December, January, February
Second trimester we have been focusing on percents, decimals, fractions, scale factors, ratios and geometry! I cannot believe the progress the students have made this trimester. It has been a journey for all of us.
In the beginning of the trimester we discussed how fractions, decimals, and percents can all really represent the same amount. We had a great time playing with numbers for tips and discounts as we got to make up some of the items we were shopping for at the store. In congruence with representing fractions as various decimals or percents, we also had a big ribbon number line that the students had to put together and order the values of certain numbers in order around the middle zero.
We had three big projects this trimester: measuring and drawing a scaled down version of a room, measuring ratios of heights to shadows in order to calculate the heights of objects on school grounds, and building robots from rectangular prisms and calculating surface area.
The blueprints project was interesting because the students got to relate how an architect would model a house for a client. They also saw the advantage of computer software in today's modern world since they found it tedious to draw these blueprints by hand. Imagine having to draw ten different blueprints for multiple people at the clients' business? What a hassle!
Additionally, the students got to set up their own ratios for height to shadow. We noted that the time would matter because the sun moves spots throughout the day and then had partners measure height and shadow lengths using yard sticks. This was a cool project because the students got to go outside and investigate how to calculate the height of a very tall object without using a yard stick. In small groups, we traveled around the school grounds to measure the shadows of tall objects. Afterwards, the students made predictions about how tall that certain object should be and then calculated to see how close they were to their guess.
Lastly, the students discovered and applied their knowledge of surface area to build robots from rectangular prisms (a HUGE thank you to the community members who donated!). Students were to measure the box's dimensions and write down the individual areas that each face had. Then the students were split into two groups: one which would build their robots with another student and calculate the surface area before getting tin foil to cover it, and a second group that would cover their box with tin foil first and then build the robots after and remove the overlapping face. This was a great project for students because it was very hands on! I enjoyed the process and the end results were quite creative! See picture above.
September, October, November
This trimester has gone by so fast; the classroom has been filled with great discussions about fractions! What are fractions? How are fractions used? Why and when are fractions applied? What are the rules of fractions for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing?
I have been very impressed with the amount of participation and understanding from all of the classes. Students have had several small activities such as placing a given value on an integer number line, singing the fraction rules song, and chrome-book games online to help with the unit of fractions.
In addition to homework, quizzes and tests, students have completed two more projects which are pictured below. The Optical art project was inspired by 1960's artwork. The students were given a ten-by-ten grid and a choice of three to six colors to create a pattern. After hey designed their grid, they had to count the tiles of each color and convert that number to a fraction, decimal and percentage based on the total one hundred tiles. Students focused on reading these fractions, decimals and percentages in the process.
Secondly, each student made a fractional comic strip. They were to include one of the following topics about fractions: mixed numbers, proper versus improper, representations of one whole in fraction form, and addition or subtraction of fractions. As a class, students brainstormed all the topics and then were given in-class time to plan out their comic.
Second trimester we have been focusing on percents, decimals, fractions, scale factors, ratios and geometry! I cannot believe the progress the students have made this trimester. It has been a journey for all of us.
In the beginning of the trimester we discussed how fractions, decimals, and percents can all really represent the same amount. We had a great time playing with numbers for tips and discounts as we got to make up some of the items we were shopping for at the store. In congruence with representing fractions as various decimals or percents, we also had a big ribbon number line that the students had to put together and order the values of certain numbers in order around the middle zero.
We had three big projects this trimester: measuring and drawing a scaled down version of a room, measuring ratios of heights to shadows in order to calculate the heights of objects on school grounds, and building robots from rectangular prisms and calculating surface area.
The blueprints project was interesting because the students got to relate how an architect would model a house for a client. They also saw the advantage of computer software in today's modern world since they found it tedious to draw these blueprints by hand. Imagine having to draw ten different blueprints for multiple people at the clients' business? What a hassle!
Additionally, the students got to set up their own ratios for height to shadow. We noted that the time would matter because the sun moves spots throughout the day and then had partners measure height and shadow lengths using yard sticks. This was a cool project because the students got to go outside and investigate how to calculate the height of a very tall object without using a yard stick. In small groups, we traveled around the school grounds to measure the shadows of tall objects. Afterwards, the students made predictions about how tall that certain object should be and then calculated to see how close they were to their guess.
Lastly, the students discovered and applied their knowledge of surface area to build robots from rectangular prisms (a HUGE thank you to the community members who donated!). Students were to measure the box's dimensions and write down the individual areas that each face had. Then the students were split into two groups: one which would build their robots with another student and calculate the surface area before getting tin foil to cover it, and a second group that would cover their box with tin foil first and then build the robots after and remove the overlapping face. This was a great project for students because it was very hands on! I enjoyed the process and the end results were quite creative! See picture above.
September, October, November
This trimester has gone by so fast; the classroom has been filled with great discussions about fractions! What are fractions? How are fractions used? Why and when are fractions applied? What are the rules of fractions for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing?
I have been very impressed with the amount of participation and understanding from all of the classes. Students have had several small activities such as placing a given value on an integer number line, singing the fraction rules song, and chrome-book games online to help with the unit of fractions.
In addition to homework, quizzes and tests, students have completed two more projects which are pictured below. The Optical art project was inspired by 1960's artwork. The students were given a ten-by-ten grid and a choice of three to six colors to create a pattern. After hey designed their grid, they had to count the tiles of each color and convert that number to a fraction, decimal and percentage based on the total one hundred tiles. Students focused on reading these fractions, decimals and percentages in the process.
Secondly, each student made a fractional comic strip. They were to include one of the following topics about fractions: mixed numbers, proper versus improper, representations of one whole in fraction form, and addition or subtraction of fractions. As a class, students brainstormed all the topics and then were given in-class time to plan out their comic.
What'd we do in August?
The first few weeks of school have been great! The first project was a comparison of words. Each student was paired up with a classmate and a task to define one vocabulary word in two different ways (one of the definitions specifically in the "Math" world). Students were given two in-class periods to do the research and come up with a picture or diagram to explain their definitions further. The final task was to present their vocab project in a two-columned flow chart to their peers.
The curriculum for August is focused around money. Students have counted, added, subtracted, compared integers (and decimal values), read aloud place values and written numbers.
Greetings!
Ms. Johnson received her Math and Secondary Education Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The two strongest passions she has are teaching students and discussing what makes a great teacher. Ms. Johnson picked Mathematics as her subject area because she likes the challenges that the curriculum presents to both the students and the teacher.
This is Ms. Johnson's fourth year teaching Mathematics; however, it is her first year at Riverside Meadows Intermediate School. She is located in Classroom #21 in Building 'E'.
Ms. Johnson received her Math and Secondary Education Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The two strongest passions she has are teaching students and discussing what makes a great teacher. Ms. Johnson picked Mathematics as her subject area because she likes the challenges that the curriculum presents to both the students and the teacher.
This is Ms. Johnson's fourth year teaching Mathematics; however, it is her first year at Riverside Meadows Intermediate School. She is located in Classroom #21 in Building 'E'.