7th Grade - Measurement from Britt Gow

Description

Year 7 students from Hawkesdale P12 college were able to share their knowledge with Grade 5/6 students from a Ballarat Primary School about measurement and ratio. Students were required to articulate their thinking, which can be difficult in mathematics.

Assignment

First, I took Martin (the metric ruler) on a tour around our school, taking photos with a digital camera. These pictures were then resized and uploaded to Vociethread. We did an introductory session about measurement and ratio in the classroom and then booked the computer lab. for one period. Each student worked in pairs, with one microphone to comment on pictures, giving an explanation of how they worked out the measurement of the objects shown.

The goal of the project was for students to gain an understanding of how ratio might be used in everyday situations to estimate length and width.

Easy Parts

Taking, resizing and uploading the photos was easy.

Challenges

Sometimes getting the microphones to work properly was a problem. Some students did not have VoiceThread accounts, so they used an alternative avatar on my account. Others had forgotten their passwords so we needed to reset them, or they used my account.

Tools

IrfanView to resize photos.

Tips

Experiment prior to starting with a class, so you understand how the tool works before working with students. Have a plan B, in case of Internet problems. Demonstrate (on an interactive whiteboard or overhead projector) on the first slide to show students what you expect and how to go about making comments.

Variations

Other uses for maths could be naming different types of triangels (equilateral, isoceles, scalene); angles (acute, obtuse, reflex, right-angle); or polygons; calculating area, volume or perimeter of shapes.