I think I generally follow knowledge-level questions with higher-leveled questions as I teach, but for my lesson on exponents I tried to plan out specific questions and navigate through the topic based on higher level questions to emphasize critical thinking. I had discovered a day or two before that the students had a pretty good grasp on basic powers - most of them could easily calculate 2^2 or 5^3 or 10^2 - so I thought I'd take it a step further and cover multiplication of integers and fractions raised to a power. As has been the case for my past few lessons, I ran out of time at the end. There was so much I wanted to cover with them and I only had 1 period :( Looking back, I guess I bombarded them with a lot of new information, but hopefully, as one of the students commented about our teaching in the classroom, I "broke it down real good." I knew they needed to review multiplication and addition of integers and this lesson was a perfect chance to incorporate that.
Some of my leveled questions:
What is 2x2? 2x2x2?
How do we write that?
How would you show 2^7?
What is -3x-3?
How about -1x-1x-1? (wrong answer by all) How did you get that? (correction)
How can we rewrite 2^4 = 2x2x2x2? (hint: What if I grouped these twos so that 2^4 = (2x2)x(2x2)?)
I was so excited when I got a "2 squared times 2 squared," followed by a "2+2=4," followed by another observation, "2x2=4." I could tell they were thinking :) I went on to tell them the rule for adding exponents when the base is the same. After writing 2^1, 2^2,...,2^5 in a column on the board, they were able to compute the other column of 2,4,...,32.
What do you think 2^0 is? (all said "0")
What does the calculator say 2^0 is?
What is the pattern in the second column?
So what is 2^0?
I had planned to go on to negative exponents using the information we had covered but as I said earlier, I ran out of time. I enjoy using this questioning strategy because I like when the students can figure things out on their own. This isn't possible all of the time and sometimes they need extra guidance, but I think it boosts their confidence and improves their critical thinking skills.
I have always been interested in exercise and nutrition due to the fact that my mom is a personal trainer and lives and breathes fitness. Lily Chang-Chien’s focus paper on Nutrition in Schools interested me because of the relationship between a person’s health and his or her ability to function both physically and mentally. The paper points out the importance of a healthy lifestyle for children in order to maximize their development and success in school.
At the homeless shelter where I volunteered, I saw first-hand how “hunger is less of an issue than malnourishment, which often manifests itself as obesity.” The issue of hunger in the United States puzzled me because I saw people living in poverty with plenty to eat. The shelter received food donations everyday in the forms of non-perishables, recently expired items from supermarkets, and cooked meals. However, there was an absence of fresh produce and an abundance of processed food and bakery items.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mississippi incorporates all of the USDA child nutrition programs. However, as Lily concluded, we cannot fight malnutrition with only the availability of nutritional meals in school. The other part is educating about portion control and regular exercise. Also, it is important to not make the "competitive foods" more accessible and appealing than the meals and snacks offered through the programs. Students need to know that soda and snacks from vending machines do not replace a meal.
No prob - I think I'll have my share of "welcome to Mississippi" signs over the next several weeks and months... Upon entering Mississippi, the only thought on my mind was getting to Oxford asap so that I could stop driving and go to the bathroom. Even though I split the trip over two days, it was longer than any car ride I had ever done. Ever since departing PA, I can't get it through my head that this is real life. It seems as though I'm simply on vacation or a summer excursion of some sort. Oxford and Ole Miss are beautiful. Everyone who has been through Lewisburg talks about how beautiful Bucknell is. It's a nice campus, really, but can't compare to here.
It's amazing to realize the diversity and wide range of people populating one state, let alone one country. I've been to different parts of the country, but nowhere quite like here. We've been talking about the different areas of Mississippi, especially the separation between Mississippi and the Delta. Pennsylvania has its "special" areas as well. Similar to MS, the geography and various industries of PA have played a huge role in the separation of the two main cities, Central PA, and "everywhere else." I guess my role is to realize where I come from and who that has made me to be so that I can relate to people who live outside of Central PA. I have definitely already started this process, but entering into Mississippi and the Delta will introduce new challenges and highlight other differences between me and... the rest of the world :)
