Natalie

**Natalie's Page:**  Date: April 19, 2012 Topic: Teaching Tremendously Math Responses Margaret Googe- Teaching Tremendously Comments

Your engage portion of the lesson was great and made me think more about different angles visible from mirrors. Consider the size of the mirrors you are using for the lesson, the smaller one was harder to use. I also liked your follow-up questions asking what other objects in the world can reflect light, those could be good leading questions to a enrichment activity. While walking around you could ask students who are finishing up to make more complex angles with the protractor rather than just make random obtuse or acute angles.

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Date: March 29, 2012 Lesson: Plan a field trip!

Curriculum Connections:

If I were planning this trip, I would certainly be able to connect this trip to language arts, social studies, science, and math. Old Salem's historical buildings teach a lot about local history, daily life in the 18th and 19th centuries, and other important lessons. A visit here could easily teach the students about history and, writing and reading about it, can be an easy connection to make to language arts. The Permaculture Workshop that we intend to attend is the perfect way to connect science and mathematics to the historical village of Old Salem.

Science Standard:

4.L.2: Understand food and the benefits of vitamins, minerals, and exercise.

Social Studies Standard:

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">4.E.1: Understand how a market economy impacts life in North Carolina.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">4.C.1: Understand the impact of various culture groups on North Carolina.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Math Standard:

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">4. NF. 4: Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction by a whole number.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Pre-Departure Activities:

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Old Salem is known for its connections to Moravian culture, but what is Moravian culture? There are plenty of books that could describe this but Wake Forest does have the Moravian Love Feast yearly. With more planning, there could have been a class at the Love Feast to experience what it is all about. We could also talk about gardening on campus and at our homes. We can evaluate the sustainability of our practices and generate questions for the lecture on permaculture.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">It would be important for young students to understand where certain products come from. The teacher can ask about clothing, yarn, butter, among other products that they would learn how to make in the historical workshops. The students can then compare modern day production to colonial production when they return later.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Traveling To and From:

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">I think talking about expectations and what we think we will learn would be a great activity on the way. Talking about our expectations would prove for valuable conversation on the way back. Comparing our opinions and assumptions to what actually happened would help us to reflect more on the experience. Also, on the way home I think it would be great to each choose the most valuable lesson that each person learned from the workshop.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Students could write about their past gardening experience and their experience with Moravian cultures. They can write down their expectations but then write down how their expectations have changed on the way home.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Back in the Classroom:

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Using the most valuable lesson learned, it would be helpful to make a Permaculture: For Dummies book with the class. We would be able to collaborate and discover ways for ordinary people to use Permaculture in their everyday lives.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">If this lesson were being taught to elementary students rather than our class, I would suggest that the students devise a plan for a garden on the school's playground. A great written, collaborative assignment would be to make a written proposal for the principal to review. It would allow the students to show passion for something that they had learned about. In the proposal, students will be expected to use their knowledge of multiplying and fractions to devise a garden plan and draw it out on graph paper. Students will have guidelines for what is needed but otherwise they must use their creativity to build a garden that aligns with permaculture standards.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Date: March 20, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Lesson: How much gasoline is used in a car per week?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">C**ontent/Pedagogy:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">This topic would easily connect to **math** standards because calculation and comparison are common tools in mathematics. The teacher can ask for the students to estimate how much gas their family uses per week. This lesson can review how much liquid there is in a "gallon" and can help the children compare numbers (less than, more than, equal to). The children can also practice with graphing mileage, cost, and the quantity of gasoline used. To find total numbers, the children could calculate their perceived amount of gas used per week and per month. To check their work, the students can explore the application Gas Cash to discover the actual value about how much is being spent. Other applications such as Gas Buddy could be useful for this project as well. So that students have a conception of cost, they can learn how much money in gasoline it would cost to travel to a variety of familiar places (to school, to the amusement park, to grandma's house, etc.) based on local prices that can be discovered in the application.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">I feel that gasoline is an obscure substance for students. They may know that gasoline makes the cars work but nothing else about this mysterious substance. **Literature** connections could be a great way to explain this process to the children. Reading the book //How does a plant become oil?// by Linda Tagliaferro can help children understand the process and understand that it is a long, gradual, and natural process as well. Other books can explain gasoline consumption with regards to sustainability. The book //What's So Bad About Gasoline?: Fossil Fuels and What They Do// by Anne Rockwell is a great way to introduce the idea of sustainability in terms of gasoline. Students may take gas consumption for granted but reading a book like this can expose them to more literature that will help them to make educated decisions in the future and, possibly, spark sustainable interests.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">It is simple to connect this topic to **science** topics with regards to how oil is made, but also the graphing and data collection aspects of these lessons can definitely create this interdisciplinary connection. Also, in the fourth grade, energy becomes a major topic for discussion. Gasoline provides a lot of energy to today's world and the importance and properties of energy can be discussed at large.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">The economic and trade aspects of **social studies** fit perfectly with the curriculum and the topic. Gasoline is a major commodity and there is much to be learned about its value across the globe. Even taking it closer to home, the economic impacts of rising gasoline prices can certainly affect these children's families. Learning about the impact that gasoline has on our economy is essential!

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Assessment:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Students can explore the benefits of carpooling and how much money and gasoline can be saved per school year if the public buses are used, as well as carpooling. Students should present a formal proposal as to why carpooling should be encouraged and new ideas about how to save money/gas consumption. Students should evaluate other proposals and, at the end, the group should come up with one plan to ensure the best plan for saving on money and gas to get children to and from school every day.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Technology:** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Sustainability:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">To absorb a more worldly perspective on global oil consumption, this resource is useful for tracking the oil consumption of different countries. It would be a useful resource for the children to understand truly how many resources are "wasted" by America in comparison with other countries.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">I've mentioned sustainability ideas before but, beyond this there is a lesson about the effect of oil spills on wildlife. This can help children to see a very real problem in action as the teacher shows the effect of oil on the wings of sea birds. Gasoline is a scare resource around the world. Children that realize how precious this resource is will become more savvy consumers and environmentally conscious in the future.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Date: March 7, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Lesson: Number Sense

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> I interviewed two students to understand their “number sense”. Mrs. D selected two students, one student that had phenomenal conceptual knowledge of numbers and one that is below the class’ fourth grade level. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> As I began speaking with Student A, it was obvious that this student had an accelerated conception of numbers. We began with the hundreds chart. I began asking him to place a counter wherever the result of the questions that I asked him was. He was able to represent his understanding of skip counting by 10s easily because I watched him quickly skip by 10s, 20s, 30s, and 40s by switching the row but staying in the same column. He was undoubtedly able to skip count effectively. I was impressed by his ability to skip count by 15s and 5s as well. For example, when I asked him to add 18, he skip counted by 15 automatically and then added three. It was obvious that he had a great understanding. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> I also had him practice addition and subtraction using base-ten blocks. He was able to quickly represent the problems using the blocks and had no trouble subtracting in problems such as 43 – 19, where he had to substitute the amount of ones to be able to represent the problem accurately. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> We also took a look at fractions. His knowledge of part v. whole was comprehensive. He was able to communicate his knowledge of fractions easily and substitute ½ for 2 ¼ pieces and other problems along the line to simplify fractions easily and without a second thought. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Next, I was able to interview Student B and there was a vast difference in her number sense. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> We began with the hundreds chart once again but this time, skip counting was not a skill that came easily. The student has used a hundreds chart before but did not have the conceptual knowledge of skipping rows to count by 10s. This student either counted the numbers one by one or did mental math but the mental math turned out wrong. For example, I asked for her to add 14 to 35 and she got the answer “94”. I asked her how she got that number. She said that she added the digits but that she had forgotten which the ones and tens digits were. This is a very important fact to understand. Often times, her mental math was incorrect and even after attempting to explain the usefulness of the hundreds chart, she still only used it to point out the answers that she was computing in her mind. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">When she began using the base ten blocks, she had a lot of trouble making the numbers. She would be able to add up 2 sticks and 5 cubes to make 25and then when I asked her to add 36, she added the correct number of cubes and sticks. When I asked her for the total, her response was 511. She thought that the 5 sticks added up to 500. I was a little nervous that she didn’t think about even estimating 25 + 36 to realize that 500 was a really far off guess. Even after I explained why the sticks were 50, she said the answer was 5011. It was really difficult for her to comprehend that the 10 single cubes are equal to one long stick. Student B has a long way to go in developing her number sense but with extensive explanation and modeling she will eventually gain better control of the concepts

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Date: February 9, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Lesson: Establish a question first, then talk about how you would scaffold students in answering it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">//How does the Sun move across the sky?//

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Content/Pedagogy:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Sun's perceived movement across the sky can be seen daily but it is possible that the children are making predictions that are not accurate. It would be necessary to correct the idea that the sun is moving and replace it with the knowledge that the Earth is, in fact, rotating and causing it to look like the Sun is the moving heavenly body. Having to correct this perceived notion would be a huge undertaking and would certainly require a lot more background knowledge on the solar system and the Sun in particular before attempting to comprehend the Earth's rotation. Scaffolding is essential in answering this question because it would build upon the student knowledge and soon be able to help them understand this more difficult concept.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">I feel that this study of the Solar System could be started well with lessons on **literacy**. I found the books //Sun Bread// and //The Sun is my Favorite Star// to be useful fiction books for engaging the students and asking them questions while reading to find out how much they actually have learned in the past about the Solar System. Later in the exploration of the Solar System, the teacher could read aloud a more factual book like //The Sun// that would provide the students with actual knowledge and allow them to grasp factual tidbits. It would be a great literary experience to read these books, gain factual knowledge, and talk about a contrast between fiction and non-fiction books.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">It would be easy to explore **science** options with this question with lessons ranging from how the Sun helps the plants on Earth grow into the direct way of answering the question, learning about how the planets move. Apps exist to show the sky, such as SkyView as only one example of many that show the sky, and there are apps like the NASA App that were built for access to more information. The NASA Website also has great lesson plans for making models of the solar system to understand the movement of the planets around the sun.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Moving into **social studies**, I know I always found Galileo and Copernicus to be fascinating! It could be great to talk about the history of theories about planetary motion and even showing the progression of those theories in class. Students will get a laugh about how silly and different some of the theories were (This also connects back to science, of course!).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">In terms of **math**, there are numerous connections that can be made. For younger grades, using the planets as practicing for counting is quite simple. Its engaging to compare the number of days in a year for each planet. It could start out with a lesson on time (days, months, years --- what do these terms actually mean and what are they based upon) and end up as a comparison of the different planets which would combine a lot of math skills into one concept.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">As an assessment, I think that it would be great for the students to sit down with the teacher, one-by-one, and offer their explanation of how the sun moves across the sky. The teacher can prepare them with manipulatives, writing materials, drawing materials, or whatever the students need to explain. If they are able to do so successfully and explain the concept, I'd say it was a concept well learned.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Technology:** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">In addition to the other technology sources I've mentioned, Solar Walk is a really great app that gives a 3D experience in space on a tablet/iPhone. For visual learners, this would be a great tool to have! These apps are all very user friendly and would let the children explore as much as they desired too.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Sustainability:** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Exploring the Sun's harmful and beneficial effects on the earth would be a great lesson to discuss protecting the ozone layer but also appreciating the energy it give to plants and how solar energy is a clean form of energy we are able to utilize. So many options!

<span style="color: #2abea2; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%; text-align: left;">**--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Date: February 2, 2012 <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Lesson: //"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?//

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Content/Pedagogy: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">This topic is extremely applicable to math content in terms of demonstrating an understanding of quantity. Students would be able to compare groups of objects and decided which on has more/less objects than the other group. To attach meaning to this topic, science can easily be integrated into this lesson by comparing the children to animals. Learning characteristics about animals is important and there is not better way to integrate math into this subject than to relate characteristics of children with characteristics of animals, ex. How many legs does a deer have? 4. How many legs does Sammy have? 2. Who has more legs? The deer has more legs than Sammy. In social studies, analyzing maps/graphs is a great way to demonstrate quantity. Even trying to represent differences from the past to the present would be a great way for students to continually develop their number sense, ex. How many deer lived in Winston-Salem 40 years ago? How many deer live here today? Are there more deer today or less deer today? Why do you think there are more/less deer living here today? Finally, developing literacy through this lesson would be a great. Reading non-fiction books about deer and using pictures as references for counting and using the terms less than/more than would be a great use of storytelling time for students to connect the math content that they have learned to further information that they are learning from reading. The idea of number sense and scarcity/abundance can be connected with throughout the year through a variety of topics. I can see scarcity/abundance being related to population, animals, weather patterns, classroom supplies, food, water, etc. The possibilities are endless with the deer as only one example of how to make interdisciplinary connections.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Technology:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">There are many ways that technology can be integrated into the classroom which trying to represent scarcity and abundance. There is a mobile application called, //Photosynth//, that would allow the teacher to create a virtual 3-D model of any place. It could take the class to a world beyond the limits of the school yard. For example, with advance preparation, the teacher could take the phone to the beach and stitch a scene together that would allow students to analyze scarcity and abundance in other locations.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Also, //Piclits// is a way to type directly onto photographs. It would be a great way for the students to find photographs that interest them and develop less than/more than and scarce/abundant statements that apply to the photographs. Because the photographs are immensely varied, this can undoubtedly be used as a form of informal assessment to ensure that the students have a proper understanding of the concept outside of the context that had been worked with before.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">This //presentation// is also a silly, but effective explanation of scarcity and abundance as it relates to Wake Forest culture and it could undoubtedly spark interest due to the movement and photographs within the presentation.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Sustainability: **<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> Scarcity and abundance are two words that pop up in global issues, with ecological sustainability being one of them. Asking students to monitor and graph the amount of trash and recyclables that are produced each week would help shed light on unnecessary waste. With the results of the monitoring, students would be able to evaluate what waste we have an abundance of and work harder to reduce and reuse class materials before recycling/trashing them. The diagnosis of the problem <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">would be another great presentational assessment of their comprehension of abundance, especially if the students were to graph the findings before and after making more sustainable choices. A fun way to connect sustainability to math would be to incorporate the Jack Johnson song, //The Three R's,// which talks about recycling principles but also brings up minor math topics and spelling which can easily be expanded upon in class. Students can be creative and make up their own verses and math problems to go along with the tune.