a learning experience with as many other learning situations as I can. Few life expe
6th - 12th, Adult Education
Algebra, Arithmetic, Basic Operations
Big 12 Conference Puzzles,Math Essay,Crossword,Word Search,Fun,Sports
This offering is the complete set of three puzzles on the Big 12 Conference. Included is the word search (nice for younger students), the Math Essay (nice for students in both middle school and high school), and the crossword (nice for high school or middle school "teams.") The intent is ALWAYS to have some fun while learning. The price is a bit of a reduction from buying each of the three separately.
Big 12 Conference Puzzles,Math Essay,Crossword,Word Search,Fun,Sports by Value Added Publishi
3rd - 12th, Adult Education
Basic Operations, Reading, Vocabulary
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About the store
Experience
Jay Waggoner, a native of Fremont, Ohio, received a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Ohio Northern University and a Master of Arts in Math Education from Bowling Green State University. Jay spent his entire 39 year career teaching for Shawnee Local Schools, near Lima, Ohio. Though he started at the junior high level, he soon moved to the high school level where, at one time or another, he taught every math course ever offered at Shawnee, including AP Calculus, which he taught for the last thirty years of his career. Now retired from teaching, he picks up spending money for vacations by selling used books on eBay and abebooks . . . and writing puzzle books. With the used books, he hopes to sell them for more than he paid for them. With the puzzle books, he hopes to either help many learn or relearn math, and eventually wishes to make math a mainstream recreational activity. That goal will have been attained when John (or Joan) Q. Public sees the license plate - MW1331, and thinks: "My Word, eleven cubed."
Teaching style
It varies with the class and the chemistry of the class BUT as I progressed in my career two things became increasingly important and evident: First, students (REGARDLESS of their age/class) need to get out of their seats with some degree of frequency and up to the black/white boards to do problems. Only by doing can one learn. Students love it. Second, ALL students need constant review. I try to make reviewing fun with puzzles.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Making Shawnee the Best It Can Be
Presenter at several Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics meetings.
Speaker and presenter at many meetings and sessions.
My own education history
Graduated from Fremont Ross High School.
Bachelor of Arts with a Math Major from Ohio Northern University.
Master of Arts with a Cognate in Mathematics from Bowling Green State University.
Additional biographical information
I see.
I read.
I think.
I do.
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