Introduction:

Connecting mathematics to life outside the classroom seems to be one of the major factors affecting the learning and retention of mathematics.  So often students want to know when in their lives they will ever use a particular skill or topic of study.  I must admit, this was one of my own questions as I received my education.  I have dedicated my life to answering that very question.  I do not view mathematics as a field of study separate from all others, but rather as a field of study that enables me to succeed at all others.  By representing mathematics in this way in the classroom, I am able to not only hold the students' attention, but also, by giving them a way to use their mathematics now, give them a reason to retain it.

Often in the classroom, something seems lacking.  It may be enthusiasm or interest of fun that is missing.  I chose mathematics as my field of study because I found it interesting and fun, and soon became enthusiastic about my studies.  My enthusiasm led to learning.  I try to apply those same tactics to my teaching.  One reason is because I want to enjoy what I'm doing.  When I enjoy what I'm doing in the classroom, my enthusiasm is contagious.  I believe that students learn more from a teacher who believes in what she is doing.  On the following pages I have shared some of my lesson plans that I have developed to fight off classroom boredom.  I know if I used plans like this everyday, that they, too, would become monotonous and lose their effect.  The students look forward to these special days and when they journal for me, these are the activities they always recall.

I do not claim complete originality for these lesson plans.  I've collected ideas for over twenty-five years and adapted them to my own uses.  If you recognize one of your own ideas, I hope you will feel complimented.  I would appreciate any ideas that you can share with me to share with my students and others.  E-Mail me at wegere@mustang.k12.ok.us.  I hope these will help you to bring more  excitement into your classroom both for you and your students.  

A more extensive set of my lesson plans may be found at my website http://www.flash.net/~few4math as "My Lesson Plans-Layne’s Lessons".   Please feel free to use the lesson plans or adapt them to your needs.  Most plans are very simple and were created because I sensed something more was needed to develop a concept.  The lessons on slope and Ping-Pong Ball Volume have been by far the most successful and fun ones for me.  I hope you find them fun as well.

Lesson 1

Planting Seeds for Growth

Often times it’s not the math our students resent, but rather the relevance to their lives.  Oklahoma is an agricultural state and Mustang is a rural community.  Involvement in vocational agriculture and Future Farmers of America nearly equals involvement in athletics.  Few students participate in both and although the two groups tolerate each other, they seldom spend much time together, except in their core classes.  Lessons that explore a topic of interest to one group or the other allows both groups to see that mathematics is something that the groups share in common.

Materials

Packets of seeds

Sandwich bags

Calculators

Process

Begin with the problem:

The Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture has offered to mail one acre of wild flower seeds to farmers who request them.  You are in charge of filling the orders and mailing the seeds.

1) Carefully read the planting directions for the seeds.

2) Open the seed packet and empty it into the sandwich bag, then count the seeds.

3) Determine the size of an acre in square feet.  It might be helpful to know that there are 640 acres in a square mile.

4) Find a good estimate for how many packets of seeds it might take to sow an acre.

5) Determine what size box would be needed to mail the seeds.

6) Extension: research shipping companies and costs and determine the best way to ship the seeds.

Lesson 2

Measuring One Million M&Ms - Exploring volume capacity, estimation, and measurement

Rationale for this lesson in algebra or pre-algebra come from application problems in algebra involving dimensionality.  More emphasis and hands-on activities need to be implemented in the classroom to aid the students in conceptual understanding on this topic.

Materials

Individual boxes of Mini M&M candies for each student

Measuring devices (tapes or rulers)

Sandwich bags

Calculators

Process

1) Pass out M&M candies to students

2) Students must measure the box and find its volume to any degree of accuracy that you choose.

3) Students should carefully open their boxes of M&Ms and estimate its fullness.

4) Students now should be instructed to count the candies in their boxes by dumping them into the sandwich bags.  The class may decide what to do with partial candies.

5) Students will use the result of steps 3 and 4 to estimate how many candies a box would hold, if full.

6) Using the information from 5, students should calculate the number of candies in a cubic foot, yard, or meter, depending on the units of measure you have chosen for your class.

7) Finally, have students determine the volume of a box that would hold one million of the candies.

8) Extensions would include having students design the most efficient box for holding their one million candies, creating advertising posters to market their product, and appropriately pricing them to the public.

9) Repeat the lesson using the cylinders of Mini M&Ms.

Lesson 3

Balancing Dog Food - Exploring inverse variation, proportion, and reasoning

Frustration in teaching the differences between direct and inverse variation was the cause for the development of this lesson.  Not all of our students have had the opportunity to "play" on teeter totters and this lesson helps develop that missing concept.

Materials

Bags of dog food in various sizes

Sawhorse or other sturdy fulcrum

One 10 to 12 foot 1x6 or 1x8 board

Measuring devices (rulers, meter sticks, or measuring tapes)

Process

1) Discuss student experiences with see-saws or teeter-totters

2) Balance the board on the sawhorse.

3) Students choose bags of dog food to place on opposite ends of the board.

4) Student should reposition the bags of dog food until the board balances.

5) Students should measure the distance of each bag from the fulcrum and record the weights of the bags as well as their distances from the fulcrum.

6) Repeat the exercise with other students and other bags of dog food.

7) Make a chart with the data.

8) Note any similarities or patterns and made predictions for other weights and distances.

9) When students have finished, introduce inverse variation.  They will have already discovered it.  It only needs a name.

10) Extensions include using graphing calculators to record the data, exploring equations and graphs using the data, and discussing weight bearing loads of beams.

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