Grade 9 & 10 Academic

Welcome back!

This week in class we continued to present our learning activities with a focus on grade 9 and 10 Academic. Although it has been a very long time since I took grade 9 and 10 math, the concepts almost immediately came back to me. Ensuring students understand and grasp the concepts in grade 9 and 10 math is imperative for their future learning and success. This week I would like to reflect on two of the presentations: Interior Angles and Speed Dating and Equation Making.

Interior Angles

To begin, the students (us the teacher candidates) were required to draw a triangle, cut out the angles and then connect the angles to determine the degrees. As shown in the picture on the right, when connected, the three angles from the triangle create a 180° angle. I personally have never seen this strategy for teaching students that the sum of the angles within a triangle equals 180.° I can definitely see myself using this in my classroom! Moving along in the lesson, we were then required to draw small triangles within a number of different shapes. In the sheet provided, students are required to determine the number of sides of the shape, the number of interior triangles, and from this information, calculate the sum of interior angles.

I thought this lesson was extremely engaging and also presented the opportunity for problem solving and critical thinking. As opposed to simply providing the students with the formula for calculating the sum of interior angles, 180° (n-2), this activity allows students to develop a deeper understanding of where the formula comes from. I think it is extremely important that educators provide students with the opportunity to make these mathematical connections. Often, students only understand how to complete a math problem and we need to provide more opportunities that demonstrates the why.

Speed Dating and Equation Making

The second presentation I would like to reflect on is speed dating and equation making. For this activity, students sat across from a partner at the desks. Partners on one side were required to pick up a yellow piece of paper, containing the information for the y-intercept and partners on the other side picked up a purple piece of paper, containing the information for the slope. Together, partners had the task of determining their equation in y=mx + b form and then plotting their line. On the sheet there were a number of hearts, and if your line crossed through a heart, than students were a "match."

 

I thought this activity was also extremely engaging. Students had the opportunity to move around the classroom and interact with their peers, thus, fostering both student communication and collaboration. The only aspect I would have done differently for this lesson is possibly change the idea of “speed-dating.” Students in grade 9 or 10 could become more focused on the concept of “matching up” with someone as opposed to the math they are completing. Although the concept worked very well in our class, some students lacking maturity may become off-task very quickly. I would just alter the concept of dating to something such as sports, movies, or food.

Overall, I thought all lessons presented this week were well done! Our class is presenting many fantastic ideas that can be implemented in our future classrooms.

Have a good week!
Rachelle

The Game of Life: Financial Literacy

Hi everyone and welcome back!

This week in class, we were fortunate to participate in four extremely well done grade seven / eight lessons. From digging holes, moving Steve the stick person, playing the game of life and battleship, all lessons were extremely engaging and relevant to students lives. However, for this post I would like to focus on Dayna’s lesson: The Game of Life.

For The Game of Life, the class was split into five groups. Each group was assigned a different job and monthly salary. In addition, each group was given a series of bills they had to pay based on a specific percentage of their earnings. Groups were also provided with a grocery list and associated costs. Working together, the groups had to determine the total costs of their monthly payments and how much money they had remaining to buy essentials, such as food.

Although a math activity, I was immediately impressed with the cross-curricular and different literacies incorporated into this lesson. As a Physical educator, I really liked how this activity allowed students to get up and moving throughout the classroom. Corresponding with this, it fostered collaboration and communication skills as students were required to work together to discuss their money situation. As discussed during class, the Game of Life can be modified to meet curriculum expectations across all grade levels and presents the opportunity to explore financial literacy.

The Ministry of Education describes financial literacy as, “Financial literacy means having the knowledge and skills to make responsible economic and financial decisions with confidence. In today's complex world, young people need a wide range of skills and knowledge to make informed choices.”

Financial literacy gives students the opportunity to consider their financial choices. For example, in younger grades it allows students to understand the costs of buying fast food, groceries, their monthly cell-phone bill, etc. In the older grades, financial literacy can reveal the cost of buying a car, a home or paying tuition for post-secondary education. Educators should make the effort to incorporate financial literacy into their lessons beginning in the younger grades to ensure they are developing students who understand the impact on their financial choices and thus can participate in society as responsible and knowledgeable citizens. It is important to note that financial literacy can also be incorporated in other subject areas such as social studies or business, however, I believe it is extremely important in the math classroom so students can make the mathematical connections to money.

Reflecting upon my education experience, I was not presented with many opportunities to explore financial literacy. Fortunately, I had parents who made me cognizant of my financial choices. Educating students on financial literacy is important for problem solving, critical thinking and decision making related to real-world contexts. Discussing financial literacy also provides the opportunity for educators to discuss larger societal issues such as inequalities and factors that might contribute to a lower socioeconomic status. As a future educator, I intend to include financial literacy in my classroom in addition to the many other literacies students require to prepare the for the twenty-first century.

To further read about Financial literacy, I highly recommend reading Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools. 

Until next week, 

Rachelle