Today was interesting.
Yesterday I introduced McCabe's Circle Cafe.
I offered a menu of choices...
Appetizers (activities focusing on memorizing the circle formulas)
Entrees (activities to apply the formulas)
Desserts (activities to create understanding)
I played it up.
Describing each item in all of it's delicious, yummy details.
Going above and beyond,
I offered samples so they could get a quick taste of their options.
Last year, this was a favorite activity.
Students got carried away with creativity.
I remember lots of circle songs.
I remember positive attitudes.
So, why was I getting different vibes this year?
Students did not seem as excited,
nor as creative.
To be fair, I did change a few things this year.
First, I focused the lesson around the KWHL chart.
I never did directly teach how to find the circumference and area of a circle.
One of my goals for the students was to utilize the resources around them...
the internet...
resources books/glossaries...
experts (refer to the real life application story at the end of this post).
So, as students embarked on making their menu selections,
I carefully guided their questions back to resources
So they could acquire the information they sought
Without having me just dish it out to them.
This was met with a little resistance.
Students wanted the quick fix.
The quick how to.
But I stood firm.
Life does not always dish out information.
We have to look for it.
(As a side note here...the reason I chose to do this with this objective, was that they had had prior teaching in 7th grade over circle formulas)
The other thing that was different this year than last has been that we've been infusing technology into almost every indicator taught in the 8th grade math class. Could the students be tired of it? I noticed that the majority of students chose activities that required little or no technology interaction. Choosing worksheets and writing out equations by hand instead of writing out a recipe card of how to prepare "Circumference Souffle".
When reflecting on lessons, I usually find the finger pointing right back at me? How could I have structured this differently? I loved the use of the KWHL chart. That's a keeper. However, I will have to ponder about my choice of "projects/activities".
Maybe they weren't challenging enough?
Maybe they were too much the same as what we've done before?
Maybe there was no new technology learning involved in them?
Maybe I should ask the students their thoughts on the matter instead of wondering over all of my "maybes"!
Skunks and Circles
The Analogy Behind our Lesson
Background: The KWHL chart has had a new column added to it...the H column..."How do you get the information you need?" For this project students will need to get the information they need if they do not know what the formulas for circles are or how to use them. How should they get the information? I toss this question out to the class. The first response always was, "Google It", "Use the Internet", "Look it up online".
So, that leads me to my first story...to tie real life into the task at hand in the math room.
A friend of mine also had a problem when she didn't know what to do. She had a skunk problem in her yard and wanted to get rid of the skunk. She bought a live animal trap, baited it and waited. Sure enough. She caught her skunk! That wasn't the problem. The problem ensued AFTER she caught the skunk. Anyone? Anyone? Yep, you got it. How was she going to get the skunk OUT of the trap? She consulted the internet, literally typing in "How to remove a skunk from a live trap?" She got lots of hits and decided to go with the blanket approach. Throw a blanket over the trap. A skunk will not spray what it cannot see. My friend was able to learn some new information and apply it to help her with her problem.
I then ask the class what is another way to get the information.
Resource books. It's at this point where I show them the math glossaries and the wealth of information they contain.
Another way to get the information? Ask an expert who has experience and knowledge to pass along.
Which leads me to skunk story #2.
My cousin had a skunk problem. One Saturday morning he went out to his garage to find a skunk perched up on a shelf, apparently quite happy as he did not want to leave. He left the door open thinking this would take care of the problem. He returned hours later to find the pesky critter still residing on the shelf. His first plan did not work. He chose to seek advice. He called his father...a farmer who had had dealings with skunks in the past. His advice was to grab the skunk by the tail. A skunk cannot spray while his back feet are not on the ground. This advice was not what he was looking for. He chose to ignore it and hope for the best. The best did not come. The skunk was loving his new home on the shelf. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed that skunk and flung him out of the garage. The skunk was so disoriented once he landed. He ran right back into the garage.
Now the moral to all these stories is that even though the problems were not solved, they serve an great idea of where to seek information if you don't know how to do something.
So, that leads me to my first story...to tie real life into the task at hand in the math room.
A friend of mine also had a problem when she didn't know what to do. She had a skunk problem in her yard and wanted to get rid of the skunk. She bought a live animal trap, baited it and waited. Sure enough. She caught her skunk! That wasn't the problem. The problem ensued AFTER she caught the skunk. Anyone? Anyone? Yep, you got it. How was she going to get the skunk OUT of the trap? She consulted the internet, literally typing in "How to remove a skunk from a live trap?" She got lots of hits and decided to go with the blanket approach. Throw a blanket over the trap. A skunk will not spray what it cannot see. My friend was able to learn some new information and apply it to help her with her problem.
I then ask the class what is another way to get the information.
Resource books. It's at this point where I show them the math glossaries and the wealth of information they contain.
Another way to get the information? Ask an expert who has experience and knowledge to pass along.
Which leads me to skunk story #2.
My cousin had a skunk problem. One Saturday morning he went out to his garage to find a skunk perched up on a shelf, apparently quite happy as he did not want to leave. He left the door open thinking this would take care of the problem. He returned hours later to find the pesky critter still residing on the shelf. His first plan did not work. He chose to seek advice. He called his father...a farmer who had had dealings with skunks in the past. His advice was to grab the skunk by the tail. A skunk cannot spray while his back feet are not on the ground. This advice was not what he was looking for. He chose to ignore it and hope for the best. The best did not come. The skunk was loving his new home on the shelf. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed that skunk and flung him out of the garage. The skunk was so disoriented once he landed. He ran right back into the garage.
Now the moral to all these stories is that even though the problems were not solved, they serve an great idea of where to seek information if you don't know how to do something.
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