Length and Area, Capacity, Volume, Mass, Time and Angles, Week 9

Hello Everyone,

Katic, K (2015)©. Bluffers Park.

Welcome back to my math blog! I know that these past few weeks my posts have taken on a redundant pattern, Background from the Small Textbook, Curriculum Expectations and Fun Games, however I feel that this pattern is important to stick with for the fact of cohesiveness.

So here we go! As I have always said, it is important to get breaks from studying in order to clear your head. I did just that this week. My lovely sister and I went to one of my favourite spots in the whole world, and needless to say, it helped inspire my math photo word problem and clear my mind.

Katic, K (2015)©. Math Photo Word Problem.

This week, we have been involved in a discussion regarding length and area, and perimeter. The math activities taught in class were great! They really gave us some great activities to try with our own students. For example, my instructor wanted to get us up and moving, so we needed to all participate in a long jump activity in order to understand measurement and distance travelled. This is reaffirmed by the Small textbook, as it states that teachers generally move through three stages of measurement, in this order, Definition/Comparison, Nonstandard Units and Standard Units (Small, 2013: 414). Remember, we do live in Canada so anything discussed in measurement uses the metric system! Additionally, capacity, volume and mass are all measurements that are attached to 3D objects (see my Week 8 blog), so it is critical to understand 3D objects completely before moving onto this unit.

In regards to the Ontario Curriculum, Geometry and Spatial sense is particularly important for students to understand as it requires students to holistically understand the world around them. As such, by having a strong foundation of understanding spatial relations, it allows students to have a deeper understanding of number sense and numeration. The best way for students to develop spatial sense is through practice of visualizing, drawing, and comparing shapes and figures in various positions (Ontario Curriculum, p.9).

En Garde Math Game (2015).

Design a Party Math Game (2015).

The first math game that I found to be particularly amusing is called En Garde Geometry: Surface Areas, Perimeters. The objective of this game is rather simple, as it asks the player a question related to the topic and if the student gets the answer right, they get to attack their opponent! I like the theme and purpose of this game as students get a "reward" for choosing the correct answer. This math game supports Grade 4 level within the Math Curriculum.

The second math game Design a Party also supports Grade 4 level within the Math Curriculum. Students must understand the concept of perimeter and area completely for this game. The objective is to represent a variety of squares according to the math word problem at the side. If the student gets three "check it"'s wrong, then they will automatically have to start a new game. If students get the answer right they're prompted with a cheer, then they move onto the next puzzle.

I hope that this post has been useful for the readers, next week I'll be discussing some more interesting math topics so be sure to leave your questions or comments below. Keep warm, the weather has been very unpredictable...but it makes for some amazing photos!

References 
Katic, K (2015). Math Photo Word Problem 
math4children (2015). En Garde Geometry: Surface Area, Perimeters. Retrieved from http://www.math4children.com/Grade4/games/Geometry/geometry/ 
Math Play Ground (2015). Design a Party. Retrieved from http://www.mathplayground.com/PartyDesigner/PartyDesigner.html 
Ontario. (2005). The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8. (6th Ed). Toronto: Ontario, Ministry of Education. 
Small, M. (2013). Chapter 16 and 17 In Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K-8. (2nd Ed.) Nelson Education. Toronto: Canada.