Weeks 8 and 9

Week 8 

In Class Activity Analysis

              In class we completed an activity placing coordinates on a grid to make an image. It mentioned in the slideshow that this could be fun for holidays. I often hear the complaint that teachers don’t teach in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This activity would be a great way to create a holiday picture, while still teaching curriculum. The picture could make a Christmas tree, a wreath or a reindeer. If you didn’t want to be Christmas specific you could have it be an animal, like the shark we completed in class in a learning activity presentation. This also could be an interdisciplinary lesson, using art and math expectations.

Connections to Reading 

  Small (2013) describes a plotting activity like the one in class, explaining that students plot points on a grid and connect the lines as they go (using both plot by 3, 2 and go right two and up two) to create a shape (activity 18.5, p. 144). By using both plot by point (3,2) and directions (go right, left, up and down), teachers can meet the needs of students with diverse ability levels.       

Connections to Personal Experience         

              As someone who struggled with math but loved art, lessons like this would help me become engaged with the math we were learning. Looking back there were many art projects that used math, though I didn’t realize it at the time. We used rotations and reflections to create designs, used patterns, and used angles and measurement to create art pieces. Such math concepts could be explicitly taught as part of an art lesson.

Impacts as a Teacher

·       Engagement

·       Interdisciplinary curriculum

·       Motivation to learn

Week 9

In Class Activity Analysis  

              In class we discussed how a scavenger hunt could be a great way to practice a variety of math curriculum, and help students get moving. A scavenger hunt would be a great activity for engaging students in lessons as it uses gamified learning. Students are motivated to work through the game, persevering through challenges, and check off questions to meet a goal. Students also must work collaboratively to complete the scavenger hunt, which connects to learning skills and 21^st century competencies.  By having the students moving and getting outside it also helps students who are having behavioural problems when having to sit and do work independently.

Connections to Reading 

              Part of the scavenger hunt could be measuring the angles of a stick, or the sections of fence. These measurements could then be used in problem solving questions, such as if a section of fence is this long, how much fence would you need to fence one side of the playground? In Small (2013) it states that “children are naturally curious about measurement,” (p. 465). By using measurement and this natural curiosity in the scavenger hunt then students will be motivated to complete the activity.  

Connections to Personal Experience

              When teachers have used gamified instruction, I have seen students become more engaged with the content being taught. For example, my associate teacher uses gamified learning in the form of survivor. The students are in groups, and must complete three survivor challenges that involve math. The first is a tree mail with hidden clues and patterns. The second is a reward challenge where they must solve a math puzzle. The third is an immunity challenge where they must solve a math problem using patient problem solving techniques. The collaboration, engagement, and fun of this activity make it very successful.

Impacts as a Teacher

·       Engagement

·       Curiosity

·       Behaviour management

·       Gamified learning

References

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2005). The Ontario curriculum grades 1‐8: Mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf

Small, M. (2013) 3^nd Edition. Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K-8. 3rd Edition, Toronto, Nelson.