Author Archives: AnnMaria De Mars

Scrambled states: Ag in math

📖 Standard

NGSS 4-LS1-1: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.4 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot,

⏰ Time

3-4 hours over 4-5 sessions. The data collection will need to be completed at least two weeks after the seeds are planted.

📲 Technology Required

No technology is required. Students may use Jamboard for line plots and Google docs for word journals, but both of these activities can also be done on paper.

📃 Summary

Teachers read an age appropriate book about plants and record new vocabulary in their personal dictionary. The teacher or student selects an agriculture activity from the booklet More Scrambled States of Agriculture. Garden in a glove is one recommended activity. Students collect and record data on the number of days until germination, showing the results in one more more line plots.

📚 Lesson

It is recommended that this lesson follow the Scrambled States: Ag in Language Arts unit.

Read an age appropriate book about plants.

Both the lesson plan for Garden in a Glove and More Scrambled States of Agriculture booklet have several recommendations for age appropriate books on plants in general or specific plants, like wheat. Teachers may wish to read the book aloud to the class, have students take turns reading aloud, either in groups or as a whole class, or assign to students to read on their own. I recommend 2-3 sessions of 15 minutes of read aloud or 20 minutes of independent reading.

Update Word Journals

Students should update their word journals, what some teachers refer to as a “personal dictionary”, with any new words from the book. If this is your students’ first experience using a word journal, you may wish to give them this Google doc to read or read it together as a class, “Creating your personal dictionary.“

Select an Agriculture Activity (1 hour)

Garden in a glove lesson plan, found here, is my favorite and it could relate to almost any book on the list. You need:

Food prep gloves – 1 for each student – that you can probably get from your school cafeteria,
A bag of cotton balls
5 different packs of seeds
A marker

Soak the cotton balls in water, put 3-5 seeds in each one and put five cotton balls, each with different seeds, in the five fingers of the glove. Don’t forget to write on each finger what is in it. Create a chart of the germination time for each type of seed. Read the lesson plan for more detail.

If Garden in a Glove doesn’t suit your needs, check More Scrambled States of Agriculture for ideas you might like better.

Ask students to generate hypotheses about how long it will take for the seeds to germinate, whether all the seeds will take the same amount of time (assuming you did Garden in a Glove).

Record your measurements

Students create either :

Create 5 line plot showing the number of seeds that germinated for each number of days, one plot for each type of seed, OR
Create one line plot with a different color used for each type of seed.

Ask the students whether their hypotheses were supported.

OPTIONAL: WATCH THIS VIDEO ON CREATING A LINE PLOT

If your students are not familiar with line plots, you may want to have them watch this seven-minute video which explains line plots step by step.

Now that students have watched the video and collected the data, their final task is to create two line plots of their results. Feel free to copy and paste the text below into your Google classroom or other assignment.

LINE PLOT ASSIGNMENT

OPTIONAL: IF STUDENTS ARE LEARNING ONLINE, THEY CAN USE JAMBOARD TO CREATE A LINE PLOT, AS SHOWN IN THE VIDEO BELOW.

Assessment

Three forms of assessment are included in this assignment.

In the personal dictionary or word journal, students are required to include a minimum of five words with definitions for 50 points. Each word, spelled correctly is 2 points and a correct definition is another 8 points. I deduct a point for grammar or spelling errors in the definition, but only one.
For the agriculture activity, this is simply pass/ fail marked as completed or not.
The line plots are scored based on accuracy. I give 10 points for each plot/ type of seed for a total of 50 points possible and another 10 points each for stating a hypothesis and answering whether or not it has been supported.

Scrambled States: Ag in Language Arts

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📖 Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

⏰ Time

Three to five hours total. We recommend spreading this lesson over 3 to 5 days.

📲 Technology Required

None required. Students may used a computer or mobile device to access the states’ page or to watch a video on the Scrambled States but these resources are also available in print.

📃 Summary

Teachers read The Scrambled States of America book, or have students read book or watch video. Students select a state from National Ag in the Classroom site and take notes on their state, including new vocabulary. Students read a book related to their state – link to a list is provided. Students complete a notes page and then use this page to write an informational essay.

📚 Lesson

Begin with The Scrambled States of America – book, audio book or video

Begin the lesson by reading the book The Scrambled States of America aloud to the class or you may play the audiobook in class along with the book (which I recommend). It’s very likely your public library has the audiobook available for free download. Students learning at home can download the audio book on to a phone or tablet. If you prefer, you can have students watch the video, in class or at home.

Students Select a State and Learn about its Agriculture

National Ag in the Classroom site has an agricultural facts sheet for every state. You can add this link to their assignment in Google classroom (or write it on the chalkboard – https://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/agfacts/ )

If your students don’t have access to devices or Internet, you can print out the 51 sheets (including the District of Columbia) here.

Update their Word Journals

As some of the words in the fact sheets may be new to fourth-graders, this is a great opportunity to update their word journals, what some teachers refer to as a “personal dictionary”. If this is your students’ first experience using a word journal, you may wish to give them this Google doc to read or read it together as a class, “Creating your personal dictionary.“

Read a Book Related to Agriculture in the State

Time required for this activity will vary depending on your students’ reading speed and choice of books. I recommend allotting 20 minutes per day over 2-3 days. If your school library does not have these available, you may be able to get from your public library. Also, remember, many public libraries have ebooks your students can read on any computer, tablet or phone. If you have not taken advantage of these services, now might be a great time to introduce them,

The Illinois Ag in the Classroom program has produced More Scrambled States of Agriculture a combination of agricultural fact sheets. reading list, agriculture science and art activities. Recognizing that students at a range of reading levels, books included range from Pre-K to grade 5-9 reading level, with reading levels listed next to each book. My favorite quote, from the book, “A Hog Ate My Homework.”

I would like to be a farmer when I grow up, because farming is easy!
They don’t need to go to school, because they just play in the dirt and ride around on ATVs. When it rains, they can just stay inside and play video games. When the sun comes back out, the corn just grows out of the ground by itself. In the fall, someone comes by, cuts it down, and gives the farmer a bunch of money. They use that money to buy candy and video games. The end.
– Willie

Take Notes

Since this is likely your students first experience with research, I recommend the “foldable notes” to help them prepare. All they need to do is fold a piece of paper in half, then fold it again and a third time so now they have eight boxes. You can also have them use a Google slide with 8 boxes but often students like the physical activity of creating their notes.

Next, label each of the 8 boxes.

Crops Livestock Farms Climate

Soil Interesting Book Quote

You can use the foldable notes example here since students almost always ask for an example. I recommend having students go back to the state agricultural fact sheet and the book and take notes after having done the reading. It’s not a bad habit to learn to re-read something for information you may have missed the first time.

Write a State of Agriculture Report

As this is likely to be the first informational essay students have written, I recommend providing students an example and sentence stems as prompts. You can find an example in this Google doc that uses the foldable notes from above to write an essay. The first page of the Google doc gives an outline, with sentence stems. The second page shows a completed informational essay.

Assessment

Three forms of assessment are included in this assignment.

In the personal dictionary or word journal, students are required to include a minimum of five words with definitions for 50 points. Each word, spelled correctly is 2 points and a correct definition is another 8 points. I deduct a point for grammar or spelling errors in the definition, but only one.
For the foldable notes assignment, each note is 10 points for a total of 80 points. I do not grade grammar or spelling in the notes because these are for the student, however, I do highlight errors and tell students there will be a deduction if the error is in their essay.
The essay is on a 0- 100 scale. I give 5 points each for title and author and 10 points for each of the prompts completed with one or more grammatically correct sentences. If a student does not respond to one of the prompts but instead includes other relevant information, for example, the number of people working in agriculture, that would be acceptable, too.

Related Lesson

It’s recommended that this lesson be followed by Scrambled States: Ag in Math Class.

Travois, multiplication and 2-step problems

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By Irish Pepito

📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.D.8 Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

⏰ LESSON TIME:

30-45 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

In this lesson, the students will develop an understanding of the meanings of the four operations of whole numbers through activities and problems involving real life scenarios from Indigenous history. Students use properties of operations to calculate products of whole numbers, using increasingly sophisticated strategies based on these properties to solve using the four operations problems involving single-digit factors. It includes educational videos, games and video presentations that can be used for reviews and daily practice.

📲 TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

Computer or mobile device

📚 LESSON

First, watch a video for 100 second

Learn how to solve problems by breaking them down into easier problems (time 1:40)

Second, play a game

Menu with 4 choices, number, random, life , words — **Choices screen: Instruct students to select NUMBERS**

Let the students log in to Making Camp Premium to access the game. (Game links can be found under the GAMES tab.) The choices screen is shown above. Students are instructed to select NUMBERS from the screen above.

Students are tasked to play for 20 minutes. Students will demonstrate mastery in solving word problems like the one shown below and to be able to earn points within the game. For some students who aren’t able to master the standard will be given individualized instruction to master the concept.

**Example of word problem following a vide**o

Reinforce and assess what they have learned with a presentation

This Google slides presentation, Travois and Multiplication, gives a little background on how the travois was used by Indigenous people of North American. Within the context of building and using a travois, students learn to analyze a word problem and use appropriate operations in getting the correct answer.

Final video – See travois in action

Watch this short (46 second) video on how Lakotas used the travois

ASSESSMENT

To monitor the progress of the students, there is data analysis that can be viewed on the Making Camp Premium data report. There are also four problems included in the Google slides presentation that students can complete in-class or as a work-from-home activity

Breaking Down Division with Remainders

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Lesson by James Gumela

📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.6 Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

⏰ LESSON TIME

30-45 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will explore how students interpret remainders in the context of a problem. They will learn how to divide and have a number leftover. Students will be using the concept of division and remainders. An instructional video will be presented as well as a PowerPoint presentation and an educational game that can be used to reinforce the concept of remainders with assessment data.

📲 TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

Device with web-browser (Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer); or iOS (iPhone/iPad) with access to Google apps.

📚 Lesson

Watch Video

In division, remainders occur when a number can’t be evenly divided. This video will help the students understand the concept of remainders.

Also available in spanish:

Break Down Long Division in a Presentation

This Google slides presentation: Division with remainders reviews the parts of a division problem; quotient, division and divisor, then works a sample problem step by step. The presentation ends with a practical question in a word problem- when you have a remainder, what do you do with the amount that remains?

Play a Game – Making Camp Dakota

Making Camp Dakota follows a family at a pow-wow as the children learn about Dakota culture through stories from their elders and apply their long division skills along the way.

Differentiated Instruction

GAME: Making Camp Premium

Have students play Making Camp Premium using these icons. Students who struggle with this standard will receive individual instruction within the game to teach and reinforce this concept.

Man standing in front of trees, a game icon

ASSESSMENT: Making Camp Premium Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Making Camp Dakota and Making Camp Premium teacher reports. You can access the teacher reports here.

STATE STANDARDS:

Minnesota Math Standard 5.1.1.2 Consider the context in which a problem is situated to select the most useful form of the quotient for the solution and use the context to interpret the quotient appropriately.

Converting fractions to decimals

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📖 Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.NS.A.2.D Convert a rational number to a decimal using long division; know that the decimal form of a rational number terminates in 0s or eventually repeats.

⏰ Time

30-40 minutes

📲 Technology Required

A projector or smart board is required to show the Google slides presentation in class. It can also be shown using any web meeting software for remote learning. The random candy generator can be used by students in anything with a browser, including computers, tablets or phones. This activity is optional. It’s actually more fun with fun-size bags of candy like Skittles or M & M’s.

📃 Summary

Students watch a video or hear a presentation explaining using long division to convert fractions to decimals. A second method of using place value is discussed when the denominator is tenths, hundredths or thousandths. Students then play a game that teaches converting fractions to decimals and end with an activity finding the decimal representing each color in a bag of candy. A simulator is included if no bags of candy are available!

📚 Lesson

EITHER watch the video below

This is a 7-minute video that gives the steps in converting fractions to decimals, with multiple examples, using both long division and place value.

OR Use this Google Slides Presentation

The Google slides presentation covers the same material as the video with the same examples. The steps in the long division problems are animated in the presentation. If you prefer a PowerPoint presentation you can find that here. Both can be viewed from these links or you can copy into your own Google drive or download to modify for your class.

The presentation and video both include two sample problems to work as a class.

NOTE: The presentation includes an activity converting fractions to decimals using candy or a random sample application.

Play a Game

On mobile devices

Play the Empiric Empire game for 10 minutes. This game teaches fractions and decimals in the context of concepts from epidemiology such as prevalence, incidence and mortality rate. This game is available for iPad, iPhone or Android.

On Chromebook

Don’t have any of those devices? Play the Minnesota Turtles game for five minutes. After the game (it’s short), assign these problems:

The game says that 5/9 = 56% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal? HINT: Remember that 56% = .56
The game says that 4/9 = 44% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal?

Convert fractions with Candy

The Google Slides/ Powerpoint ends with an activity where students use a pack of candy to find fractions, convert those fractions to decimals and graph the result. If you don’t have time / forgot to buy bags of candy, you can use a simulator here. Random fact: The average fun-size bag contains 12 pieces of candy. There is a link for plain graph paper in the slides. If you’d prefer graph paper with fractions and decimals already entered, this page is divided into sixteenths.

Assessment

This lesson includes three types of assessment. There are the problems completed together in class, included within the presentation or video. There are the problems completed within the Empiric Empire game which you can see in the teacher reports. Alternatively, there are the two problems assigned after the Minnesota Turtles game. There is also an assessment at the end of the slides using different colors of candy to convert fractions to decimals and chart the results.

Individualization

Assign this problem to more advanced students:

Think back to what we learned in the previous lesson about fractions, decimals and percentages being three different ways of looking at the same number. You answered the two questions below. What is a different way to prove that 4/9 = 44%/

The game says that 5/9 = 56% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal? HINT: Remember that 56% = .56
The game says that 4/9 = 44% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal?

Google Slides and Math

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📖Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.C Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

⏰ Time

120 – 180 minutes (You may wish to use 2-3 class periods)

📲 Technology Required

The games used here require a Chromebook, Windows or Mac computers or iPads.

📃 Summary

Students play three games that teach fractions and statistics. Students learn enhanced features of Google slides. They then create a Google slides presentation stating which is their favorite game and why.

📚 Lesson

0. Optional: Google Slides Basics

If students are not familiar with Google Slides, begin with the Google Slides Basics lessons. If students know how to create slides document, select a theme, add text, images, transitions and animations, you can skip this step.

1. Introduce the assignment

Explain to students that they will be playing three different educational games and making a recommendation for future classes. If there is only time to play one of these games, which should the teacher choose. A copy of the assignment is here with both Chromebook and iPad games included. Save to your Google classroom or other system and delete whichever device is not available to your students. If your students have access to both devices, no editing is required. Since their presentation will be made with Google Slides and they want it to be as convincing as possible, they should include images and video to support their points.

2. Play AzTech: The Story Begins

This game teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow students 10 -15 minutes to play the game.

3. Learn about Google Slides Advanced Features

This presentation has links to six videos beyond Google slides basics.

Click on the links on the left side of the screen to learn about:

Modifying the theme
Inserting video
Adding effects to text and images

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and start on their presentations.

4. Play Forgotten Trail or Fish Lake Adventure

Students play Fish Lake Adventure (iPad) a game that teaches fractions or Forgotten Trail (Chromebook), a game that teaches fractions and statistics.

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

5. More Google Slides Advanced Features

Continue with more Google slides basics. Watch three videos on the right side of the screen on :

Customizing with Word Art
Publishing to the web
Presentation notes

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

6. Play AzTech: Meet the Maya

Allow students the option of playing AzTech: Meet the Maya or continuing one of the two previous games. Meet the Maya continues the game series that teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow 10-15 minutes to play and continue their presentations.

7. Finish !

It’s decision time. Students will select one game to finish for their presentation. Students who finish ahead of the class may play the other games.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.

8. Optional (extra credit) Present or publish

Depending on your class and your own objectives, you may want to end this lesson with students either publishing their presentations to the web or presenting in class and trying to convince their classmates that the game they have chosen is the one students should be using to learn next year.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.

Google Slides Basic Skills

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⏰ Lesson Time

15-20 minutes EACH for two lessons

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, iPhone or iPad

📃 Summary

There are 6 short videos on Google Slides topics like adding images and choosing a theme. We recommend breaking the first four videos into two separate lessons that students complete during class.

📚 Lesson

These lessons from Google for Education provide a good overview to Google Slides. These are part of the Applied Digital Skills program for which you can register your class and/or yourself or you can just select individual lessons. In our experience, students do better when the lessons are split over 3 or more days.

Day 1: Watch videos 1, 2 and 3

Learn Google Slides while creating a presentation about you. This lesson can be used as is or modified for other topics. The default assignment is for students to create an “All About Me” presentation. The first three videos explain creating a presentation, choosing a theme, inserting a title, adding text and images. You can copy the link and paste it into your Google classroom or other site used for assignments or have students watch these together as a group in class.

For younger students, these three videos may be adequate for your class requirements.

Day 2: Create a Presentation (Bells and Whistles optional)

Watch this five-minute video on Animation and Transition in Google Slides.

Create Your Own Presentation

After watching this 5-minute video, students are ready to create their own presentation. Students can create an “About Me” presentation as suggested in the Google slides or teachers can assign their own preferred topic.

Assessment

Rubric for assessment includes:

Student created Google slides presentation
Presentation includes the following elements: headers, text and images
Presentation uses at least one animation and one slide transition

For younger students, you may wish to eliminate the last requirement.

Related lesson:

Google Apps Basics for Hamsters — As the name implies, a super-basic introduction to Google Drive and Google Docs.

Google Apps Basics for Hamsters

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While I have heard many teachers say,

“My students know technology better than I do.”
– Teacher who is often incorrect.

I have often found this not to be the case when it comes to Google apps. I’ve often found that students sometimes don’t want to admit that they don’t know Google apps, assuming that everyone else does.

No hamsters were available so I used my guinea pig

This is the first in a series of lessons for either teachers or students who may not be extremely familiar with Google apps.

For many years, I taught statistics in graduate programs in education, psychology, business and engineering. On a conference planning committee, we had a request that read,

“I would like a session on statistics, but not statistics for dummies. I want a session so easy that a hamster could understand it.”

So, that was the origin of my session, “Statistics for Hamsters.”

Now, maybe you are a Google apps guru and you don’t need any of this. Yay for you. Seriously, yay! Let’s hang out. Still, you may find these resources helpful to share with your students. Just copy the link into your Google classroom, which, of course, you know how to do.

If that is not you, keep reading, and we can still hang out. Especially if you bring coffee.

⏰ Lesson Time

25 minutes

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, iPhone or iPad

📚 Lessons

Google Drive and Google Doc: Super-Basics

All the Google apps lessons follow a similar format of a series of 15-30 second videos on simple tasks like opening the app, creating a new file and sharing. The lessons are 6-7 minutes but by the time your students get their computers open, log on and start the lesson we estimate around ten minutes of class time.

We have had more success with having students do these activities in class prior to an assignment that will use the app.

This is our favorite basic–basic lesson on Google Drive. From Google for Education, takes six minutes and ends with a quiz where you can test your knowledge.

Introduction to Google docs – The total lesson should take about 7 minutes.

Use what you learned

Follow up this lesson with a simple assignment in Google docs. This provides three prompts students can choose from to answer a question. They will practice creating a doc, copying and pasting from a doc (or, alternatively, saving to their drive), editing a doc and sharing it.

Note to the teacher: You should save the assignment in your Google classroom or other system and be sure to edit it to include your email before assigning to students.

Multiplication Review and Red River Carts

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📖Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.4 – Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers.

NCSS theme – The study of people, places, and environments enables us to understand the relationship between human populations and the physical world.

Minnesota State Standard – History Sub-strand 4, Standard 15 “North America was populated by indigenous nations that had developed a wide range of social structures, political systems, and economic activities, and whose expansive trade networks extended across the continent.”

⏰ Time

20 minutes

📲 Technology required

Internet connection on a PC or Chromebook laptop, tablet, or phone.

📃 Summary

Students watch a video on the importance of the Red River cart in expanding trade. The teacher presents (or students may read) a presentation discussing Red River carts followed by two related word problems. The lesson concludes with students playing Making Camp Premium, reinforcing multiplication facts and the Ojibwe history lesson learned.

📚 Lesson

Watch Red River Cart history video

Presentation on Red River Carts and multiplication

Use this Google slides presentation in-class or assigned online to review a little on the Red River cart and then solve two math problems involving carts and horses. In the first activity, the students drag the correct number of wheels to show 5 groups of 3 and then 3 groups of 5, both correct answers to the question. In the second problem, students drag 4 groups of 6 horses to solve the word problem.

Play a game

Students play Making Camp Premium (instructions on which activities are included in the slides presentation).

Wigwam from Making Camp Premium with items purchased with points

Assessment

Making Camp Premium offers Data and Reports for teachers to access to view students playing time and the number of items answered correctly addressing each standard taught in the game.

Problem-solving with pigs: Start at the end

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📖Standard

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

⏰ Time

60-75 minutes

📃 Summary

This cross-curricular lesson includes activities and instruction in agricultural science and math. Students begin by watching a video and learning about pig farms. After making their own pig barn, they watch two short videos about solving math problems. This information is then applied to solve problems during a presentation on math around the pig farm. Students end playing one of the Making Camp games to reinforce skills and knowledge.

📲 Technology Required

If teaching in person, the teacher will need a computer and projector or smart board to show the videos, or students can be given the links to watch on their own devices. Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook or tablet. Making Camp Premium, Making Camp Lakota and Making Dakota are all playable on any web browser on those devices.

📚 Lesson

This lesson starts with resources from National Ag in the Classroom

Virtual tour of pig farms

Virtual Field Trip to Ohio Pig Farms

Make a Pig Barn

This activity requires a few supplies but it is probably things you have lying around and your students will probably enjoy it.

Business-size envelopes, 4 per group
Paper towel, 1 per group
Scissors
Scotch tape

OPTIONAL

Markers
Toilet paper rolls, 2 per group
Drinking straws, 2 per group (cut into 8 equal pieces)
8.5″ x 11″ white paper, 1 per group (cut in half)
Extra paper for making fencing, pipes, feed troughs, etc. (optional)

Instructions

Use the following instructions to model for the students how to create the barn:

Barn: Cut an oval hole in one envelope, making a large side window for the barn. This window provides the proper ventilation for the pigs.
Cut the paper towel in half and tape it onto the top of the window for the curtain.
Cut another envelope in half for the ends of the barn.
Tape the ends of the barn to the “sides of the barn” envelopes, one of which has the hole for the window and paper towel curtain, so that you have four sides, or a rectangle.
Use the final envelope to create a roof by creasing it in half lengthwise and attaching it with tape to the top of the rectangle.
Food Storage: Tape four straws, or legs, to each toilet paper roll so that the structures will stand on the legs.
Use a half piece of paper, and make a cone shape by twisting and taping the ends. Tape the cone shape on the end of the toilet paper roll without the straw legs.
Use the other half piece of paper to make another smaller cone shape and tape it between the straw legs on the other end of the toilet paper roll.

If you’d like, you or your students can watch the instructions here. You can also assign this video for students learning at home to watch so they know how to make the barn. The plus is that just about every house will have every single one of these items except possibly the straws.

Optional additional science and language arts content

This link to the National Ag in the Classroom lesson has more information on pigs and pig farming, including some of the vocabulary used in the math lesson as well as a discussion of the ways farmers care for animals. I highly recommend checking it out.

Watch a video on operations key words

Trust me, this does come back to pig farming!

Students watch this video on operations keywords. This two-minute video has been watched over 14,000 times, which gives some indication of how useful students and teacher find the concept of looking at the words in a problem to decide which operation to use.

Watch a video on problem-solving – Start at the end

This 3 1/2 minute video explains that the end of the word problem is where you usually will find the question you are expected to solve. It includes one easy and one harder example, as well as a couple of useful tips.

Start at the End

Give a presentation

This 34-slide deck on problem-solving reinforces the information in the two math videos and gives students three problems of increasing difficulty where they have to start at the end, all centered around Laura’s pig farm.

Play a game

Now that students have been introduced to problem-solving with multiplication and division word problems, it’s time to play a game and reinforce those skills. Which game depends on what you feel your students need most. There is overlap among the games as each includes some review.

Making Camp Premium – focuses primarily on multiplication of one- and two-digit numbers. Also includes division with one-digit divisors. The content is taught in the context of Ojibwe history and culture.

Making Camp Lakota – focuses primarily on division with one-digit divisors. Also includes multiplication of one- and two-digit numbers. The content is taught in the context of Lakota history and culture.

Making Camp Dakota – focuses primarily on division of three-digit numbers with one- and two-digit divisors. Also includes multiplication of one- and two-digit numbers and division with one-digit divisors. The content is taught in the context of Lakota history and culture.

Assessment

Assessments are built into the presentation, as teachers can have students submit their answers in writing or in a Google chat prior to giving the answers during the presentation. Teachers can also see which standards students have attempted and how many problems they have answered correctly in the Making Camp teacher reports.

Related lesson : Problem-solving Two ways

As the title suggests, this lesson introduces students to two other problme-solving strategies. They watch a video on visualization, then solve a problem that asks them to visualize. After watching a video on building a model, students build and/or draw their own model of a multiplication problem or property.