Did you ever experience a math lesson that made your jaw drop in surprise? One that really taught you the topic well and also interested you? A fun, creative lesson? I really struggle to come up with lessons that apply math to real life and still keep my kids' interest, because I'm not very creative. Besides, just because -I- think something is fun, doesn't mean that my students will agree.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about NON-conventional lessons. Don't tell me about a lecture your teacher gave. Tell me about hands-on activities, projects, and experiments you performed that taught you something.

I'm especially interested in algebra and geometry lessons, since those are the classes I'm teaching. And I'd really love lessons that apply the math to real life. Surely there have to be some good experiences out there for you guys, right?

Thanks for anything you kids can offer! Much appreciated, and much love!

He he... lol. I'm guessing geometry honors in 9th grade for me was sort of fun. I once had a project were me and my group had to measure the circumference of the earth by using a stick and a shadow, lol.

Well I've always found math interesting, so I can't recall any high school 'hands-on' lessons, but I can share some lessons that made us more interested just in their nature. It wasn't until later that I found out that you're supposed to prove that .999 repeating is equal to 1 with a geometric series, but in PreCal she showed us using fractions. And it was just jaw dropping in itself to learn about putting things over 9 to repeat themselves and adding 1/3 and 2/3 to get .999. Another big revelation was when we learned in Calc that the derivative of some of the volume equations resulted in the surface area equation, or something like that lol. That was really the beginning of our spark in AP Calc as my friend called it "witchcraft" and we began to witness the true power of numbers.

But the only physical lesson I've had were in middle school. I remember in 6th grade I didn't get number lines, but my 7th grade teacher brought the point home by having us all stand in a line and explaining mean and mode and stuff that way. I do recall constructing houses in 6th grade, but I can't remember why... Had to have been math related somehow...

However, I don't know about your textbooks, but I remember doing a lot of Geometry problems for homework at one point that revolved around 3-D structures. Bringing in some actual blocks and modeling those problems would've been quite helpful. I don't remember having any personal problems with Geometry but I'm sure some physical shapes and whatnot would've helped at least a few of my friends.

Best? Wow that is not hard for me, most of my maths lessons are rather boring. I may be good at maths since I am one of the best in my set however that does not stop the fact that it is boring. I actually find Circles interesting and how pi works and everything else associated in that area.
Those lessons are actually quite fun but it is when we do physical activities I really begin to enjoy it. For instance, we were trying to find out the exact air volume of the classroom and be as precise as possible, so it was not as simple as measuring the walls and floor. We had to measure tables, chairs and people! It was the best maths lesson I have ever had, and that really sums up my reply! 

My algebra 2 teacher was horrible I can honestly say I did not learn a single thing in that class. It was probably my worst math class ever. My geometry teacher was awesome even though he was mean. Maybe it was just that geometry was just so easy it didn't even matter.

Koda :  Please make sure you actually read the questions of the thread before responding to them.  When you don't answer the question that is asked, you're actually spamming the board.

If you are solving math problems just to solve them its no fun. You need a payoff at end or something hands on that will get people interested. With geometry maybe you could do projects that involve drawing up designs for paper airplanes or something similar like that. With algebra I have no clue. Mixing letters with numbers confuses me. Maybe if you turn the letters into something meaningful it would be more helpful. Using random letters is just a bad idea in general, that is probably why it was so confusing for me.

Turn this:
x + 5 = 12

Into this:
Obama + 5 = 12

Maybe that is bad example cause Obama's math isn't that good But you get the point. Just add in something fun into it that will get peoples attention.

I think what would be most fun is creating blueprints of ufos using geometry if that is possible I honestly have no clue how it all works.

We were graded on a scale of 4-10 in our schools and once in high school I got graded "8" by a teacher who I thought hated me and that was the best grade in math I ever got. Usually I got "7" (as average as you can get) or "6". Wish I could remember what sort of math course it was. I only remember I got "five" from a statistic math class and during one class I was thrown out by (some other) teacher. I cant remember why, but I deserved it. And it was the only time I was ever thrown out of a classroom in high school..

Both their efforts were in vain. I cant remember anything. I am just not that good in math.

Well, not really. But in 6th grade I remember one lecture that my math teacher gave my class, and it was wonderful. It was a perfect walk through of the proses!

Can not say I had anything, I teach myself everything, school does not do anything to me. Nothing, I tell you. I taught myself division, it was pretty cool. Long division. 


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9¬
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3X3=9. I think that is how it goes. I taught myself division when I was six, so I do not remember a lot. Did I mention I am a really really fast learner? I say "Division is basically multiplication backwards" to myself, I knw it like the back of my hand. 

Brigand : This really doesn't answer the question of my original post.  However, thank you for sharing that experience.  It sounds like your schools grade in a similar manner that IB schools do here. It's just awkward and strange.

UFO : I actually completely agree with you.  The problem is that I majorly lack in the creative department.  I do, however, really like your ideas about paper airplanes or what not. I'm just not sure how I'd incorporate that into high school geometry, personally.

Interestingly enough, I've done what you're talking about.  For example, so many kids can't get past x + x = 2x.  Kids always want to say x + x is x squared. It's quite simple to get past that mental block though. Just tell a kid "Oh, so a cat plus a cat is a cat squared?"  They'll get it immediately. The same is true with like terms.  Kids don't seem to understand that you can't add things like 3x and 5.  Kids always want to say that 3x + 5 is 8x.  To get around this, I might ask a kid "Okay, so a cat plus a dog is... what?  A... mouse? Another cat?  Two dogs?"  Using some real life example usually helps them get their hands around the concepts a little easier.

You made me laugh about your comment on Obama's math. hehe.

Blueprints of UFOs? Now that sounds like ton of fun. That would be do-able, yes.  

Singelli :

I guess my point was that what I learned was that even the teacher you hate and you yourself can sometimes surprise you. I am sorry that I didn't put more emphasis on that part. I didn't learn much of math but the fact that sometimes you can overcome your abilities and surprise even yourself was the point I was trying to make. But sure, it was not a math lesson per se.

Once back in grade ten we jumped into our Trig unit and I was surprised and almost excited because of how easy it was compared to everything else we did in that unit. I'm more of a Science guy than Math. I am usually pretty bad at Math too, but I found that Trig was taught really well and it was so easy it was actually almost enjoyable.

I'm not trying to be mean, but nobody is really answering this and instead just filling it with spam.  Because I don't want a billion spam posts....

Local Mods :

Can we close this until TdV is over?  Or maybe I'll create another one once this month is over.  I'm not really getting what I want from this at all.

So not that much love was given after all and not thanks for anything was given that day. Tsk tsk.

Brigand : Oh no no no.. it's not because of you I want it to be closed.  I have been getting unrelated posts for several days now and just fear what it might become thanks to the TdV.  LOL

Thanks for your explanation earlier.  ^.^ I really appreciated it!

I felt that way throughout my entire probability class.  The class was so fun and well-structured, and the teacher loved to answer our questions.  The teacher is no longer at the university due to sickness, but was the best teacher I have ever had.  I should send him a card or something.  If you ever get a chance someday, take a class in probability.  It can be a ton of fun.

I have always had boring math teachers. Working in groups is always fun. In elementary school we would play math games. But in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade, I haven't had any fun lessons. I don't know if there is a single fun math teacher in my school, which really stinks.

Sorry I was just kind of babbling in my previous post cause I was tired and bored, but before you close this I remembered my best college experience that won't help you with the 'relate to real life' part but should definitely keep the class interested; I mean it worked in college lol. So here's my new story:

My calc 2 teacher had an OCD style to his teaching that kept us motivated to pay attention. One thing he did was he always wrote clear and organized notes on the board. This alone is a drastic improvement over some classes. Anyways, he was OCD about having more than one eraser on one side of the board. So he gave us candy if we pointed out when one of the erasers ended up on the same side of the board as the other. This helps us pay attention to what he's writing on the board.

He also had candy for us when answered questions and whatnot. And he started each day with a lateral thinking puzzle. Aside from the candy each week and the puzzles/brain teasers before class there was one thing that was just so great about him: his excitement for not just the material, but for triangles. It was a big moment in the class when we did anything concerning trig. He loved to draw the triangle on the board. And if you were lucky you could be the one to go to the board and draw the triangle haha.

So, in my opinion, if you're going for the kids to pay more attention or participate more in class, I recommend trying out a variation of these methods. Especially for Geometry it might be fun to make a big deal about a certain shape lol. Sorry if this still isn't what you're looking for though.... Or maybe this is more of what you're looking for in your "positive classrooms" thread?