Lesson Topic/Title: Baseball Math

Author: Kristie Korth and Kristy Bahr

Introduction:

Content Area(s) and Grade Level: Math for 4th Grade

Standards: 4.1.3 – By the end of the fourth grade, students will describe and apply relationships between numbers by order, comparison, and across the operation. STANDARD 1: Mathematics as Problem Solving. In grades K-4, the

study of mathematics should emphasize problem solving so that students can use problem-solving approaches to investigate and understand mathematical content and formulate problems from everyday and mathematical situations.

STANDARD 4: Mathematical Connections. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should include opportunities to make connections so that students can use mathematics in their daily lives.

Integrated disciplines: Math and Technology

Objectives: The students will gather information from the internet to answer specific questions.

The students will learn mathematics concepts related to baseball.

Materials/Technologies

Baseball Math: Filamentality

A computer, a copy of the questions from the filamentality, a group of students, and a pencil.

Procedures:

Springboard: "How many of you have ever been to a baseball game?" "Do you think there are any math concepts related to baseball?" "Math is

found everywhere in the game of baseball, and you are going to learn some related concepts today."

What teacher is to do: Divide the students into groups of 2 or 3. Help the students get to the Baseball Math Filamentality. Explain to the students what they are expected to do. Be available to answer any questions that may arise during the activity.

What students are to do: The students are to go to different websites that are provided to find the information needed to answer the questions.

Closure: "What types of math concepts are related to the game of baseball?" "Did any of these surprise you?"

Assessment: The students will be assessed to the answers of the questions. These questions will determine if the students completed the task.

They will also be assessed by their peers to see if they participated in the group.

Explanation: This activity is an example of a Filamentality Treasure Hunt by Instructional Technology Katy Independent School District. The

activity we chose has already been created at www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/huntastrosmin.html. This activity requires the students to go to different web sites that are provided to gather information needed to answer specific questions. We would use this activity by having the

students go through different web sites to gather the information needed to answer the specific questions. We chose this activity because it

relates math concepts to real life. We also chose it because it looks like a fun activity that the students would enjoy.

Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D. College of Saint Mary Spring, 2000

Lesson Topic/Title: Fresh Baked Fractions

Author: Kristie Korth and Kristy Bahr

Introduction:

Content Area(s) and Grade Level: Math and Technology for the 4th Grade

Standard: STANDARD 12: Fractions and Decimals. In grades K-4, the mathematics curriculum should include

fractions and decimals so that students can develop concepts of fractions, develop number sense for fractions, and apply fractions to problem situations. 4.1.2 – By the end of fourth grade, students will represent numbers in equivalent forms.

Integrated disciplines: Math and Technology

Objectives: Students will be able to identify equivalent fractions. Students will be able to simplify fractions.

Materials/Technologies: Computer and Trackstars math game, Fresh Baked Fractions.

Procedures

Springboard: Review with the students what equivalent fractions are. Go over some examples of equivalent fractions. Explain to them that they

will be identifying equivalent fractions on the computer.

What teacher is to do: We will get them to the Fresh Baked Fractions Web Site. We will get them started on the game by telling them how to set it up to their level of math concepts.

What students are to do: The students are to find out which fraction of the 4 shown, is not equivalent to the rest of them. The students have to simplify each fraction to their lowest terms and then determine which fractions are the same and which one is different. Once they determine which one is not equal to the others, they have to click on the different one to see if they are right.

Closure: We will give the students a number of fractions and we will have them take them home and determine which fractions are the same and which ones are different.

Assessment: The students will be assessed by the answers of their problems in the computer activity, because the computer tells them if they chose the correct answer or not. The students will also be assessed by the take home problems that we gave them.

Explanation: This activity is an example of a TrackStar activity at Funbrain.com. This activity that we chose has already been created at www.funbrain.com/fract/index.html. This activity requires the students to simplify fractions to determine which one out of the four is not equal to the rest of them. Once they find the different fraction they will click on it to see if they are right. We would use this activity as a review for simplifying fractions and determining which fraction is not equal to the others. We chose this activity because it is a fun activity that the kids would enjoy and it also teaches them fraction concepts.

Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D. College of Saint Mary Spring, 2000

Lesson Topic/Title: A Day in a Life of an Ice Cube

Author: Kristie Korth and Kristy Bahr

Introduction:

Content Area(s) and Grade Level: Math and Technology for the 4th Grade

Standard: STANDARD 1: Mathematics as Problem Solving. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should

Mathematics as Communication. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should include numerous opportunities for communication so that students can relate physical materials, pictures, and diagrams to mathematical ideas.

STANDARD 3: Mathematics as Reasoning. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should emphasize reasoning so that students can use patterns and relationships to analyze mathematical situations. STANDARD 4: Mathematical Connections. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should include opportunities to make connections so that

students can use mathematics in their daily lives. Standard 6: Number Sense and Numeration. In grades K-4, the mathematics curriculum should include whole number concepts and skills so that students can construct number meanings through real world experiences and the use of physical materials. STANDARD 10: Measurement. In

grades K-4, the mathematics curriculum should include measurement so that students can make and use measurements in problem and everyday situations. 4.5.1 – By the end of fourth grade, students will collect, organize, represent and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly communicate the findings.

Integrated disciplines: Math and Technology

Objectives: The students will be gathering data from different spots on the school ground each day on how long it takes for an ice cube to melt on a paper plate. They will be writing down the time of day, temperature of the day, and how long it takes the ice cube to melt. They will be taking down this information and making charts or graphs. The

students will be using telecommunications to gather more data and determine if the hypothesis; Global address and climate affect the time it takes for an ice cube to change physical form and totally melt, is really true.

Materials/Technologies: A Computer, paper, pencils, paper plates, a device that tells the temperature outside, and the Parallel Problem Solving Structure, A Day in a Life of an Ice Cube.

Procedures

Springboard: We are going to ask the students if they have ever seen an ice cube melt. Then we will ask them how long they thought it would take to completely melt.

What teacher is to do: The teacher will have the supplies ready for the students to use. She/he will tell the students what they are expected to do and how to do it.

What students are to do: The students are to gather information in different spots on the school ground on time of day, temperature of day, and how fast the ice cube melted. They will then make charts or graphs with this information. They will then be sharing their data and collecting more data with telecommunication from other schools. The students will finally come up with a conclusion if Global address and climate affect the time

it takes for an ice cube to change physical form and totally melt.

Closure: The students will have to share their findings and their charts/graphs with the class. The students will also have to state whether they found the hypothesis true or false.

Assessment: The students will be assessed by the outcomes of their charts/graphs and by their conclusions based on their data.

Explanation: This activity is an example of a Parallel Problem Solving Structure by Rosemary Morante. This activity that we chose has already

been created at www.eduplace.com/projects/icecube.html. This activity requires the students to gather information in different spots on the

school ground on time of day, temperature of day, and how fast the ice cube melted. They will then make charts or graphs with this information.

They will then be sharing their data and collecting more data with telecommunication from other schools. The students will finally come up with

a conclusion if global address and climate affect the time it takes for an ice cube to change physical form and totally melt. We would use this

activity as an assessment for graphing gathered information and using telecommunications. We chose this activity because it requires

cooperation with groups, it takes a lot of time to gather information, it requires the students to take down accurate information so they can have an accurate graph. This activity also requires the students to be involved with communicating with other classrooms from all over to gather and share information to make a conclusion about the hypothesis.

Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D. College of Saint Mary Spring, 2000

Lesson Topic/Title: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Author: Kristie Korth and Kristy Bahr

Introduction:

Content Area(s) and Grade Level: Math and Technology for the 4th Grade

Standard: STANDARD 1: Mathematics as Problem Solving. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should

emphasize problem solving so that students can use problem-solving approaches to investigate and understand mathematical content and formulate problems from everyday and mathematical situations. STANDARD 2: Mathematics as Communication. In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should include numerous opportunities for

communication so that students can relate physical materials, pictures, and diagrams to mathematical ideas.

Probability. In grades K-4, the mathematics curriculum should include experiences with data analysis and probability so that students can collect, organize, construct, and describe data; formulate and solve problems. 4.5.1 – By the end of fourth grade, students will collect, organize, represent and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly

communicate the findings.

Integrated disciplines: Math and Technology

Objectives: The group has to work together to convince the commissioner of baseball that your baseball team is the best. By doing this the group has to divide into specific jobs and find the required information. The students will end with a better understanding of how math is related to our every day lives. The traveling secretary plans the trip that

the group will take. The plan should include maps, driving directions, mileage, estimated driving times, and costs.

The Public Relations Director is to publicize the best things about the players in the division your team has chosen to investigate. He/she will be developing a rating system and studying the statistics of all of the players in the group’s division in order to nominate one player as the league’s Most Valuable Player and one pitcher as the league’s Cy

Young Award winner. The Chief Financial Officer has control over the money for the group. In order to budget for your trip you will need to figure the total cost of all items for the trip. The Graphic Artist has the ability to prepare colorful, meaningful graphs for his inspection. The task therefore is to create two graphs about the teams in the group’s division. The first graph should compare the price of the highest and lowest priced tickets at each stadium.

The second graph should compare the cost of feeding a four person team at each ballpark.

Materials/Technologies: A computer and the Take Me Out to the Ball Game Webquest.

Procedures

Springboard: We will ask the students what their favorite baseball team is.

What teacher is to do: The teacher will divide the students into groups of 4 and guide them to the Take Me Out to the Ball Game site.

What students are to do: The students will read through the Webquest and determine what job they want. Each student will then do the requirements of their job found in the Webquest.

Closure: We will have the students share their results.

Assessment: The students will be assessed with map making, money management, chart/graph making, working with statistics, and group cooperation.

Explanation: This activity is an example of a Webquest by Keith Miller. This activity has already been created at

www.bayless.mints.more.net/miller/basebwq/baseballquest.html. This activity requires the students to work in groups to gather information and work with math concepts by going to different sites and finding the information on the quest. We will use this activity as an assessment for map making, money management, chart/graph making, working with statistics, group cooperation, and many other math concepts. We chose this

activity because it gives the students an idea of how math is related to our every day lives.

Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D. College of Saint Mary Spring, 2000

Lesson Topic/Title: Math Hunt

Author: Kristie Korth and Kristy Bahr (Lesson Plan by Kelly Burns and Kristy Bahr)

Introduction:

Content Area(s) and Grade Level: Math for the 4th Grade

Standard: STANDARD 5: Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability. The students pose questions and collect, organize, and represent data to answer those questions; interpret data using methods of exploratory data analysis; develop and evaluate inferences, predictions, and arguments that are based on data; understand and apply basic notions of chance and probability. 4.4.3 – By the end of fourth grade, students will analyze, compare, and solve problems with geometric figures using congruence, symmetry, similarity, and simple transformations. 4.5.1 – By the end of the fourth grade,

students will collect, organize, represent and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly communicate the findings.

Integrated disciplines: Math, Technology, Science, and Social Studies.

Objectives: The students will: 1. Learn basic internet research skills. 2. Explore topics from the 5-8 science and social studies curriculum. 3. Practice problem-solving skills from the 5-8 math curriculum.

4. Use interactive online forms.

Materials/Technologies: Paper, Pen/pencils, computer with the internet. Other possible materials include Scholastic DynaMath, The Best of DynaMath, Number Sense, and Math Shop. Also the MathHunt activity.

Procedures

Springboard: We will begin by asking them, "What types of things can you find on the internet?"

Then we will tell them that they are going to be doing research on one of the topics on the list, of their choice.

What teacher is to do: The teacher will pair up the students, tell them what they are expected to do, and get them to the activity on the computer.

What students are to do: The students are to pick a math topic from the given list and do research on it. They will then answer the problems given to them by the program, while keeping notes that they will be able to look back on for later reference. They will follow the prompts as instructed until the end of the lesson or until they have answered every question on the hunt.

Closure: Each student will give their scores to the teacher to record. As a class, there will be a discussion as to which one the students found easy and which ones they found hard. They will give each other feedback if the students have differing opinions, and helpful hints as to things that could be done better the next time.

Assessment: In each of the Math Hunt problems, there is built-in assessment tools; problem scoring. Each of the hunts include 5 math problems. Each of the problems that are answered correctly on the first try will receive 20 points. If the first try is incorrect, they will receive a helpful hint, and 15 points on a correct answer. If the second answer is incorrect, they will receive helpful information on how to do the problem correctly.

Explanation: This activity is an example of a Scavenger Hunt at the Scholastic site. This activity has already been created at

http://teacher.scholastic.com/mathhunt/skill.asp. This activity requires the students to work in groups, pick a math topic from the given list, do research on the topic, and answer problems about the topic. We will use this activity as a means of using technology to do research. We chose this activity because it looks like a fun activity that has a lot of topics the students can chose from. This activity also provides assessment

problems about the research the students go through. By the students completing this activity, they will find more information about math concepts and how it can relate to real life.

Merryellen Towey Schulz, Ph.D. College of Saint Mary Spring, 2000

*A Special Thanks goes to Graphics by Grandma George www.geocites.com/heartland/meadows/7597 and www.hoxie.org/clipart for the graphics.