#higher level math

The T R U T H

After reading one of Ian Byrdseed's blog posts about making math connections to the real world, I decided to use his lesson for some advanced 3rd grade math students. However, I wanted to layer this assignment to differentiate this lesson and incorporate the iPad. I began by creating a group on edmodo for these math students. I posted the preliminary research the students would need to gather: Brainstorm a list of places you love to visit that have a large amount of parking spaces (more than 500). Pick a parking spot and post their choice on edmodo. Find this place using your map app. Use the satellite view. Take a screen shot of the parking lot of this place. Use an app of your choice to figure out 3 different ways to find out how many parking spaces this place has available. Save your work. Next, I showed the students a chart created in pages to show three strategies for finding how many parking spaces in a place. I could teach a lesson on how to create a chart in pages, but I would rather the students explore pages on their own & then teach each other what they learned. Many of them will discover they can make their chart their own by changing colors and fonts. Kids love this kind of flare and reaches beyond the basic requirements of the assignment. I also want them to add their screen shot of the parking lot, the name of their place and they could add some other photos if they would like. I call this type of layer, boot camp, because learning basic ways to use pages is a skill that they will carry over to a life skill. The next layer of the assignment requires a little research. The students will need to find out how much it costs to park in their parking lot. I don't usually let elementary students google information. It's just safer that way. Inventive spelling can cause problems. Since they have posted their spot on edmodo, I use that information to post a link for them on edmodo that will lead them to the information they need. I ask the students to post what they have learned about the cost of parking on edmodo. This serves as a second check point for the assignment (first, the name of their place & 2nd the cost of parking). If there isn't a cost to park in their chosen spot, I assign a 'what if' amount to them. Depending on the student, depends on the amount I assign. This way, I can challenge students that need to be pushed. Again, the students need to add this information to their notes. The final layer to the assignment is to have the students add another chart to their pages document that explains how much the place will make if 100% of the spaces are full, 50% and 25% showing their math they used to figure out their work. For those students who need an additional layer with percentages, have them figure out the break even point if the parking structure cost 1 million dollars to make. Additionally, I found some information about the architecture of parking lots and information about the cost of parking lots or garages for a few well known places like Disneyland. This will create a new layer of discovery for students who finish early. Last, the students needed to name their document (another boot camp item) and post their document to edmodo for credit for the assignment. There are many layers to this assignment and checkpoints using edmodo to help with time management. While this seems a little unnecessary, the students had fun doing the multiple step problem and it gives a real life example of how math is used beyond the classroom. I can think of many layers to add to the assignment like creating a family trip, with a budget and the cost of gas, parking & admission for their family, etc.

Moral of the story: HL Math will be the death of you