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Re: Janet Smith's "Home Improvement" game
Posted:
Nov 5, 1995 8:59 PM
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On Sat, 4 Nov 1995, Andrei TOOM wrote:
.
> The activity you describe is interesting.
> I think, it will be valuable for all of us to know more about it.
> Several questions naturally arise:
> - What was the age of children involved ?
I taught Home Improvement to my 8th grade algebra students; thy were 13
and 14 year old
> - How many were involved ?
My class had 33 students
> - What was contribution of the most active ones
? of the least active ?
I do not follow this question
> - Did they get some grades for
participation ? I have a very difficult time not considering particpation
when I am assessing mys tudents. However, they did not get an actual
grade. I have to say, particpation was not an issue. This unit kept the
students very engaged.
> - Was any algebra involved or only arithmetics ?
Students put functions in cells to compute costs. They had to use
arithmetic to get from the paint covering 250 sq ft to how much it cost
to paint one square foot as well as a little geometry. Students clicked
on cells to put them into the fucntions, so they were physically involved
with the variables and formulas. Part of the final project involved
making a scaled drawing of their dream home. Some students made 3
dimensional models. The main purpose of this unit is to develop algebraic
concepts, it did a grand job of it.
Many of my students speak limited
English and are of a low socio-economic backgraound. Many did not know
the difference bewteen high grade and low grade carpet. Many had no idea
what paneling was. So we brought is samples. Along with making thier
scaled drawing/models, students worked with both physical objects and
Thank you for your time. > Andrei-
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