I really enjoyed teaching this course at Ahlul-Bayt Islamic School in 2011/2012.  It follows the Ontario curriculum and topics include:

 

• Number Sense and Numeration: Order of operations, operations with fractions and decimals, percents and unit rates;

• Measurement: Conversions of metric units, area, volume and surface area of 3D shapes;

• Geometry and Spatial Sense: Lines, sorting and classifying quadrilaterals and triangles, comparing similar and congruent shapes, plotting points in all four quadrants;

• Patterning and Algebra: Representing patterns algebraically, modelling constant rates graphically and algebraically, solving linear equations;

• Data Management and Probability: Collecting and organizing data, identifying bias in data, determing theoretical probabilities of two independent events.

 

This was a very special year for me and I loved teaching this course.  My students appreciated my attempts to make math fun and were on board with all of my ideas.  We attacked the material through typical notes and practice but I also successfully incorporated regular journaling, games, and a variety of creative and hands-on tasks.  A few of my most successful activities are outlined below.  Click on the grey buttons for the asscoaited handouts if you'd like more detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Math Art: I opted to do a "Picture Perfect Area Activity" as a culminating task for a chapter on area in lieu of a test.  Students had to create a design centred around the first letter of their name.  It had to meet certain criteria (i.e. a minimum number of each shape) and students had to calculate the area of the page that was part of their design versus the area of the background.  The results were excellent and we had a beautiful bulletin board that reminded the school that math and art can be merged.

 

Gift Boxes: Much like the Picture Perfect Area Activity, I opted for a fun, hands-on activity when we were learning about 2D nets for 3D shapes. Students had to create a 2D net for a small gift box and then cut it out and actually create it.  I bought thick scrapbooking cardstock in a variety of designs for students to use for their final products.  I turned the activity into a contest by having the administrative assistant come in as a guest judge and had each student present his or her box.  This was a successful activity that engaged students' spatial skills, math skills, creativity, presentation skills, and competitive spirit.   

 

Math Trek: I created this activity for the last week of school once we had completed the official curriculum.  I wanted to show the students that math is everywhere if they pay attention and I linked one hands-on activity to each of the 12 chapters we had studied.  Students worked in pairs and were able to complete the activities in any order they liked.  Tasks included finding patterns in nature, keeping track of the fraction of successful free throws or soccer goals, playing Yahtzee!, and calculating the surface area of the school.