Rochelle+Yakich

Lesson 1:

Math - 5th grade, Investigations Unit 4: Session 3.4 Fraction Tracks

In this lesson the students place fractions in order on fraction tracks (which are then used to play a game). The focus is on using equivalents to place fractions in the correct order and have them spaced correctly. In the lesson each student has their own sheet with the fraction charts. As a whole class you place one fraction together on the track and then the students complete their tracks independently. The next day you show an overhead with the completed fraction tracks and the students make sure theirs is correct.

Instead of just having the students look over theirs from the overhead, I put the overhead into Smart (rotated it) and then had each student come up and place one of the fractions on the tracks on the smartboard.

It changed the lesson by not only getting all of the students willingly involved but it also stimulated much deeper conversation and understanding about fraction order. The students were helping one another, saying that a fraction has to be moved over because it is slightly smaller or that it should line up with this fraction because they are equivalent. In comparing using the smartboard versus teaching the lesson without it, it really produced a higher level of understanding. When the students played the game the next day, the conversations reflected back on their understandings from the previous day. It also made it easier to pop up the tracks for later lessons to help the students.

(This is the overhead from Investigations put into Smart and also the students placement of the fractions)

Lesson2:

Math - 5th grade - Investigations Unit 5 - Session 1.2 Quadrilaterals

In this lesson students work to identify attributes of polygons and to use attributes to compare different quadrilaterals. The lesson begins with a discussion about what is similar between two quadrilaterals. After the discussion the students work in pairs to find four different sets of quadrilaterals that are similar, identify the attribute/s that make them similar, and then identify another quadrilateral that does not share the same attribute. After they are done there is a class discussion using and two overheads to share what pairs they found.

I used the Investigations overheads for this activity in Smart and during the discussion each team came up and shared a different pair of similar quadrilaterals, as well as one that was different. We then came up with symbols to mark the different attributes so that the students could see what was similar.

The discussion was great and we naturally got into guessing each others similar attributes, which will be a future lesson. It really left the students with a visual and those who did not seem to get it at first in their pairs suddenly were able to chime in on the attributes of other groups. It was also easier to use it this way because I was able to put both overheads together and cut out the shapes that we were not using. This made it possible to get almost all of the shapes on one page, instead of flipping back and forth between two overheads. The students liked it so much that we will be using the smartboard to do guess my attribute for Morning Work. I have let different students pick the shapes they are using and then I help them set it up on the smartboard. The students really like it and it gets them settled in right away in the morning.



Lesson 3: Math - 5th grade, Investigations Unit 5, Session 1.2 Quadrilaterals

In the same lesson as the previous. The lesson includes introducing the computer game LogoPaths, which is a game where students use commands involving angles and measurement to get a turtle to eat food in a maze. In the lesson it has the teacher going through examples using a starting point (circle on the floor in the classroom) and giving a student (the turtle) a command to move. It essentially uses a student to act out what the turlte does on the computer and the teacher writes the commands on the board. Although I have team taught this lesson in the past and the kids find it fun to be the turtle, it only allows 2 students to be the turlte and the students have not actually seen what the computer screen looks like. So when you get to the lab there are a million questions because they don't know what to click on, etc. Now if you don't have a smartboard, the lesson is better than diving in at the computer lab but having the Smartboard to demonstrate saved a lot of questions and lead to more time for the students to do the activity.

I opened Pearson's website and showed the students where to go after they log in and then since this is a review of LogoPaths, I simple pulled up one of the mazes and had one student come up at a time and type in a command for the turtle. It refreshed everyone's memory. The new students learned how to do it and naturally the few problems that could occur happened and the students learned how to fix them. It also allowed us as a class to incorporate our new vocabulary words into our commands. For example when someone typed in turn 35 degrees, the students had to say that the angle was acute. When we went to the computer lab later that day, there were very few problems and all of the students were successful at the actitvity. Whether they realize it or not, they learned quite a bit about angles. This definitely helped make the activity run smoother once they all got on the computers.

Lesson 4: Writing - 5th grade, Comparison and Contrast Venn Diagram

In previous writing lessons, I have created Venn Diagrams on the board and then as a class we brainstorm together and fill it in. After we are done with a venn diagram we will often write a short piece or part of a piece together. I decided to try this on the Smartboard. I pulled up a venn diagram (from the gallery) with two overlapping circles we compared a dog with a cat. Then I pulled up a split screen so that we would still have the venn diagram available and together we wrote a really quick paper on comparing and contrasting cats and dogs.

It made the process quicker to use the Smartboard in comparison to an overhead or chalkboard. If I had used an overhead, I would have needed to flip back and forth between the venn diagram and the writing piece. The students were able to be highly involved in the lesson, preparing them for their own writing piece. It allowed us to discuss expectations and gave opportunities to point out how to create better sentences (We changed words when they were repeating and replaced words for stronger adjectives, etc.) When we were done I left it up on the board for a reference. That day I also had someone absent, so I was able to run off a copy of what we had done for her. This made it easier for her to jump right in the next day.