Another Hands on Math Activity

Thinkfinity is a wonderful free website full of great ideas for wonderfully engaging lessons. The search results locate relevant links to lesson plans that get students engaged. In a previous post I mentioned how the class went outside to measure our shadows to find missing lengths. I decided to dig a little deeper to try and find another hands on learning activity that would help re-enforce proportion math. Thanks to Thinkfinity, I am going to take some time this weekend and develop a formal lesson plan for the activity contained in the following link:  http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lesson.aspx?id=2774. It is much easier to think outside the box when you have great technology right at your finger tips.

A little bit about my self...Blais Cross

My name is Blais Cross. I currently live and work in Douglas Arizona. Making the the choice to teach in the borderland region of the State has proved to be both challenging and rewarding. I am excited to be able to say that I am participating in the Transition to Teach program, currently offered at the University of Arizona South. This past year has been full of great experiences which have allowed me to better understand how to present math topics in a thought provoking manner. I am dedicated to convincing students that math can indeed be fun when approached in a critical thinking kind of way. 

Since rumors of the implementation of Common Core and the PARC test requirements coming down form the State level, I have been very proactive to attend valuable training and workshops, but I notice the course work that I am currently studying in my M. Ed. program is so much more valuable. My courses have really allowed me to open my thought process to think outside the box. I have a feeling that is why I was chosen to work with the GEAR UP program this summer. I have enjoyed being able to collaborate with other educators, and have learned so much in a fairly short amount of time. 
Someone at the Douglas Unified School District saw my vision and trusted that I could tackle the challenge of a restless 8th grade class. It is common knowledge that the summer school students would much rather be sleeping in until noon and vacationing with their loved ones, but I feel confident when I say the classroom has been alive with engaged learning.  I must admit, sometimes planning for in depth activities oftentimes involves late nights and weekends, but in the end it is worth it because I see brilliant minds challenged and ready to think outside the box right along with me.

   

Indirect measurement can be fun!

I once it heard it said that over 50 percent of standardized math test questions can be solved using a proportion. That is another topic we have been taking some time in reviewing during the current 2014 Summer Session of Gear Up Math. As much as possible, the students are provided with real world application math problems that can be solved using PROPORTIONS.
In an effort to break up the monotony of traditional lecture, the class headed outside to solve some indirect measurement problems. The students were paired up and required to measure their partner and the corresponding shadow. Students also collected data on the shadow of one of the tallest trees in the school’s court yard. Once students felt confident that they had collected the data necessary to approximate the height of the tree, we made our way back to the classroom to begin calculating results.

This activity proved to be a great way to demonstrate which students were proficient in setting up and solving proportion equations, but also proved that math could be used to tackle real world dilemmas. It would have been impossible to climb the tree, which stood over 45 feet tall, nevertheless students persevered and worked together to solve the problem. Great work class!

Function Notation Activity

Students go through a huge transition from junior high to high school. The eighth graders in the Summer Gear Up Math class are no different. They have become accustomed to hearing their teachers refer to the input and output of functions as "x" and "y" and although this might be considered a "FUNCTIONAL" practice, it is not the only vocabulary they are going to hear in their 9th grade math classes.

Today we ventured into new function vocabulary territory to better understand math notation and language used when solving linear equation real world application problems. Students were given a blank piece of white paper and asked to divide the paper into 16 rectangles and cut them out. 16 function notation/ vocabulary terms were randomly written on the board. The students then copied a different term to each of the 16 rectangles until they every term on a flashcard in front of them. They were prompted to categorize the terms, and were reminded of the very specific relationship that occurs between “x” and “y.”

The energy in the classroom was very positive as students began to rearrange the rectangle flash cards on their desk. Some of the male students in the back started racing each other to see who could get the correct answer first. Students were given feedback from the educators in the room but were limited to “Yes! That’s it.” or “Check again.” In all three classes, students would be almost finished with the objective of the activity, but found that they were stumped. It turns out that the “x” column had 7 terms and the “y” column contained 9. I purposely set up the activity so students would be forced to think outside the box. Over all it was a great way to introduce and re-enforce information related to functions. I have included the 16 function notation terms we used in this activity as an attachment for anyone who is curious. Can you figure it out? Reference figure 6.12_no.2 to view a student work sample.