Treasure+Hunt

=Lisa La Roche=

Treasure Hunt

 * Introduction & Overview: ** The purpose of this lesson is to incorporate the use of technology into an Algebra I classroom. For this lesson I will be using // edublogs.org // to help teach the students the importance of posting their work online. In this lesson, the students are to work in groups of three to create a treasure map (hand drawn or computer generated) accompanied with mathematical clues that lead to a hidden object that is located on the school’s campus. The treasure map and clues must be posted on the group’s blog. The mathematical clues can include any of the math topics that we have covered in class so far. If they wish to use more complicated math, they can as long as they get it approved by me and it is used appropriately and accurately. The students may use as many 25 clues and as few as 10 clues. The project assessment will be done with each group of students completing the task of determining the location of another group’s hidden treasure. No two groups can work on the same project. To insure the validity of their findings, the group must turn in a detailed description of how they found the hidden object. If the students were unable to find the hidden object, points will be awarded based on their amount of completion. Points can also be deducted from the creators score if their map and clues are not descriptive and detailed enough to be used correctly.


 * Grouping & Classroom set-up: ** Students are in groups of three and at least one of the students must have access to a computer with a working internet connection. (It is best if all three have access to a computer so they learn can learn how to use // edublogs.org // ).


 * The Basic Clue Requirements ** :


 * 1) At least two clues must include references to angle measurements.
 * 2) At least one clue must include the total amount of time that it should take a person to get from the classroom to the hidden object.
 * 3) At least three clues must give hints to what the hidden object is or looks like without saying what it is exactly.
 * 4) At least one clue should include a distance problem that needs to be solved.
 * 5) At least one clue should be used to describe the area of the location that contains the hidden object. (An area problem that needs to be solve should be used here if possible).
 * 6) At least one clue should be used to solve the area or volume of the hidden object.
 * 7) All clues must include appropriate use of mathematical vocabulary.
 * 8) The remaining clues must be of a mathematical nature that can be solved by an Algebra I student.
 * 9) Bonus points will available for those who choose to write their clues in the form of a riddle or a poem. Also, bonus points will be available for those who post pictures of hints (not the hidden object) on their blog.
 * 10) All clues must be typed and posted on your group’s blog with the treasure map.

= Edublogs Set-up Steps: =

Go to [] and click on the free edublogs button.

(This is what the website should look like).


 * 1) Set-up an account on edublogs.org completed with a username and one of the student’s school email address. Then chose “Gimme a blog!” at the bottom of the screen.
 * 2) On the next screen, each group will needed to choose a blog domain in order to create a web address, create a blog title, set the language to English, choose the privacy settings, and complete a human verification section. They must selected NO on the privacy settings because I only want their blog postings to be available to my students or those who I give the web address.
 * 3) Once steps 1 & 2 were completed, a confirmation email was sent to them with their password for login purposes. Activation is also required within two days to keep this edublogs account. By clicking the activation link in the email they was able to activate their blog account.
 * 4) Once their blog has been activated, another email will be sent to them requiring that they login in to their edublogs account.
 * 5) Once in their account, they can post their project by using the publish command.
 * 6) After the projects have been posted and turned in, I will have students log on to edublogs.org.
 * 7) Once at this site as a class, we will complete steps 1 & 2 as a class. In step two, the students will choose the “Just a username, please” button. This will give the students a username and password without requiring them to create their own blog account. Their username will be their first name and their password will be sent to their school email accounts.
 * 8) Next, I will give the students the web addresses for the each group’s blog.
 * 9) The class will practice looking at other group’s blogs and reading through their projects.
 * 10) The groups or individual students who finish their normal class-work early on block days may gain bonus points for logging onto another group’s blog and determining the location of their hidden treasure (object).

**Grading:**

Blog creation = 10 points

Treasure map posted on your blog = 10 points

__Clues posted on your blog = 10 points__

Total points = 30 points

(Full paper and reflection are below).

Lisa La Roche Math 506 7-12-11  Teaching Mathematics with Web 2.0:   Increase Mathematical Rigor and Relevance For this lesson outline, I chose to use blogs on //edublogs.org//. I will incorporate these blogs into my remedial Algebra 1 class. The type of students that I have in this class ranges from 9th to 12th grade remedial student with different ethnic backgrounds. Some of these students are repeating this class for either the first or second time. Their skill levels are varied as well as their behaviors. Some of these students are in my class because they do have low skill levels, while others are in my class because they have behavior issues. So, it is accurate to say that my students are varied in many ways.

The math concepts that I plan to cover in my Algebra 1 class include the following: foundations for algebra, equations, inequalities, functions, linear functions, systems of equations and inequalities, exponents and polynomials, factoring polynomials, quadratic functions and equations, data analysis and probability, exponential and radical functions, rational functions and equations, angle measurements and their basic properties, and various real world word problems. However, since my students are remedial, the actual amount of these concepts that will be covered will depend on their skills and abilities.

The way in which I plan to incorporate the use of blogs in my classroom comes in the form of an end-of-year treasure hunt project. Since my classroom has 30 student computers, my students will be given time on block days (Mondays and Tuesdays) to work with their group in class. For this project, I will arrange my students in groups of three. They will be required to not only create a blog on //edublogs.org// to post their project, but also they must create a treasure map (hand drawn or computer generated) accompanied with mathematical clues that lead to a hidden object that is located on the school’s campus. The treasure map and clues must be posted on the group’s blog. The mathematical clues can include any of the math topics that we have covered in class so far. If they wish to use more complicated math, they can as long as they get it approved by me and it is used appropriately and accurately. The students may use as many 25 clues and as few as 10 clues. The basic requirements for the clues include the following: 1. At least two clues must include references to angle measurements. 2. At least one clue must include the total amount of time that it should take a person to get from the classroom to the hidden object. 3. At least three clues must give hints to what the hidden object is or looks like without saying what it is exactly. 4. At least one clue should include a distance problem that needs to be solved. 5. At least one clue should be used to describe the area of the location that contains the hidden object. (An area problem that needs to be solve should be used here if possible). 6. At least one clue should be used to solve the area or volume of the hidden object. 7. All clues must include appropriate use of mathematical vocabulary. 8. The remaining clues must be of a mathematical nature that can be solved by an Algebra I student. 9. Bonus points will available for those who choose to write their clues in the form of a riddle or a poem. Also, bonus points will be available for those who post pictures of hints (not the hidden object) on their blog. 10. All clues must be typed and posted on your group’s blog with the treasure map.

In order to get this system set up for the students to use, my students needed to complete the following steps: 1. Go to [] and click on the free edublogs button.

(This is what the website should look like). 

2. Set-up an account on edublogs.org completed with a username and one of the student’s school email address. Then chose “Gimme a blog!” at the bottom of the screen. 3. On the next screen, each group will needed to choose a blog domain in order to create a web address, create a blog title, set the language to English, choose the privacy settings, and complete a human verification section. They must selected NO on the privacy settings because I only want their blog postings to be available to my students or those who I give the web address. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">4. Once steps 1 & 2 were completed, a confirmation email was sent to them with their password for login purposes. Activation is also required within two days to keep this edublogs account. By clicking the activation link in the email they was able to activate their blog account. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">5. Once their blog has been activated, another email will be sent to them requiring that they login in to their edublogs account. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">6. Once in their account, they can post their project by using the publish command. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">7. After the projects have been posted and turned in, I will have students log on to edublogs.org. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">8. Once at this site as a class, we will complete steps 1 & 2 as a class. In step two, the students will choose the “Just a username, please” button. This will give the students a username and password without requiring them to create their own blog account. Their username will be their first name and their password will be sent to their school email accounts. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">9. Next, I will give the students the web addresses for the each group’s blog. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">10. The class will practice looking at other group’s blogs and reading through their projects. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">11. The groups or individual students who finish their normal class-work early on block days may gain bonus points for logging onto another group’s blog and determining the location of their hidden treasure (object).

The ways in which I will assess each group’s performance is quite simple. The creation of a blog is worth 10 points. The posting of the treasure map is worth 10 points. The posting of the clues is worth 10 points. The accuracy, creativity, and completeness of the clues are worth a total of 30 points. Point will be deducted based on the amount of work not completed, posted, or turned in. The project assessment will be done with each group of students completing the task of determining the location of another group’s hidden treasure. No two groups can work on the same project. To insure the validity of their findings, the group must turn in a detailed description of how they found the hidden object. If the students were unable to find the hidden object, points will be awarded based on their amount of completion. Points can also be deducted from the creators score if their map and clues are not descriptive and detailed enough to be used correctly.

In conclusion, I do feel that this blog posting system will allow the students to connect math with the technology that they are used to using. Also, this blog posting project will require the students to not only create a blog, but learn how to post things on blogs and use then correctly. This will be a very great skill for students to learn if they have never used blogs.

Lisa La Roche Math 506 7-12-11 Reflection

After reviewing this lesson, I can see many pros and cons with it. One pro that I can see with using this blog system is that the students will get to use the internet to learn how to post their math projects on blogs. Another good thing about using blogs is that my students will be able to keep future math projects in a blog for their future use. In addition, the students will be able to take pride in their math class by knowing that their class is probably the only math class at their school that is using blog postings.

The negative things that I can see happening with this blog system is that the students may think of it as an added homework assignment that they don’t have time to do or that there is an easier way than using a blog to post stuff. Another problem with this system is that the students may not have a computer at home and may not want to stay after school to work on it in the computer lab. Also, the students who do not do their homework will not be able to complete the blogs fully in a detailed manner.

When thinking about the challenges in implementing this technology into my teaching situation, a few things must be considered. The main thing that must be considered is the parents’ views of this system. Some parents may be for it, while others may be against it. Also, the school administrators must agree to blogs system as well for legal reasons. In addition, the students must be interested enough to follow through with their part in order for this system to be successful. As far as access to computers, the students have access to a computer Monday through Thursday after school in the library until 8 pm in addition to the use of the classroom computers. The final issue regarding the implementation of the blogs is that I will have to make time to check and make sure that each group has successfully completed a blog and that they have their projects posted correctly.

In conclusion, I think that this blog system could have its benefit, but it also has it pitfalls as well.