Octahedron Summary Activity

One of my favorite summary activities this year was creating a octahedron with students throughout our 3-dimensional measurement unit (CMP Covering and Surrounding).  A year ago I found this pin on Pinterest.

                                                                                     

When I saw this picture I visualized each face having an important vocabulary word or idea.  Since I am not big on students memorizing formulas I thought I could use the summary questions to help students explain HOW to find volume and surface area of 3-d figures in words.  

I posted the questions on the board at the end of each investigation. 
 

 Students were given two paper plates and wrote their explanations on the triangle formed by folding the edges.  I made sure they all wrote on the side with edges facing up so we could easily staple the flaps together.  I am sure you could do it on the other side but I didn't want to spend too much time figuring out how to get the staples to all be on the inside. 

 

As went discovered new ideas our octahedron started to form.  I only did 4 out of the 5 investigations so it ended up working out perfectly to have 2 questions per investigation. 

 

Activity tip: allow students to color their triangles (at least the edges).  I kept ALL of the octahedrons in the back of my room and it became really difficult to find names quickly when they were all plain white.  

I allowed students to use their octahedron on the test as a "cheat sheet".  Unfortunately many students didn't really think about the benefit of having complete and correct answers on each triangle until the day before the test. 

This was a great activity with the students and most students were engaged throughout the process.  In the future I would like to possibly hang them from the ceiling after the test!

Linear Equations Graffiti Posters

WOW does time fly by- my last blog post was January 13 and it is now May 23! I think it goes without saying I have been a terrible blogger this year.  I have had the best of intentions of posting new ideas over the past few months- I have the pictures on my phone to prove it :)

One of my favorite activities from this year was a graffiti poster on linear equations.  I used this activity to summarize several of the investigations in the curriculum I teach.  I was becoming increasingly frustrated that my students could tell me all parts of the equation (independent variable, constant rate/slope, dependent variable, y-intercept) but could not connect how the equation could be communicated in the table and graph.  I thought that if students could get all of the connections out of their mind and in their face on a poster the connections would happen.

Before students started on their posters I showed them an example of the end product.  Students worked in groups and were given one linear equation.  I tried to include some more difficult equations like an equation that has  slope of one or y-intercept of (0, 0). 

I had student color code each part of the equations to help keep their ideas organized. 

 I loved the final products and we had great conversations about each poster.  Next year I will try to start this poster earlier in the book to have an ongoing summary.  I want students to keep reflecting on the equations and add new knowledge after every investigation. 

I am 3 weeks away from summer which hopefully means I can spend more time updating this poor neglected blog :)

Happy Thursday!

Scaling Up Candy Wrappers

The 7th grade teachers at my school decided to do a fun candy wrapper project right before winter break.  Students brought in a candy wrapper and we drew a centimeter grid over the wrapper.  It works well if you tape the wrapper on centimeter grid paper so students can easily draw straight lines.  After they grid their wrapper then each student decided on a scale factor to enlarge their wrapper.  I encouraged students  to go larger than a scale factor of 5 so image was a decent size.   Students then drew a new grid matching their scale factor ( scale factor of 5 = 5x5 cm squares).  Many students struggled with drawing straight lines so I had pre-made grids for my IEP students and anyone else who was struggling.  After the grid was drawn students started drawing images in the matching squares.  It was amazing to see the talent and engagement of my students throughout the project!

 Final products

  

How amazing is this wrapper?!  I am in awe of my students' talent! 

Sorry I didn't take any pictures throughout the project - maybe next year :)

This is a great project to do with students right before any of the breaks throughout the school year.  It took my students about 3 days (two days before break, 1 day after) to complete the wrappers.  In the past I have done a similar project with cartoons.  Both cartoons and candy wrappers work really well! 

Many people have asked for a rubric to use for the project - the rubric I use is blank so the students can decide on the criteria they should be assessed on.  As far as presenting the project to the students, I kind of "winged" the presentation and walked the students as a class through the first steps.  The students took off with the project and didn't need much more guidance.

If you would like a copy of the rubric click HERE.

Mind Maps - Round 2

This post is coming WAY later than I had planned - time has gotten away from me!  In November the time had come again for students to create mind maps for the word "compare".  I love having students connect all the the different ways to compare quantities after practicing them in the first investigation of CMP's Comparing and Scaling. 

For each class I made a poster with the main stems (fraction, percent, ratio, and difference) and selected students to add branches to the stems to make a class mind map.

At the end of the day I went to see how the mind maps went in the other 7th grade class and I was blown away! The maps were so creative!  Next year I will have to show these examples so to help my students become more invested with their creativity. 

This student had all the detailed information as the muscles and the main branches were the body parts. 

This student had each comparison as a different middle school that was in the district.  

This student drew what she visualized with each comparison - fraction = piece of pizza!

Now that I have seen a whole new level of creativity I can't wait to try mind maps again to see what my own students can come up with! 

Happy new year everyone!