Meagan

Meagan

How much _? Ask a question that investigates consumption of something (liquid (juice?), solid (coal?), gas (air?))...work through how you would teach students math concepts while investigating such a problem.

How much sugar do we consume a day?

// CONTENT (Math, Science, Literacy, Social Studies): // Calculating how much sugar we consume each day allows students a hands on experience using measurement. This will also familiarize students with the gram as a unit. While learning how to use a scale and learning what the weight of a gram is, students will also explore simple math using addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication providing extra practice and explanation if necessary with these operations.

It can include a lesson on health and the amount of sugar that is healthy to consume in a day. Using comparing skills students will be able to figure out if their own daily average fits with the suggested amount of sugar. Based on these numbers they can even create their own personalized plans on foods or beverages that they may want to reduce or cut out completely of their diets in order to become healthier.

Literacy can even be included by reading the book [|Mr. Sugar Came to Town], which discusses what happens when a group of kids only eat foods high in sugar. This could be incorporated farther by measuring the amount of sugar in each of the foods the children in the book eat.

// PEDAGOGY: // Students start out by measuring grams on a scale, allowing them to become familiar with how a scale works. Once they have a knowledge of this, introduce sugar cubes. Allow students to figure out how many grams are in each cube of sugar (approximately 4 grams). Have students then create a list of foods they eat each day. Using the [|Sugar Stacks] website have students look up the number of cubes used in the photo for each food item and beverage. Have students make math problems from these. If the picture of a Coke bottle has 16.5 sugar cubes have them calculate 16.5 x 4. Ensure that they double check their answers by weighing the number of sugar cubes with the number of grams to make sure they are equal. Have every one add up all of the grams to get their totals for the day. Compare these with the recommended average of sugar grams and have students decide which foods they would need to cut out to make their number match the average.

// TECHNOLOGY: // Learning the process and usefulness of a scale is an effective hands-on method to use technology. The use of the Sugar Stacks website and computers to access this also incorporate technology.

// Identify (One each): Assessment, Mobile Apps, Other Media // Assessment- Have each student write a paragraph about how the scale works. Have them include the amount of sugar they consume in a day and their modified diet if they were trying to match the average grams of sugar. Then have them draw a picture of the process that they went through to find this.

Mobile Apps- Students can continue tracking their dietary progress by using these two apps. [|Diet Tracker] [|Digital Scale]


 * Number Sense:**

I interviewed two students in Mrs. Moorefield's third grade class. Although, I could ask them any of the specific questions suggested in our class resources, I was able to ask questions about certain problems they were doing relating to fractions and mixed numbers that led me to gain an understanding of their number sense.

The student I interviewed is a low performer in reading and writing, but does decently well in math when word problems are not involved. At the time of the interviews, the whole class was reviewing the concepts of what exactly fractions are and how they relate to mixed numbers. The student, a girl, was able to skip count easily by 5 and 10, but struggled a bit occasionally making errors when skip counting by 3. However, she generally realized that she was making mistakes and tried to go back and fix them. I made certain that she understood nothing I was asking her was for a grade. When asked to do double digit addition and subtraction, she had no trouble with coming to the correct answer, but she did have difficulty verbally explaining why carrying over and borrowing were necessary. She could however show me on paper the steps. I'm not sure whether this struggle was to her difficulties relating to reading, or should be attributed to her simply memorizing the process. When asked to do multiplication, she knew some of the basic facts, such a the 5s, 10s, 11s, and 2s, but struggled consistently with the 6s and 9s. The activity the students were working on in class was a worksheet with colored in blocks, after figuring out the mixed number the blocks represented, the students were to change them into improper fractions. She easily was able to count the colored blocks and write a mixed number, but struggled with the process of changing it into an improper fraction. She could however verbalize that what the improper fraction represented and what the mixed number represented. It was very interesting that she seemed to conceptualize these, but struggled so much conceptualizing borrowing and carrying over.

Working with this student, I believe she has some serious gaps in her number sense, especially as its relates to borrowing and carrying over, but with a significant amount of explanation and demonstration with these concepts she can succeed in having a complete number sense, similar to her understanding of fractions.

Why do we measure different things such as temperature, mass, and distance in different ways? Grade Level: 3rd - NC Standard 2.02

Content: Part of the standards for third grade encompass learning the various units of measurement such as capacity, length, mass, and temperature. Obviously these have a direct relation to mathematics, but can also be incorporated into the other subjects in various ways. Incorporating literacy is a breeze by simply reading [|Millions to Measure] which introduces the various types of measurement that they will soon learn in a fun and creative way by using a magical dragon to teach them. This is also a great way to introduce the topic of various forms of measurements. While reading this you may even want to ask the children what things they want to measure or things that they may know of to help them measure (i.e. rulers, measuring cup, ect.). In order to incorporate science use this [|lesson] to help bring up topics of why measurements are useful. Focus on the discussion in the lesson that refers to why measurements are necessary and important to people such as sailors and scientists. Make sure you include in the discussion asking them if they can think of any other professions or people who need measurements (doctors so they can know where to cut in surgeries?). Also include talking about why it is important for all of them to know measurements (shoe sizes, recipes, ect.) Now have them perform some of the easier tasks form the lesson above. Social Studies can bring in discussions of how measurements can vary depending on your culture. Bring up how different cultures even celebrate [|New Year's] on different days. This can also bring about a discussion of why it is important that there are standard units of measurements that people from all over the world use.

Pedagogy: This is merely an introduction to the subject of measurement to help the students build concepts about why we use measurement and some of the millions of things that can be measured. It is designed to help them learn that different objects may need to be measured in different ways. At the front of the classroom you could have 10-12 (preferably everyday items in a school such as a kickball, marker, notebook, water bottle) different objects. Have the children(orderly) come up at touch all of the objects. Also have various measuring tools: a ruler, tape measure, yard stick, scale, thermometer, measuring cup. After all the children have had time to explore the various instruments, go through what the different measuring tool measure and how they are used. then go through the objects one by one asking the class how they can measure the objects. Each object has multiple answers in how it can be measured. Help provide scaffolding by nudging them into thinking about what else they could measure the object with. Then pick two or three objects and have some of the children help measure these objects in the suggested manner. At the end of the activity make sure to mention/ ask about other objects that each tool could help with in the kids lives.

Technology: A few ways to incorporate technology into the lesson is while talking about distances use [|MapQuest] or another similar tool to calculate how far places are. Start by doing how far it is from the window to the door of the classroom, then do from the classroom to the other side of the school, finally use mapquest to do form one child's house to the school, and then from London (or another famous foreign city) to the school. Before you actually measure each place, have the kids estimate (checking their number sense) how far each distance is. You could also have the class watch this[| video] on measurement.

Sustainability: You can sustainability to the lesson by asking kids what ways they know how to be more sustainable. Use their answers to guide their thinking about how they could measure these ways. If they say take a shorter shower, ask them what they mean by shorter. Are they saying shorter as in the length of time or shorter by using less water? Keep probing them until they think of most of the ways in which they could measure these ideas, and then possibly find a way in which to display one of these ways. (Google the average water usage for a 10 min shower vs a 5 min shower. You could even have them calculate the difference).

Identify (One each)

Assessment: Ask the class to do a homework assignment that involves picking 3 objects from their home. They must then describe what type of measurement (temperature, mass, distance, ect.) they would use (or combination of them) and what method/tool they would use for each object. This allows you to assess their ability to determine the type of measurement certain objects should use an their understanding of what measurement tool is best suited for the type of measurement being attempted.

Mobile Apps: Using [|EasyMeasure] the kids can measure anything they take a picture of in cm/m or in/ft. Its easy to visualize kids wondering around the entire school measuring things this way. Encourage them to estimate before they use the app, to see if they were right!

Other Media: have kids use [|Inspiration] on the SmartBoard to create a concept map of measurement.

"Less than, More than, Scarcity, Abundance" What do we have too much of on our campus? What do we have too little of on our campus?

This activity could effectively be implemented in any of the four core content areas, some more age limiting than others. For instance in Math, lower grades (mostly kindergarten) could use it for rudimentary counting abilities, such as making a list for more than and counting the number of items on the list. You could then make a list for less than and count the number of items on this list. You may even make a a simple math problem using the totals from each list (ex: 4-3= 1, 6+5=11). This could also be a great way to introduce the concepts and symbols for less than (<) and greater than (>), as well as equals (=). This can be reinforced by playing this game to ensure that children have mastered the concept as well as providing a fun way for them to rehearse these principles: []

In Social Studies the topic of scarcity and abundance can be related to supply and demand and the effects that they have on economies locally, nationally, and even globally. Have children look into the supply and demand of Free Trade Coffee by reading this article and then discussing what impact this could have on local coffee shops or Starbucks in their town/city. []

Tying it into Science children could investigate scarcity and abundance of natural resources. Have students complete the Quest For Gold Activity: []

Finally Literacy is tied into nearly all of the above activities. Although not directly focused on, it is a crucial element to all of the afore mentioned topics. In Social Studies they need to read the article, in Science they must follow the directions written out to them, and in mathematics they need to be able to be "literate" in reading symbols.

Incorporating technology is helpful for each of these activities. You could provide images of less than and greater than pulling from the internet, you may want to ask students to delve more in depth by researching the effects of supply and demand or creating a graph from the information received in the article, and even implement watching a video on basic gold mining. []

//Sustainability could be broached in reference to the limited natural resources that exist on our planet or through having children create their own ways to have a more sustainable market for coffee trade.//

TEACHING TREMENDOUSLY- Idea: Estimate how long the femur is first? Need a visual representation of the process - multiply 2.6, add 65, - review measuring rules (like end to end). would a tape measure be better? Do you have access to measuring tapes? Discussion - centimeters versus inches.