Yingying's Math Teaching
Teaching math for a thoughtful world!
Renovation Project
Content area
Middle School Math, 7th-grade
Unit: Geometry
California content standard(s)
Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.B.6
Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms
Project goal(s)
Integrate what they have learned in Geometry, proportional relationships, and percentages which is the main content of 7th-grade math learning.
Apply their learning to solve real-world problems.
Develop their virtues such as perseverance, teamwork, and thoughtfulness.
What we did in this project?
Work a company to win the contract, including taking accountability for each other to show it's a strong team, solving real-life problems step by step and presenting it as an exhibition, making budget according to the clients' needs, presenting their group thinking to their "client", reflecting their collaboration and works, and voting for the best budget plan.
Find Pi: To introduce pi, I showed students the collection of circular objects I’ve gathered. I asked them to come out of strategies to find the perimeter of a circular object.
After collecting some ideas, I introduced string as a tool and asked partners to measure the diameter and circumference of several circles and record the results for each on a table. Then we discussed the patterns students notice by dividing the circumference by diameters.Measure their head: Students use strings to measure their heads to determine which hat is suitable for them.
Calculate the area of a complex shape that includes fractions of circles.
learned in this unit and reflecting on their strategy for solving complex problems.
Why we did do this?
Learn by hands, heart, and minds. In this unit, students are using rulers, protractors, and strings to measure objects to find pi and degrees.
Make math relevant. Students use new measurements such as a string to decide if a hat or table skirt is a good fit.
Cultivate virtues. Students need to work together, share different ideas, listen to each other, and give each other feedback.
Teach math for bettering thinking. In this unit, we tackled a lot of problems with complex shapes that students can’t just use a formula to solve. They need to observe, analyze and find the entry point to its solution.
Reflection
Kids really loved the role-playing game and they showed their engagement by working as a team. These projects came from the real-life scenario and the competition between companies gave them the healthy pressure to try their best in math. I noticed one student said "Oh NO!" and seemed to refuse to do it when he found this was actually a math problem at the beginning, but then in order to win as a company he worked so hard with his team member and they did win! He was so proud of himself and their team after getting "my contract"! Another kid wouldn't leave after class and kept asking me to compare his strategy to others to see which one is more efficient. These were the moment I have never seen when I taught "dry math" in class. It was a transforming moment for me to see how kids changed their attitude toward math through doing a meaningful and challenging project.
