Author: sachill

One is one…or is it? Approaching Mathematics Through Digital Text

This video is called “One is One…Or is it?” and was created by an educator named Christopher Danielson. I found this text on the TED-ED website. This website provides mini-lessons on all topics you can think about. The nifty part is the videos can be “flipped” to better fit your teaching needs! These innovative lessons online allow educators to get in touch with thousands of other minds in order to collaborate to create great teaching opportunities for our learners. From real-world math to the fine arts, this website has it all. Not only do you get a great lesson video but there are resources attached to each lesson that help extend thinking beyond just watching and absorbing. These extension features called “Think” and “Dig Deeper” give educators some ideas on how to make the information comprehensible for students, and how to take that thinking one step further.

The Mathematics video I chose is about the number one as a unit. “One bag of apples, one apple, one slice of apple,” which one of these is one? The lesson takes students through an animated lesson on partitioned and composed units and the importance of understanding how we see these numbers. In order to help students grasp this material I wanted to have them work on the comprehension strategies; making connections, questioning and visualizing, as well as asking investigative questions to help identify main idea.

As students watch the movie there are breaks that occur several times. The students have about a minute or longer to think about what they saw and record their questions, pictures or how the information reminded them of something they have learned before. Then the teacher asks a question about the main idea covered in that segment. Students should have a few minutes to record their thoughts and answers. At the end of the video all of those mini-connections should come together to make new understanding about the concept as a whole! Students should work in small groups to discuss their thoughts and notes on the Danielson video. Have students record their discussions on a poster paper to share with the class or in their individual notebooks to keep for later use.

By the end of the lesson your class should have a better understanding for the concept of units and the ambiguity of the concept of “one.” For complex topics such as this, that might frustrate students in a lecture, we can use digital texts to make the ideas easily accessible. Digital texts such like the TED-ED video caters best to  visual and auditory learners  and expands the literacy development of all students in the classroom. For a more in-depth view of this lesson and how it can be modified, check out the lesson plan I created to incorporate Christopher Danileson’s digital text in the mathematics classroom!

Digital Text Lesson Plan

 

 

The Extraordinary Adventures of Darwin

Title: One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Darwin

Author: Katheryn Lasky

Illustrated: Matthew Traueman

Published: Candlewick Press 2009

Topic: Science

Grade: 5th

TEKS: §112.16. Science, Grade 5,

  •   (9) Organisms and environments. The student knows that there are relationships, systems, and cycles within environments.
  •  (10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures that help them survive within their environments.

Why I suggest this book: Science is one of those great subjects that is so exciting; especially when we find a great way to explore its different channels. Using literature in the science classroom is a great way to promote different types of text, and also allows us to use a catalyst to help students get amped and excited to learn. I chose Lasky’s book because of the manageable and engaging information, the possibilities to make connections in the classroom and the beautiful illustrations. As the author gives us a quirky view on Charles Darwin’s adventures in becoming one of the most influential scientists in history, we are able to apply the information to our science standards required by the state. The beautiful illustrations give a whimsical interpretation of the text which makes this reading accessible to elementary aged children, and can be used as a transition into a much more dense text! I strongly suggest using this book to introduce Darwin, scientific exploration, questioning, diversity and much more. Hopefully you will love Lasky’s text as much as I did!

Snippet: “No one ever said ‘don’t touch!’ in the house where Charles Darwin grew up. And there was so much to touch, because the Darwin household was a scramble of children, odd pets, and wonderful books. Charles’s father, was an immense man who weighed 336 pounds. He would drive all over the countryside to visit his patients in a single-seat carriage stuffed with snacks. When he returned from a long day of house calls, his six children would swirl about the huge man like little moons orbiting Jupiter. Charles was happiest when he was out alone collecting. He especially liked to collect beetles. He found them under the bark of trees, in rotten logs, between the cracks of old stone walls, and even in puddles and ponds. Looking through his magnifying glass, he would wonder why the diving beetle had a smooth back and the Whirligig beetle that spun in circles on the pond’s surface had no grooves at all. Why would one beetle’s legs be hairy and another’s nearly bare? As he grew up, he continued to collect specimens. Once, out on a beetling expedition, he found under the bark of a tree two beetles he had never seen before. Within seconds a third strange beetle crawled out, and Charles, lacking a free hand, quickly popped one beetle into his mouth and scooped up the third one. The he ran for his collecting bottle.”