Cereal Box Volume Activity

I'm pretty sure the idea came from... dang, can't think of the site now. I saw it here as "Juice Box Geometry" as well. Students had juice, cereal, and tissue boxes and measured with partners to find surface area and calculate volume. Next they used their measurements to design a net for the box, labeling the parts and dimensions. Then the boxes were carefully opened and pulled apart (juice boxes over the sink, please!), remeasured, and matched up to the nets. Volume was recalculated and compared to original figures -- how/why different? Why was the package designed the way it was? Could you improve on the design or increase the volume?

If I kept my Math students (they come from all three 5th grade classrooms) I thought it would be cool to transfer their nets and measurements into an Art lesson -- design your own product and packaging!

Cereal Box Volume Activity

Do Not Go Quietly...

"Do not go quietly into your classroom. Engage. Be brave." *


I love that first sentence. Ironic,** in that several times each day I tell my class to enter the classroom qui-et-ly...

Anyway, on to today's frustrating issue, I'm sure largely compounded by this month's All Day But Could Have Been Completed In Three Hours Max Grade Level Meeting.

The Dilemma: I go back to class, start looking at the Math Homework turned in today, and see "0/12" -- dang, poor kid doesn't get it, I'll work with her tomorrow... -- then another "0/12" and a "1/12" and I check to see if it's the Chatty Cathy Trio. After 7 more papers the highest score I've seen is "3/12" so I look at the calendar for April Fool's Day. Nope, still on the first of next month! A few more dismal scores and I toss my hands, and the homework, high in the air in complete disbelief and frustration. Dang, I suck. What went wrong?

The Solution: Time Travel.  Before my Math class walks in I'll change the dates back to Tuesday and start the whole lesson all over again. I thought it was engaging and informative, we had guest speakers (some ancient Greek guy and the boys on BrainPOP) and worked through some problems together. Okay, the whole pi concept is weird, and some of the boys may have been distracted by drooling ("Mmmm, pie!") but overall I had no reason to believe the day was a total flop. I get a do-over. A mulligan. A move your player back when you're not looking. Wait, that last one is for Parchesi. But I WILL teach you this lesson again and I WILL teach it better and I WILL check for comprehension and I WILL scaffold and support until my legs start shaking and you WILL reward my dedication with demonstrations of your understanding and competence on the homework, the quiz, the chapter test, the CST, your SAT, and the way you raise your children! Bring us your finest meats and cheeses!

But Then... : I thought, wait. I couldn't have screwed it up that bad. C'mon, it was just circumference and area of a circle. Plug the numbers into the formula. The formula is in the textbook. And in their notes. And easily accessible online. I'll even bet more than 5 parents know at least one of the formulas, and can tell his or her dear inquisitive child, probably with a tear in their eye as a long-ago math teacher is fondly remembered...
So no going back, at least not quietly nor gently. But not loudly, in the hollering sense, I'm not that kind of teacher, just not quietly as in I cannot passively watch children not learn. They must learn to listen, to participate, to ask questions, to take notes, to say "Huh? I don get it." To take the book home and to OPEN it. And tomorrow, to memorize the formula for area and circumference.

Is writing it 50 times enough, or should I make 'em do 100?

The quote at the top, by the way, is the link to a book which I haven't yet looked into but the phrase caught my eye and Inspired me.





*I almost ended the quote after "classroom" since whenever I hear "engage" it's in Captain Picard's deep voice.
**Alanis Morrissette ruined the term irony for me, I never know if I've used it correctly or if it's going to rain on my wedding day.

Schooltube Math Videos

I think I did this right... we'll see if any of the students check it out:

**Next week's Math chapter**

Thank you, Schooltube!

and speaking of Math...

... I think I'll have some Pi!

"What Pi Sounds Like"

Math for Two Continents

...well, sort of.

Two sites to check out. One has me stressed out since I read that Math shortcuts are straight from the devil, but that's all I know and love about math -- shortcuts! tricks! ways to get out of actually doing the math!

Math for America

And the other is a great way to clear out extra books

Books For Africa

Math may still suck a little?

...not that I would ever say that in front of students!

While I didn't read this, or it's sequel Kiss My Math, thoroughly, I certainly want them in my classroom -- lots of hands-on examples and methods, cute and clever wording to connect with students, even practice problems that don't feel like actual work (suggested by a cute TV personality has more weight than assigned by a teacher?).  The cover design that looks like an issue of Teen Vogue is apt, there are also a lot of girl-centric non-Math articles, advice, and encouraging quotes.

From a Math student viewpoint, it reminded me of my Math for Elementary Teachers course from just a few years back.  That class gave me such a headache, but the brain pain was from repeatedly slapping my forehead while exclaiming "No one ever taught me that!" and from the blinding flashes of lightbulbs going off above my head.  I remember Math as learn/memorize/practice doing it this way or you'll get it wrong -- which I usually did.  That Professor, and McKellar's book, teaches tricks, shortcuts, divisibility rules, dare we say "fun" Math stuff that will :

1. provide multiple methods of getting the right answer, so not every robot student has to do the work the same way.
2. teach cool patterns, easy to remember algorithms, even tricks that can help students feel smart and gain confidence when they start getting the answers correct.
3. engage students, getting them to invest in their own learn by presenting a 3-digit division problem as something more than one of 20 to solve -- it's the work place, it's marriage, it's a real-world problem that needs solving, and the student has been armed and trained in several tools and skills in order to reach the solution.

 Not only a great Math reference to keep and USE in the classroom, but a reason to show some old "The Wonder Years" scenes...

"Thank you for your idea"

How to Teach Math as a Social Activity | Edutopia

from the edutopia website

smarter than a 5th grader?

passed along from my smartest friend and his Math Teacher wife:

There are 7 girls in a bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks. In each backpack, there are 7 big cats. For every big cat, there are 7 little cats. The bus driver is not on the bus at this time.

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

This is not a trick question (easy for him to say...), it is a real math problem, so "a bus doesn't have legs" is not any part of the answer.

any ideas?

When I copy/re-write anything like this, especially up on the white board in front of the class, I get OCD/paranoid I'm spelling words wrong, or omitting a word, or accidentally spelling some word I'll get calls from the parents about -- for example, do not abbreviate "after school session" !

B22

what not to think, or if the thought occurs, what not to say, when teaching:

How could you not get this?!?

I assume parents and administrators frown on that type of comment directed towards students...

It seems we have done several lessons twice, in part because the explanation was not clear (clearly made or clearly received?) or the students became totally off track (poor instruction or poor understanding?) -- make sure the vocabulary and examples of the lecture/lesson/class practice match the text/worksheet/homework... if I use certain phrases or strategies in the lesson it needs to transfer directly to student independent work, they shouldn't see anything new/different when doing the assignment