Students in 9-12 are given lots of opportunities to investigate and develop expertise in using iMovie, as it offers that ideal balance of independence and creativity! At the end of the year, I love looking through our iPads to see what has developed.
For example, one group of 4th graders were working as a team to build and test a table sweeper, so they took a series of photos to document their work. I could not resist sharing the slideshow.
MATH MOVIE is an independent project made by 5th graders, Vivienne and Lucia.
OFF SHAPES is a trailer created by 4th graders John and Jackson.
The students have finished Phase Two: Design & Build.Their Geometry City is composed of nine city sections. Each student designed 3 sections, following the design requirements given (certain geometric shapes, certain buildings). This week, they started Phase Three: Construction, which means deciding how to put their city together for the world to see.
6th Grade Math Students Start
Phase One of Geometry City
Geometry City is a project based learning activity where students use their geometry skills to design their own city. This project doesn’t just focus on math skills. Students will call upon their mapping and writing skills, as well. Groups will be creating a city that uses both 2D and 3D constructions, so practicing plane and solid geometry. This is a fun project with so many elements of learning, including problem solving, making inferences, collaboration, communication, and independent learning.
Phase One: Permits -Reviewing and previewing geometric terms and visuals. -Creating a mini-map of NNMS
I recently attended an exciting ISACS math workshop given by Jo Boaler from Stanford. Her webpage, youcubed.com, features lots of low floor-high celing math tasks for all grade levels. I was intrigued by the Math Cards activity and its statement of purpose, so I decided to make a set for my math group.
“Many parents use ‘flash cards’ as a way of encouraging the learning of math facts. These usually include 2 unhelpful practices – memorization without understanding and time pressure. In our Math Cards activity we have used the structure of cards, which children like, but we have moved the emphasis to number sense and the understanding of multiplication without any time constraints.”
Mathematically proficient students try to communicate precisely to others. They try to use clear definitions in discussion with others and in their own reasoning.They justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and respond to the arguments of others. We have a classroom environment that nurtures these proficiencies. I know you will be delighted while watching this video of one math group as they work together to match all the cards. It is a testament to their skill in communicating and attending to precision.
Geometry City
