Algebraic Smoothies

Teaching a seventh grade level math course can be fun, but also have it's challenges - especially when teaching sixth graders who may not be ready for some of the algebraic content that we introduce at the end of the year. One of my favorite concepts though is that of Combining Like Terms.

It really sets the stage for their algebraic future and their understanding in solving more complete equations. But getting the students to really understand what you are doing with different letters can be frustrating...So we make algebraic smoothies and learn about combining like terms and have a delicious treat at the end!!!

Materials:
*Remember to check with your students for any allergies before conducting this math lab

• Blender
• Three types of fruit (I brough frozen strawberries, bananas and frozen blueberries)
• Orange Juice
• 8 oz. cups (enough for each student)
• Spatula or spoon
• Paper Towels

Procedure:

1. Have your students bring their notebook and a pencil down to the school kitchen and if you're able to be fore class, set-up all the materials. We have a nice stainless steel island in ours, so I had my students stand around with me and the blender at one end.
2. Take out some of the fruit. I took out bananas and strawberries.
3. Tell your students: "The Strawberries represent "x" and the Bananas represent "y"'
4. Lay out like the picture below and tell them that we have "3 strawberries, 2 bananas, 2 more strawberries, and 1 more banana, which are 3x, 2y, 2x and 1y", right?

1.  If I add them together, will I get 8 banana-berries? 8xy? NO!!!! We still have strawberries and bananas. we have 5 strawberries and 3 bananas.... 5x + 3y
2. Conduct a few more examples to check for student understanding. Have students do these examples in their notebook. Feel free to use all the different fruits you brought and don't be afraid to challenge your students!
3. After students have grasped the addition, introduce muiltiplication by saying "what if we want to multiply our terms?" This is where the blender comes in.
4. Pour in about 1 cup of OJ. Add about 10 strawberries. Ask students to tell you what you added. They should reply with "10x" Add about 2 bananas. Ask students to tell you what this represents. this is "2y". As you blend (or before, depending on how loud your blender is) ask students to notice what happens when you blend together. Can you tell where strawberries and bananas are anymore? They are mixed together! This represemts multiplication of terms and our answer would be "20xy".
5. Repeat with other fruit making additional examples.
6. When you go back to the classroom to reinforce, be sure to do a few examples without the visual cues to check for understanding.

Happy Algebra Learning and I hope your students enjoy this as much as mine do!!! I know they look forward to it from the first day of school! :)

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!

Around and Around Again {Math Lab}

This year I've also been teaching high school geometry along with 6th grade science. I love geometry because it's so tangible and fun for the kids to do activities with. This year, I did a math lab combining circumference and area. The cool thing about this lab is that students bring their own cylindrical object from home, and they end up memorizing important formulas :)

Materials:

• One cylindrical object brought from home from each student (also have extras in case students forget - although it works well giving a homework grade for them bringing in their object)
• "Around and Around Again" Math Lab printout - available for $1 HERE 

• Ruler

Time Period:  1 class period (30 - 45 mins)
Procedure:
Have students take their cylindrical objects and their rulers and get into groups of two or three. Students will use their ruler to measuren the top of objects in either cm. or in.  to find the diameter. Instruct them to fill in their chart and find the area and circumference of each object. Vary pi by using 3.14, 22/7 and leaving their answer in terms of pi.

This is a great lesson to reinforce circumference and area for students before they enter pre-algebra. Students also have a lot of fun finding different objects that have the same circumference and area for their circle bases. This also makes a great lead into volume and surface area of cylinders.

Have fun!

"Get it in order" -{Math Lab}

Teaching 7th grade level math is a lot of fun because there's a bunch of different concepts to teach and so much fun you can have teaching them! One of the hard things though that I've had in the past is getting my students to understand the difference between a permutation and a combination...and apply it..... So I made this math lab.... and it was awesome (in my own opinion!)

Overview:
Students will explore the difference between permutations and combinations by completing a hands-on math lab involving real-life senarios of permutations and combinations.

Materials:
 * Construction paper (for the pizza toppings and flowers)
* scissors
 * Glue
 * Math Lab on "Get It Order: Permutations & Combinations" ($1 USD)

It was awesome to see the kids actually grasp the difference between the permutations and combinations and be able to complete problems involving both permutations AND combinations on the same paper.

Percent of Change

What better way to teach percent of change than through real-life experiences? The very core of me wants to make math relational to students and to show them that even with technology and modern conviences, we still need to know how things work... So even though this math lab uses calculators, we talked at how to the stock market works.

Below is a little snapshot of the math lab. You can download the full version for $1 by clicking here:  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have as much fun as I did with this little math lab!

Percent Estimation {Math Lab Game}

This is something NEW I tried this year and it was a big hit with my students. I usually don't teach % estimation through a math lab, but this year I decided to incorporate the lab into my instruction since we changed text books and it fell on a Friday in the middle of a chapter they were strong in.

Objective:
To teach students to evaluate percent of a number by using estimation.

Materials:

• 10 index cards for each group
• 2 spinners with 0 - 9 on them. One marked "Ones" and the other "Tens"
• Math Lab Booklet

Procedure:
Before class starts: Gather two spinners for each group and label one "Ones" and the other "Tens". If your school doesn't have spinners, they are easily googled for pre-made templates. These will make the PERCENT the students will be using. Have the math lab booklets run off and the index cards made. I used random numbers like "28", "33", "78", etc. These will be the NUMBERS the students will be rounding.

During class: I spent a quick 15 minutes reinforcing this concept. We had already covered it with fractions, and my 6th graders take 7th grade level math, so it's not new to them. Explain the game by playing a practice round with one of your students. Then split students up into teams of two or four, depending on class size. If you have an odd number, then you can choose to play with that student, or create a group of three.

Game Play:
Each student will take a turn spinning EACH spinner. This will make the percent. Let's say you spin a "24". Then the player draws a card. Let's say, "62". The other player writes down "24% of 62". Then both work to find a good estimation. The correct answer would be "25% of 60". The player that spun then computes 25% of 60 and the answer is that persons score for the round. So in our example, this player would have scored "15" for their turn. Players take turns until every card has been used. (You can create more or less cards depending on time). At the end of the game, students add up their scores and the player with the highest score is the winner!!!

**I also turn this into a "Class Competition" by seeing who got the highest score out of the class. That person gets a "small, but fabulous prize" from the prize box ;)

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I hope you enjoy this game with your class!!!

Fraction Review {Math Lab}

One of my favorite things about teaching where I teach, is the freedom to go outside. 6th graders NEED to go outside sometimes, and this is a PERFECT math lab to get their never ending energy out, while maintaining their focus and keeping them accountible for learning. I do this at the end of our unit on fractions (which since it's 7th grade level math is working towards mastery, so they're pretty confident on these concepts)


Fractionopoly:
Fractionopoly is a game-based math game that I created help get my students outside, and also have a fun way to integrate fractions, estimation, and integers. I guarentee your students will have fun playing this game just because they get to go outside!

Materials:

• Colored sidewalk chalk (or sidewalk paint)
• Open space for creating life-sized game board
• Foam dice (2)
• 1 small whiteboard and whiteboard marker per team
• Candy
• Master Game Board (for answer key)

Time Period: 1 class period (30 + mins)






 Procedure:

Select an appropriate place to create your game board. Depending on the size of your game board, you may need a lot of space, or not so much space. Also, if you have gravel, I suggest using chalk paint. I used regular chalk and the gravel pretty much ate my chalk!

Next, outline your game board and remember to count the number of squares you are using. I used white chalk to outline and colored chalk to write inside the squares.

Use your master copy of the game board (that has the problems and answers) to write in each of the squares. Be sure to include "fun" squares like "move ahead 3 spaces", "Go back to start", "Send one team to jail", "Candy" (like free parking) and plenty of problem spaces for students to solve.

This should be done before your class starts. I did it before school and I think if I would have used chalk paint it wouldn't have taken as long, although total I spent about 30 mins. creating the board.

During Class:
Place your students into three or four equal teams and give each team a small whiteboard for working problems, and a whiteboard marker to write with. I remind my students that their grade for the day depends on their participation and behavior outside and during the game.

Playing the Game:

• This is a classic-game in that each team takes turns rolling the dice.

• The team that arrives back at "Start" safely is the winning team.
• Students walk around after each roll to their designated spot.

• Teams take turns rolling and must have a CORRECT answer to their problem by the time it is their time to roll again, or they forfeit their turn.

• An incorrect answer warrants a loss of a turn. If a player rolls the die and lands upon an occupied square, they are required to more to the square directly behind and follow instructions on that square.
• Students that land on the "Candy" square earn 1 piece of candy (or other small-but-fabulous prize).

I hope that you have as much fun as I did playing this game. It's a great way to review before a holiday like Thanksgiving!

Area & Perimeter {Math Lab on Rectangles}

In addition to teaching middle school math, I am also teaching high school Geometry this year. I hated Geometry when I was in school, but now I like it almost as much as Algebra. So when we cover geometric concepts at the sixth and seventh grade level, I try to make it fun, interesting and challenging. I think this is one of my favorite labs, and I know it's one of the student's as well.

Area & Perimeter: Rectangles

Time Needed:
1 class period (60 - 90 minutes in length)

Materials:

• Bright DuctTape
• Rulers
• Scissors
• Area & Perimeter Math Lab

Directions:

1. BEFORE class starts, tape four rectangles on your classroom floor in different duct tape colors. Measure these in both customary (inches) and metric (centimeters)
2. Students should be very familiar with how to find area by now, so notes should not take long. I reinforce the importance of using a formula to help set the stage for Pre-Algebra.
3. Place students in four groups and pass out the math lab packet.
4. Watch the discovery begin!

Here's a few pictures of my students in action during this lab:

Area and Perimeter Math Lab:

• Front Cover (I used post-it notes for the squares)
• Inside cover
• Page 1
• Page 2

Metric System Mini-Olympics {Math Lab}

Living in America, it's hard to teach the metric system to middle schoolers and get them to understand, have them realize how important learning it is.I used to teach this very straight-forwardly, but in a creative mood, I compiled this math lab and have been quite pleased with the results and the kids seem to have a BLAST too! I usually do this lab AFTER introducing the metric system so students know how to convert within the system first.

Time Allotment: at least 1 hour, if you do not want students to have homework. Each event can be modified to fit within teaching time period. I also do not do a warm-up on the event day.

Materials:

• Paper Plates (1 per student)
• Straws (1 per student)
• Cotton Balls (1 per student)
• Sponges (1 per team)
• Graduated Cylinder for measuring water - in mL (1 per team)
• Bin for holding water and sponges
• Marbles - each marble should weigh about 1 g. *I found most craft stores have these (about 50)
• Bin for holding marbles
• Meter Stick
• Duct Tape or Masking Tape - used for marking out the distance before events

Procedure:
*Before class, mark off about 6 meters with duct tape or masking tape and mark on the tape every 10 centimeters. This will be used for three of the five events.

1. Place students into equal teams (or as equal as you can make)
2. Explain each event: Paper Plate Discuss, Straw Javelin, Cotton Ball Shot Put, Sponge Squeeze, and Marble Grab.
3. Have students estimate how far they will toss a paper plate (in cm), throw a straw (in cm), throw a cotton ball (in cm), how much water they can squeeze into a graduated cylinder with their NON DOMINATE hand(in mL) and how many marbles they can grab with their DOMINATE hand (in g).
4. Go out to the taped area for the paper plate discuss, straw javelin, and the cotton ball shot put.

Paper Plate Discuss:
- Each student has a paper plate and writes his/her name on it so it won't get lost when we "throw" them.
- Have about a 6 meter long duct taped (or masking taped) strip out marked with every 10 centimeters. - Explain to students the distance markings so they can "see" how long a decimeter is in relation to a meter.
- Have each team line up and the first member of each team throws their plate. Repeat until each student has gone.
- Measure the distances and have students write them on their paper NEXT to their estimates.
- Have students SUBTRACT their estimate with their actual distance. This is their score for the event. The student that is the closest gets a small but fabulous prize. The student that threw the furthest, gets a "gold medal" that I made.

Straw Javelin:
- Complete the straw javelin in the same manner that the paper plate discuss was done, measuring from the BACK of the straw.

Cotton Ball Shot Put:
- Also complete in the same manner that the paper plate discuss and straw javelin was completed.
- Upon completion, go back inside the classroom for the sponge squeeze.

Sponge Squeeze:
- Have a bin set up with water in and enough sponges for each team to have one. Also set out the graduated cyinders (I used flasks b/c our chem lab was using the cylinders)
- Have students elect one person from their team to compete in this activity.
- Students will take their NON DOMINATE hand and grab a sponge and squeeze into the cylinder as hard as they can in ONE SQUEEZE. Any "resqueezing" or shaking will result in a disqualification.

- Measure the amount of liquid in each cylinder in mL and have students record on their paper, comparing to their estimates.
- Award students with the closest estimate and actual as well as the student who squeezed the most mL of water.

Marble Grab:
- Have students elect a different student to compete in this event.
- Students will grab as many marbles as they can with their DOMINATE hand (no scooping!) and place on a plate to count them.
- I use marbles that weigh close to 1 gram each, so it makes this event really easy, but you can also use a scale and have students weigh their handfuls too.
- Have each team record their amounts on their sheets and again find the difference between estimate and actual.
- Award prizes for the estimation winner and the student who was able to grab the most marbles.

Have students return to their seats and add up their "scores" (differences between actual and estimation). The student with the LOWEST score is the overall winner and usually gets some sort of larger, and fabulous prize like a few points extra credit, or something like that.

I usually attach a few metric system worksheets to this lab as my class period is 90 mins in length, and it gives them good practical practice. Plus once we complete the lab, they have a pretty good grasp on the system and can complete these pretty easily.

Have fun!!!

Coordinate Graphing {Math Lab: Centers}

If you're caught teaching a grade level like me where your students know about coordinate graphing, but need to "polish the edges" with it and practice, this math lab is super fun. I do it every year with my 6th grades and modify it for my pre-algebra students. I got the Nerf gun idea from a good friend of mine, and came up with the centers on my own. I'll upload a PDF of the lab for you - just please site my site or name if you use it. :)


Materials:

• Nerf Dart gun (shoots 6 - 8 darts)
• Suction cup darts
• laptop or computer with internet access

Time Allotment:

• 1 class period (60 mins) after quick refresher notes

Place students into four groups, as equally as possible and rotate every 10 - 15 minutes. Allow enough time for each group to complete the Nerf Gun center. All other centers can be completed at home.

Center #1: Nerf Guns
Have one student be the "shooter" and shoot the coordinate graph. Another student is the "recorder" and records on the shooter's paper the ordered pairs. A third student will pull off the darts from the board after the shooter is finished shooting and call off the ordered pairs for each dart. Additional students may help pull off and record. Rotate within the group so that each student has had a chance to do each job.

Center #2: Coordinate Graphing
Students will complete in their group the coodinate graphing hidden picture. Remind students how to complete these and that they need to connect points as they go to create the picture.

Center #3: Internet Resource
Students will collectively complete 25 problems on the IXL website. I have a trial subscription, but students were able to also complete this at home without a subscription and it is a GREAT resource for math!

Center #4: Word Problem Practice
Students can collaboratively complete the problems on the provided Word Problem Worksheet (by Glencoe - Lesson 2-3)

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PDF of Math Lab: {Click Here}

Algebra Tiles: Order of Operations

I LOVE manipulatives. They have a place in the middle school classroom too.

When I first started teaching in 2004, I attended a conference for Marcy Cook. The way she taught us was the way I had envisioned teaching - hands-on, discovery-focused, learning. So I spent what little money I had on a few of the tiling task cards and started in my 8th grade classroom.... with students just six years younger than me.... It worked! They have become a vital part of my teaching techniques as they not only create a fun, learning atmosphere, but they can easily be worked into whatever curriculum you are using and promote higher level thinking. Here's what I do:

• Place students into groups of two or three and hand each group a tub of quiet tiles and a task card.

• Students can use each tile only ONE TIME. There will be no single digit or three digit numbers as solutions (except the last one is a single digit). There will be no "doubles" (11, 22, 33, etc.)
  
  

•  Make a competition or something fun out of it. I usually create a tally board on my white board and then at the end of the allotted time I give the team with the most points some sort of reward (candy, points, etc).

• There are 20 task cards ranging in difficulty and when you order, you recieve a fun tracking sheet, so I simply sign it for each completed card to make sure no group does the same one twice and to get a wide range of cards in there.

• HAVE FUN and challenge students to think critically if they get stuck.

Students will enjoy the challenge and it helps build teamwork and communication. Remember to always switch up your groups to avoid "cliques" and hurt feelings.