Project Presentation

Lesson Plan

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Area, Perimeter, and the Smartboard

Objective:  Students will be able to use technology to prove that rectangles with the same perimeter can have different areas.

Standards:

Standards for Mathematical Practice

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

In grades 3-5 mathematically proficient students will:

·      represent a situation symbolically

·      create a coherent representation of the problem

4. Model with mathematics.

In grades 3-5 mathematically proficient students will:

·      identify important quantities in a practical situation and model the situation using such tools as manipulatives, diagrams, two-way tables, graphs or pictures

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

In grades 3-5 mathematically proficient students will:

·      use technological tools to explore and deepen their understanding of concepts

Standards  for Mathematical Content

3.MD.10. Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including:

• exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas,

Materials:

            Smartboard with the Notebook software

            Internet connection

            Paper with question

Procedure:

            Give the pre-test before you start.

Pre-Test

What is area?

What is perimeter?

Do shapes that have the same area have the same perimeter?

 Are you able to do the following things on the Smartboard:

           

	I don’t know how	I might be able to do it	I know I can do it and can show you right now
Use the shape tool
Use the infinite clone tool
Write in a different color
Use fill with color tool
Use the internet
Find graph paper

           

Lesson:

Discuss some instances where someone might want to know the area or perimeter of something. 

Present this problem:  Show a rectangle that has a perimeter of 16.   What is the area?

Show on the following tools, how to do this.  Make the rectangle a color and the outline of it a different color.  (Outline it with the pen in another color.) Make sure to label the length of the sides and write the area and perimeter.   After demonstrating, let kids try it out with different areas.  These can be done at one time or split into several sessions, depending on your students’ attention spans. 

           

1.    Shape and infinite clone tool.

2.    Fill with color tool. 

3.    Graph paper

4.    Demonstrate using the internet on Smartboard

5.    Demonstrate the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

Go to k-2, geometry, geoboard and pattern blocks.

Pass out to each student copies of the problem/rubric page below.  Then introduce the problem.  Go over the planning page and rubric. 

Give Post Test (same as pre-test) and compare with the Pre-Test

Name ___________________________

Someone has hired you to design a pen for a dog. You are given 24 feet of fencing.   The dog owner would like three options to choose from.   Create a visual showing three different choices using one of the suggested tools.  Clearly label the sides and the perimeter and area.  Use color to show which is the area and which is the perimeter. 

Which one do you think the dog owner will choose?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Why?   _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

What score from the rubric would you give yourself?  ___________

	3	2	1
Symbolize	Arrays clearly, with use of color, symbolize area and perimeter of rectangular pen	One or two things changed would make the array clearly symbolize a rectangular pen.	Arrays do not use color and/or it’s not clear how they relate to rectangular pens.
Tool	Adept use of chosen tool to show arrays	Seems unsure of how tool works	Does not know how tool works.
Answer graphic	Correctly shows 3 different arrays that have a perimeter of 24 with different areas.	Correctly shows two different arrays that  have a perimeter of 24 and different area	Less than two of the arrays have a perimeter of 24 and differing areas
AnswerWritten	One pen is chosen and reasonable explanation is given as why it may be chosen	Either one pen is not chosen or reason is not explained clearly.	Question not addressed

Planning Page

Tool I am going to use:

            Notebook software- shape tool and infinite cloner

            Notebook software- graph paper

            National Library of Virtual Manipulatives- pattern blocks

            National Library of Virtual Manipulatives- geoboard

  Check off the following steps as you complete them. 

1.     Read over the rubric.  Ask questions if you have any,

2.     Make a plan of which tool you are going to use and how you plan to do it..  Share plan with Ms. Massin (can be written or verbal plan)

3.     Create your first pen.  Save your project.

4.      Check it against the rubric. 

5.     Share and discuss with Ms. Massin

6.     Create you next two pens.  Save your project.

7.     Share with a partner and ask for any questions or suggestions. 

8.     Make a final check with the rubric , make any needed changes, and give yourself a score.

9.     Share with Ms. Massin

Someone has hired you to design a pen for a dog. You are given 24 feet of fencing.   The dog owner would like three options to choose from.   Create a visual showing three different choices using one of the suggested tools.  Clearly label the sides and the perimeter and area.  Use color to show which is the area and which is the perimeter.  Which one do you think the dog owner will choose?  Why?

Give students a copy of the rubric to look at as they do their project. 

Also give these instructions, on paper.  Tell them to make a check mark after each step when they finish it.

10. Make a plan of which tool you are going to use and how you plan to do it..  Share plan with Ms. Massin (can be written or verbal plan)

11. Create your first pen.  Save your project.

12.  Check it against the rubric. 

13. Share with Ms. Massin

14. Create you next two pens.  Save your project.

15. Share with a partner and ask for any questions or suggestions. 

16. Make a final check with the rubric and share with Ms. Massin

Rubric:

	3	2	1
Symbolize	Arrays clearly, with use of color, symbolize area and perimeter of rectangular pen	One or two things changed would make the array clearly symbolize a rectangular pen.	Arrays do not use color and/or it’s not clear how they relate to rectangular pens.
Tool	Adept use of chosen tool to show arrays	Seems unsure of how tool works	Does not know how tool works.
Answer graphic	Correctly shows 3 different arrays that have a perimeter of 24 with different areas.	Correctly shows two different arrays that  have a perimeter of 24 and different area	Less than two of the arrays have a perimeter of 24 and differing areas
Answer Written	One pen is chosen and reasonable explanation is given as why it may be chosen	Either one pen is not chosen or reason is not explained clearly.	Question not addressed

Tools and Management

      For my project, my students will be using the Smartboard. The students’ job will be to show three different rectangles (symbolizing a fenced in area for dogs) that have the same perimeter, but different areas. There are several resources to do this online and on the Smartboard that they will be able to choose from.

      On the Smartboard Notebook software, there are two different options. They can use the shape tool to make squares to put together areas. They can also use a graph paper background to draw areas.
      Online, they can go to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. There they can use either the pattern block squares to make areas, or they can use a geoboard to show areas.

     Whichever tool they decide to use, they will share it with the class on the Smartboard.

     The biggest management issue we will have is that there is only one Smartboard to work on. This will be relieved some if students choose to use the National Library of Virtual Manipulative. They can do theirs on another classroom computer and we can transfer it to the laptop connected to the Smartboard to share.

       Another management issue will be trying to manage and help students who will be using different technology tools. Before we begin, we will have to do some short lessons on the different options. This will also help them to choose which they would like to use. I will also have some of my more tech savvy students who complete theirs first, help those who are still working.

       Managing all the check in points will also be an issue. During the project, the students will be checking with me several times so that we can make sure they are on the right track. I am lucky to have a small class, so this will be easier than it would’ve been otherwise. However, I know there will be times when someone has to wait for a check in to go on with their project. There will have to be clear guidelines on how to let me know they are ready and what to do if they have to wait while I work with another student.

Differentiating the Product

My class has been having difficulty with perimeter and area. They often confuse them. So I wanted to have them do something that would help with these topics. To differentiate the product in my class I thought of a problem they could solve using a choice of manipulatives either on the Smartboard Notebook software or online tools. The following will be the question posed. Someone has hired you to design a pen for a dog. You are given 24 feet of fencing. The dog owner would like three options to choose from. Create a visual showing three different choices using one of suggested tools. Clearly label the sides and the perimeter and area. Use color to show which is the area and which is the perimeter. Which one do you think the dog owner will choose? Why?

Using Pearltree

After learning about Pearltree, I was wondering what I could do with my third graders. I read through some blogs to see what everyone else was doing. I was not disappointed. On Lori’s blog I saw that she was setting up a Pearltree in her first grade class that had different games for them. This, I thought, was an excellent idea. Right now, most of my students are proficient at finding what they need in bookmarks or by typing in the website either in the address bar or in search. There are several though, that this is still difficult for. Having a Pearltree will help those students, as well as speed up the process for others. The games have different levels, so students will be doing things at a level that is beneficial to them. I set up a Pearltree and started adding the math sites my class uses. I then searched and found some other games that I thought would be useful. I will also add some sites that the students use often. Pearltree will be particularly useful when our class is doing projects that incorporate getting information online. I will be able to put websites on the Pearltree and the students will have easy access. In the past, I went on each computer in my class and added sites to the bookmarks. With Pearltree, I can add the sites as pearls and they will be there on any computer that goes to the site. Here is how it looks so far. There are a few questions I have. The most important one at the moment: will several computers be able to have my class Pearltree up at the same time? I am guessing that this won’t be a problem, but one I plan on testing out. I would like to have my Pearltree as the homepage on the computers in my class. I am really excited to try this out for my class. What a great way to organize websites for my students!

Math Facts Online Games

Let me start off by saying I love educational video games. I truly believe they are a great way to reinforce and practice skills. That being said, they have to be used right. If you have an average third grader playing an addition game of adding ones, they are not going to be getting anything out of it but the play. The content needs to topics they need to practice on. It should not be too easy for them or so hard it is frustrating. Math facts are an excellent topic for video games. Math facts need to be memorized. It can be done with much more enjoyment with games. I have a few sites I have tried with my students. The program we have been using for years is Math Facts in a Flash. With all the other free options out there, I think I will change. Math Facts in a Flash gives students a set of problems. When they are done, they are shown the amount correct, ones missed, and the time they took. If they answered them all correctly in under two minutes they move on to the next level. It is very dry and doesn’t motivate most of the students. So, I was searching for math fact practice games that are motivating and help students memorize their facts. Looking over the blogs from my PLN I got some excellent ideas. Tomas gave me the idea for XtraMath.com. This looks like a great alternative to Math Facts in a Flash. It is motivating with not a lot of playing. It would be good for our class math fact practice time. I also wanted some games that were more fun for other times. Multiplication.com fit the bill for this. This site has many different games that practice multiplication facts. The one that the students like most is called “Snowy’s Friend.” The first think I liked about this game is you can pick which facts you want to work on. You can work on just one, like all the x7 facts, or you can choose more than one. I like this because I have my kids learn the facts by taking on one number at a time. They know which one they are on and can work on that one on this game. In this game, the player is a snowman that is going along having to jump over things to get to the end. Every few seconds a multiplication fact pops up and they must type in the answer in order to continue. If they get it wrong, it stays up until the correct answer is put in. The kids really seemed to like this game. They are fully engaged. There has been measurable progress in learning math facts with those that are playing this game. It is apparent on the pencil and paper timings we do in class. The other game I tried out in my class was suggested by my PLN as well. It is found on Knowledgeadventure.com. The game is called Math Lines. The learning goal of this game is to learn the addition facts that have a sum of ten. There is a line of balls that winds across the screen. There is a cannon in the middle that has a number as a canon ball. You shoot the number that would make ten with the number in the canon. So far, I had one student work on this. It was a little too easy for her. She liked it for a few minutes, but then wanted to do something else. I have different students that this would be more beneficial for. I just had time to have students that were done with other assignments to try out some games. This is a motivational strategy I use quite often. However, I am feeling the need to provide game time for those students who don’t finish early. They may be the ones who would benefit the most.

Arrghh! The tables showing the results of my class using the Smart Response clicker system in my post below did not stay formatted when published to the blog. Sorry! When I go to the edit page, it looks fine. I kept getting an error warning while trying to publish that post as well. I'm not sure what is going on. Arrgh!