OK today I tried I really tried to do area and promoter. I had the students repeat the formula for area and perimeter 3 times I had them spread their hands apart for with and up and down for height. I then gave them a constructed response for area and perimeter and it think Indiana Jones " they chose poorly". Does anyone have any suggestions of taking what was done in the Whole Brain Teacher style and getting the ideas down to pencil and paper. It seems my kids can do the hand motions and repeat what I say but it does not stick when they have to read a question and translate it into a pencil and paper answer.

Help

I have some strong gestures for both area and perimeter. They are very complicated to type down, but I can send you jpeg images of what they look like along with a "power pix" used in conjunction. My email is on the board of directors tab...I'm the second profile from the top.

Vanderfin wrote:


I'd be very interested in those gestures as well. I'm doing area and perimeter in a few weeks.

As for getting it to a pen-and-paper skill, I have a few ideas. First, when you are teaching the gesture and having them repeat the formulas, make sure you Teach-OK it too, so that they are hearing it in as many ways as possible. Picture this: you say it, you have the class say it with you, then you Teach-OK, so that they hear it from their partner, then you Switch, so they say it back to their partner. Then you target one of your weaker students to repeat it to the class. Say "think you can do it?" If they say yes and fail, give them an "It's cool" and repeat all of the above before calling on another weak student. If they succeed, ten finger woo! This is the routine I use for most concepts with Whole Brain Teaching.

The other thing you might think about is taking a more inquiry-like approach, having them do area the long tedious way by counting squares in a grid over and over until they realize that just multiplying would be easier on their own. Same goes for perimeter (make them count the lengths on the edge and discover the formula on their own eventually). Learning through inquiry internalizes the logic behind the formulas better, and makes them feel like they're cheating by using them! It's always good to feel like you're cheating. I know I do when I use Whole Brain Teaching.

jwhicks727

Here is a game I use with area - my students looove it, they beg to play all the time. It is simple enough to use with any math level, my kids come in during homeroom to play it against each other - with out me




The idea is to be the first person to fill your game board, I roll the dice and that gives the dimensions of the rectangle, they multiply to find the area and then can shade in a rectangle with that area. Ex: I roll a 3 and 4, 3x4 = 12, so I can shade a 3x4 rectangle, 12x1, or 2x6. None of the rectangles can overlap, and you can't erase and move rectangles around. (My kids call it Tetris) If the roll gives you a rectangle you can't find a spot for, then you just lose that roll, and hope the next one gives you something you can put down.

SReevesTX wrote:


That... is... awesome! Thanks, Sara! I use a bunch of math games in my class that are in the same vein. They were compiled by a retired teacher named Bonnie Adama ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and are fantastic along with Whole Brain Teaching. I use several of them for rewards.

Another game for area is like battleship. A student rolls 2 dice. They pick a spot on the graph paper to draw the array. The area goes in the middle of the array. The next student uses a different colored pencil or crayon and does the same thing. They take turns until someone can't make a move. Game over. Add up all the numbers in the arrays for each student. Higher sum wins!!!

I use the game to practice multiplication facts. Then when we get to area, I tell them they already know how to calculate it. For teaching Mult. facts just use one die and the other will be a set number. If you want the numbers to be higher than six, use a deck of cards instead of a die. Once they know their facts, they play it the regular way.

Ducky wrote:


Another great game! Do you have a board for this, or do you just use any sheet of graph paper?

Great game! Any way you can make it more fun/engaging using any of the Whole Brain Teaching components? It would be great if we could find a way to put new ideas under the WBT umbrella.

ChrisBiffle wrote:


Well, either of those could definitely be used as a Scoreboard reward... and partnerships could be made the same way SuperSpeed partnerships are made.