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Jay Brown - EDU 6502 – Summer 06

Case Studies – Integrating Technology

Summary of instructions: Assume the role of technology coordinator and brainstorm ideas together with a classroom teacher for integrating technology into a particular subject area. Suggest hardware, software, and how it may assist differentiated instruction.

Case Study Five

Grade: Sixth

Population: Heterogeneous class

Topic: Geometric figures

Skills/Objective: Identify geometric figures

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) skills for Grades 6-8:

• Understand relationships among the angles, side lengths, perimeters, areas, and volumes of similar objects.
• Use coordinate geometry to represent and examine the properties of geometric shapes.
• Describe sizes, positions, and orientations of shapes under informal transformations such as flips, turns, slides, and scaling.
• Draw geometric shapes with specified properties, such as side lengths or angle measures.

Differentiated Instruction/Brainstorm: The teacher and the technology coordinator will develop a project-based learning activity for students to use geometric figures to solve problems and create authentic tessellations. Students will work in groups of two in a computer lab setting and will be required to share and discuss projected images of completed problems and artwork with the class.

Procedure: 

1. Students will learn to use Terrepin Logo to draw triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, and other polygons. Students will demonstrate knowledge of how to create each shape by using this formula:

REPEAT # OF SIDES [FD 100 RT 360/# OF SIDES]

Students will calculate area (side squared, length x width, base x height…), and perimeter (sum of all sides) of each shape created in Logo.

2. Students will solve all of the problems from the Virtual Manipulative Pattern Blocks, and Geoboard, activities from Utah State University for students 6-8 to examine properties and understand relationships between shapes under numerous transformations.

3. Students will use books such as Introduction to Tessellations (Britton & Seymour) and Creative Puzzles of the World (Botermans & Van Delft), and will also explore Web sites such as Tessellations.org and What is a Tessellation? from the Math Forum of Drexel University to gain an understanding of the relationship between geometry and art.

4. Students will be required to create two tessellations that use at least two different geometric shapes. One tessellation must be created using the PC Logo program, and one tessellation must be created using the Virtual Manipulative Tessellation activity from Utah State University.

5. Students will print their tessellations which will be displayed in the classroom.

Hardware: 20 computers in lab setting with color laser printer and a Teamboard with projector.

Software: Microsoft Explorer, Terrapin Logo.

References

Annal, D. (2006). Tessellations.org. http://www.tessellations.org/index.htm. Available: August

2006.

Botermans, J. & Van Delft, P. (1995). Creative Puzzles of the World. Berkley, California. Key

Curriculum Press.

Britton, J. & Seymour D. (1989). Introduction to Tessellations. Palo Alto, California. Dale

Seymour Publications.

Drexel University. (2006) Math Forum: What is a Tessellation?

http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/whattess.html. Available: August 2006.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Geometry Standards for Grades 6-8

http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter6/geom.htm. Available: August, 2006.

Shodor Foundation: Pattern Blocks

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_171_g_3_t_3.html?open=activities. Available: August,

2006.

Shodor Foundation, Inc. Floor Tiles.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/quadtess/index.html. Available: August,

2006.

Terrapin Software (2006). Terrapin Logo. http://www.terrapinlogo.com/. Available: August,

2006.

Utah State University (2006). Virtual Manipulatives – Geoboard – Coordinate.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_303_g_3_t_3.html?open=activities. Available: August, 2006.

Utah State University (2006). Virtual Manipulatives – Pattern Blocks.

            http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_171_g_3_t_3.html?open=activities. Available:

August, 2006.

Utah State University (2006). Virtual Manipulatives – Tessellations.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_163_g_3_t_3.html?open=activities. Available:

August, 2006.