Middle School Math - Classroom Activities
Warm Up ActivityEvery class period, students are required to do the warm-up that is on the board. All students have a small, personal white board that they work out their solution to the problem on. After a minute of work time I motion with my arms for them to circle the answer and lift up their boards. I can then quickly evaluate their answers and give them immediate feedback for how they are doing with the current material.
Learning Styles - Allowing for Choice
Students need to have a variety of choices when portraying what they understand. In providing them options they will enjoy what they are creating and in turn take more away from the project. In the following pictures of a multi-genre example, there are many options for students to use to display their understanding. These options range everywhere form a flow chart to a mobile to a PowerPoint. The most important part about having projects is to allow for choice.
I chose to include these different types of media because they each demonstrate my ability to teach students effectively. The lesson plan demonstrates my ability to create a functioning lesson, the video is a demonstration of how I can teach using technology, the differentiated instruction is shown in the multi-genre project, and the PowerPoint is a good way to teach students in a way that they will understand it. Teaching itself can always be improved and educators should constantly be looking for newer, more creative ways to instruct their students.
I feel that teaching should be expressed in as many was as possible, which is why I chose to display how I teach in these four different medias. As our world continues to go even more digital it is important that we, as future educators, learn how the new technology works and find a way to have it benefit the students in the classroom because all students deserve to learn in a beneficial, enriching, and enjoyable way. I plan to do just this by teaching the content in a way that fulfills both INTASC’s. ReflectionPreparing a class period takes time, planning, and flexibility. The unit plan I used had to be revised many times as time was not correctly allocated, time was underestimated, students struggled with concepts I expected them to excel at, and vice versa. It is important to make sure that the lesson is planned down to what actions both the teacher and the students will participate in during the class period. On top of the basic set-up of the classroom, there must be thought going towards who will work in what group, and of course the content that is being covered.
The debate was one of these activities. It took time to decide how to best organize the room, how the groups would be split up, and what guided support would be needed from me as the teacher. Leading the debate itself was really enjoyable. The students got out of their shell a bit and really dove into the content. I know a debate will be a useful technique I will use again in the future when I want to lead a discussion. Creating the cooperating learning lesson where students had to complete the “Searchin’ for Shapes” worksheet involved a good amount of leadership as well since it involved finding the concepts in everyday life. Students were required to think outside of the box for a few and it was very impressive to see their success in some shapes I even struggled to find an item that resembled it. All align with the INTASC’s and require planning to implement. I demonstrated the Instruction and Curriculum Planning INTASC by planning a unit which relates not only to the students, but also to the goals of the curriculum and the community For example, in the "Searchin' for Shapes" activity students had to look around their neighborhoods for where these shapes are present in everyday life. I demonstrated the Effective Communication Skills INTASC by preparing a debate for the students to partake in. The debate encouraged students to express their knowledge of the material vocally and required them to collaborate on the issues, determine their stance on it, and question why the other stance was not as important. |
Cooperative Learning LessonsStudents will be encouraged to find these shapes in real life. After they are found, students will bring their completed worksheet to class and discuss these shapes with the group to see if their idea was reasonable and if there are any others they missed.
Debate!
In the units I have taught so far, I found a debate to be especially useful. Below is a worksheet I provided the students on the day of the debate. The debate itself was about which triangle is the best, (out of obtuse, acute, and right triangles). Each group was assigned a particular triangle and they had to determine as a group their reasoning for why theirs was the best. The guided questions on the sheet were meant to guide the students in their thinking about the different triangles and the discussion ended up being engaged and enjoyable for the students because they were able to stand their ground on the issue without feeling like their answer was incorrect.
PowerPoint PresentationPowerPoint presentations provide a good way to teach visual learners. Presenting material in this manner allows for pictures, equations, and videos to be included. Students can easily follow the lecture and take notes based on what is given to them on the slides.
Example Worksheets
Below are worksheets I have created to assist my students in guided learning of Geometry.
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