Regular Math Standards: 8.EE.1 Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions.
Regular Math Lesson Sequence:
- Skit
- Study Guide
- Review the Study Guide
The skit took only about ten minutes, but it was a great way to break up the monotony of the class. I made name tags for the characters that are pictured below. I would certainly use it again even if the math portion of it is missed by the students because they enjoyed it. This is the script from the skit:
Narrator: There once was a happy little exponential
expression. The birth name was 5 to the third power, but friends just called it
Five Cubed for short.
Five Cubed: Hi I’m 5 to the third power, but my friends call
me Five Cubed for short.
Narrator: Five Cubed was always told that if he ate his
vegetables he could visit the squaring fairy and be magically grow into a much
bigger body. After many broccoli popsicles, carrot strings, and spinach gum he
got a visit from the squaring fairly.
Squaring Fairy: Five Cubed you’ve been a splendid little
exponent. It’s time to shed your five times five times five home and move into
a much more spacious world. I’m going to reward you with another five for every
five you already have.
Narrrator: The squaring fairy then performed magic. Suddenly
five cubed had morphed into a giant 5 to the sixth power. Five to the sixth
power felt a surge of power.
Five Cubed: I must be the most powerful exponent in all
Rational Numberhood!
Narrator: Unfortunately the new found power resulted in a
curse. Five to the sixth rejected old friends because they were not “big
enough” anymore. The Number Psycho decided to flip five to the sixth into a
negative exponential universe.
Number Psycho: I bet you wish you could just go back to being
five to the third power now. Muahahaha. You are the smallest little fraction
I’ve ever seen.
Five Cubed: Oh no. I’m smaller than the size of an ant now!
Narrator: This was the worst possible set of circumstances
that the base of 5 could have ever imagined. Luckily, this exponent did not
have a fixed mindset. Each day the exponent did what could be done to win the
favor of the all powerful number wizard called the Numba Wizard. He ate
proteins, fruits, veggies, and plenty of vitamins. Within a month the wizard
had granted five to the fourth power growth.
Numba Wizard: I grant you five times five times five times
five the size that you currently are. Unfortunately at this time, you have not
done enough to come out of the land of negative exponents.
Five Cubed: Ok so I’m a little bigger than an ant. I’m still
just barely as big as a mouse in negative land. I need to keep growing.
Narrator: The night after the Wizard visited him, Five to
the Negative Second thought about what could still be done to grow just a
little more. All five to the negative second wanted was to be one. With that
thought in mind, Five to the Negative Second threw an irrational number (the
square root of 12) into the wishing well. After waking up that night, five to
the zero power had realized a dream.
Honors Math Objective:
Honors Math Standards: A1-A-REI B3 Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable, including equations with coefficients represented by letters. a. Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable involving absolute value.
Honors Math Lesson Sequence:
- QSSQ
- Multiple step inequalities done on over-sized marker boards.
My colleague gave the suggestion that he stole from someone else to have a group of four try eight problems. The rules were that the person writing could not talk and must do exactly what the group told him or her. It worked really well. I started out by putting two problems on the board and circumvented the class confirming if problems were right or wrong. By the end of class some groups had correctly done all eight while others were close. I was able to pass out the homework for the groups that finished early. I really enjoyed this lesson.
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