Submitted by: Sarah Catlett
Collaborators: Garry Marshall
School: Fairfield Middle School
Summary
This lesson is designed as a re-introduction to perimeter and area for students in Course 1 or 2 classes. Students measure a provided model of a school and then create their own models of a school. The original idea for this lesson came from the students reading Three Cups of Tea, where the author created schools internationally.
TIPC Ratings
This lesson is designed to be implemented in a math class during a short time frame and does not allow for research. However, the possibility of conducting research is definitely feasible with cross-curricular connections to reading (Three Cups of Tea). The teacher provides resources as necessary and states the topics and questions to be answered.
Students work within groups with minimal supervision on day 2 while completing the project. The teacher utilizes ActivEngage as well as file sharing. This lesson helps scaffold students toward more structured and independent group work. Students will begin to see the benefit of distributing work within the group.
Students are asked to analyze a model that is already constructed, strengthening knowledge of measurement and estimation. The teacher poses open-ended challenges with many different solutions. Students must justify that their model fits the criteria listed and will be checked by classmates. The task is authentic because students must design a realistic model. This is a skill that can be applied easily to daily life in a variety of subjects. Students are also asked to reflect upon the process. The teacher is directing students toward specific tools in this case or the lesson would be ideal/target.
In this project, students are bringing a novel that they read into math. They are utilizing technology to generate a new school. Students are learning that creativity still must fall within some bounds (measurements) at times. For this lesson to fall into approaching, research would have to be included. Students could research floor plans for various schools, analyze trends, and then create their model.
