Friday, May 10, 2013

Plethora of Practice Possibilities

I wanted to help my students practice evaluating different trig ratios for special angles, so I made two sets of cards:


Set #1 is a set of answer cards. I made them out of craft foam so they would be sturdy and also look different from Set #2 which is just a set of small flashcards (problem on the front, answer on the back).






At the time, I had an idea about how I was going to use these . . . but then a bunch of other ideas came to mind. I am probably going to be changing the way that I teach this particular topic for next time (more focus on the conceptual understanding, less on the "trig hand"), but surely these scenarios could be adapted for other topics? Hence, I thought I would share:



Everything went in a bag, one for each table.




Modified flyswatter game:  The flyswatter game is oodles of fun. I thought it would be perfect for trig ratio practice. It was not. Students felt pressure to answer immediately, so they ended up slapping a random answer which was rarely correct. I also wanted to have more than two students answering any given question. For the modified version, students spread the answer cards out on their desk and point to the correct one as I ask questions.








Matching work mat: This is just a card with a bunch of problems, all with unique answers. Students can place their answer cards and move them around until they're all in the right place.








Flashcards:  Students quiz each other at their tables. The flash cards are also perfect for a Kagan Quiz, Quiz, Trade. Gotta love the photo-bombers in the back.


Group Quiz:  The answer cards are spread out on the table, and students have cards with four problems where each person at the table is responsible for a different one. Students can flip over a problem card at their table, and each person reaches for their corresponding answer card. I would choose problems that have similar answers, so that there is a chance of students reaching for the same answer card and being forced to talk it out.



Matching Flashcards to Answers: Students spread the answer cards out on the table and turn all the flashcards face up. They match the flashcards to the answers. The beautiful thing here is that it is super easy to self-check. Students just have to turn over the flashcards to see if they are right.


There's probably more . . . I also thought about the potential for making different sets for each table and then rotating them for multiple days of practice. But at the moment, I can't think of a topic that would require that much practice.

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