I plan to incorporate a variety of methods (using the UDL principles) in order to address the different learning modalities of students. Some ideas include using:
*space blocks - these three dimensional blocks would be a good concrete way of visualizing division. The blocks are easily moved by individuals with moderate fine motor skills.
*an overhead projector and division transparencies - While the students used space blocks at their work stations, I would be modeling division problems using the projector and transparencies.
*online division games - I would include different online division games and programs in this division lesson. Online games increase motivation, present the information in a clear and colorful format, and allow the learner to choose his or her own speed. An example is http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/apples/default.htm# This is a game called save the apples. It has varying levels of difficulty and the students would love the scary music. Another example is http://www.gamequarium.com/division.html This site contains a tutorial on division as well as various games.
These are just a few ideas. Please feel free to post your suggestions. Thanks.
6 comments:
Stephanie:
You're well on your way to a division lesson that will be accessible in a variety of ways. Kudos.
The thing is, this sounds different to me from the assignment called UDL Challenge. The assignment says:
"We are all learners...continually faced with some information that is presented clearly and some not so clearly. For example, when was the last time you tried to put together a piece of modular furniture or a toy using the included instructions? Were you successful, frustrated, or confused? Think about the last time you tried to install a piece of software, or follow directions for an assignment. Did they make sense? Could they have been written or described more clearly, how? Were the pictures clear? Why or why not? Did the author make assumptions he/she shouldn’t have? Did the author try to engage/activate background knowledge? Now think about your own classroom, job, tutoring gigs, a current assignment, etc. and IDENTIFY ONE set of instructions that is perhaps . . . shall we say . . . lacking in complete explanation and/or access."
I'll ask Joe Dixon to weigh in on this, but to me, teaching a skill like division isn't about writing a set of instructions and having the students follow them.
Not to worry, though, even if I'm right. What you've done here will be great in your final project due in December.
For the UDL challenge, maybe you could take one of online division games, look at the instructions, and pick the one with the worst-written instructions. Then use those instructions as the basis for this assignment.
Stephanie: I just re-read Joe's reaction to your original street sign idea.
Try not to be too frustrated! Having multiple instructors in a course has both beneficial and problematic aspects. One problem is that they won't look at everything the same way. I think the street sign example is great, but Joe had reservations.
Hang in there another day or so. I've asked him to look at my comments. Since it's his assignment, he should have the last word.
I think those are all great ideas. They are all very engaging and accessible to the different types of learners in the classroom. I love using math manipulatives in my lessons and the overhead projector and computer are often overlooked, which is suprising when I find them very effective. Good job, jr.
When I was first reading the directions, it was definitely confusing! All your ideas are cool! Manipulatives are a great way to assist students in seeing the things right in front of them. I think another great type of manipulatives other than the blocks are using things like slices of pizza which provide personal connections. It also provides motivation to want to explore the concepts behind the pizza slices.
I love that Jenny suggested the Pizza idea..that was a key idea in our home with all math issues..to this day my father still says "think pizza"..anyway..another suggestion I can make from personal experience is to start with small numbers while explaining the concepts to be sure they also truly understand whats going on. Also sometimes using thing that are more tangible to them will help them understand more..I have seen bread used as a tool to explain fractions using an overhead..also having things they can manipulate physically will help them. Lets say you use your problem of 24/4 One way I find helpful is to say lets make groups of 4 instead of taking away four each time..from there i would have the student physically make group with the objects ..or themselves if possible so they can actually see what is going on...You on your way..this is a great lesson!
I agree with the comments such far, especially addressing the use of manipulatives. I used a lot of grouping, like Paige said, with my third graders. Another very effective and interesting idea, which is from Everyday Mathematics (the math program they use here in the city) is to have students make arrays like they do for mulitplication as a way to respresent division. This is another way to help students organize manipulatives and also allows them to really understand the inverse relationship between multiplication and division. Some students, and I venture to say many adults as well, really solve division problems by thinking backwards and using multiplication, so this can be a useful representation for the students that do see it that way.
Hope this was helpful...nice work with what you've done so far. If you get a chance and would like to check out my UDL challenge I would really appreciate the input as you definitely have some great ideas!
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