Classroom Activities/Lesson Plans
Presented here are 3 sample lesson plans to be used in this unit. Teachers can use the ideas for a single lesson or plan the entire integrated unit based upon the objectives and strategies aforementioned.
Lesson 1: What's In A Brain?
Objectives: Students will learn a few basic facts about the anatomy of the human brain. Students will become familiar with vocabulary to describe the brain.
Materials: Internet access, modeling clay or jello brain mold, CD player, photographs, and brain diagram.
Procedures:
Critical Thinking Question: Why is your brain important for learning?
Teacher introduces the lesson by having five-work stations set-up around the classroom.
Students in groups of three will be required to spend three-five minutes at each station to complete a task.
Station One: Students put together a simple puzzle (kinesthetic/tactile).
Station Two: Individually, students complete one-step addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems. The worksheet will have numerous problems and students complete as many as they can within three-five minutes (mathematical/logical).
Station Three: Students examine approximately ten photographs of various themes, such as food, nature, and famous musicians. Students select their favorite photograph (visual).
Station Four: Students listen to a musical selection (auditory). They complete a teacher created checklist to rate their opinion about the song. For example, do you like, dislike, or somewhat like the song?
Station Five: Students smell four scents that have been stored in film containers. The containers are numbered one through four. Teacher provides a checklist that has correct and incorrect scents listed. Students try to guess the correct scent.
Teacher will brainstorm with students after all the groups have participated in every station by asking a series of reflection questions. Finally, students are asked why and how they were able to complete the tasks. Students will provide various responses. Teacher will direct them to the fact that different parts of the brain were involved and responsible for their actions.
Teacher will begin to focus on the brain by revealing the title: What's In a Brain? Teacher will assess student prior knowledge by completing a modified word splash. In a word splash all the key words related to the topic are written on the chalkboard or chart paper. Students will predict how each term relates to the brain. Also, the teacher will have a blank diagram of the brain posted to stimulate students' prior knowledge about the terms. The terms for our study are cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobe.
Teacher will provide students with a diagram of the brain and give a brief definition of the three parts of the brain. Teacher will emphasize that the brain is a complex and intricate structure and everyday neurologist are learning new things about how it works.
Teacher will have students create brain models using either molding clay or jello brain mold. Students will label the parts of the brain and write the definition. In subsequent lessons, the teacher will refer to the brain models and specifically reference the parts of the brain that are responsible for learning math.
Students answer the critical thinking question in their journal.
Extension Activities: Students can complete a jigsaw activity. The purpose is to become an expert in your assigned section. Every student will be assigned one part of the brain to complete further research. Students will complete a PowerPoint that defines the brain section and an example describing how they use the section in their daily life.
Lesson 2: The Write Stuff
Objectives: Students will discuss, describe, read, and write about whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and percents that are related to sports. Students will review different ways of how numbers are used in their daily life. Students will improve math written communication skills.
Materials: Sports numbers activity sheet 3 4 and Internet access.
Procedures:
Critical Thinking Question: How do sport statistics clarify an athlete's status?
Teacher starts the lesson by asking students how numbers are used in sports. Student ideas are recorded on chart paper or chalkboard.
Teacher distributes a copy of the Sports Number activity sheet to each student. This sheet has four sport scenes (basketball, indoor track, swimming, and board games) with whole number, decimals, fractions, and percents noted. For example, the basketball sports scene has a scoreboard with the home and visitor score. Also, the attendance number is recorded in the corner. See: http://illuminations.nctm.org.
Individually, students examine the scenes and find examples of how the numbers are used. Students write about the different ways that the numbers are used for each scene. For instance, the indoor track picture has the length of races, runners' times, weights of object thrown, and lengths of objects thrown.
Students pair up with a partner and compare their responses to the four pictures.
Teacher brings the whole class together and asks students to share the numbers identified in the pictures.
Students select one number from one of the four pictures and write a detailed description in complete sentences of how that number is used. Also, students critique how the number is meaningful for the applicable sport.
Students answer the critical thinking question in their journal. Also, at the end of this lesson, students will complete the cognitive closure strategy.
Extension Activities: Student can research the Internet to obtain local and world records for selected sports events, for example local and world records for the 100-meter race. Students write a short report about their research data.
Note: Lesson #2 was obtained from: http://illuminations.nctm.org 7/29/2009. Lesson: Numbers and Language - Sports Numbers (I modified portions of the lesson).
Lesson 3: Is It Hot or Not?
Objectives: Students will solve a real-word problem and make an analysis by conducting a survey to determine the radio station that plays the best music. Students will improve their reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Materials: Student created survey list.
Procedures:
Critical Thinking Question: What major factors determined how many teenagers listened to a particular radio station?
Teacher starts the lesson by asking students what are the most popular/favorite radio stations. Student ideas are recorded on chart paper or chalkboard.
Teacher informs students that they will conduct a survey of 6 th - 8 th grade students to obtain data on the radio stations that students in their school listen to most frequently.
Teacher separates students into cooperative groups to develop a list of questions that can be used in the survey. Students will be advised to create general questions that can be easily answered by the majority of the students. Also, as groups begin to construct their questions, teacher will point out that questions should be worded so that quantitative data can be obtained, analyzed and used to make recommendations.
Teacher will specify the number of surveys students are to conduct. It is essential that the sample is large enough to provide the amount of data needed to make a conclusion.
Students collect the data and then work in cooperative groups (comprised of a data organizer, graphic constructor, checker, and reporter) to complete the tasks of recording, organizing and displaying the data.
Students analyze the results and state the top three reasons why a radio station is popular. Students will present graphs and charts to document the results.
Extension Activities: Students write a letter to the radio stations and share the results of why students choose to listen to a specific station. The letter includes the survey questions and the data results.
Comments: