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March 1, 2003

The Adventures of Mrs. A on the Geometry Internet Trail

By Rosita Alston

Come and take a journey with me, my fellow geometry teachers, and motivate your students in a new way. We'll travel the road where no student wants to go at first. But now, my students come to class anticipating their next project. The failure rate is low because project based learning along with technology increases their ability to retain what they learn.

I taught mathematics the way I learned mathematics. No offense to the teachers who taught me, but my students live in the technology age, and so everything is different. Tradition was great then but times surely do change. My kids were bored to tears, and I had to do something about it. The curriculum has been rewritten 5 or 6 times since I have been teaching and the textbook has been adopted 5 times. I have seen the Apple IIe come and go. The Macintosh LC II Lab was remarkable in its day, but now with the PC, I teach my geometry students through the use of the Internet and project-based learning.

As a twenty-four year veteran mathematics teacher, it was difficult to give up many of the traditional teaching methods and move on to different methods. But technology has made teaching mathematics new and different. Because I love to educate and also entertain, I enjoy watching my students as they move to the edge of their seat to learn the lesson of the day.

Before you get scared, I do teach the students the basics but hopefully there is enough time for them to discover on their own the ways to apply the definitions and terminology in their text.

Before I tell you about my adventure, I must set the stage for the scene. I have 3 PC Computers in my classroom. One of these computers is for student/teacher use; however it is connected to a scan converter that is connected to a thirty-inch television set. The students work on their projects with an older Compaq Computer. Both computers have access to the Internet. On the side of my room, I also have 4 Macintosh LC II Computers, which can be used to create to create drawings using Geometers Sketchpad. The Microsoft Office Suite is available on my PC computers. The school has a site license for Timeliner software and Inspiration Software is installed on one of the computers in my classroom.

Sample project ideas are timelines related to mathematicians and concepts, tessellations, a mathematical topic demonstrated through PowerPoint, and mathematics brochures. The projects are spaced throughout the year and assigned at a time when it has a connection to the lesson being taught. Students can use the table of web sites to assist their completion of projects. Sometimes the student uses other resources such as software and other books besides their textbook. The students are extremely resourceful and they find many ways to complete their projects. A sample project, The Scavenger Hunt, and evaluation rubrics will provide a good idea of how this works.

When the students enter my classroom for the first time, I poll the group to find out which students have Internet access at home so that I can create groups where the students complement each other. Cooperative learning plays a critical role in the success of my mathematics classroom.

I review the sites before I teach the lesson. Every group of students is different. I discuss with my students that everything posted on the Internet is not necessarily correct but that it is a tremendous resource and may be beneficial to their learning process.

After I begin to share the mathematics sites on the Cybertrail with students, I watch their faces as they glow with excitement and intrigue. By the time my journey ends, I get so many opportunities to share in theie learning experience. They become site hunters and bring back captured sites for all our pleasure.

Helpful Sites for Use with Geometry Students

Email: Rosita Alston and Rosita Alston

The Scavenger Hunt

By Rosita Alston

Students: Please surf the Internet and hunt for the items on the following list. The point value is shown in parentheses to the right of the problem. Identify the web site where you found the information or pictures required to answer the question. Your scavenger hunt must be turn in with the provided rubric inside a brad folder with pockets. Happy hunting!

1. Find a picture of Euclid. Copy and paste or insert the picture in your MS Word document. Name his Thirteenth Book. (20 points)
2. Go to http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/fractals.htm. Choose a Fractal of the Day and insert it in your document. It can be one of the archived pictures. (30 points)
3. Go to http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/usingApplet.html and play with the Geometry Applet. Describe what happens as you move the cursor around the circle. Write at least one paragraph. (10 points)
4. Use the web site at http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/ to find out the biographical and professional history of five female mathematicians. Seven dates listed in chronological order should be shown to list their contributions to mathematics. (30 points- 6 points each)
5. Some high school students (Glenn Hills High) created a web site at Thinkquest. The web address is http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212121. Investigate the site and download your favorite tessellation and insert it in a document. Create your own tessellation and add it to your portfolio. (40 points)
6. Architecture involves many uses of geometry. One site which exhibits architectural pictures is http://www.vislab.usyd.edu.au/staff/horst/dkw.html. Surf the web and find three other sites. Collect 3 pictures of buildings and discuss how geometry can be seen in each picture. (30 points)
7. Write a 2 paragraph story using twenty geometry words in the right context. Read the story to 2 peers and ask them to sign your confirmation sheet. Two sites with vocabulary terms are http://library.thinkquest.org/2647/geometry/intro/point.htm or http://www.math.psu.edu/geom/koltsova/index.html. Use these sites or your textbook to find words to complete your selection. (40 points- 20 points per paragraph)
8. You can find dot paper at http://mathforum.org/trscavo/geoboards/dot1.html. Print out one sheet of 5 x 5 geoboard dot paper. Draw a 3, 4, 5 Triangle, a 4 x4 square, a 3 x 5 rectangle, a trapezoid with b1= 2 and b2=4. (20 points)
9. Create a timeline containing 5 important dates in the life of Benjamin Banneker. The site http://www.inventorsmuseum.com/Benjamin_Banneker.htm has a few dates to get you started but this your adventure so let's see how many sites you can find and dates as well. (20 points)
10. Find the area and volume formulas of 10 polygons and 5 solids. Check out http://math2.org/math/geometry/areasvols.htm. Use your text or the Internet to discover your formulas. (20 points)
11. Define origami. Use the web site http://www.geocities.com/tonylightfoot/papercrane/ to create a paper crane. Place your crane in your portfolio as an endangered species. (20 points)
12. String Art know also as symmography has many mediums. Find a picture of string art and describe what you see in words. This site can be used for discovery. http://www.frontiernet.net/~dcoates/lineart.htm (20 points)
13. Define polyhedra. This site offers you the opportunity to download a few copy of Poly. You can choose any polyhedra besides the cube and draw its net. http://www.peda.com/poly/download.html (20 points)
14. What is the value of pi ??)? Is it a rational or irrational number? How can you use pi in your everyday lives? Are there careers where information about circle is vitally important to completing your job each day? Tell how the person uses information about the circle. (20 points)
15. Find a newspaper clipping which shows examples of parallel lines, vertical angles, perpendicular lines, and supplementary angles. If you are unable find a picture in the newspaper; try a magazines or an advertising brochure. (20 points)
16. After reviewing about polygons and solids, take the online quiz. Write about the questions. http://pittsford.monroe.edu/jefferson/calfieri/geometry/geoframe.html (20 points)
17. Study the symmetry quiz at http://pittsford.monroe.edu/jefferson/calfieri/geometry/geoframe.html. Find 2 examples in nature of symmetry. (20 points)
18. Graphing is important in mathematics and science. Please complete a line graph using http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/index.asp. Graph the equation: y= 180 (n-2). This represents the interior angle sum of any convex polygon. Print the graph. (20 points)
19. There are at least 10 stores in the vicinity of our school. Name 10 of these stores and their phone numbers. Please alphabetize. Use MS Excel to alphabetize and display. (20 points)
20. Create a mini-glossary of terms. You can collect as many words as you like but not less than twenty. (20 points)

Sample Rubric - Scavenger Hunt

Grading Scale

A 414-460

B 368-413

C 345-367

D 322-344

F 0-321