Intervention Response Teams in the Classroom

 Topics: Measurement, Area, and Multiple Representations

Images/Video Resources

A terrarium you might see at a zoo exhibit, or animal exhibit. Image provided by wikimedia commons, and has a creative commons attributions/share-alike license.

An example of terrarium that might be something you might see in home. Image provided by best-meaningful-gifts.com.

This picture shows smaller terrariums that anyone can make for any occassion, such as a project or gift, and it takes little or no effort, a variety of materials can be used. Image provided by kaboodle.com.

Scenario

As the state of Texas embarks on a new education era there is particularly more media attention addressing state standards and the needs of our students’. This past 2011-2012 school year was the first year that the state implemented the newly created accountability system. The STAAR test is replacing the TAKS test which is a criterion reference assessment that is more rigorous than previous assessments and is intended to measure a child’s performance, as well as academic growth. The new state rating system will officially debut in 2013(TEA, 2010). Therefore administrators are overwhelmed with preparing teachers with adequate training that emphasizes effective teaching strategies that promotes academic success. The majority of all teachers are stressed but there are clearly more performance standards at the secondary level which means that secondary teachers need to better prepare for more rigorous content. To ensure that teachers are delivering equitable instruction the principal at Vernon Middle School is requiring all Math teachers to appoint an intervention response team that consists of student teachers within each block periods. First topic of the year is measurement. It is of popular demand that measurement is an area that is of high concern because it should be mastered first in order to be successful in applications such as area, perimeter, circumference, surface area and volume that are all tested in 7^th grade. A class set of accompanying supplies are being ordered to ensure adequate intervention. The order consists of magnifying glasses, the story of Jack and Beanstalk, flower plant seeds, nonflowering seeds, vegetable seeds, rulers, fraction cards, number lines, sentence strips, various sizes of buttons and terrariums.  Also important within the state standards is to explore approximation techniques, and challenge what makes better approximations. 

Task

Sample Investigations/Teacher Resources

Each math teacher on campus is holding class competitions that will determine this 1^st nine weeks intervention response teams. You will be paired with 3-4 students and form a group that will prepare an in depth lesson that will utilize all supplies that are being provided. Your task is to write this lesson that promotes measurement fluency as well as introduce some measurement application of area or surface area. The only advice I can give is that a really good lesson consists of a writing component that solidifies thought processes and completes the application of process skills through multiple representations. In math, multiple representations means moving your collection of data to: table, graph, Venn diagram or other pictorial representation. Sometimes you can utilize math symbols, verbal descriptions, diagrams or picture to represent your mathematical scenario as opposed to traditional computational procedurals. Specifically, for this lesson to be of excellent quality a timeframe has been suggested of 7-14 school days. The principal is imposing a behavioral observation to be seen. Meaning while a routine must be set to complete the lesson, gradual differences are to be witnessed while data is consistently being summarized. 

Lessons that demonstrate high quality work will be submitted to an interview with campus administrators and district administrators, from there local officials will offer scholarship awards, summer internships, and public sponsering to the annual summer institute programs offered from UTPA. 

Lesson 1: describes some assignments that the learner will complete including making a terrarium, learning about plants, and measuring area or cover. Uncover the investigation that learners will take part of by reviewing the following lesson located in the instructional unit.

http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/pdfs/plants.pdf

Math connections, an article on implementing multiple representations in our lesson planning.

http://www2.ups.edu/community/tofu/lev1f/conframe.htm

An article on what multiple representations are, and why you should use them.

http://paer.rutgers.edu/scientificAbilities/Downloads/FormAssessTasks/MultRep.pdf

Student Resources

 Rubric

Resources

A plant timeline- video provided by metacafe.com.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/380674/plant_time_line/

Science project ideas

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/PlantBio_measuring_growth.shtml

Hydroponics

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/PlantBio_p045.shtml

How to calculate Area

http://www.mathsisfun.com/activity/garden-area.html

Online circle calculator

http://math.about.com/library/blcirclecalculator.htm

Finding area of irregular figures

http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L583

Measurement videos and worksheets

http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/grade-6.html

Individual Reflection Rubric

Team Knowledge Building Rubric 

Student Work

Standards

1. Read and analyze the scenario and situation.
Check your understanding of the scenario. Don't be tempted to start thinking about potential solutions or to start looking for information. 

1. List your personal understanding, ideas or hunches.

 With your team use all the information available in the scenario to list everything that you know about planning this lesson. You do not have to conduct any research yet. Just use the information given and write the facts that you already know about being the best intervention response team.

With your team, make a list about what you do not know and would like to learn. List all the questions you will need to answer to solve the problem.  

4. List what needs to be done.
"What should we do?" List actions to be taken, e.g., question an expert, conduct research, go to a board meeting about topic. List possible actions. 

5. Develop a problem statement.

You will be responsible for thinking and choosing one of the questions to solve the problem.  A problem statement should come from your analysis of what you know. In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe what it is that your group is trying to solve, produce, respond to, or find out. The problem statement may have to be revised as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation.

Use all the resources available (Internet, library, etc) to research about the problem/topic and find a solution.

7. Present Findings

You will work in teams and together research ways that impact students measurement capabilities. You will look closely at how a lesson should be formed, and develop lesson components that achieve lesson mastery. You will present your lesson as multimedia presentation using Web 2.0 tools, such as Prezi, Slideshare, or Sliderocket. You will also incorporate a Voki avatar, photos, and if possible videos that will increase audience attention. 

7.4) Patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking. The student represents a relationship in numerical, geometric, verbal, and symbolic form.

The student is expected to:

(A) generate formulas involving unit conversions, perimeter, area, circumference, volume, and scaling;

(B) graph data to demonstrate relationships in familiar concepts such as conversions, perimeter, area, circumference, volume, and scaling

(7.9) Measurement. The student solves application problems involving estimation and measurement.

The student is expected to:

(A) estimate measurements and solve application problems involving length (including perimeter and circumference) and area of polygons and other shapes;

(7.11) Probability and statistics. The student understands that the way a set of data is displayed influences its interpretation.

The student is expected to:

(A) select and use an appropriate representation for presenting and displaying relationships among collected data, including line plot, line graph, bar graph, stem and leaf plot, circle graph, and Venn diagrams, and justify the selection; and

(B) make inferences and convincing arguments based on an analysis of given or collected data.

(7.13) Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student applies Grade 7 mathematics to solve problems connected to everyday experiences, investigations in other disciplines, and activities in and outside of school.

The student is expected to:

(A) identify and apply mathematics to everyday experiences, to activities in and outside of school, with other disciplines, and with other mathematical topics;

(B) use a problem-solving model that incorporates understanding the problem, making a plan, carrying out the plan, and evaluating the solution for reasonableness;

(C) select or develop an appropriate problem-solving strategy from a variety of different types, including drawing a picture, looking for a pattern, systematic guessing and checking, acting it out, making a table, working a simpler problem, or working backwards to solve a problem; and

(D) select tools such as real objects, manipulatives, paper/pencil, and technology or techniques such as mental math, estimation, and number sense to solve problems.

(7.14) Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student communicates about Grade 7 mathematics through informal and mathematical language, representations, and models.

The student is expected to:

(A) communicate mathematical ideas using language, efficient tools, appropriate units, and graphical, numerical, physical, or algebraic mathematical models; and

(B) evaluate the effectiveness of different representations to communicate ideas.

(7.15) Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student uses logical reasoning to make conjectures and verify conclusions.

The student is expected to:

(A) make conjectures from patterns or sets of examples and nonexamples; and

(B) validate his/her conclusions using mathematical properties and relationships.

Press release. Provided from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=7874. Retrieved August 13,2012.

Lesson contents provided from http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/pdfs/plants.pdf. Retrieved August 13, 2012.

Image 1 provided from wikimedia commons, creative commons attributions/share-alike license.

Image 2 provided from best-meaningful-gifts.com

Image 3 provided from kaboodle.com