Grade Nine Academic Learning Activities

Hello everyone,

This week in EDBE 8F83 we focused on learning activities that were aimed at Grade Nine Academic classes. That being said, I believe that these activities could be modified to function in many different math classrooms.

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The first presentation that I really enjoyed was Melissa's Speed Dating and Equation Making activity. This activity was set up like a typical Speed Dating session would be set up; pairs of people facing each other. Each person had one classmate sitting across from them. Each student was given a handout sheet with space to write the name of each partner you meet. The students on the inside were given a y-intercept and the students on the outside were given a slope. Each time there was a rotation, the students were required to use the information they had between the two of them to create an equation of a line and graph that line. The fun part came after the students had graphed the line. If the line that was created went through a red heart, that meant that your partner was your "Match". I found this incredibly fun and it almost took the pressure of the math off. I think this would be a great activity for grade nines because it is more of a game that includes math, rather then math that is kind of a game. Additionally, as Melissa suggested, I think that this activity format could be used in different classes as well. It could be used in a Grade ten class for quadratics, a Grade 11 class for sinusoidal functions, or a Grade 12 class for more advanced functions.  I also really enjoyed that the students were getting up out of their seats and moving around. This is an activity that I will 100% be using in my future classroom.

The second activity that I enjoyed was presented my two of my colleagues, Bevan and Lindsey. These were two separate presentations, but they both did the same topic. What was interesting to see was the different styles of teaching that could be used when teaching just one topic.

For Lindsey's presentation she used a Lab Format, in which she gave students many different materials and asked them to investigate the formula for the Sum of the Angles of a Polygon. This was a great activity to see how students explore and collaborate with each other. I enjoyed having the freedom to solve the problem whichever way I wanted to. This is great for students because not every student is going to solve it the exact same way. I appreciated that this activity gave students that freedom.

For Bevan's presentation he used a more Guided Format to present the Sum of the Angles of a Polygon. He took as through the investigation process as a class. We started with drawing triangles within the polygons. We were instructed to create the smallest number of triangles that we could. Following this part, we flipped our sheets over and started filling out a chart to investigate the sum of the angles. I thought is activity would be great for an applied class or a class that typically needs a little more guidance.

I really enjoyed seeing the difference between these two activities. It really shows that depending on the nature of your class, the instruction needs to change. This is known in the education world as Differentiated Instruction, or commonly known as DI. DI can be defined as "effective instruction that is responsive to students’ readiness, interests and learning preferences". By knowing your students and how they learn, you can choose an appropriate instruction style. This instruction style could be one of the three that we saw this week or something completely different. It all depends on how your students learn best.

Grade Seven and Eight Learning Activities

Welcome back everyone!

This week in EDBE 8F83 we started our Leading a Learning Activity presentations. This week focused on mathematics from Grade 7 and 8. Although I do not see myself as a Grade 7 or 8 teacher, it was great to see different ideas and think about how I would incorporate them into my classroom. Additionally, as a secondary school teacher it is good to have knowledge of the Grade 7 and 8 curriculum. When I teach Grade 9 mathematics I am going to have to think about what my students learned in previous years. So having knowledge of grade 7/8 and having a few activities in my back pocket can become a huge asset.

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The first presentation that I want to comment on is Dayna's grade 7 activity called "The Game of Life". The activity consisted of splitting the class up into five groups and calling each group a family. Each family is given a monthly income and a list of expanses that they will have to pay for. I thought this idea was a great way to not only teach mathematical concepts but to incorporate financial literacy into the classroom. Financial literacy can be described as "having the knowledge and skills to make responsible economic and financial decisions with confidence". This is something that is mandated by the Ministry of Education to be included in every Ontario course so it is important to consider. Through this activity students learn the importance of saving, paying bills and responsible money management. Additionally this activity is a great way to bring up topics such as diversity and how different families often have very different financial situations (as Dayna mentioned in her presentation). I would absolutely consider incorporating this activity or something similar into my classroom. Depending on the class I was teaching, I may have to make modifications but overall I could definitely see myself using this activity in my classroom.

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The second presentation that I want to talk about is Nam's Grade 7/8 "Holes Activity". Nam's activity focused around a clip from the movie Holes, where there is a conflict between two characters, Stanley and X-ray, regarding a shovel. Stanley's shovel was 5ft while X-rays shovel was 4ft 11inches. Given that each hole that is dug is a cylinder, and has a diameter and height the same as the length of the shovel, a problem was posed. The problem that was posed to the students was; "What is the volume of soil that each boy will dig using his shovel?". This was a great visual for students to be able to get a "real-life" example of geometry and volume. I loved how he used a movie that students were familiar with and could be interested in. This could easily be modified depending on the interests of my students. I would love to use this kind of activity in my own classroom. I think a story is a great way to hook students and get them interested in the math you are trying to teach them.

I look forward to seeing the many more exciting and useful presentations that my colleagues have to share!

Until next week, cheers.