This week's math class was about proportional thinking or proportional reasoning. I'll be honest; when Sue asked us to pull out our interactive notebooks and jot down anything we know about proportional thinking, I completely blanked out. I did not know what this term meant until Sue explained its definition as well as provided us with examples. As we started to work on some word problems, I was able to become more accustomed to the concept.
Proportional reasoning is a part of the Number Sense and Numeration strand within the curriculum. It is defined as "the ability to compare two things or quantities using multiplicative thinking, and using this in a new situation". The term "multiplicative thinking" threw me off a little, but I was able to understand the main idea of the concept. It's all about the comparison of two quantities, just like ratios.
We worked on different word problems whereby we compared two quantities, and tried to use different methods to solve for the answer (number line, chart/table, graph, algebra etc). We walked around the class to observe all of our colleagues work. It's so interesting to see how everyone has their own method and technique that they prefer to use to solve the same questions!
One interesting problem we worked on with our groups was figuring out the height of a giant using a picture of the giant's hand. We were also able to use any materials we wanted, such as a ruler or a calculator.
After everyone had time to work on the problem, each group shared their technique on how they found their answer. Everyone's method was quite similar. We all started off by measuring our own heights and lengths of our hands, averaged out our measurements, and then used multiplication to figure out what the giant's height may be. Although everyone used similar techniques to solve, we each had different answers in the end. This is because we all have different heights and measurements which would alter what numbers we are using to calculate for the final response. This is such a fun and challenging activity that I will be sure to use in my classroom! My group's final response was 8"11. That's a tall giant!
One of my favourite parts of class is observing how we can use children's literature to learn and teach a math subject. We looked at a book called "If You Hopped Like A Frog" by David M. Shwartz. I found a picture book called "Centipede's 100 Shoes" by Tony Ross that would be another great book to read to the class before introducing the proportional reasoning unit to students. Using children's literature to introduce and talk about a math lesson is a fun way to engage students about learning the topic!
We worked on different word problems whereby we compared two quantities, and tried to use different methods to solve for the answer (number line, chart/table, graph, algebra etc). We walked around the class to observe all of our colleagues work. It's so interesting to see how everyone has their own method and technique that they prefer to use to solve the same questions!
One interesting problem we worked on with our groups was figuring out the height of a giant using a picture of the giant's hand. We were also able to use any materials we wanted, such as a ruler or a calculator.
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| Image by Yasmine Khaizaran |
One of my favourite parts of class is observing how we can use children's literature to learn and teach a math subject. We looked at a book called "If You Hopped Like A Frog" by David M. Shwartz. I found a picture book called "Centipede's 100 Shoes" by Tony Ross that would be another great book to read to the class before introducing the proportional reasoning unit to students. Using children's literature to introduce and talk about a math lesson is a fun way to engage students about learning the topic!
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Ross, T. (2003). Centipede's 100 Shoes. New York: H. Holt.
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Hi Yasmine,
ReplyDeleteI was completely drawing a blank as well when we were asked what proportional reasoning was. I tried so hard to think as far back as I could, but absolutely nothing was coming to mind. I did feel at ease however, toward the end of the class after multiple work problems as I was beginning to feel more comfortable with a concept that I forgot about. I also really enjoyed the giant word problem and will definitely be incorporating this into the classroom when I have my own class. I really like how Sue said that you could relate this to Harry Potter. When you add an element to something that students are passionate about they are much more willing to want to do it... which is amazing in the case of math!!
Loved the post, thanks for sharing!
Hi Yasmine,
ReplyDeleteI was pretty confused as well when the teacher asked us to write down what we knew about proportional reasoning. I knew what the words meant individually, but together I had no idea. I really enjoyed working on the giant handprint math problem! I think it was a great way to gather diagnostic information from the students and also give them a chance to think both critically and creatively. Is this problem one that you would give to your students in your practicum? I know that I would!
Great post!