Pam+Uhrig

[|Triangles lesson.notebook] Lesson 1 The students in my 7th grade team math class were learning the names of triangles and angles and how to measure them. I used the math tools to create some questions for reviewing the names of the shapes, their properties and how to use the protractor to measure the angles. It was very handy to have the math tools available to create this lesson. The teacher's at the middle school do not have this feature on their notebooks, and it was only available for me to use during the 30 day trial period. I do not have a smartboard, but was able to try out the lesson with the team math class. The students were very excited to use the board and all hands went up to come up to the board to answer the questions. I realized that the questions were very easy for them to answer because it was the end of the unit. It might be more of a challenge if we used this lesson as an introduction to the unit. The math tool that was the most exciting to use on the smart board was the protractor. It provided an excellent opportunity to measure various angles and to see if the students were able to use it correctly.

Lesson 2 The students in 7th grade learn short story terms when they read __Old Yeller__. I used the gallery games to create some word games using the story terms. Previously I used the overhead to write the words and definitions for them to copy on a square table in their packets. When I announced that we were going to another room to use the smartboard to review the terms, they were very enthusiastic. They chose a partner and we wrote the team names on the board. They took turns coming up to the smartboard to play the games and we recorded their scores on the board. They were able to use their notes and while one person spelled the word, the other person played the game. They switched roles for each word. This was very motivating, a good review of the words, and great practice for spelling the words. [|Story Terms Word Biz.notebook]

Lesson 3 In the 7th grade science curriculum, they study the 3 cycles of matter; the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle. I created some pages that review the cycles and the vocabulary. The diagrams in the gallery include some terms that are not part of the diagrams in their text. However, it benefits the student to see these terms used in slightly different settings to help them transfer and expand their knowledge about the topic. These terms can get very confusing to students with learning disabilities. Review on the smartboard and the use of visuals is an excellent tool for improving their long term memory.

Lesson 4 This lesson is a review of prefixes and suffixes. The vortex game is a quick and easy matching game that keeps their attention. The matching game is quite difficult and requires them to know the meanings of the prefixes and suffixes and remember where the cards are on the board. This is a work in progress, and can be revised for different units in math, science and language arts. The students have a difficult time transferring word meanings from one subject to another. Another page, such as fill in the blank, or meanings of words can be added for specific units in other subjects.