This week we
got to observe mini lessons on topics that could be used at the grade nine and
ten levels. Although some of these
activities I have used in my classes before, I definitely appreciated the
different approaches that my peers took and can definitely think of ways to
integrate new methods into my future teaching.
The first two
presentations both focused on the concept of the sum of the interior angles of
a triangle and how the number of sides a shape has, has a relationship with its
sum of interior angles. The two
presenters took two different approaches.
The first one tackled the discovery of this concept like one would in a
science lab. The students would first
understand the problem they were trying to solve, create a hypothesis based on
what they thought, and use the tools provided to investigate the problem. In this case, we were given a variety of
shapes and protractors and the freedom to explore however we liked. The second presenter did things a bit
differently. Instead of letting us have
complete reign of the learning, he first focused us on triangles. Students were told to create any sized
triangle they’d like; then, cut it out, mark each interior angle, and cut off
each corner of the triangle. When the
corners were pieced together, it made a straight line, showing that all
interior angles of a triangle added up to 180 degrees. Knowing that, he told us to explore some
other shapes, and try to find how many triangles can be found in each
shape. Since we knew the sum of the
interior angles in a triangle, we could calculate the sum of interior angles in
other shapes as well. We were then able
to explore the relationship between the number of sides and the number of triangles
in a shape. If I were to teach this in
the future, there were some things I would take from both approaches to this
concept. I really enjoyed how the first
presenter gave students the freedom to do whatever they thought. This is a great way to promote student
creativity. However, if I was told to
explore in grade nine, I probably would have given up because I wouldn’t have
known where to start. For that reason, I
would try to do more of the second presenter’s approach. First I would focus on the interior angles of
a triangle, have students understand that concept, and then let them explore
the other triangles for themselves, giving them time to be creative before
coming back together again and discussing findings.
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| Retrieved from: http://www.mathwarehouse.com/geometry/triangles/angles/images/interior-angles-of-triangle-picture.png |
The third
presenter did a round of speed dating! This
activity went over creating an equation using a slope and y-intercept, and
plotting that line. I thoroughly enjoyed
this activity – it was so much fun and didn’t feel like practicing math at all! Desks were arranged in a “U” shape and students
on one side of the desks were given a card with a slope, the other side a card
with a y-intercept. Pairs would be given
one minute to share information, create an equation, and plot the line. If the line went through any hearts on the
grid provided, the pair was a match! This
continued until everyone had seen each other once. I loved this activity sooo much! It was simply drill and practice math
questions, but it was so much fun that it didn’t feel like that. When I use this in the future (and I say
when, because I definitely will) there are only minor tweaks that I would
make. The first being the handout we
were provided. In the chart, I would
have three columns instead of two: Partner’s Name, Equation, and add in a
column for Is it a Match? I would do
this, just so that students would have somewhere to record their matches. The other small change would be to provide
students with slightly more time with each partner. We were having so much fun that for the first
20-30 seconds we would talk with our partners about how it was going so
far. As math teachers, we were all able
to create an equation and plot it in the next 30 seconds, but even then, we
were running out of time. For students
who are learning this for the first time, I would want to give them some more
time to properly do the math.
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| Retrieved from: http://cyamemphis.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Speed-Dating-2.jpg |
The final
presentation had a great framework, but I was slightly confused on the
concept. After discussing the properties
of three right angle triangles, said triangles were cut out and specific
interior angles were arranged to form a right angle. Students were then given geoboards to try to
prove how these triangles worked using similar triangles. So besides the use of right angled and similar
triangles, I was confused as to what concept this activity was addressing. As well, myself, and those seated around me, were
unable to prove it ourselves, so I can only imagine the difficulty most grade
ten students would have with this activity.
For that reason, I probably wouldn’t use this activity in the
future. However, I really liked the
layout of the lesson. Most of the time,
teachers provide students with the proofs to certain ideas or equations without
letting the students try to figure it out themselves. I really appreciated how the presenter let
the students try themselves, while using manipulatives that are a lot easier to
work with than writing theories on paper.
So the style in which the presenter approached this topic is definitely
something I can see myself incorporating in future lessons.
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| Retrieved from: http://www.educatorsoutlet.com/images//products/10915DD.jpg |
Overall, I really enjoyed all of the
activities that were shared! I can
definitely see myself using these ideas in the future!
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