Taking over Elk Stadium

Today, our learners were challenged by Coach McElroy, head football coach at BHS, with determining how much it would cost to have a pizza party, if BHS makes it to the state championship.  

                          

As a group, we talked about what questions they had, which included how many pieces of pizza does each person get?  What toppings should we get on our pizza?  How many people can Elk Stadium hold?  Are there any coupons or discounts if we buy a large amount of pizza? 

Now that each group was thinking, early on a Saturday morning, we gave them a list of pizza prices from Papa John's.  As luck would have it, some groups chose to compare the prices of various pizza places to ensure we had the best deal!  Learners were researching the amount of seats in Elk Stadium as well as the top 3 favorite pizza toppings.  

Talk about engaged learners!  Our two hours together flew by as we determined that each person would get 2 pieces of pizza.  Based on their research we decided it would be best to buy a combination of cheese, pepperoni and sausage.  As we did the calculations, the cost of feeding 7,500 people was almost $20,000 which shocked our 7th graders.  When they determined they would need to tip their drive almost $3,000, they couldn't believe it!  

Student-Led Discussions

                                     

One of our goals, as a 7th grade math team, was to work on meaningful student-led discussions.  Our district coordinator, who meets with us weekly, set up the ipad on a swivel and away we went with recording the learning in our classrooms.  At first, our learners were camera shy, which we were shocked by!  After all, these are the kids who love Facetiming, making their own Tick Tock videos and Snapchat filters. 

After some modeling by the teachers, learners were given practice problems and bounce cards to practice in class.  You may ask what a bounce card is.  It's basically a list of question stems that guide the learner's thinking.  I loved walking around our room, listening to their mathematical reasoning and justification.  Their confidence was definitely increasing the more we practiced. 

   

Once learners became comfortable in our classroom, they were given 5 3D figures and asked to describe if a prism or pyramid was drawn.  As a class, we created a thinking map of all the academic vocabulary we use to describe both a pyramid and prism, as well as reviewing good questioning techniques. 


Learners eagerly accepted the challenge of describing what 3D figure their group was given!  We had groups working in the breakout rooms, as well as the learning commons.  I think what I loved most about this learning experience is how excited 7th graders were about geometry.  I heard one young man say, "I feel like I'm in college!"  Who knew an activity that seems so simple, could create such a meaningful experience for our learners. 

Turning 40 in Middle School

As many know, birthdays are a huge deal in our family, so it was only right to celebrate turning 40 with some of Hughes Huskies during Saturday tutoring!  Our 7th graders were challenged with the tasks of determining how much icing each cake would require, how many drops of food coloring to create the desired color of icing, the cost of how much it cost to ice the cake per square centimeter, and how big each letter could be, in order for the top of the cake to have a border.  The thinking and excitement that was sparked on a Saturday morning, was one of the best gifts a teacher could ask for!  

We first started with the task of determining how much icing we would need to cover our 2 tiered cake.  It was interesting to watch our learners tackle this problem because some just measured, while others drew nets and determined the composite area of the figure.  Once of the joys that comes with Saturday tutoring is that it's all of our kids, of various levels, collaborating together to determine their solutions. 

  

Once we figured out the surface area of the cake, it was time to create my favorite color of icing...turquoise!  Learners used both equivalent fractions and ratio tables to determine how many drops of blue and green we would need.                               

To say our learners were engaged is an understatement!  They absolutely loved creating & enjoying this birthday cake.  An extension onto this activity was for the learners to determine how many square centimeters each letter would take up on the cake.  As you can see, our 7th graders did a fabulous job of creating the best birthday cake, a teacher could ask for!  

Tackling Rational Numbers

During the spring semester, Team Stefibeth came together on various Saturdays to help our 7th graders grow in their mathematical knowledge.  Our first session focused on operations with rational numbers.

Learners were given the challenge of helping to bake cookies for our upcoming Super Bowl party.  Using the recipe, learners used their knowledge of rational numbers and proportionality to determine the amount of each ingredient we would need to feed 24 people, 30 people and then 6 people.  We spent our first hour calculating the amounts of each ingredient.  Some used proportions, while others used ratio tables.  We loved their mathematical thinking and justification as they proved each of their answers.  Upon completing the calculations, we headed to the kitchen and began to create our cookies!
This is where the true test of their knowledge of rational number skills came into play.  Based on the number of people they were chose to make cookies for, is the recipe they used.  Learners actively began measuring ingredients and stirring them together, rereading their new recipes and hoping for the best.  Once the dough was mixed together and the cookies were baked, the tasting began!  It's here where learners knew if they had done the math correctly!  



The discussions that came after their experience in the kitchens were priceless, but they were able to find just where they went wrong in their calculations!



It's hard to believe we did this activity for 4 consecutive Saturdays. Word spread fast and we had 7th graders begging to come for Saturday tutoring...just another example of the impact of working together and doing what's best for our learners yields ultimate success!