Lesson 1: Sample Problems
Examples
1. Geometry- This example covers one of the most challenging topics for students in Geometry to visualize, finding the volume of 3D figures. Most of these types of problems are presented to students as a 3D drawing on a 2D piece of paper. How are students supposed to visualize or calculate the volume of these figures if they are given to them as 2D representations? After struggling to teach my students this way for two years I decided to take a new approach. I found items that would be familiar to my students that represented the 3D figures. For example, I brought in a soccer ball (sphere), a can of soup (cylinder), a cone cup used for water (cone), a tissue box (rectangular prism), and a replica of an Egyptian pyramid (pyramid). I then made five stations, one for each 3D figure. The students were split up into the five groups and were given only a piece of string and a ruler along with the 3D figure at the stations. The students were challenged to calculate the volumes of each figure and were given about five minutes at each station. This activity allowed for students to discover the dimensions of each figure since they were not given them to begin with. Students needed to know how to find circumference in order to get the radius of the sphere and for the cylinder. After students successfully completed the five stations I knew they would be able to complete the 2D examples which usually show up on the regents.
For the lesson plan and worksheet for the above activity click the following links
Lesson Plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XB4BZfHfZeRBESeskujgQPZvM4c8MNWTWQDK_NdcjUo/edit?usp=sharing
Worksheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q56yYTYUhx4ySNhalaO5Fe6FkgrNOyICeGh3B_jjMmI/edit?usp=sharing
2. Geometry- Teaching the Pythagorean Theorem can be rather dry for students so before I made it to this unit I looked up ways to make it more interesting for students. I stumbled upon Dan Meyer Three Act Math series and noticed he had a lesson called Taco Cart which dealt with the Pythagorean Theorem. I went through the problem myself and just knew I could present it to my students in a way in which they could have fun while learning about the material I needed to cover. So I made a Power Point and a supplemental worksheet to go along with the lesson I found online. This problem allows for students to get competitive and try to guess who will reach the taco cart first all while learning about the Pythagorean Theorem.
For the lesson plan, Power Point, Website and worksheet for the above activity click the following links
Website http://threeacts.mrmeyer.com/tacocart/
Power Point https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1j_6E6fsh5JDswLeSacF1SW-d7yKocB0OsdLpoDG0XJQ/edit?usp=sharing
Lesson Plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/11mHw9KjaqOFXMq_uVmKxRRD7pM2h_wRUPgLxmVzzlY8/edit?usp=sharing
Worksheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r7mHd8h04ywDPEB_vB2mr_68mN9VALBHYTsnbNTPb-A/edit?usp=sharing
Move on to Lesson 2: Creating Your Own Problems
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