Slope- Stained Glass Window Project

This past year I had a group of math students who really loved to be creative and especially loved to color!  

So, when we were learning about slope in class I wanted some kind of creative project for my students to do where they could show their knowledge in a way that was more creative than a worksheet or quiz!

I searched around on the internet and Pinterest, and saw several versions of the slope stained glass window project, but none of them really fit the specific needs I had for my class.  

So...I made my own version of this project so I could include everything I needed,  and it is now in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

In this project students had to choose several linear equations from a list and create a table of values that they plugged in to the equations to create x and y coordinates for each line.

They also determined the slope of each line, whether the slope was positive, negative, zero or undefined, and x and/or y intercepts.

Then they had to graph the lines on graph paper.  Each line needed to be labeled with the corresponding equation.

Bring on the colors!  I gave my students free range on what they used to add color to their design.  Crayons, colored pencils, markers, chalk....anything they wanted.  I encouraged them to put together a nice color scheme to make their final product visually appealing.

I created a 4 point rubric to grade the finished projects.  The kids had this rubric right away, so they knew exactly what they needed to do to get the highest grade.  I also a couple examples and had them use the rubric to determine a grade for each project.  I have found that giving the students a rubric and having them apply it to a sample project really helps them to see what high quality work looks like.

My class LOVED this project!  Here are some of their finished projects!

I love doing projects with my math students!  Giving students another way to show what they know and actually apply the skills to a project (not just a worksheet) really hooks my students interest!

If you like this project, it is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Fermi Math

Have you ever tried using Fermi problems in your math class?  I had not heard of this until a couple years ago, but now I am hooked!

Enrico Fermi was a scientist/mathematician who loved playing with numbers and was able to calculate seemingly impossible questions in his head.

Fermi math problems require
*estimation
*questioning
*research
*communication
*reasonable assumptions
*creativity
*flexibility
*number sense
*perseverance!

A couple of classic Fermi questions are:
How many water balloons would it take to fill your classroom?
How many jelly beans fill a one liter bottle?

Fermi problems emphasize the process of solving problems over getting the exact answer.  Fermi problems will not result in an exact answer (usually), and different kids may come to their answers using different strategies.  This is a great way to get kids talking about math and justifying how they came to their answers.

How do I use this in my class?  

This is a great activity for any time of the year, but I usually use Fermi questions as a fun break between units, as a fun project for kids to work on if they finish early, or at the end of the year when you have finished the "required" curriculum but still want to keep your class engaged in math.

At the end of this school year I had each kid come up with their own Fermi math question.  A typical question usually involves "how many ____" would it take to "fill/cover a _____".  The kids are instantly interested because they get to make up their question and get to include things that are interesting to them.

Some of my sports fans asked questions about how many footballs it would take to fill a specific stadium, how many hockey pucks would it take to cover the ice on a NHL rink.  A couple examples of questions involving candy are shown in the pictures below.

Once the kids have solved their question, I have them create a poster (12" x 18 " paper) to display their question, data, and conclusions on.

The kids are amazed with the huge numbers they usually get in their answers.

Have you ever tried using Fermi style problems in your math class?

Lines and Angles Unit Project - Angle City

I am always looking for a way to add some art and creativity into my math class, my class this year LOVES to draw so I knew they would love an opportunity to draw and be creative in math class.

We just finished a unit on angles and lines. We studied all the classifications of angles (acute, straight, right, obtuse, reflex) and worked with measures of complementary angles, supplementary angles, angles formed when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, angles around a point and more!

For their end of unit project they had to create their own city map using a variety of angles.  I gave the kids a checklist with everything they needed to include.  They had to plan where to place the specifics I laid out in the project:  the types and amount of angles formed by the roads, what buildings needed to be located on different angle intersections, all the buildings that they must include, etc..

First I had them sketch out a rough draft so they could easily move streets/buildings around to get everything to meet the exact specifications required.

Once they were happy with their draft they transferred their map to a 11 x 17 piece of white paper.  For their final copy they had to include color, a city name, the city population, street names, building labels, and it needed to be neat and organized.  

They totally got into this project!  It was so fun to see them figuring out how to make the roads meet to form obtuse angles, and where to place buildings.  Many of them also got very creative and based their city name and street names around a theme (space, the ocean etc..)

I was very impressed with the final projects they turned in!  Here are some pictures of some of their finished designs.

Do you do any fun and creative projects in your math class?  I would love to hear about them!

This Made My Day!

I recently received a b-day card from one of my students that absolutly made my day.

I'm a  Math Superhero!

  

How awesome is it that this 10 year old spent their time making me a card, and said I was their hero!  

My students know I love math, I am always giving them math puzzles and riddles.

So I especially love the math facts that are shooting like lightning bolts out of my hands!

I think I have an idea for next years Halloween costume......

Math on Monday

It is back to school tomorrow after a nice two week winter break!  It was great to have the time off, lots of relaxing, sleeping in, reading, and down time.

I am excited to start a new math unit on angles.  I teach a group of gifted math learners, so even though I am teaching 5th graders we are often working on math topics/skills at the 6th-8th grade level.

I created this Power Point presentation to review the parts of an angle, how to label angles and the different. types of angles.

After the review,  the slides move into some new material like complementary and supplementary angles, angles formed when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and angles around a point.

The kids will be learning how to use geometric reasoning to figure out angle measures using what they know about the properties of different types of angles and putting the pieces together to figure out the unknown.  Some of these problems can get quite challenging, involving multiple steps, which is great for deeper thinking and encouraging perseverance!

I am also working on putting together some exit slips to use at the end of class to quickly assess what the kids know and what we need more review and practice with.

I have the angles slides in my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you are interested in using them with your class too!

Hello Math

I love math!

When I was in elementary school, I loved math!  I understood it, and thought it was fun.

Then Jr. High happened, and I no longer loved math.  Why?  Because my teachers were impatient, assumed that teaching concepts one way would work for everyone, and got frustrated with ME when I didn't understand something. I went through Jr. High and High School with a strong dislike of math.  It wasn't until a Statistics class in college that I learned to love math again.

I think that is part of what makes me a good math teacher.  I know what it felt like for me to not understand something, and what I disliked about how teachers treated my questions.  I feel like I make an extra effort to teach concepts in multiple ways and have the patience to answer kids questions.

I am excited to teach math this year!  I teach 6th grade math to 5th graders who have advanced math skills.  I have been working on some fun ideas that I am looking forward to incorporating into my math class this year.

Stay tuned!