MColetti

Text #1: ** these two texts will be used together in one lesson. //The Greedy Triangle// and the online matching game both deal with the geometric names of polygons, so they will also be used together in a lesson on naming shapes. R–6–3.2: Selecting appropriate words or explaining the use of words in context, including content specific vocabulary, words with multiple meanings, or precise vocabulary (State) R-6-8.1: Connecting information //within// a text or //across// texts (State) R-6-14.2: Reading from a wide range of genres/kinds of text, __including primary and secondary sources,__ and a variety of authors (e.g., literary, informational, and practical/functional texts) (Local)
 * Context for using the text set: ** This text set collection is intended for use in a 6th grade Geometry class. It is intended for use at a school in which the students have access to computers. The unit of study is various angles and their relationships to different polygons. This text set will be used to help students build on their prior knowledge of shapes. It will give them a number of places to practice their understanding of topics being taught in school, and also places where they can find answers outside of the classroom to problems they may be struggling with. The ability level of the students will vary, but they should have a basic understanding of polygons and angles before beginning this class.
 * A. Print Resources:
 * Citation: Hoffer, A. R., Leinwand, S. J., Musser, G. L., Johnson, M. L., Lodholz, R. D., & Thoburn, T. (1992). //Mathematics in action.// New York, NY: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Company.
 * Text Summary: This text is a 6th grade Mathematics textbook that will be used throughout the year on a daily basis. This will be the primary source of information for the students throughout the course.
 * Rationale: I selected this textbook because it contains sections on all the topics to be taught in a 6th grade Mathematics class. It contains an informative section on geometry with easy to follow instructions and quality problems, which will be useful in connection with the other texts in this collection.
 * Use of text: This textbook will be used to orchestrate the daily classroom lessons. For this lesson on geometry dealing with shapes and angles, I will start by explaining the main concepts of the chapters while the students read along with their own textbooks. We will then go over several of the practice problems included in the chapter, which will give students the opportunity to ask questions in order to gain a deeper understanding.
 * Attachment: This text is over 500 pages so it is not included.
 * Text #2: **
 * Citation: Mitchell, R. (2000). //Contemporary’s number theory: Pre-Algebra.// Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books.
 * Text Summary: This text is a reference book containing several chapters on Pre-Algebra. The chapters begin with step-by-step instructions on how to solve problems and then give several problems for the students to solve to check their understanding. Students can check their answers in the back of the book to see if they were correct or incorrect.
 * Rationale: I selected this text because it has a number of good practice problems and gives students step-by-step instructions on how to solve the problems.
 * Use of text: This text will be used in and out of the classroom. It will be used to complement the textbook students will be using on a daily basis in the classroom. I will assign some of the practice problems in this book for homework rather than using the textbook problems alone.
 * Attachment: See attachment #1 for a five-page sample of this text. The entire text is over 200 pages, so it is not included.
 * Text #3: **
 * Citation: Leff, L. F. (1990). //Geometry the easy way.// Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
 * Text Summary: This text is a geometry reference book that provides students with an in depth description on topics they are learning in class. This text includes directions on how to solve problems they will be facing throughout their geometry course, and also offers practice problems.
 * Rationale: Some textbooks are quite difficult for students to understand, but this book gives extensive but easy to follow descriptions on a number of geometry topics. Many of the sections contain several definitions of terms that are crucial to understanding the material. Using this text along with their textbook and the other texts in this collection will be beneficial to students’ understanding of the material.
 * Use of text: There are several examples throughout this text that ask students to prove a given statement. I will use some of these problems by first performing a proof for the students by showing them the necessary steps to prove that a given statement is true. They will then be asked to prove another given statement by providing geometric statements they know to be true. By presenting a number of statements, students will finally come to the conclusion that a given statement is either true or false.
 * Attachment: See attachment #2 for a four-page sample of this text. The entire text is 362 pages, so it is not included.
 * Text #4: **
 * Citation: Conrad, S. & Flegler, D. (2006). //Geometry.// Retrieved on October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is a website containing a number of in depth descriptions of basic terms and concepts used in geometry class. The homepage contains six links the students can click on that will bring them to a page describing these terms and providing examples.
 * Rationale: I chose this website because it is an easily accessible place for students to find definitions to basic geometric terms, and view several examples.
 * Use of text: This text will be used in the classroom. I will give students the opportunity to explore the website themselves for a given amount of time. During this time they will have the freedom to gain information on any concept they are having difficulty with. I will be walking around the classroom available to help the students browse the website and answer any questions they may have.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view this website.
 * Text #5: **
 * Citation: Burns, M. (1994). //The greedy triangle.// New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
 * Text Summary: This text is a children’s trade book describing the life of a triangle. The triangle becomes dissatisfied with its’ shape and visits a ‘shapeshifter’ to be changed into different polygons by adding one more angle and one more side each time.
 * Rationale: I selected this text because it relates the shapes students will be learning in their geometry class to the real world. Throughout the book, they can see the different shapes as they appear in various places and will likely start noticing all the shapes around them everyday, making their geometry class more relevant to them.
 * Use of text: This text will be used at the beginning of the course to introduce students to different polygons and their associated number of angles and sides. I will start by reading the book aloud to the students and then ask them to identify shapes around the classroom by their geometric name.
 * Attachment: This is a 32 page book, so it is not included here.
 * B. Media Resources **
 * Text #6: **
 * Citation: Popovici, D. (2007). //Measuring angles.// Retrieved on October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is an informative online video explaining how to use a protractor to find an angle’s measurement. The narrator uses a visual of a protractor and describes each necessary step to find the angle.
 * Rationale: I selected this text because it will help students understand how to use a protractor in order to find the measurement of an angle. This website is useful because it not only has a video, but also has written instructions on how to use a protractor. Finding angles with a protractor is a concept geometry students must be able to perform.
 * Use of text: To use this text, I would first ask students to watch the video in the classroom. After watching the video, I would then give students a worksheet with varying angles and ask them to find the measurement of those angles using a protractor.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view the text.
 * Text #7: **
 * Citation: Yourteachermathhelp. (2008, April 28). //Geometry proofs – two column proofs [Video file].// Retrieved October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is an informational video in which the narrator proves the congruency of two angles. The narrator uses four principles of geometry to prove that two angles are congruent to one another.
 * Rationale: I selected this text because it complements the reference book //Geometry the Easy Way.// As stated earlier, one usage of //Geometry the Easy Way// is to show students how to perform geometric proofs. The video provides an example of a geometric proof that students at this level should be able to perform.
 * Use of text: To use this text, I will first start by giving the students a worksheet that resembles the picture in the video. I will ask them to try proving the statement themselves before watching the video to see how the narrator proved the congruency.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view the text.
 * C. Online interactive resources **
 * Text #8: **
 * Citation: Pierce, R. (2007). //Angles//. Retrieved October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is an interactive website the students can access and use to find out different facts about angles. There are also links at the bottom of the website where students can access other areas of information.
 * Rationale: I chose this text because it is a fun way for the students to get involved in learning. Rather than simply sitting in class being lectured to on what an angle is, they will be able to play around with this website and find out for themselves.
 * Use of text: This text is to be incorporated into an anticipation guide used in class. I will give the students a list of statements that they will either agree or disagree with. They will then use this website to look for the answers and check whether they were correct or incorrect.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view the website.
 * Text #9: **
 * Citation: NA. (2008). //Polygon matching game.// Retrieved October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is an online memory matching game where students are asked to match the definition of a shape to its corresponding pictures by flipping over cards. If the answer is incorrect, the cards are flipped back over and the student must remember what is under them. However if the student is correct, the cards remain right side up. The game is timed, and the time stops once the student has flipped over all of the cards.
 * Rationale: I selected this game because I believe it is a fun and effective way for students to learn shapes by their geometric name. Because the students do not know where the answers are at first, they must continually turn over the cards, forcing them to see the names a number of times. This will help them remember the names of different geometric shapes.
 * Use of text: After a lesson in which students are taught the geometric names of shapes, I will give them a chance to play this online game. I will have them each play twice, and the student with the fastest time combined will receive some sort of prize.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view the game.
 * D. Instructional Resources **
 * Text #10: **
 * Citation: Rousseau, K. [n.d.] //Classifying and constructing corners.// Retrieved on October 16, 2009 from []
 * Text Summary: This text is an extensive and detailed geometry lesson plan on classifying and defining different types of angles.
 * Rationale: I chose this lesson plan because it provides several examples on how to teach students a lesson on angles. It also provides ideas for student activities and links to other geometry lesson plans. It is an organized and detailed plan that provides several ideas for the development of my own lesson plan. It is crucial to show students in a math class how the concepts learned in class connect to the real world, and this lesson plan contains attachments with examples connecting geometry to such things as building a house.
 * Use of text: This text will not be used directly in the classroom, but will be a reference for myself when developing different lesson plans. Some of the attached activities and worksheets will be incorporated into my lesson plan.
 * Attachment: Click on the link above to view the lesson plan.
 * Using these texts together in the classroom: ** This list of texts will be used over a course of several weeks in my geometry class. The texts will be used together to help students retain the most knowledge about polygons and their angles. Each of the texts will be used at least once, and all students will be required to be involved. The only text that will not be used directly by the students is the Lesson Plan, //Classifying and Constructing Corners.// Some of the texts will be used to teach the students the material, while others will be used in order for them to practice their knowledge and understanding of the material. Because students will have access to computers in school, all online texts will be done within the school day. //Geometry the Easy Way// and the YouTube video both use the same concept of proofs, so
 * Learning Objectives: **
 * Content Area: ** At the end of this section, students will be able to identify and describe various polygons and their varying angles. Students will also be able to identify and describe the different types of angles and their relationships to one another. (M(G&M)-6-1)
 * Reading Strategy: ** Students will use the different texts selected to solve math problems by making connections across the texts to generate a deeper understanding and build on their prior knowledge base of math specific vocabulary.

Being an English major, any kind of math scares me, but after reading your text set I feel that you have created a wide range of sources to help people like me, who are horrible at math =) - Using the children's book is a great way to get 6th graders, who are not yet young adults, interested in math. By reading them this book, they can see that math can be found in many different places, and can be used in a story book as well as a text book. - The "Math is Fun" interactive website is a great tool for students to leave their textbooks and look at something else involving math. Being online, it is easily accessible for students and is interactive, so they can click around and not just sit and stare. -The interactive memory game is also a GREAT tool for getting students to remember their shapes. There is a lot of material that students need to know in geometry and a game is an effective way for them to learn. Both these online sources I feel would be really helpful for students because understanding math is hard enough, and when students only look at a textbook it can become frustrating and boring.
 * MIKAELA:**

I think you did a greattt job on this!

Jenna =)

Mikaela:

Very well done. As an English major as well, I represent the kind of student you would have who would be bewildered in most math classes, but it looks as though you've taken precautions to make your class accessible to all kinds of learners. While I would probably be intimidated by a 500-page textbook, a 200-page reference book, and another 360-page reference book, from the descriptions I see that they are of differing levels of difficulty. I would probably be pretty comforted by a book called "Geometry the Easy Way!" I also think that the children's book, as well as your planned lesson connecting it to reality, will be useful in helping students to see geometry in their own lives. Finally, I think the use of an interactive game would be an unstressful, interesting way for students to review their comprehension of the different types of polygons. Overall, nice work.

-- John Holmes

Mikaela, As the english majors who commented before me, I as well, was not the best in math. I remember in high school how the textbook directions would never help me if I was stuck on something. But the fact that you will go over it in class and then provide the Contemporary's Number Theory text for practice questions is awesome! I also like the fact of how students can go to the back of book to check correct answers. The text, Geometry the Easy Way, sounds great, the title says it all. Also, the book is from the town I grew up in, Hauppauge, NY so it must be good! ;) I love how you provided a picture book into your text set because not only does it connect to real life, but it's also a nice break from textbooks. I don't think any math teacher in my high school used one. The matching web game sounds fun too because it gives students a chance to review the material, but in a different, more attractive way than just practicing problems out of a book. Overall, you did an awesome job! I wish I had a math teacher like you in high school; I might have had a different outlook on math! :)

-Christina