Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun is shining (at least part of the time). The days are getting longer.
In the United States, state testing is on the horizon. This deep into the school year, the classroom can feel a little restrictive; a little crowded. Maybe we need to break up the routine a little and get outside.
While we at Desmos are enthusiastic about leveraging technology to help students develop deep conceptual understanding, we are also enthusiastic about students taking advantage of the flexibility offered by using paper, whiteboards and even sidewalk chalk.
You know that practice task the class was going to work on? Maybe print one set of problems— one question per page—laminate them or use plastic sheet protectors. Tape these to a wall in a library, gym, hallway, or even to the outside walls of the school building. Students can walk around and answer each question on their own paper.
Or you could get outside to use proportional reasoning comparing actual distances to measurements a map, measure tall objects using similar triangles, engage in a Barbie bungee activity for linear equations or Barbie Zipline for right triangle trigonometry.
When there are no large outdoor projects that fit your curriculum, there is always the option of practicing math outside using sidewalk chalk.
Learning outside is this week’s Friday Fave.