Hands On Activites for grade 11

Hands on Activities for grade 11's

This week we talked about grade 11 functions, and how we could incorporate hands-on activities. A lot of the activities dealt with angles and using SOH CAH TOA correctly. What I found interesting was that the activities were created in order for students to practice in a hands-on way rather than just at their desks. The activities were not quite to teach the lesson, but rather to practice. Most students do not like to sit and do work, we all know this. To combat it, one student proposed a scavenger hunt type practice, where there answer from one problem, would be at the top of a different page scattered somewhere around the room. Once they got their answer, they needed to walk around to find their answer, and hence the next question they needed to work on. I found this was a great idea, as it made it a race, everyone likes to be competitive, and also got students up and moving which isn't always easy in a math classroom.

Another students activity was to show what a sin graph really represents. I think this is a very hard concept for many students. He had an app on the computer that allowed you to follow one seat on a Ferris wheel, and it plotted its path, as a sin function. I think this is super important as even I never used to put much thought into what I was really representing. This is a great visual to show where it can be used in real life situations. As well, he showed a few different dances for each of the different graphs. Although this wasn't his activity, it really resonated with me. Students rarely get to move or represent things in a math class, so for kinesthetic learners, it allows them to move to remember something, which I find extremely useful ! I completely wish I had seen something like that when I was a student. Although I cannot dance well myself, I would love to share it with my classes in the future. 

The last thing I wanted to share with you was my teachers idea. She said she used to get her students to practice by making it a relay race. She would have all the same practice questions as she would normally just give them on a sheet, but she cut them up into strips. Students worked as partners and when they finished the question they would run up to get it checked, and then receive a new question. It was also a race, which makes students want to do so many more questions ! Rather than waste a period where students pretend to work, this forced them to be proving their answers and help each other through the review. I will definitely use this idea in my classroom as well ! 

Do you have any neat ideas to get students to practice more efficiently ? Do you see yourself using any of these ideas ?

Let me know your thoughts !

That's all for today, Miss Sydor

Hands on Functions Activities

Hands on Functions Activities:

Today in class, we continued our presentations of different hands on activities, with the focus being on grade 10 functions. My first thought when I heard what class the presentations were for, was that they would probably have to stretch to make hands-on activities fit the curriculum. However, I was very pleasantly surprised! The first activity was for visualizing angles of depression, and different ways to represent 3D objects as 2D. Since most students find it very difficult to put a word problem into a picture (Including myself), I found this extremely useful! We used different colours of strings and had people stand at different spots, and different heights, in order to duplicate what the word problem said. Once students were set up, it was easy for the leader to point out where different angles were, and to transform the visual we were seeing onto paper. I was very impressed with how much it helped me to see what was going on, so I assume it would be very useful for students as well.

Another activity we did that I found very useful, was for trigonometry proofs. We had a bunch of rectangles to cut out, with various trig proofs on them. We then had to arrange these rectangles in order to prove the first one could be turned into the most simplified form which we put last. I always had trouble with trig proofs in high school, and I feel the one thing that got to me the most was always erasing or crossing out where I went wrong. I ended up using oodles of paper and getting continuously frustrated. However, with this method, if you get it wrong you can easily just change the orders of the paper, rather than starting ALL over! It was genius, and such a great way to practice.

For this same unit, we then got little squares which had proofs written on anywhere from two to four sides. We then had to rearrange these squares so that each proof matched to its corresponding proof. My group took forever, until we realized just like other puzzles, it is way easier to solve if you start with the border... oops! After many frustrating attempts we finally realized this, and started on the border. Eventually we completed it and felt very accomplished. I also think this was a great idea as it again let you practice without having to erase everything every time you went the wrong way.

All in all, I am finding the activities people are using in class are extremely good, no matter which topic they choose. I could see myself using every single one that I have seen. I am extremely glad that we have to do these presentations as by the end, I will have at least one great activity I can use in any math class I have to teach. 

Do you have any great ideas for a high school math class???

Could you see yourself using any of the activities I have talked about so far?

That's all for now, 

Miss Sydor

Hands On Activities for Learning

Hands on activities in math classes:

In class today we learned different hands on activities to incorporate into grade 10 math classes. I found this super helpful as students tend to learn much better by doing something rather than by listening to lectures. The first thing we learned was doodle notes. These give all the same information as traditional notes, but are more entertaining, and can be coloured in for those who need to do something. When I was in high school (and even now), I would have loved these ! I find I am able to listen better and focus more, while I am doodling, so I assume other students would as well. Another reason I really like these kind of notes, is because it allows students to colour code their work if they wish, in order to visualize things better. It also makes the notes seem less intimidating, and more fun to reread when it comes to test and exam time.

The second activity we tried was a game which forced us to practice our Pythagorean theorem calculations. It involved rolling the dice, and using those two numbers as two sides of the triangle, leaving us to find the third side, in order to move around the board. There were also questions that you had to answer if you landed on certain spots on the board, which involved perimeter and area. I absolutely loved this idea for multiple reasons. First, it allowed students to practice all different types of triangles, as it was all in the hands of the dice. As well, it meant the teacher didn't have to come up with numerous practice scenarios. You would also be able to change the question cards to whatever concept you felt your students needed to practice. Since it is in a game format, the students don't even realize how many practice questions they are doing. Lastly, I think this game format would be easy to change to accommodate many different math concepts, allowing you many more times to use it. All in all, this game idea really got me thinking, and wanting to try to use it in my classroom. Although it might take a bit to get organized and create the game in advance, I think it is well worth it. 

Although going through these presentations takes up a lot of time, I am really enjoying them, and find them extremely useful. I find so many people keep pushing to get teachers to do more interactive activities, yet they never actually give useful ideas, or realistic advice on how to achieve it. However, with these presentations we are gathering ideas, handouts, and lessons for all different grades, strands, and classes, that fully fit the Ontario curriculum. 

What do you guys think of these presentations? Are they useful? Can you see yourself using these activities in your classroom?

That's all for today, 

Miss Sydor

Destreaming grade 9

De-streaming grade 9 math classes: The good and the bad

In class, we talked about de-streaming grade 9, aka not having academic and applied classes, but rather just one class with all students. Although I know there would be many difficulties that would need to be overcome, I do think it is a good idea. Now that I've realized not all grade 7/8 math classes are taught by specialized math teachers (since not all schools have rotary), I think grade 9 should be used to get all students on the same playing field. Once they are all level in what they have been taught, then they can decide if they want to take an academic or applied math class the following year. I feel like if I had to teach an English or history class in grade 7 or 8, I wouldn't be passionate or very good, and that would rub off on my students. Since many people seem to hate math or think they aren't good at it, their attitudes could definitely rub off on the students, hence making them think they should go into an applied class rather than an academic one. As well, students are still so young while in grade 9. So much can change during their transition into high school, and I believe their options should stay open while going through this. As well, the students may have been or may not have been good at math in middle school, compared to the kids in their small classes, but perhaps that will all change in high school when the population of students is much different. By giving all the students the same start, I believe it will be very beneficial for the rest of their high school career.

I do understand this could be very difficult for teachers as it would increase the range in students abilities. However, each class is already diverse and I believe the students would benefit from this as you could make your class a very peer taught environment. The students who are excelling would benefit from explaining the concepts to the students who aren't getting it, and the students who aren't quite getting it would benefit from having multiple people able to explain it, probably all in slightly different ways. As well, the students who would usually be in academic classes, would benefit from being forced to do more interactive or hands on learning which is usually emphasized more in applied classes. Whereas the students who do better with hands on activities, would benefit by gaining confidence that they can teach or help the more abstract students, therefore again benefiting all students.

What do you think? Is de-streaming grade 9 math (and possibly more subjects) a good idea or a bad idea? Do you think it would benefit or harm the students and why? I would love to hear your ideas as well!

That's all for today,
Miss Sydor