Surface Area and Volume Unit Plan

Grade 8: Surface Area and Volume Unit Plan

Math Project - Codes

Benefits	Weaknesses
- Credit cards are used everywhere in the world so it is good knowledge to know whether you have a valid credit card number or not - Computer can check this, so you don’t need to check it manually - It is applicable and easy to understand	- High school students may not have a credit card and so they may forget the concept by the time they get one - Students may not see the point of doing this project as there are computers that can check credit card numbers for us

Evaluation

	Content	Organization	Presentation
Exceeds Expectation	- Has background information and problem description - Formulation of the mathematical model - Outline of the mathematical methods used to solve the model - Interpret results - Strengths/Weaknesses of the model - Great visuals	- Pretty poster - Organized according to categories - Neat writing	- Excellent use of language - Knows the material - Appear natural in public speaking
Meets expectation	Has 4 but not all : - Has background information and problem description - Formulation of the mathematical model - Outline of the mathematical methods used to solve the model - Interpret results - Strengths/Weaknesses of the model - Some visuals	- Nice poster - Some attempt at organizing materials into categories but categories are unclear or items are misplaced - Neat writing	- Good use of language - Knows the material - A little nervous in public speaking
Below expectation	Has fewer than 2 of : - Has background information and problem description - Formulation of the mathematical model - Outline of the mathematical methods used to solve the model - Interpret results - Strengths/Weaknesses of the model - Some visuals	- No visuals or very blank poster - No organization - Writing is very messy and unclear	- Adequate use of language - Very nervous in public speaking - Has very little clue about the material

Affordances and constraints:

- Very affordable because if you don’t have a computer that checks your credit card number you can check manually with a pen, paper and with/without a calculator

Modify, Adapt, Extend it

- For further development and higher grades, students can look at the history of credit cards, identity theft and history of development of credit card number checks.

- Students can look at the different ways for checking valid credit card numbers and their proofs or why it works. Students can also compare and contrast the different methods available.

3)

Project idea: Divisibility test of numbers from 1 to 10 in base 10

An enrichment project

Grade Level: 10-12

Purpose: The students will gain better understanding of the divisibility of numbers in base 10 and the students will be challenged to think mathematically.

Description of activities: The students will first make conjectures about the divisibility for each of the numbers from 1 to 10. Then they will need to reason to themselves about why or why not the conjectures work.

Sources: N/A

Length of time project will take (in and out of class): 2 classes, 2 weeks

What students are required to produce: A poster or pamphlet of the students’ own conjectures on the divisibility test of numbers from 1 to 10 in base 10.

Handouts, graphics, etc.: N/A

Marking criteria: Number of solutions; Organization; Appropriate conjecture (i.e. not just saying to plug the numbers into the calculator…)

Thinking Mathematically: Milkcrate

Memorable Practicum Experience

I used to think that I would prefer to teach higher grades rather than lower grades. The reason is I figure higher grades would be more disciplined and follow rules more rigorously. However, after I was given two classes of grade 8 to teach, I changed my concern about teaching lower grades. The two classes I taught was very entertaining. Since the students are young, they are not afraid to present themselves in the classroom. The interaction between the teacher and the students was really fun. There was lots of conversation going in the class. This experience made me change my view on teaching lower grades classes.

Being misidentified as a student was really funny. The librarian was really angry when we didn't sign in when we went to the library. The librarian was literally yelling on top of her lungs about what we did was really bad and what we need to do to fix it. After a minute of lecturing about library rules, she suddenly realized that we are actually, in fact, student teachers...

Reflection on Freewrite

Strength

• Easy to brainstorm and generate ideas about the topic
• Interesting things come up when you are not thinking straight
• Very fast process; train active thinking skills
• Can relate from one idea to another idea and to another idea
• Train your writing skills

Weakness

• Can easily get off topic
• Students can just repeated write, “I don’t know what to write, what to write…”
• Sometimes the time constraint prevents the legibility of your writing and thus unable to go over what you thought of at the time

Poem: Division by Zero

Isn’t zero mysterious?
You are allowed to multiply by zero,
But not divide by zero.

Say we have 3 * 0 = 0,
The rule of multiplication indicates,
We should get 0 / 0 = 3.

But we also have 7 * 0 = 0,
And we get 0 / 0 = 7.
Does that mean 3 = 7?

Continuing this pattern we will get,
1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 6 = 7 = 8 = 9 = many more. Huh?
Oh, how wondrous zero can do to math!

Freewrite on Divide and Zero

Divide

• Sharing of same amount amongst people
• Cut something in proportion to each other
• Separation of an object into pieces
• Mathematical operation
• Sorting into categories
• Opposition to multiplication
• Division

Zero

• Nothing
• Neither positive nor negative
• Indication of none; non-existence
• Often compared with infinitely as extremes
• Degree zero is when water becomes ice; when rain becomes snow
• Represented by a symbol, a circle 0; unity
• A number can have infinite number of 0 in front and it doesn't change the values
• Not in possession; do not have
• Zero, zero, zero; something you don't want to get in your tests and quizzes
• Help demonstrate tens, hundreds, and etc.