A new horizon

Summer is in full swing here and I am going to feature some things that are not just for middle school on here as I am piloting a program at my school this summer for students in grades 3 - high school. It is awesome so far!!!

The program I am piloting is Math Camp. Yeah, I know, sounds like math is trying to be fun... well, it is!!! I've dedicated the month of June to elementary school students and have it broken into two two-week sessions. Each class is an hour and a half long and we've focused on mastering math facts, decoding word problems, and above all gaining confidence in our mathematical skills and learning that math is indeed fun!

One of the students' favorite game is the Fact Ball. I took a beach ball and wrote math facts all over the ball in wet erase marker. This allows me to be able to change the facts each day and for each level. We play "hot potatoe" with it and take turns yelling "STOP!" Whoever has the ball when stop is yelled has to answer the fact that is underneath their right hand. It's been a lot of fun so far.

Look for some other fun games that you can also modify for your students during the school year!

I am also working on putting ALL (like over a hundred) math labs that I've created over the past couple of years together in a book to sell in the near future. I'll be promoting it and featuring it on the blog a little later, so keep your eyes peeled!

What fun things are YOU doing this summer???

Perspective - {3D Shapes Lab}

We all need a little perspective from time to time... And I personally LOVE teaching this lesson to my 6th/7th graders during this time because it gives me a chance to teach them beyond the classroom and give them a little "life" perspective too. I teach this lesson when we cover the intro to three-dimensional shapes (prisms, pyramids, cones, cylinders and spheres) in conjunction with the lesson on drawing them (along with top, side and front views).

Time:

•  45 - 60 minutes

Materials:

• Perspectives Math Lab booklet 

• Snap Cubes

After you've taught the lesson introducing the different solids and you've shown your students how to use isometric dot paper, this is a great lesson for them to "put it into practice" and my students really enjoyed themselves!

Procedure:
Have your students get into groups and pass out the "Perspectives" Math Lab. Hand students 20 or so snap cubes to use to help them visualize their creations. Students will be putting "front", "side", and "top" views together to create a solid and then draw it using isometric dot paper. This can be hard for students in the beginning, so I usually walk through the first one as a class, so they can see how we can put it together and get a different viewpoint using idometric dot paper. The math lab also goes in reverse by having students take a solid and drawing the top, front and side views.

Happy drawing and constructing!