Taking Risks

Hi everyone,

This week, I was responsible for planning and presenting a grade 9 Applied-stream lesson. I really enjoyed the process of designing a lesson and I believe it was a good opportunity to consider different learning styles, anticipate student responses and incorporate technology. In my lesson I used CBR’s (Calculator Based Rangers) and thought they were engaging even with our skill base. Although I have heard of CBR’s in the classroom, I have never had the opportunity to implement them into my own teaching. Considering this, they are a great and simple tool and as demonstrated in class, foster collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. My peers this week also presented grade 9 and 10 applied-stream lessons. I would like to comment on both learning activities as they were extremely well done!

Factoring Simple Trinomials

During this lesson (Grade 10 Applied), students are provided the incorrect solution to a factored trinomial. Working as a group, students are required to determine the correct solution, explain their mathematical reasoning and represent the solution using algebra tiles. I really enjoyed this activity because it fosters “math talk” in the classroom. While completing this activity, it caused my group members to engage in rich conversation regarding different methods. I believe this would also be the same case with students in the classroom because there are numerous methods for solving simple trinomials. Furthermore, the use of algebra tiles is a great manipulative for visual and tactile learners. Personally, I do not have a lot of experience using algebra tiles, however, I believe it's a great tool to use in the classroom. Groups also had the opportunity to present their solutions, fostering communication skills. I can defiantly see myself using this activity in my classroom and modifying it to apply to various mathematical concepts.

Solving First Ordered Equations

Solving first ordered equations is a straightforward concept, however, as demonstrated during this lesson, there are many fun and engaging activities to implement in the classroom. I thought it was extremely brave of Cobie to take on the task of using the Smart Board for the first time. Educators fortunate enough to have access to Smart Boards are fortunate for the wide range of activities and programs that can be utilized. During this lesson students had the opportunity to work through the problem within groups and at the Smart Board. I liked the idea of the entire group working together line-by-line to solve the problem. This allows students to think about the steps of solving the equation both before and after their turn. Again, this activity met the needs of various learning styles. It is important that educators find ways to make simple mathematical concepts for engaging and meaningful for students.

This week, there were a lot of “firsts” regarding technology. It is important that educators are willing to take risks in their classroom. Doing so allows teachers to reflect, modify and improve upon their lessons for the future, or the opposite can occur and you can scratch the lesson all together.

Enjoy the rest of your week!