Grade 10 Lesson Activities

I found Carly’s presentation on her lesson of the Pythagorean Theorem both creative and interesting.  In particular, I really enjoyed the doodle worksheet she created because it allowed for note taking to be fun and engaging.  Instead of students mindlessly copying down notes, this sheet allows for students to have more time to process the concepts as well as individualize their notes through doodling.  I also think that getting students to colour in the triangles using different colours would allow student to better visualize how the sum of the two legs of a right triangle equal the sum of the hypotenuse.  I think that by incorporating doodling into the lesson/ worksheet, students would be less stressed and more willing to focus.  For example, I know when I am listening to a lesson, I find I can focus more when I am doodling on my paper.  I also think that by having more diagrams and simple steps on the sheet and for the lesson was a great idea because it is less stressful for the students.  I.e. having visuals and steps to look back at when reviewing notes is easier to understand and less overwhelming compared to pages of written notes.  I also really liked the jigsaw examples Carly used, and how she had each group work together and solve one of the problems, and then explain it to the class.  I think that by teaching it this way would help diminish math anxiety because the students get to work together in smaller groups before sharing their answers. 

Josh’s presentation on the relationship of two lines was equally as engaging and creative.  I think the cup stacking picture problem would be a fun way to promote curiosity in linear equations, as well as provides real-world examples of where/how linear equations could be used.  I think the Cat and Mouse Gizmos activity would have a really positive response from the students because it allows them to test out and explore the relationship between two equations in a fun way.  I also think it would be less stressful for students because they would have the opportunity to explore the mathematical concept without having to do a lot of calculations.  The Cat and Mouse activity is also beneficial for students because it provides them with a real-world example, as well as allows them the option to analyze and collect data (i.e. the able of values).  Another thing I liked about Josh’s lesson plan was the short YouTube Video on the Tortoise and the Hare.  I found the video to be funny, while at the same provided a clear example of 2 linear equations through the use of visuals. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Ours is not to reason why, just invert and multiply”-- Week 8

Image
One of the most common methods of teaching students how to divide fractions is to use the saying: “Ours is not to reason why, just invert and multiply”.   I find this troubling because throughout my undergrad courses, I have constantly been taught that as an educator, it is my job to ensure students are able to make sense of the concepts being taught.   However, this saying contradicts everything I learned because it discourages students from reasoning and understanding mathematical processes.   Many students struggle with fractions, so when you bring in a rule about dividing factions without working with students to build an understanding of the method used, it discourages making sense of the mathematics.   As future educators, it’s important for us to encourage students to practice ‘knowing’ rather than simply ‘doing’.   i.e. we need to teach students in such a way that promotes understanding of the concepts rather than rely mostly on the rules and procedures...
Read more

Lesson Activities: Grade 12 Data Management/ Advanced Functions

Image
Lesson Activities: Grade 12 Data Management/ Advanced Functions I find Data Management is a math course many teachers may not be comfortable with teaching because they are not as familiar with the subject content.   For this reason, I believe that many teachers teach this course in a very traditional way (i.e. a lot of lecture & note taking), which is unfortunate because data management is a course that has a lot of opportunity for experimenting and inquiry learning.   Colleen demonstrated this through her presentation on discrete probability.   She had in place 5 different probability scenarios that students could work on: rolling 2 dice, choosing a coloured egg from a bag at random, spinning a spinner, choosing a card from a deck of cards, and flipping a quarter.   I think data management is the type of course students would learn best from hands on experience, and using tangible objects to understand problems and how to solve them.   I also think...
Read more

Differentiated Instruction--Class 4

Differentiated Instruction      In this week’s lesson, we looked at differentiated instruction in mathematics.  Given that students differ in many ways, teachers need to plan their lessons to cater to all learning styles.  I find that in mathematics education, teachers are less likely to vary the materials students work with because they are these different teaching tools.  When I hear differentiated instruction, I think of creating a unique instructional activity/ path for each student.  Understandably, this is an unrealistic alternative to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ method of teaching, so teachers need to develop manageable strategies into their teaching in order to cater to most of their students at once.  During our lesson, we were given examples of questions that were open to interpretation.  I think these types of open questions would be useful for differentiation in mathematics because it allows stude...
Read more