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Enhance and Engage Various activities used with 6th graders
Leslie Hawes Cane Creek Middle School Buncombe County leslie.hawes@bcsemail.org
Enhance and Engage Leslie Hawes Cane Creek Middle School leslie.hawes@bcsemail.org Internet Sites; www.savingsquest.com:Simulation of consumer math with job choosing, budgeting money, paying bills, making goals, and problem solving. Library of virtual manipulatives: Practice with various levels of math concepts Activities / Lessons Menu Math Collect a variety of “to Go” menus from local restaurants. Using the “check” students will take on the role as a server to take the orders of a table, write down the name of the menu items, list prices, determine subtotal, tax, tip, and total cost of meal. Practice percents and decimal addition & multiplication. Option: Students would use computers to make a brochure that would be a menu from a restaurant with food items, descriptions, and prices. Next students would create 5 problems that involve computation, tax, and tip for another student to solve, using that particular student-created menu. This allows them to apply technology to their math with publishing software. Fruit Circle Sort, count, and graph fruit cereal with a circle graph. One box per 15 students;1/2 cup each. Students will make a circle out of the cereal, trace it, and apply percents/decimals and degrees to verify the accuracy of their graphs and calculations.
Fruit Circle 1. Sort and count your total number of objects. This will also be your denominator for your fraction. 2. After completing the first 4 columns of the chart, string your circles on the string, keeping the colors grouped. 3. Tie the string together in a tight circle. 4. Place the circle on a sheet of paper on your desk and trace the inside of the circle being careful not to move it out of shape while you are tracing. 5. Without disturbing the circle, place small pencil marks on the circle drawn on the paper where the colors meet another color. 6. Remove the eatable circle. Mark a center on your circle (paper) and connect the center to each of the marks you placed indicating where the colors met another color. 7. Measure and label the angles formed in the step above. 8. Color accordingly and label each angle on the circle graph with the corresponding percentage (%).
Color
Quantity
Fraction
Decimal
Percent %
Degree of Angle (% x 360)
Supplementary and Complementary Matching Have students write the 8 equations (4 complementary and 4 supplementary). Provide them with the grid of 16 numbers that they have to cut apart and place in the blanks of the equations. After checking them as a class, show students how to use a protractor to draw the complementary and supplementary angle pairs.
Complementary Angles ____ + ____ = 90O ____ + ____ = 90O ____ + ____ = 90O ____ + ____ = 90O
Supplementary Angles ____ + ____ = 180O ____ + ____ = 180O ____ + ____ = 180O ____ + ____ = 180O
Modeling multiplication of fractions Using Templates Give students the first fraction to illustrate, which will be the first factor of the multiplication problem. Shade in with a light color. Then give second fraction in the problem and shade this fraction to show the intersection. Illustrate, write problem, multiply to verify solution. Templates work well because they provide standard shapes to shade. _____�of� ______ . I suggest that the students use colored pencils and use colors that contrast or markers and draw diagonal lines as a way to shade.
Grid 16 - Partner Problem Solving Choose 16 multi-step word problems. Make 4 copies of each problem so that pairs will be able to choose problem out of order. Laminate and cut the problems up. Make answer key. Have students take their 11 by 14-inch paper and divide in to 16 grids by folding in half 4 times. Number blocks 1-16 so that they can do the problems in any order. Students will work in partners to solve one problem at a time and they come up and get it checked. If they are incorrect, they have to go back and correct it before they can go to another problem. I usually put small stickers or a stamp on each block. Problem solving in this manner produces a high level of engagement and team work. Students are less likely to give up on a problem and not try it. I usually don’t allow them to use a calculator and they have to show their process. Bucket Math Take 30 word problems and make 2-3 copies of each one. I’ve made a chart on a word processing document in which I can type the problems rather quickly when I want to do a new set. It is also easy to print out on colored paper to laminate and cut up and also on plain paper for the answer key. Same as above, with a partner, working one at a time and getting it checked before going to the next problem. I use a table of 3 by 5 blocks double sided and pre-numbered for the students to record their answers. Some of the problems even include measurement stations with the triple-beam balance and volume measuring. White Board Problem Solving Prepare problems similar to the 2 activities above. Instead of students showing the work on their blocked paper, they will show on small white boards one at a time. To declare a problem correct, teacher will place a sticker on a skinny slip of paper beside corresponding number.
Integer Overhead Use an “overheard� deck of cards to present integer problems. Red cards= negative and black cards =positive Cards represent numbers 1-13. To begin, choose an operation or combinations of operations and write those symbols on the overhead, leaving an inch and half between them so that there is room for the card.
_____ + _____ = _____ Teacher places 2 or more cards on the overhead and the students engage in calling out the value. I’ve also used individual white boards in the class that students use to write the problem and hold it up when they have the answer.
Licorice Strings Measure licorice string in centimeters to the nearest tenth and record as in function table. X=Number Y= Length in of Bites Centimeters 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Students will complete function table as they make a consistent bite of the candy and measure it. Next, graph data as coordinates on a coordinate graph and connect points. Concepts= Ordered pairs, linear relationships, slope, function, independent & dependent variables, relationship between X & Y, and metric measurement.
Sale Ad Shopping After teaching application of “percentage off and sales tax, I have students make their own task card that they can trade with a classmate and work eachother’s problems. Use the sale ads from the newspaper for students to locate pictures of items they want to “place on sale”. I require the students to use a specific percentage (15%, 30%, 25%, or 20%; no 50%) and they can choose a price that is reasonable but no zeros in the whole numbers. Often students will choose numbers that are very easy for them to mentally compute. No Calculators so that they are also applying their computations skills. I provide students with a copy of the process for the problem solving so that they can see the various steps. This also makes assessment and corrections much easier. Transformations After teacher explanation and demonstration of reflection, translation, and rotation, students will use geometric templates to draw their own examples of the 3 transformations. The shapes may be simple, but the coloring and design of the figure makes the accuracy of the transformation more complex. Reflection Definition:
Translation Definition:
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(paste grid paper here)
Rotation Definition:
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Tree Map of Properties Graphic organizer showing the different properties, explanation, and examples; associative, distributive, commutative, and identity.
Properties Commutative
Associative
Distributive
Identity Of multiplication
Of Addition
Treat Size – Volume/Surface Area Purchase or have parents buy bags of box candy (the size at Halloween). Using a larger box, or snack size of raisins, demonstrate measuring the length, width, and height of the box, drawing the net, labeling dimensions, and calculating volume & surface area. It is always a good idea to do a sample of a foldable so that the students can see what the teacher expects. The foldable must include the following: Scale drawing of the box, dimensions labeled, titles (Volume and Total Surface Area), description of the meaning of the titles, detail process (possible formula) of how the student found the volume and surface area with computations, and any diagrams that they drew to help find surface area. Typical 6th Grader- “My Favorite” Survey Questions w/Graphing Great end of the year activity. This activity allows students to apply various concepts used throughout the year to a project they developed. Students design 6 survey questions with 4-6 choices for responses. Examples of categories: ice-cream, holiday, college, sport, flavor, music, restaurant, store, movie type, Disney character…etc.
Students go around & ask classmates questions and record responses on an organized chart. Use % chart for circle graph information and graph 4 with circle graphs and 2 with bar graphs. Go over guidelines with graphing and labeling.
My Favorite ______________________ (topic) Responses Total
Fraction
Multiply % % Percent by 360 to get angle
Duplicate the chart above 4 times and position “landscape� on one piece to copy for students