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Students practice finding distance 'as the crow flies' on a coordinate grid. Students will use the Pythagorean Theorem and the Distance formula to find distance.
I used this Desmos activity to help show my students that the Pythagorean Theorem and the distance formula perform the same task. We also discussed why and how the Pythagorean Theorem could be turned into the distance formula. We had some great math talks about this one.
Students practice using a protractor to measure angles.
I had used real protractors with my students the day before I made this Desmos Activity. I found that students really struggled with understanding which scale on the protractor to use. The questions at the end of the activity allows students to analyze another student's mistake and analyze their own mistakes in the process.
I love trying new websites and software out with my math tutorial students. Over the past year I have found some great websites that allow my students to learn and play at the same time. This is one of my favorites.
Prodigygame.com has provide my students a unique way of practicing their math skills. It combines math with a fantasy role playing game.
Prodigy is a freemium game. Almost all of the game is free to your students. The paid subscription is an add-on option that you or your students' parents can pay for. The subscription adds levels and items for your student to delve deeper into the game. It is absolutely not needed. The free memberships include access to over 1200 math skills for grades 1-8. Unfortunately, Prodigy is really good and asking your students to upgrade. So your kids may bother you about it every time they are not allowed to open a special chest.
It provides teachers and parents with reports on what standards and skills their students are performing well on and what they need help with. . Prodigy is always free for teachers and it allows them to create plans and assignments for their students.
The most important part of Prodigy is that it has given many of my students a reason to do math. It has allowed many of them to find math exciting and fun for the first time in their lives.
I will be working with data in Unit 5 of my Exploring Computer Science course. In preparation for working with map data (latitude and longitude) I wanted to find an online program that would organize and filter the data while presenting a nice visual. I have found that Batchgeo.com is that solution. To test out the website yourself please follow the instructions below.
1. Grab some data here (this will make a copy of some Los Angeles Bike data into your Google Drive)
2. Copy the data
3. Paste the data into Batchgeo.com
4. Click the "Map now" button
The results are great. It automatically processes the latitude and longitude and maps all the points. At the bottom of the map you can filter the data. Try it out below.
This week I have found the best website for helping my students with their number sense and their perseverance. It is called Conceptis Puzzles. This website offers hundreds of puzzles and several puzzle types. The Pic-a-Pix puzzles are my personal favorite. The actual puzzle is called a nonogram. More can be found on this website. They build problem solving skills, number sense, and perseverance. All things I want my students to build on.
Your students can make free accounts and play a new puzzle every single week without paying a dime. I use this website on short days or as a fun activity on block period days between tasks. Students find them fun and some have no idea it is making them better mathematicians.
If you haven't heard about this great discussion technique, Which One Doesn't Belong (WODB) allows students an opportunity to construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (Math Practice 3). I first learned about this from Mary Bourassa's website wodb.ca. This site provides many pre-made puzzles but making your own isn't very difficult.
These puzzles work great for my warm-ups as students walk into the room. Here is an example:
Each box contains a shape (or anything you want to study) and students are asked "Which one doesn't belong?" Student find this to be an easy problem. But asking a student to explain why it doesn't belong requires a student to have a good grasp on academic vocabulary and the ability to create a viable argument.
The problem on the left shows that every box can be used as an answer as long as you have a reason for it. The first box doesn't belong because it doesn't have equal length sides. The second box doesn't belong because it is shaded in. The third box doesn't belong because it is rotated. The last box doesn't belong because it has five sides.
To the right is my first attempt at creating my own WODB problem. My students are studying systems of equations. Each box has a reason for not belonging. I was amazed at the conversations that came out of answering this simple question. This problem sparked a discussion about solutions, graphs not showing everything, and parallel lines.
I am definitely going to create and use more of these problems to start math discussions in my class. I will post more as I create them.
Link to GeoGebra Tube Materials : Click here
To view/download GeoGebra Files:
To view/download GeoGebra Files:
Agenda
Desmos.com
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an effort by California State University, Northridge to support science teachers in the San Fernando Valley. The concepts being developed by CSUN can be applied to all subject matter at all grade levels.
Click here to visit the CSCS website
To view/download GeoGebra Files:
Created by Kyle Ramstad, Milagro Medrano, and Jaspreet Sandha
I presented the following information in November of 2014 at the California Math Council - South conference in Palm Springs, CA.
“Kellie Evans, CSU Northridge & Kyle Ramstad, CSU Northridge NSF Teaching Fellowship Program
kellie.m.evans@csun.edu
kyle.ramstad.20@my.csun.edu
In anticipation of March 14, 2015 (3.1415…), this session will celebrate π. Participants will use GeoGebra to make sense of problems, test ideas, and check that solutions make sense. Classroom ready activities will be provided. Bring a laptop.”
To view/download GeoGebra Files:
Here are some of the lessons and activities I have done without computers and the internet. Check back here for more periodically.
Please download files to view them. Google does not always provide an accurate preview of documents.
Project created and designed by English teacher Sharlene Moss, M.A. (sharlene.moss@lausd.net) and Kyle Ramstad
This project was designed to align with 8th grade Math and English Common Core State Standards.
Click here to view the aligned math standards. Systems of Equations
Click here to view the aligned English standards. Persuasion: Ethos, Logos, Pathos
The files below were used in guiding the students through this project.
Please download and make copies for your own students.
All assignments were given online. Google Classroom, Google Drive, and Google Sites were used to distribute and collect files.
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an effort by California State University, Northridge to support science teachers in the San Fernando Valley. The concepts being developed by CSUN can be applied to all subject matter at all grade levels.
“Demand for Computer Systems Analysts with big data expertise increased 89.9% in the last twelve months , and 85.40% for Computer and Information Research Scientists.”
Data collection and analysis is a growing industry. Being able to pull ideas out of big data is what drives many of the newest and most successful technology companies.
Go through the steps below to collect, view, and analyze data about height and shoe size. Linear regression is one way that data can be analyzed to find patterns/relationships between two sets of data.
Linear regression lines can be used to help predict future results. The linear equation models what is happening in the real world. The better your R2 value, the better your equation will model the real world situation.
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an effort by California State University, Northridge to support science teachers in the San Fernando Valley. The concepts being developed by CSUN can be applied to all subject matter at all grade levels.
Click here to visit the CSCS website
Linear functions are those whose graph is a straight line. A linear function can be written in the following form.
y = f(x) = mx + b
This is called slope-intercept form. Where m represents the slope of the line and b represent the y-intercept.
What happens when m or b changes?
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an effort by California State University, Northridge to support science teachers in the San Fernando Valley. The concepts being developed by CSUN can be applied to all subject matter at all grade levels.
Click here to visit the CSCS website
“Desmos wants to help every student learn math and love learning math. But “every student” is a lot of students so we create digital math tools and let the Internet take them to anyone who wants them.”
Students explore using and interpreting intercepts to graph linear equations in slope-intercept and standard form.
My students really got into this lesson. It allowed them to have a new appreciation for standard form linear equations.
Please contact me if you would like to inquire about speaking or training events.