Samples of Student Work

 
Geodesic domes -
For the 100th day of school the students created geodesic domes using 100 sheets of newspaper. They objective was to build a freestanding dome from rolled and stapled newspapers. It was harder than I had anticipated for the students to roll the paper, but overall successful.


The tubes


Rolling the tubes for the domes
A complete geodome being decorated




Geometric Math Banners - 
This was my first lesson that was observed by my university mentor. Things went fairly well for trying to pack so much in in such a short time. I learned a lot about how to present directions for 4th grade students. There is a lot more front-loading and reviewing directions before starting the lesson in 4th grade. I also learned to never assume that the students know how to do something, like line-up a ruler with the edge of the paper when measuring, oops. With minimal stumbles I feel our banners met my objectives and one student even said that our project was way better than doing math. Ha, I fooled him.

Grade Level
4th
Duration
1 hour
What are the learning goals?
3.1 Identify attribues of 2D shapes
3.3 Identify rotations of geometric figures
3.4 Use inches to measure to the ½ inch
What am I supposed to do?
Measue to the ½ inch
Identify 2D shapes (polygons)
Identify rotations of geometric shapes
Constructing a banner l
What is the assessment?
Create a banner like Auguste Herbin by measure and cutting shapes.
How am I doing?
Compare and contrast a rectangle and square, rotation, slide, and flip.
Can I rotate a shape 45 degress?
Can i describe teh properties of a polygon?
Can i measure to teh ½ inch?
Vocab.
Polygon, angle, midpoint, isosoles, measure, inch, rectange, square, translation, flip, slide.
Resources
Hardware
Software
Smartboard, glue sticks, scissors, black paper, colored paper strips, slideshow of Auguste Herbin
Preparation
Cut strips of black paper to 18x4”, colored paper to 6x3’ and 3x4”, print out step-by-step directions for each student, write directions on smartboard for students to follow.
Motivation/Hook
What will you ask to engage the students?
Creating an art project, .viewing of artist slideshow, http://www.slideshare.net/Nubiagroup/auguste-herbin-painter-cubisme
Instruction
Explain what you will do.
Include engaging, thought provoking questions you will ask the students.
  • Share outline of project with studetns.
  • View and talk about Auguste Herbin and his work. What do you notice? Shapes, colors, texture, etc.
  • Studetns complete a short questionaire prior to our activity to compare and contrast shapes and translations. Gain of prio knowledge.
  • Talk about our vocab words
  • Demonstrate the first step of creating a banner.
  • Explain that students are to complete one set of directions, have it checked by a teacher before getting second/third directions.
  • Students should try to use 4-8 different colors in their banner.
  • ***stress and emphasize how to measure to eh ½ inch.*****
  • Once students finish the banner they will complete a compare and contrast with the stame quesions as befoe the activity to check for understanding of the concept.


Examples of geometric math banners

Hooked on Fishing - 
Our 4th grade participates in Hooked on Fishing, a program put on by Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, to educate and excite students about Montana fish. During the year our student participate in three fishing trips, fish dissection, and a fish transplant. They love getting outside and experiencing learning in a hands-on setting. After each trip the students reflect on their experience through a journal entry.



















Iditarod Unit -
This was the first unit we started after CRT testing. The students started the unit by writing a KWL in ABC form in their Iditarod folders. We then picked two mushers to research and track their progress during the race. The students created trading cards for each musher. Along with tracking the current Iditarod the students read The Last Great Race and had their first experience writing two-column notes. This was really a struggle for some students. As a final assessment the student were required to create a one-pager with at least eight facts about the race. It had to have correct spelling and grammar and be visually appealing. Also, during the month of March we participated in the 4th grade IditaREAD. Students had the goal of reading 1049 minutes during the month. Each week we tracked the students progress with a graph in our window. During March we started learning about fractions and did a trail mix fraction lesson. It was a great way for students to make connections to the unit and use manipulates to explore a new math concept.
ABC's of Iditarod pre-assessment


ABC's of the Iditarod post-assessment

Trail mix fractions
Regrouping and graphing data

A one-pager about the Iditarod
Written Assessment for The Last Great Race

Tracking our reading minutes for the 2012 IditaREAD

Musher trading card

Musher trading card


IEFA Blackfeet Unit -

I took over full-time teaching during this unit. I had a lot more formative assessments and class discussions to determine where our lessons should go. Over a three-week period our students created traditional art projects, learned how to take two-column notes and complete internet research, viewed a film on the Blackfeet history from the Blackfeet Confederacy, and participated in discussions, role playing, and philosophy for children. It was great to see different students succeed when given different activities than they were used to, i.e. worksheets.

Pictographs on a student journal

First entry about our trek to the spring celebration

Spring celebration entry


Parfleshe with symmetrical patterns
 



Final IEFA presentation

Final presentation
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