The Geometry Around Us

This is an introduction to geometry with a technology-based project in which students will go out looking for geometric shapes in the world around them. 

Procedure:

Watch the video on geometric shapes.

• Assign groups of 4 students.

• Pass out and go over the instructions and grading rubric for the assignment.

• Show part of the video from “Alma and Julia’s Geometry Hunt” to give a better idea of what they are trying to do.

• Students will define and capture pictures or video of the geometric shapes on the sheet in the world around them.

• Students make a PowerPoint, Photo Story or MovieMaker presentation using the pictures or videos they have made and definition they have found.

 

The Geometry Around Us Instructions

1.       Define each of the 14 geometric shapes from the above list.

2.      In your group decide whether you want to take pictures or make a video for your presentation.

3.      Once you have decided which one your group is going to do you will find an example of each of the 14 geometric shapes in the world around you.

4.      You must include your definition of each of the 14 shapes in your presentation.

       a.       If you are making a video you probably want to just say the definition as you are   recording the objects.

       b.      If you are making a slideshow you can put the definition in your presentation.

5.      Once you have finished taking your pictures or video you will import them onto the computer and begin making your presentation.

6.      Each group will give their presentation in class.

7.      Finally you will turn in a review of the other members of your group based off of their contribution to the project

8. Have fun!

I retrieved this lesson from: http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=32420

Let’s Get Comfortable With Celsius!

Let’s join the rest of the world and get comfortable with metric measurements! Learn about Celsius and then translate what those temps mean in the real world.

Americans can often be disadvantaged, because our measuring system doesn’t match the rest of the world.  We don’t work with temperature measurement of Celsius on a daily basis. We can hardly spell the word.  So when we hear a temperature in Celsius we often can’t relate it to a comparable temperature in Fahrenheit.  We’re lost!

By using this worksheet you can learn to relate key temperatures in Celsius (boiling water, freezing water, human body temperature, and room temperature) to relatable temperatures in everyday life. Once you relate to these, you can figure out everything in-between. You never have to feel lost again when you hear that temperature related in Celsius! Join the global community!

           

1.  Take an imersion into the measurement of Celsius. Try to stay away from talking about Fairenheit. You want the students to try to think in Celsius by relating it to temperatures that they are familiar with.

2. Give each of the students a copy of the worksheet. Generate as much discussion as possible about the pictures and temperatures on the worksheet.  Then complete the questions at the bottom together.

3. To generate discussion after completing the worksheet you could ask the students questions like: What else happens at the four key temperatures outlined on the worksheet? What kind of clothes would we wear at these temperatures?  Discuss the temperatures between the four key temperatures on the worksheet and relate it to activities you could do and clothes you could wear at those in-between teamperatures.  

You can download a PDF of this worksheet at the link below.

I retrieved this lesson from: http://www.schoolfamily.com/print-and-use-tools/document/1426-metric-measurements

        How many times have you heard math students moan and groan when they see a word problem on their homework or math test.  Word problems aren’t really difficult, but a student must first understand what it is that they are trying to solve before they can work on solving it.  This step sometimes seems like a monster to some students. One way to slay the monster is with lots of practice with word problems. With practice a student will get use to the terminology and what it is asking. 

        I found a great site for a 6^th grade math activity. It has worksheets with varied word problems. There are word problems on divisibility patterns, powers and exponents, order of operations, algebra: solving equations, geometry: area of rectangles, and much more. By using flexible grouping, a teacher can pair up students in buddy teams. You can give each team of students a different worksheet. The teams will work on their worksheets and choose one word problem they want to present to the class. They will present how they solved the word problem. While the students are working in their groups, the teacher can give assistant to teams that need it.

Here’s an example for one of the work sheets:

Divisibility Patterns

MONTHS OF THE YEAR: For Exercises 1and 2, use the table that shows how many days are in each month, excluding leap years. (Every four years, the calendar is adjusted by adding one day to February.)

JAN.      FEB.      MAR.      APR.      MAY      JUN.      JUL.      AUG.      SEP.   OCT.    NOV.   DEC.

31          28          31           30           31         30          31           31          30      31         30          31

1. Which month has a number of days that is divisible by 4? During a leap year, is this still true?

2. Which months have a number of days that is divisible by both 5 and 10? During a leap year, is this still true?

3. The total number of months in a year are divisible by which numbers?

4. FOOD: Jermaine and his father are in charge of grilling for a family reunion picnic. There will be 40 people attending. Ground beef patties come 5 to a package. How many packages of patties should they buy to provide 1 hamburger for each person? Will there by any patties left over? If so, how many?

5. RETAIL: Li is stacking bottles of apple juice on the shelf at her parent’s grocery store. She has space to fit 4 bottles across and 6 bottles from front to back. She has 25 bottles to stack. Will all of the bottles fit on the shelf? Explain.

6. FARMING: Sally is helping her mother put eggs into egg cartons to sell at the local farmer’s market. Their chickens have produced a total of 108 eggs for market. Can Sally package the eggs in groups of 12 so that each carton has the same number of eggs? Explain.

You can find the worksheets on this site:  http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/workbooks/math/pdf_workbook/m1pwp.pdf

We live in a world of mathematics. It’s all around us!  Math can be fascinating for students when they can relate it to everyday life skills, such as work, play, sports, and stores.   A good chunk of class time needs to be spent learning math concepts, but hands-on activities bring math to life. I found a great lesson plan for 4^th-6^th graders.  Using the cooperative learning strategy to experiment, students discover the real purpose of math. The experiments with each math subject help them to understand why they need to learn that subject in math.

This is how the lesson goes.  The class is divided into four groups.  Each group selects one of the following math subjects: place value, division, percents, and conversion of measurement. Each group then creates its own math story to demonstrate an everyday use of math. Each assigned group will demonstrate its math word problem by writing and drawing pictures on paper. The teacher can approve each math story before allowing students to continue. After each group has its math story approved, allow time to create a slideshow presentation demonstrating the real-life math problem. There is a PowerPoint template supplied for the groups to use. When groups have completed creating their presentations, they each present their math stories to the class. There is a rubric for grading the projects.

Let’s look at an example. Situation:  You find a shirt at Old Navy, it costs 19.99.  It’s on sale for 15% off the regular price.   The cashier scans the sweater and tells you the price of the sweater is 18.93.  Is that correct? Or did you get beat by the Old Navy scanner?

How We Got Our Answer

$19.99 X 15%   = Change percent to decimal.

$19.99 X .15     =  $2.99

$19.99 – $2.99  =  $17.00

I got beat by the scanner!  I want a recount

This lesson plan also offers links to remediation pages that include general teaching strategies/classroom accommodations for students with identified learning and/or behavior problems.

Link to the Lesson Plan: http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=5812