Assignments for MATH 3242

Spring 2010

 

Date

Assignment

Wed, Jan 6

Carefully read the syllabus—pay attention to the linked pages. 

 

Read pages 498-506 (stop at “Back to the Greeks”).  Reflect on the activities presented and bring any questions of comments about your reading to class Monday.

 

Put a copy of the Georgia Performance Standards for Mathematics for Grades K-5 in your binder so that you will always have a copy for class.  If you need to print a copy, you can find the Standards at http://www.georgiastandards.org/ 

 

Check out these 2 websites for excellent resources:

·         Georgia Mathematics Frameworks at http://www.georgiastandards.org/mathframework.aspx --this site consists of the units that are used to teach the Georgia Performance Standards

·         NCTM Illuminations at http://illuminations.nctm.org/ --this site contains SO many excellent lessons and activities for teaching mathematics

 

Membership in the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (GCTM) is free for students who have never taught.  If you are not a member go to http://www.gctm.org, fill out the application, and submit it electronically.

 

Your Geometry Autobiography should be submitted through Vista as an attachment by Monday, Jan 11, 5:00 PM.

 

Each journal entry is due by noon each Monday beginning Monday, January 18 and continuing through Monday, April 26.  You will have at least 14 entries (none due for week following Spring Break). 

Mon, Jan 11

Finish reading section 8.1--pages 506-517. Work problem 3 on page 518.

Click here for a handout of the PPT slides dealing with why you should study geometry.

The Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences published “The Mathematical Education of Teachers.” Chapter 3 of this document gives recommendations for elementary teacher preparation. Click here to access Chapter 3.

Wed, Jan 13

Here is the link to the information on the Fibonacci sequence:
http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html

Homework for Wed: Page 518/ 1, 4, 5, 6, 7

Wed, Jan 20 Do problem 8 on page 519. Be sure to review parts of lines, parallel and perpendicular lines, etc.
Wed, Jan 27

Review how to use a protractor.
Practice estimating the size of angles using the game Banana Hunt found at http://www.classbrain.com/artgames/publish/banana_angles_hunt.shtml

Use "Get the Turtle to the Pond" to practice using angles to create turns. This website can be found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L396

Mon, Feb 1

Turtle Geometry Assignment This assignment gives you practice with Turtle Geometry on the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) website.

The Banana Hunt and Turtle Geometry assignment can be found here. The assignment is due as an attached document through Vista by Monday, Feb 8 at 12:30 PM. The assignment is worth 10 points--1 point for being on time, 2 pts for technical writing, 7 pts determined by the degree to which you have answered the questions and conveyed your investigation of the websites.

HW--page 519/ 8f, 8g, 9, 11(b-e)
Read pages 526-530

Wed, Feb 3

The Banana Hunt and Turtle Geometry assignment is due Monday at 12:30 through Vista.

Here is the template for the Alpha-Shapes--there are 26 shapes.
Be sure you have read pages 526-530.
On pages 555--- do problems: 1,2,3,9,10
Here is a handout on polygons.
Here is the Concept sheet for Test 1.

MATH 3242B: you will need to finish the Alpha Shape activity that was begun in class.

Mon, Feb 8 Test 1 will be Wed.
Mon, Feb 15

Revisit the definitions of the special quadrilaterals (pages 539-540).
Revisit how to classify triangles by their sides and by their angles (pages 531-532).

Do problem 4 on page 555. Be able to justify your thinking.

Investigate the following problem and be prepared to explain how you thought about it:
The lengths of two sides of a triangle are 5 and 11. If the length of the third side is also a whole number, what are the smallest and largest possible perimeters that the triangle can have?

Pentomino assignment for Monday.
Polyomino Paper


Wed, Feb 17

Pentomino assigment--Find all the different shapes that can be made with 5 congruent squares. Each square must share at least one complete side with another square, and when two squares touch, they must touch along a complete side. Record these shapes (called penominoes) on the Polyomino Paper.

Read carefully the information on pages 522-523 about the van Hiele levels of geometric thinking. On which van Hiele level do you believe you are?

Do these problems on pages 555-557/ 6, 10, 12, 15, 16,21

Mon, Feb 22

Pentominoes; Pentomino Table; Pentomino Activities

Read page 650 (beginning of section 10.1) to review the process of measuring.

Remember: We found that all 12 pentominoes had the same area; however, the P pentomino had a perimeter of 10 whereas the other 11 pieces had a perimeter of 12 (using the length of the side of a square as the unit of length). Thus, we concluded that 2 shapes can have the same area but have different perimeters---A BIG IDEA!!!!

Wed, Feb 24

Relating the Kinds of Quadrilaterals (handout from class)

Quiz Wednesday over triangles and quadrilaterals.

Mon, Mar 1

Quiz Wednesday over triangles and quadrilaterals.

HW: Investigate the problem "Sum of the Interior Angles of a Polygon".

Mosaic Puzzle It is a good idea to run the mosaic on card stock; then laminate and cut it out. Complete this for Monday.

Read the article,"Geometry Must Be Vital." It is in the Readings folder of Vista. This is the article on which you are to write a paper. I will post the guidelines for the paper by tomorrow.

 

Wed, Mar 3

Questions for the "Geometry Must Be Vital" reading.

 

Mon, Mar 8

Do the problem, How Many Dots?, for homework.

 

Wed, Mar 10

Choose the correct assignment, depending on whether or not you were in class on Wed, March 10. If you were present, choose Assignment A. If you were absent, choose Assignment B.

Assignment A: If you were in class on Wed, March 10, then your assignment is:
Reflecting on Circumference --to be submitted through Vista by noon on Tuesday, March 16.

Assignment B: If you missed class on Wed, March 10, then your assignment is:
Reflecting on Circumference--to be submitted through Vista by noon on Tuesday, March 16.

 

 

Mon, Mar 15

Exploring Circumference--work these 5 problems for Wednesday. We will discuss these in class.

Go to the website http://www.mathsnet.net/geometry/solid/index.html
and work through the activites on this site that are listed below. Although you may do the activites in whatever order you choose, an order that seems reasonable to me is:
Rotating Houses, Cube Houses, Building Houses 1, Rotating Views, Guess the View, Views 1, Views 2
You should spend sufficient time working through these activities to strengthen your visualization skills. Remember that you want to predict the answer before checking the answer with the computer.

Recall: Two shapes can have the same perimeter but different areas (as illustrated by the area of the garden problem).
Two shapes can have the same area but different perimeters (as illustrated by the pentominoes).
Thus, perimeter and area are independent concepts--one cannot be used to predict the other!

When the unit of measure gets larger, the number of units gets smaller.
When the unit of measure gets smaller, the number of units gets bigger.

Wed, March 17

With a single cut, divide each of the Crazy Cakes into 2 pieces of the same size--the 2 pieces do not have to be congruent. Be sure you can justify that the two pieces represent the same amount of cake.

Information about drawings on dot paper:
Grid and Dot Paper can be found at this site. It is a good site to add to your favorites.
If you are having trouble drawing shapes on isometric dot paper, you may want to visit the site Three-dimensional shapes on dot paper. It shows views on not only isometric dot paper but square dot paper as well. Another useful site is http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/oaklandes/mathstudentworkpages/gr2un2page3.html

The NCTM Illuminations site has an excellent lesson, Using Cubes and Isometric Drawings, that deals with isometric drawings and views of buildings. You can find it at
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=U166
Be sure to notice the Isometric Drawing Tool that can be found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=125

Test 2 Concept Sheet Test 2 is Wednesday, March 24.

Mon, Mar 22

Directions for Geometry in Our World project

Test 2 is Wednesday, March 24.

Mon, Mar 29

The case studies for you to read have been placed in the Readings folder on Vista. The document is titled: "Case Studies on Shape". There are questions on the last page for you to consider--you do not have to write up formal responses to turn in.

Read pages 559-566 in the textbook.

Wed, Mar 31

The task from NCTM Illuminations is Geometric Solids and Their Properties at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=U122 You should explore Lessons 1 and 2. The directions for this task are very clear (you hold down the shift key to paint a face, a vertex, or an edge).

Measurement activities:
Personal Benchmarks
Measuring Length with Strips

 

Mon, April 12 Handout on Measurement Process
Wed, April 14 Homework on English and Metric Systems of Measurement
Mon, April 19

Homework: Find the area of each geoboard figure on this handout--click here.

Information about geoboard activities:
The website Geoboard Area I may be helpful to you--be sure to visit More Geoboard Areas that is also linked off the main page. WARNING: I disagree with his statement, "The size of our shape has never changed, but its area has." What do you think about his statement?

Here is another good website for activities with geoboards: http://mathforum.org/trscavo/geoboards/

Information about the "Geometry in our World" project:

  • RUBRIC FOR GEOMETRY IN OUR WORLD PROJECT--This is the rubric I will use to evaluate your project and presentation.
  • Links to the Peer and Self Assessment Rubric for the geometry project are given below. The rubric is in two parts; the first part is a description of the categories and the second part is a table on which you can record your assessment of yourself and your group members based on these descriptions (see links below). Complete the table for your group and give it to me on or before the last day of class.
    Description of Categories
    Table
  • Your grade for the project will be determined by my evaluation and the input I get from you and your peers about your contribution to the project.
  • Upload your project into LiveText no later than Friday, April 30.
Wed, April 21

Problems that deal with symmetry: Pages 630-632 /1-5, 8, 10, 12-14

Information about cross sections:
Cross Section Gallery can be found at http://www.thinkingfountain.org/gallery/crossgallery/crossgallery.html

Name that candy bar (based on its cross section) http://www.thinkingfountain.org/c/crosssection/namethatbar.html

An interactive activity for the cross sections of a cube can be found at http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/learningmath/geometry/session9/part_c/index.html

The following 2 websites are good reviews of 3-D shapes. http://online.math.uh.edu/MiddleSchool/Modules/Module_3_Measurement/Content/Solids,Nets,andCrossSections-TEXT.pdf
http://www.islamiclanguage.net/DIY53d.swf

Mon, April 26

Final exam concept sheet