Imagine IT Phase 3

Action Plan
IDENTIFYING DESIRED RESULTS
The big idea of this project is for students to become aware of how often math is used in the
world around them. Students are always asking me the same question, Mrs. Barrett, why do I have to
know this? When am I ever going to need this information? What I have come to realize is that my
students are not asking this question to avoid learning a topic in mathematics, instead they are trying to
identify this math in real life. As educators, we try to make math relevant by creating real-world
problems.
My goal is to create understanding, awareness, and curiosity in my students so that they will
begin to identify the math used around them. As a result of this project, it is my hope that my students
will not just look at a building and admire the architecture but that they will be able to identify all the
math that went into creating the building. I want them to discover the geometry, the statistics, the
ratios, the algebra, the functions that it took to make this grand creation. I want them to watch the
Olympics and not just see athletes, but the measurement and statistics that are used to evaluate them,
the calculations and ratios that go into their well-crafted diets and workouts, and the math that creates
the timing in the gymnastics floor routines.
The key idea essential of my project is for students to identify invisible math in the world around
them. When they play Pokmon Go, I want them to find the math, to research what math went into
making this app. For example, triangulation of their cell phone to a satellite in the sky and the use of
GPS to find the characters. At the eighth grade level, I do not expect my students to fully understand
the calculations and formulas that are required to run such an app. I expect that using their knowledge
base, the students could identify what aspects of math are incorporated, for example geometry and
algebra. I would expect them to deepen and develop their knowledge base by conducting research,
reaching out via social networks or email to corporations and creators of the app. Finally, students will
be asked to present their understanding of the math involved through presentation, models, slide shows
or in written form. I will offer my students several modalities to present their knowledge and I will be
open to further suggestions.

EVIDENCE
As a result of this project, students will identify and understand that mathematics is embedded
in their daily life and real-world experiences. The project will really be two portions; first, students will
work in groups of 4-5 to pick and explore the invisible math found within something that interests them,
and secondly, this information will be compiled together to create a Museum of Math that highlights all
the ways that math is used in the world around us. Our work will progress through several stages.
The introductory stage will include brainstorming of topics and identifying what aspects of math
students believe to be embedded in their topic. For example, students may wonder what types of math
are in soccer. They will generate ideas and explanations of what types of math they believe are
intertwined in the game of soccer.

As the unit progresses, students will enter the guided inquiry performances where they will
begin to narrow their focus. For example, while the topic may be soccer, they could go in many
directions; professional, collegiate, or even pick-up games. They could identify measurement, cost,
statistics, rate, and angles to name a few. During this step in the process of our unit, I will be able to
conduct formative assessments of the process and progress of the groups. During the guided inquiry
process, we will work together to formulate a method for the students to present their information and
clarify any misconceptions. They may decide to make a slide show or video, or they may write about
their understandings or create presentations as the groups work towards their culminating
performance. Groups will also have a partner group to generate peer feedback. This will become a type
of dress rehearsal for their performance and provide them with time to make adjustments prior to their
culminating performances.
For the culminating performance, students will share their process and understandings with
their peers. Essentially, they will take their peers from the brainstorming stage all the way through their
deepened knowledge base. Presentations will either be filmed or uploaded to or class website. This will
create a Museum of Invisible Math, a sharing to the many ways that math can be found in our daily lives.
I will be completing the summative assessment based upon several factors, including:

Dated journal entries from each scheduled meeting

A reference page indicating websites, books and experts that the students utilized to deepen
their knowledge base
Evidence of refinement, including narrowing of ideas from the brainstorm stage and identifying
changes in understanding
Evidence of collaboration with other groups through collaboration logs
Outlines for culminating performances at least 3 weeks prior to performance to allow for
adjustments
A thorough and thoughtful culminating performance that is suitable for web-based sharing
A personal reflection from each member of the group

LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTION

CONTEXT
I teach in a distant neighborhood of Chicago, surrounded by highways, factories, railroads and
nature. There is one small grocery store and the nearest Target is a fifteen-minute drive. There is no
movie theater or museum or cultural center anywhere near my school. There are forest preserves,
marshes and Wolf Lake, an active Park District, one small library and great diversity, both ethnically and
financially. Most of my students will tell you that they live in Hegewisch, not Chicago.
I teach mathematics to two seventh grade classes and two eighth grade classes. I also teach one
pre-algebra to a seventh grade class. My entire day is spent teaching mathematics as our seventh and
eighth grades are departmentalized. I have between thirty and forty students per class with several ELL
students and many inclusion students. I should have a diverse learner teacher with each class to
support students with IEPs but I have yet to receive a schedule that confirms this expectation.
I do have a math curriculum, titled Go Math, but I also have flexibility to use other resources and
integrate project-based learning. While my subject area is mathematics, I work closely with our science

teacher. We work well together and have collaborated on several projects in the past. I am required by
our CPS Network to follow a specific order of topics as defined in a mandated pacing guide which I have
yet to receive for the upcoming school year. When we collaborate, my colleague is able to adjust the
topics in science more often and we try to teach complimentary concepts.
Looking forward, I anticipate two main challenges: technology and resources. Our technology is
limited mainly due to budget constraints. There is one set of approximately thirty Chromebooks for the
entire seventh and eighth grade. As a result, we create a rotation of this resource, only guaranteeing
one days use of the Chromebooks per week. Our students do take a computer class once a week and I
have been able to coordinate with the technology teacher in the past. I have written a Donors Choose
grant in hopes of procuring ten Chromebooks to support learning in my class. My other challenge will
be gathering resources, anything from Post-It notes to pencils is nearly impossible to procure in my
school. My principal prioritizes staff over resources, and I agree with her decision. I would take another
innovative teacher any day over a storeroom of paper. Unfortunately, many of the parents are also
experiencing the same limited resources, so I will have to be creative in collecting materials to support
my students projects.
CONTENT
Besides achieving a fluent understanding of the mandated CCS-M standards for the respective
grades, I want my students to develop an understanding that math is as essential to their daily lives as
reading and writing. Elementary schools put such great emphasis on literacy that many students see
math as optional and even irrelevant. In our technological society, math is embedded in our daily lives,
we have just grown so accustomed that we no longer recognize how it impacts us. I will be encouraging
students to identify the big ideas of middle school math - geometry, measurement, statistics, functions,
algebra in the aspects of life that they enjoy. How is math necessary for cooking? Where do we find
geometry in home design? How do statistics help us determine the best player in our favorite sport?
These are the questions that will help students to recognize the value in a deepened understanding of
mathematics.

PEDAGOGY
Given the content of mathematics and the goal to identify the invisible mathematics in our daily
lives, I will need to utilize pedagogical approaches that link a very concrete concept with one that is
much more abstract. Essentially, I will be doing the same project, but several steps ahead and sharing
my process with my students. I know they will need structure to brainstorm and organize their
thoughts, so concept mapping and graphic organizers will help my students to focus their work and
ideas. Inquiry and project-based learning are at the heart of this project. I will need to model and
demonstrate examples for my students as they progress through the stages of this project. Journaling
and workshops will provide students with opportunities to reflect and myself with a way to formatively
assess my students. Students will research, read and share their knowledge in groups as they formulate
their culminating performance. Collaborative work between groups will help to polish presentations
before they are completed. Rubrics for grading, independent reflections and classroom presentations
will complete the process.

TECHNOLOGY
I expect that Chromebooks would be the best form of technology in my class as they are my
primary option. My students all have Google accounts and have been using Google technologies for
several years. I will need to further explore the capabilities of my students use of YouTube or if that will
be best utilized when I am working with the small groups. I am hoping to procure a camera suitable for
videos and still photography. If this is not available, I will use my Surface.
I will, for the first time, begin to use Google Classroom as a method for assigning and submitting
work. I plan for students to utilize Google Documents as a way to log journal entries, resource lists and
outlines. Google Drawing will be useful for creating portions of the presentations. Most likely, I will be
the person to upload the culminating performances through YouTube due to technology restrictions on
student accounts. We will develop a class website that will be devoted to invisible math which will also
be linked to my Weeby site.
There are several aspects of technology that I still have to explore. I want to learn if we can
Skype or communicate with other classrooms and professionals. I would like to teach my students to
develop their own memes as a compliment to their work.

I know that through a thoughtful and thorough planning process I will be able to create the
framework for a project that will finally answer the question, Why do I need to know this math? I am
only with my students for a short amount of time but it is my hope that the lessons they learn follow
them throughout life. This project is designed to make my students curious about their world and
skilled enough to find the answers to their curiosity. I want to equip them with the ability to answer the
questions themselves and find value in mathematics. I hope that they will develop an appreciation for
the invisible math that keeps their daily lives in motion.