Educator. Athlete. Coach
The Work of Future Minds
Below you will find a few different projects and activities that showcase my students work and have been completed throughout my last four years in a high school classroom.
The License Plate
Algebra 1- South Carolina
While working in South Carolina I was a high school Algebra 1 teacher. According to our curriculum we needed to teach our students to solve literal equations and formulas for a specified variable including equations and formulas from a variety of disciplines. The objective of the license plate project was to transform literal equations and solve problems for a specified variable in a word that students chose. They were able to choose any 5 letter word. For each letter they wanted to use, they had to solve for it. Students were given a list of equations from multiple disciplines so they recognized formulas from their chemistry or biology class, which is something that is pushed in education. Once they had solved for all of their variables, students were able to design a license plate with their chosen word on it to showcase something of themselves in the classroom. In the example below, you can see the effort in which the student put into designing their license plate that hung in the classroom and the work that was provided.
Tin Man
In this project, students were focused on surface area and volume. The directions were to construct a tin man using common everyday geometrical objects such as cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, etc. After the tin man is constructed, students need to calculate the surface area and volume. The tin man had to have two cylindrical arms, two legs of any shape, a rectangular body, a sphere head, and a cone shaped hat. The shapes then had to be covered using any kind of wrapping materials (tin foil, wrapping paper, gold paper). All measurements and work was completed in a packet that was attached with the work and the rubric so students knew what was expected of them. In education, we are trying to move away from the traditional paper and pencil test. This is a fantastic to assess your students in their knowledge of surface area and volume and being able to calculate and find measurements for the necessary information without having them sit behind a desk. This project fell under our state standards of G.13 whereto essential skills needed were to determine the surface area of 3D figures using the appropriate forum, solve practical problems involving surface area and volume and determine missing information needed for the above. The picture to the left showcases just one example of the fantastic projects that were turned in.
Geometry - Virginia
Trippin with Triangles
Geometry - Virginia
In geometry, students are expected to understand how to identify the different types of triangles and how to classify them. They also are expected to be able to construct these different angles in triangles using a protractor. For this project, students used a protractor to construct a popsicle stick structure such as a bridge, rollercoaster, or house. Students had to color code the different types of triangles that they were using and attach a key. This project was the ending of the first part of our introduction to triangles. The student work shown was exemplary and exceeding the project expectations proving their knowledge of triangles and constructions.
Choice Board
Below this paragraph you are able to see two images of projects that were turned in to me that were fantastic! I always want my students to have a choice in how they represent their knowledge to me of certain concepts. This was another instance where we had just finished a unit in Algebra 1 on slope, writing equations of lines, solving systems of equations and more! Our state curriculum had laid out that students needed to be able to use these formulas to solve for missing values and compare multiple representations of rate of change among other standards in this unit. Students took a short quiz on the foundations of this unit and then were given a project to hone in on one skill and present it to the class. Below is a comic strip that one student put together on how to solve a system of equations. The second is a Christmas CD made up of Christmas rap songs about how to graph a line and how to find the slope. Both were extremely clever and not the only options for this project. Students were given a board where they could choose to make a test, write an essay, create a comic strip, build a Kahoot, make a power point presentation and a few others to showcase their work. They had to present these to the class no matter what was made.
Algebra 1- South Carolina
Math Thrills!
Geometry - Virginia
Math Thrills and Pop Thrills are a staple in my classroom no matter what class I am teaching, which currently is Geometry. One of the goals in my room is to always be reviewing the material so that students can work to mastery. One of the ways that I am able to do this is through math thrills, which are my warm ups. These are designed with previous test questions that a low percentage of students did correctly or with random questions from previous units. They are never focused on the current unit. Every day they have a math thrill students are chosen at random to complete these questions on the board and showcase their work to the class. After five math thrills, they get a pop thrill, which is a mini quiz on this material. These are great because they get students comfortable presenting their work in front of people as well. They also have the benefit of reaching multiple standards every day and every week.
Animal Kingdom Line Creations
Algebra 1- South Carolina
Algebra students need to understand the different parts of a coordinate grid, what it means to plot a point and have awareness of the grid. In the Animal Kingdom project, students were able to create any animal using only straight lines that they have created. They needed two horizontal lines, two vertical lines, two lines with a positive slope and two lines with a negative slope. Students had a working page where they highlighted what each line was and the work they did to create the equation for that line. This allowed students to explore how the different slopes and y-intercepts effected each of their lines and their animal.