Assignment 4.3

4.3 Interactive Activities

4.3 --30%--Interactive activities for Sacred Heart School--conducted as a Math Fair at the end of the semester (April 4th) at the U of R. These activities will be created individually with children's interests and needs in mind.

If you wish, you can create these activities for the children in grades 2 and 6 at Sacred Heart School, specifically addressing their context/environment/ability levels etc OR you can design the activities for the class that you hope to intern in in the Fall semester.

These activities could address different strands of the elementary mathematics curriculum--for one or more grade levels. They could also address one curriculum strand and/or one grade level. For example, you might wish to focus on ONE strand (let's say geometry) and create 5 activities for ONE grade level (e.g., Grade 1) OR you may wish to address ONE strand and make one activity for Grade 1, two for Grade 2 and two for Grade 3. You may also wish to address ONE grade level and focus on all the strands.

Your activity package should contain the following:

1. A rationale for selecting this grade level/strand/topic area, including a philosophic overview of how children learn mathematics, use of materials, hands-on experiences etc.

2. A teacher card for each activity

3. A student task card for each activity

4. A set of activities geared to a specific grade level and/or topic, complete with all the materials needed to do the activities. Each activity should be labelled and, if possible, placed in a ziplock bag. What usually happens is that the bag will contain the materials for the activity and instructions for doing the activity. All 5 activities can then be placed in a larger bag or small box--anything to contain them--please do not make anything fancy. In some cases you may want to invent a new activity. I have no difficulty with you 'copying' an idea from a commercial source (make sure you cite the source)--you still hvae to organize your idea according to the following template. I do not think that any activity you will find can simply be copied and submitted as part of your assignment.

1, 2, and 3 above need to be word processed and submitted on April 11 (or sooner) as your assignment (most likely I will not need to re-examine the actual activities and materials)--I would like your rationale, teacher cards and student task cards to be submitted in paper format and ALSO electronically (e-mail attachment is fine) and with your permission I would like to post some of these activities to Math Central; 2 and 3 need to ALSO be placed in the ziplock bag with the activity. I will examine all the activities and materials while you are creating them in class in preparation for the Math Fair and also DURING the Math Fair (I will take lots of digital pictures of your activities and materials and also I will be making notes as I walk around and see what you are doing). You will most likely be able to take with you all of your actual activities in the ziplock bags following the Math Fair.

Each activity should have a teacher card--like the one that follows. The following template illustrates 10 same-sized sections. By examining the sections you will probably realize that some will require more information that others. The template is shown here only to illustrate the different sections that need to be included in the teacher card. You can format the card in a template form similar to the one following or you can write the headings one below the other.

Activity Name:

Number of Students and Location:

Learning Objectives (taken from the math curriculum if possible):

Advance Preparation:

Resources/Materials/Equipment:

Description of Activity (procedure):

CELs:

Adaptation/Variation/Extension:

Assessment (students):

Reflection (if you taught the activity):

The teacher card will thus have the following components:

Name of activity:

Number of students who would do the activity; where will the activity occur (e.g., on the carpet; at a table)?:

Learning objectives (from the curriculum):

Advance preparation (what do you need to set up/do prior to doing the activity):

Resources/materials/equipment (here you can include anything you need to actually do the activity and ALSO list the sources--with citation--of where the materials come from):

Description of activity (what is it you want the children to do?):

CELs [don't try to address all CELs in one activity. Select one (other than numerical literacy) and say how this CEL would be developed through your activity]:

Adaptations (how will you adapt your activity for children with special needs or who learn differently):

Assessment (what form of assessment will you employ so that you will know if the children have learned the concept. The assessment must MATCH the objectives (lesson intentions):

Reflection (write something here ONLY if you have used this activity in the classroom and you have something to reflect on).

Each activity needs to also have a student task or activity card. This card needs only to have the following information, mainly for the student to read and follow. Again, as with the teacher taask card, I have written the student card information in template format. You can do it however you wish. Each box of course will not have the same amount of information (e.g., the activity name is one line but the description of the activity might take 10 lines. Try to keep your language simple for childre to understand; use bullets if you want). You could simply copy the essential information from the teacher card, or you could rewrite the information from the teacher card into appropriate language for the children. In some cases you may need to draw pictures to help the student understand what to do.

Activity Name:

Number of Students (how many of us can work together?):

Location (where do I do the activity?):

Description of the Activity (what am I expected to do?):

Resources/Materials/Equipment (what do I need to do this activity? I may need to collect some stuff to work with):
After the Activity is Finished (what do I do when I am done? Do I show it to the teacher, put it in my portfolio, pin it on the wall, etc?):

Please note that you do not need to compile your student task card as I have above. Use your own system/style, etc.

Assignment 4.3 is worth 30% of your total marks, which is broken down as follows:

1. Rationale 5%

Write a paragraph or so explaining your choice of activities/grade level(s) etc., why you think these activities are important. Also write a few sentences about your mathematics philosophy--why would you even consider using math ACTIVITIES for teaching mathematics? How do you think children best learn mathematics?

2. Activities 20% ( I will assess this by examining the teacher cards, student cards and also by examining the materials you have created)
Questions that I will be asking as I examine your activities address the following areas:

is sufficient information given to determine if activity is for one student, a small group, or the whole class, etc?
is sufficient information given to enable a 'stranger' to implement the activity?
is there a curriculum link?
is this activity appropriate for the grade level selected?
is there indication given of how the activity can be integrated (i) within mathematics, and (ii) across the curriculum?
are assessment strategies included with the activities?
is the activity written up for a child to follow or for a teacher; whichever is the case, are the language and directions suitable for the 'audience?'
are the activities in the form of student task cards or teacher directed cards or are both forms included?
where did the activity originate from (your own ideas, the curriculum, program material, a trade book)? Is appropriate credit given to source? Is a bibliography included?
are these activities from a variety of sources (if so, which ones) or they come from a single source? To what extent have you extended or elaborated on the original?
are these activities in keeping with sound mathematics theory and pedagogy?
do the activities allow for hands-on exploration with concrete materials?
do the activities provide for varying levels of difficulty or challenge?
are the activities developmentally appropriate?
do the activities provide opportunities for exploration, investigation, questioning, discussion, and reflection?
are the activities worthwhile enterprises for children to engage in?

I would also like to see evidence of the following:

3. Appearance 3%

Questions w.r.t. appearance that I will be asking as I examine your activities are:
A. Is there an appealing/original layout?
B. How are your activities presented?
C. Are the ideas and/or activities creative in design and/or adaptation?
D. How much effort have you invested beyond what was "asked for?"

4. Written Language 2%

I will be looking for the following as I examine your activities:

clarity of language and writing style
correctness of forms (spelling, punctuation, syntax, grammar, etc.)
well organized, easy to follow
attractive, well formatted, legible

Have fun with your kit.

Activity Name:	Number of Students and Location:
Learning Objectives (taken from the math curriculum if possible):	Advance Preparation:
Resources/Materials/Equipment:	Description of Activity (procedure):
CELs:	Adaptation/Variation/Extension:
Assessment (students):	Reflection (if you taught the activity):

Activity Name:	Number of Students (how many of us can work together?):
Location (where do I do the activity?):	Description of the Activity (what am I expected to do?):
Resources/Materials/Equipment (what do I need to do this activity? I may need to collect some stuff to work with):	After the Activity is Finished (what do I do when I am done? Do I show it to the teacher, put it in my portfolio, pin it on the wall, etc?):