D. McKae Teaching introduction to rectangles/squares from Dave McKae on Vimeo.
The past 2 weeks we have been learning about parallelograms and now we are transitioning into special types of parallelograms, mainly rectangles and squares. We want the students to understand that all of the characteristics we learned about parallelograms still apply to these shapes because they are also parallelograms. Furthermore, students will learn new properties of these shapes to help them solve for missing sides lengths, segments of diagonals, and angles.
The students were asked to collaborate with a partner and list all of the characteristics they could think of for each shape.
Thanks for sharing, Dave. Be sure to Edit this Post and respond to the Essential Questions in your Reflection.
ReplyDeleteWhat strength(s) did you notice in the teaching and learning process?
ReplyDeleteI thought the way you used think pair share was great. At first it was a little hard to tell if the conversation was productive but that seemed to be more of a problem with the recording technology than with the class. Great job moving around the class and prompting students during the sharing activity. Good positive reinforcement for all answers and I appreciate your use of humor. It's hip to be square.
What evidence(s) of students' learning did you observe?
The majority of the students were well prepared to answer the questions after the sharing time of the activity.
To what degree were all learners engaged?
It seemed like all but the lone student were engaged.
What evidences of addressing varied abilities did you observe?
I like how you made an attempt at helping the student who seemed to not quite be getting it. Some students just have their days where they would be anywhere else besides math class.
What was the your role in supporting learning?
Great job facilitating conversation, helping out when needed, and pulling it back out for a group conversation.
Describe one challenge you observed.
As I mentioned before there was the one lone student who didn't seem very engaged. Knowing nothing about his history or what he is usually like, it is hard to comment on it. I would say maybe make sure that he is in a group even if that involves him having to move into a group of three? Although, that may not be an option with his personality or maybe just the dynamics of the class.
Based on the above responses, how might you revise or tweak this instructional routine?
Looks great, like I said earlier, I really like the questions that you pose and the think pare share activity. I think it would bother me a little when the students were talking when I was, but that is up to your individual style. The only thing I can think of is finding a group for the lone student without answers.
What strength(s) did you notice in the teaching and learning process?
ReplyDeleteI think it was a good starter when I mentioned where we left of with parallelograms, but I should have asked students to tell me what the characteristics were rather than saying "So you guys all remember the characteristics of parallelograms, right?" I also moved around the classroom and helped individual groups that required more guidance to do the work. I also provided some humor which is a way of connecting with the students.
What evidence(s) of students' learning did you observe?
I made sure to go around the class and ask for each group to contribute a response. Students offered ideas for the characteristics and we created a class list.
To what degree were all learners engaged?
Once I clarified my expectations and instructions and started to walk around, the students were engaged and contributed answers during the discussion.
What evidences of addressing varied abilities did you observe?
I never let any student off the hook with a response like "I don't know", so I helped guide the students through concepts so that it appeared to the rest of the class like they came up with the idea. I could still use more practice at doing this.
What was the your role in supporting learning?
I facilitated an activity by organizing students in pairs and then bringing them back for a group discussion. I helped students look at the characteristics of rectangles through a different set of eyes so they could completely describe them. For example, I no student came up with anything about the diagonals, but once I asked them to look more carefully, they had an "aha" moment.
Describe one challenge you observed.
The students had a little trouble getting started with creating their lists, but with more clear expectations I may have had a better response.
Based on the above responses, how might you revise or tweak this instructional routine?
I should have gone over characteristics of parallelograms with them before moving on to rectangles. This would have led them in the right direction and made the activity more efficient. At the end, I need to have a better closure piece where I do a formative assessment and check for understanding with certain individuals. Perhaps I could have tied all three shapes together and promoted higher level thinking by asking students questions like "Is a rectangle always a parallelogram? Is a square sometimes, always, or never a rectangle?"