MS8+Activities+and+Resources


 * Questions**
 * 1) What kind of jobs would use these skills?
 * 2) How do we get kids to think critically?
 * 3) How do we get kids to think beyond the "right answer" and get them to problem solve?
 * 4) How do we divide up roles and organize them without squashing their creativity?
 * 5) How do we get kids to take responsibility and ownership?
 * 6) What community resources can we use to get the students excited and make the problems seem real to them?


 * Activities**
 * Google "math" jobs
 * Contact local businesses in the community, give them a list of skills and see how they use their skills in everyday
 * Ask specific people that we know work in mathematical fields and have them explain what skills they use in their jobs
 * Ask students to come up with a list of jobs that they would want. Have them research/talk to people in those fields (fields that they don't normally think use math) and find out when they use all those skills
 * Have students talk with parents about shopping, rent, car payments and have students actually come up with budgets
 * Question other teachers/email teachers from the video about what beginning activities they used to start their kids thinking critically. We know what the end looks like, what do we do to start?
 * Research theories for problem solving. Make a list of the different systems. Try different systems.
 * We need to remind ourselves and each other that student's thought processes are different and we need to be more excepting and let them show us different ways to get the answer.
 * Have staff developments and discussions about what works/what doesn't and get teachers collaborating.
 * Have students share how they do their work, so that other students can see multiple paths. Also builds students self-esteem and understanding.
 * Figure out what roles are necessary in groupwork (facilitator, presenter, recorder, etc.) so that students have an idea of how to organize their group.
 * Research and find videos (teacher tube) that will help us show the students how other schools and students have formed groups and problem solved (get them excited and see success)
 * Create/find problems that have more than one right answer.
 * Compile logic puzzles, brain teasers, inferences resources.
 * Develop real-world scenarios where the students can think and problem solve that doesn't have an answer.
 * Find activities like "lost on a dessert island" where their is no right answer, but it's about collaboration and how the items work together that make the best combination. If they can justify why then they are right. Someone else may be right too.
 * Go through those scenarios as a teacher first so that we know the struggles of working together.
 * Research productive talk/talk moves and PRACTICE them with the children, so that we as teachers become better at it and the students become better at it. "Do you agree or disagree? Why? Revoice what s/he just said?"
 * Look up jobs the kids want and find out the requirements
 * Have a business person come in and explain all the requirements of their job and what they're looking for in a prospective employee, have the students prepare for an interview, and have that person come back and conduct some interviews
 * View videos of groupwork that describes the process.
 * Give students a problem: holiday shopping, use the ads/coupons and figure out how much everything's going to cost/what a better deal is
 * Design your dream house: given a budget, figure out how much everything is going to cost, how much material you need...
 * Compile a list of internships/programs that students can get involved in
 * Ask upper level math students how they learned something and made connections, how they still use those skills


 * Resources**
 * **Use the ones we have right at our finger tips! Each other! April Banks, Instructional Coaches, and other Teachers**
 * http://www.bis.gov/oco - Occupational Outlook Handbook - can search jobs that include math skills
 * http://www.cherrylakepublishing.com/subjects/18-math
 * http://www.integratelearning.org/Lesson%20Bank/GloriaILearn/lessontemplate.pdf - help to write crosss-curicular lesson plans
 * http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/ae/php/phil/mclaughl/courses/ethics/bioeth/dilemmas.htm - dilemma questions for students to practice critical thinking.
 * Books - Kagan Cooperative Learning - the book is "Classroom Building". Has several pages with dilemma questions. Kagan also has a book or books about assigning roles during activities in the classroom, there is a book with punch-out role cards that explain the responsibilities of each role in the group.
 * http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/using-technology-to-motivate-middle-school-students - article on motivating middle school students.
 * http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/episodes.php - 10 episodes taking 5 students through the process of group work
 * http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/MathJobs.html - list of jobs that use math
 * http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/math/sport.html - students that want to be professional athletes - shows them why they need math
 * http://www.nsa.gov/academia/_files/collected_learning/elementary/fractions/real_world_fractions.pdf - lesson plan activities - recipes, money, etc.
 * http://realworldconnections.net/default.aspx - a FREE internship for middle school and high school students at New Jersey Science and Technology Institute
 * http://www.mathnotes.com/nos_index.html - excellent resource. household budget, college costs, national debt, cooking, survey statistics
 * http://www.springerlink.com/content/lx36jh65500033l4/ - Journal article surveying 62 teachers and observing 5 classroom teachers on teaching real-world connections