Tool Implementation

Tools from this summer

Survey: Students took a survey that other students had taken
Graphs: Bar graphs of survey results (See Activity 1 below)
Fathom Graphs: Further Analysis of survey (see Activity 2 and 3 below)
Vocabulary as needed to understand data/graphs
Discussion of concepts: To activate schema for deeper understanding
Writing: To synthesize concepts and vocabulary for deeper understanding
Blog: Created math blog (Write Math 4 U) for the display of information and to share/reflect with students

Math 4 U blog post of survey information:
http://writemath4u.blogspot.com/2009/08/finding-facts-9409.html

My Action Plan set a monthly math/science activity as a goal. The survey information has started that journey, and the first blog post provides several days of activities. I reflected on our first discussion here on this blog and student responses to our first discussion are here.

Completed Activity 1 with student comments

Activity 2: Ready for discussion/comments
Activity 3: Ready for discussion/comments

I'm still waiting for students to return permission slips so more students can comment and we can start blogs/wikis. The students enjoyed the review and discussion because the data started with their information to help them connect to the numbers and graphs. We still have Activities 2 and 3 to complete (discuss, analyze, clarify, comment).

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Sheri Edwards
Reflect curiosity and wonder...
Go boldly and scatter seeds of kindness..
42

S-A and Serve-A: The Language of Students

A goal for our math students is immerse them in discussions in the language or words to develop a language of math.

Last week, we discussed the first two graphs of several graphs in a blog post based on a survey students took earlier in the week. Seventh and eighth graders discussed:

What does a graph mean?--
What do you notice?
What are the facts?
How do you know?
Is the graph fair?

numbers of students
numbers on the graph
percents
axis
survey
answers on surveys
fact
opinion

Students stated facts:
Example:
Seventeen of the students (35%) who took the survey prefer to play sports after school.

Students discussed opinions:
Example:
Most people don't like talking on phone with friends.

Students analyzed the numbers.
Example:
Some students figured out that 48 students took the survey.
After looking at class enrollement, students noted that three more people chose their grade as "7" than actually are enrolled at that level.

Students discussed fairness:
Example:
Most of the students filled out the survey (84%). The survey could be fair, more fair than if only ten people completed the survey.
Some people did not fill out the survey correctly (too many seventh graders). So maybe the other answers are not accurate either.

We ran out of time to blog, so we blogged this week, referring to the four questions and student notes. We reviewed first for the five people who did were not their. Not all students completed the blog; we still have on more class to blog.

However, from these eight students, who could orally discuss the vocabulary of math ideas, their written words show us why we need to provide this opportunity more often:

short responses -- not nearly the ideas we discussed
"grafts"
"serve-a"

Like my students who write "I hate writing S-As" (essays), our math students have as much written math vocabulary to learn as they do oral math vocabulary. Will blogging help student written and math thinking and vocabulary? Check back later and we'll see...

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Sheri Edwards
Reflect curiosity and wonder...
Go boldly and scatter seeds of kindness..
42