Family Math Night Assignment
Have an idea ready by: TBAMarch 7, 2014
Draft Lesson Plan and Parent Handout DUE: March 28, 2014
Implement Plan at Math Night: Thursday, April 3, 2014
Final Lesson Plan, Final Parent Handout and Reflection DUE: Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Value: 15% of your total grade
Check out some pictures of previous Math Nights
Check out an article about Math Night
A Family Math Night is a community
event generally sponsored by a school. The
event involves organizing a set of mathematical activities which can show
both children and parents how math is around us, how math can be fun, and
how fun math activities can be done at home.
Your job will be to create a math
table for a family math night. You will work with a partner for this event. However, because of the number of children expected, each of you will need to teach the activity on your own.
This semester, our Family Math Night will be at Groton Elementary School in from approximately 6:00 - 8:00 pm. You will likely need to arrive at Groton School by 5:00 pm. We can arrange carpools if you need a ride. We will be working with students in grades K-5.
Because NYS math curriculum is currently based on the Common Core Learning Standards, we want to educate students
and their families on the types of math covered by these standards. Activities
should be fun, but should also support the Common Core Math Standards. In class, I
will be giving you some ideas about the kinds of activities that are appropriate.
During the night, families will
rotate through the different activities at different times. The activity at
your table should take about 10 minutes for a group of people to complete.
When they complete your activity, they will move on to another activity. You
should probably
Here
are some guidelines for creating a math night table:
1. Please submit two to three ideas of different activities you and your partner might like to do at Math Night on Thursday, April 3 at Groton Elementary School. Your activities should be aimed at the grade level of the class in which you are observing with the flexibility to adapt it for kids in a grade higher or lower.
Your ideas should be taken from quality sources of math lesson plans or activities. I strongly recommend you look at the NCTM Illuminations Website or the Common Core Lesson Plan Website which I provided you in Blackboard. Please let me know if you have questions or need help finding an activity as I can direct you to some good ones.
For this part of the assignment, all you have to do is describe your activity in a few sentences. Or, you can simply submit links to activities you are interested in doing. Your ideas should be submitted by March 7 before you leave for Spring Break.
2. Provide clear and attractive visuals and directions so
that people can start the activity on their own.
3. Create a large sign or poster to label your table. Choose a title that
gives some clue as to what the station involves. Posters/signs should look very professional and should be free of spelling, grammatical or other errors.
4. Choose activities which students can do and
which are fun.
5. Connect your activity to at least ONE CCLS Mathematical Practice and ONE CCLS Grade Level Math Standard. Make a visual to let your audience know which standards and practices your activity will
address.
6. Create a handout for parents to take with them that will give them ideas or
instructions for doing similar activities at home. THIS IS CRUCIAL! Handouts should look very professional and should be free of spelling, grammatical, or other errors.
7. Think about the supplies your activity will require. We want to keep
costs low and also model for parents how learning can take place with items
we have around the house. Whatever supplies you need, make sure you
have plenty on hand. Both SUNY Cortland and the schools have LOTS of
materials you can use - so CHECK WITH ME BEFORE YOU GO SHOPPING!!
Math Night Reflection:
Part I: A brief description of the activity you did with the group.
Part II: A description of what happened when you conducted your activity
at math night. You do not
have to give a "blow by blow" (first, I passed out a piece of paper, next I
said: Students, today we are going to study fractions...etc.). But, I should
be able to have a picture of what happened at your table from your description.
Part III: A reflection or reaction to what the students were thinking/doing/saying
as they worked on your planned activity. What did the students learn from your
activity? How do you know they learned this? THIS SECTION IS CRITICAL. I want
you to really think about and PROVIDE EVIDENCE to support your analysis of student
learning in this situation. Evidence should consist of some kind of data: student work, student answers to your questions or your observations of student action.
Part IV:
A reflection on your plan and on your role as teacher. Example questions you
might address: In your opinion, how did the activity go? How well did the students learn what you planned to teach them? How would you assess your performance in implementing your activity?
What did doing this activity teach you about math, teaching, planning lessons,
assessment and/or yourself? How might you change this activity for future use based on this
experience?
Timeline:
By March 7, have some idea of the activity you will be doing. For this part of the assignment, all you have to do is describe your activity in a few sentences. Or, you can simply submit links to activities you are interested in doing. Your ideas should be submitted on Blackboard before you leave for Spring Break.
By
March 28, have a draft of your lesson plan and parent handout to me.
By April 3, have your revised lesson plan complete and be ready to do your activity at Math Night.
By
April 8, turn in your math night packet - This includes your lesson plan (drafts
and final copies), parent handout (drafts and final copy), and a written reflection
from each person in your group.
Requirements:
1. Meet all deadlines.
2. Submit a lesson plan draft and a draft of your parent
letter.
3. Complete a final version of your lesson plan with connections
to CCLS Math Practices and Standards.
4. Be prepared for your activity on Math Night.
5. Have a parent handout ready to give to parents.
6. Have a sign for your table and to identify relevant CCLS Math Practices and
Standards.
7. Participate in Math Night.
8. Write a Math Night Reflection.
Grading:
This assignment is worth 15% of your grade. We will create a rubric in class to evaluate your work on this assignment.