The Learning Objective: Represent the same function using a table, a graph, an equation, and words.
Quote of the Day: “Try to picture Thomas Edison as vividly as you can. Thank about where he is and what he’s doing. Is he alone?...Edison was not a loner. For the invention of the lightbuld, he had thirty assistants, including well-trained scientists, often working around the clock in a corporate-funded state-of-the-art laboratory. It did not happen suddenly. The lightbulb has become the symbol for that single moment when the brilliant solution strikes, but there was no single moment of invention." - Carol Dweck
Agenda:
- Jumpstart - Math March Madness
- Review Homework
- Notes on representing functions on page 606 and 607 of the textbook
- Multiple Representation of Functions Practice
- Work on the weekly quiz
The Assessment: On the link jumpstart above, students were given clickers from TurningPoint Technology to submit their answers. I do this everyday typically for the entire month of March, but this year the software has not been cooperative with my new Windows upgrade. I had the district technology guru look at it and even he was stumped. Finally I got it to work by closing out of my Epson projector software. Needless to say March Madness will follow in the footsteps of the college basketball tournament and drift into April a little. The great news is, the kids don't care.
I throw out the incentive of raffle prizes for right answers, points on tests for any class that gets 100% correct, and points on tests for any class that has the highest percentage of correct answers on any given day. Today, classes were getting over 80% correct answers on the area of a triangle skill and the volume of a rectangular prism (without fractional edges). We got roughly 40% correct on surface area and 50% correct on the distributive property. Clearly two holes that I will try to cover up in the coming days and weeks.
Additionally I was able to collect and provide feedback on the weekly quiz for all students. I also took a look at all homework from the previous class.
Homework: For one class, I gave them the multiple representation of functions worksheet for homework because we did not get through it in class. That class was at the end of the day and I spent more time than I would like with classroom management. The other two classes finished the assignment in class and just have to study for the test we have tomorrow. I put the study guide and answers online for all classes.
My Glass Half-Full Take: I was happy to see that classes went as high as 94% understanding of the volume question. Granted, this could be considered a fifth grade skill, but numbers this high serve notice to myself and the other math teachers that fractional edge volume problems (sixth grade standard) are a necessity to increase the challenge for these students. The students solid understanding of volume can likely be correlated with the weekly quizzes which have featured volume questions for the past two weeks.
One Thing I Wish I Did Differently: On Day 1 of March Madness I always let students take their time to find an answer as I go through the Powerpoint with the questions because they are completely engaged. I wish I did not do this though. The trouble is that students have access to the Madness questions well before the Powerpoint goes up. When they come into class they get a worksheet of all the problems, which they can work on as I grade homework. This time is not fully taken advantage of and if I speed through the Powerpoint students will have a higher sense of urgency and we can use the time that would be wasted on the Powerpoint on something else.
Link of the Day: Just took a quick glance at #slowmathchat on Twitter, but I'm liking what I see.
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