Attached is a learning progression and lesson plan for the common core state standards for mathematics cluster “Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems” under the domain Quantities. The lesson plan includes an interactive activity for students which involves measuring physical objects and making decision about different units.
Author: martizjus
Learning Progression-An Introduction to Functions
Attached is a learning progression and lesson plan over the first cluster in the domain Interpreting Functions of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The cluster is titled, “understand the concept of a functions and use function notation”. This learning progression is intended for an Algebra 2 course in High School, and would take place near the beginning of the year/course. The attached lesson plan includes planning and an activity for the first standard in the cluster. Also, there is a quiz included in the lesson plan that serves as a benchmark assessment for the standard.
Khan Academy: The Math Teacher’s Aid
The Khan Academy is a great website resource that can be utilized by anyone. The website contains a seemingly infinite amount of videos on virtually every aspect of mathematics. Humorously, I learned of this resource today in a class for my major. Recently, the website has improved drastically. This resource will allow teachers to monitor students in their high school classrooms, and use this website as a teaching aid. Khan Academy actually allows an instructor to have a virtual classroom that their students can join. The instructors are known as “coaches” to the students in their classroom, and they can monitor their progress.
Here is a link to the website: https://www.khanacademy.org
Ideally, this resource could be used to supplement the instruction in a high school mathematics course. I think Khan Academy would be most effective in helping students who are struggling. For example, if a student misses multiple days of instruction, or falls behind for any particular reason, an instructor could assign videos on Khan Academy. The student could access the videos at home, and potentially get caught up in class.
For example, if a student misses a vital day of instruction in an Algebra class, they can watch a video at home that covers the material. Further, if an instructor knows a student will be absent, they can assign Khan Academy videos for the student to watch beforehand. This will prevent the student from falling behind, and serve as a very effective teaching aid.
Specifically, a student could miss a day of instruction covering the factoring of quadratics to discover the zeros of the function. This concept is addressed in the CCSS for mathematics and the specific standard title is: A-SSE.3a. In this scenario, the instructor could provide a video on Khan Academy that they know will surely express the concept well.
For this specific situation, this video would suffice: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/quadratics/factoring_quadratics/v/Example%204:%20Solving%20a%20quadratic%20equation%20by%20factoring
In summary, Khan Academy is an excellent resource for mathematics teachers, and mathematics students.