Reflecting Ordered Pairs Across the Axes: A Hands On Activity Using Mirrors

It has been a while since I have written a blog entry. (Snow days and state testing has backed a lot of my lesson planning up). I am very excited to write about a recent lesson that I completed with my students that involved reflecting across the x and y-axis.

In this lesson, students discovered the mathematical patterns behind reflecting ordered pairs and collections of ordered pairs across the x-axis and y-axis. The students used mirrors to help them see what was happening. It was a lot of fun watching them discover this and it was rewarding to even see my lower ability classes coming up with some amazing observations. (View the video to see this lesson in action.)

Students started out with a short video showing them how to use the mirrors to reflect across each axis.

 

 

 

Here are some glimpses of some of the notes sheets that were featured in the above video.

 

A similar lesson to this would not be difficult to create, however if you like what you see on this blog, the lesson is available at my TpT site and can be viewed here. Thank you for taking time to view this lesson, it was very fun to teach and the students got a very good understanding of it.



 

 

A Common Core Conceptual Approach to Explaining the Distributive Property

Hello. It has been a while since I have blogged, but I had to inform you about a great way for students to discover the distributive property. This property is a vital part of algebra and students need it as a bulding block to understand such topics as "FOIL" and finding common factors.

In this lesson, students must manipulate rectangles (representing variable terms) and squares (representing constant terms) to show that the distributive property is basically stating that the number on the outside of the parenthesis determines how many groups of the value on the inside of the parenthesis are needed to simplify the expression.

This lesson worked very nicely to help my students discover the DISTRIBUTIVE PROPERTY on their own and really helped them to make sense of how to apply the property. I love it when discovery lessons work like they are intended to!!! The students retain so much more if they can make sense of it on their own. If you are interested in obtaining this lesson please visit my TpT store!

Students begin by exploring what it means to have a certain number of groups of
an expression within a parenthesis.

Fully typed out UBD lesson plan is included with purchase. Merely print out the document
and have on hand for those surprise evaluations.

All answers for Warm-up, Practice problems and assessment question are included.

Interactive Lesson on Relating Ratios to their Proportionate and Equivalent Forms

This lesson worked really well last week for all levels of classes because it scaffolded the thought process needed to find equivalent ratios. Student could manipulate the shapes and were encouraged to use ratio language to make sense this concept.

 

The video above gives a short preview/explanation of the lesson. Our school has access to the promethean board and ActivInspire so this is a flipchart and PDF student notes file and works best when students can utilize a computer individually in a computer lab setting or laptop cart setting. (If you are someone that may want a low tech version of this lesson, please contact me through TpT by finding this product and describing to me what you would like through the "QUESTION" prompt.) You can find this lesson at my store. This lesson is aligned with CCSS 6RP1 and includes answer keys describing how the lesson should progress.

Megalodon Investigation: Work Samples

Student Work Samples: Megalodon Investigation

Even though this is a 6th Grade Unit, I had some time between State Testing and the students going on Spring Break, so I decided to try this investgation out with my 7th graders. They really did a good job so I decided to display a few of my Top Notch Groups' work with you. You can find this investigation in my Common Core Ratios and Proportions Unit or you can download just the Megalodon Investigation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



Megalodon: How Big Was It? Investigation Applying Proportionate Reasoning



I have recently been thinking about how to motivate my students to want to do the work that Common Core is requiring them to do. Then it hit me, the problems they are working on must be things that interest them. I decided to take a crack at writing something that  think would interest me. I have always been facinated by ancient creatures, the more menacing (as long as I know they are extinct) the more fascinated I was. YES, I was a big fan of Jurassic Park.

While thinking about how to apply this to 6th Grade Math, I came across this interesting video clip on You Tube from Animal Planet's "The Most Extreme: Ancient Ancestors" and I thought it would be a perfect application to the Ratio and Proportions Unit since the Megalodon was juts a much larger version of today's Great White shark.

One of my students actually brought in a REAL Megalodon tooth.
The other students (and also myself) were amazed to be able to see and touch
this rare fossil that is normally only seen behind glass.

 

From this video, I got the idea to create the following investigation.

 

 

 









Basically, the students are asked to look at a drawing of a Great White shark and based upon an information card about the actual Great White the drawing was in proportion to, determine the scale. Then the students have to create their own drawing of a Megalodon also to the same scale to get an idea of just how much bigger this shark was thought to be compared to the Great White.

 

This investigation was very fun and was easily applied to the 6th Grade Ratio and Proportions Unit. Please look at the sample portfolio below. If this unit looks like something you might want to use in your class, please visit http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Megalodon-How-Big-was-it-An-Investigation-Using-Proportionate-Reasoning to download the full investigation with all templates and supplementary materials. Also please check back here for more ideas for the Common Core.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Steps into the Common Core

Today is a glorious SNOW DAY here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and my excitetment has gotten me out of bed early to share this post with you. I have been thinking quite a bit about how I will begin implementing the COMMON CORE CURRICULUM into my classroom this Spring. One of my favorite movies is "What About Bob?" and if you are familiar with this movie, one of my favorite lines was when Bill Murray's character uttered, "Baby Steps...Baby Steps...". I believe this is the way to go when implemeting the COMMON CORE CURRICULUM into your classroom. Confidence needs to be built and instilled in our students that they are capable of thinking for themselves. If you try to give them too many expectations, too quickly you willl lose them forever. This is why I have titled today's ramblings "BABY STEPS into the COMMON CORE". Here is a task I created as an example of one of my confidence building ideas. You can download it for FREE at my TpT store if you like it :o).http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brendas-Necklace-Task-Patterns

 

Here is the video animation. It basically has students analyze a simple pattern. It is a confindence builder because it is an easy, problem with a concrete answer and can be solved by the students through pictures, symbols, maniuplatives etc. This FREE resource can be downloaded at TpT http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brendas-Necklace-Problem