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Math Connections
Overview
Lesson 1: Becoming a Researcher
Grade Level: 8th
8.PS.5 Make conjectures from generalizations
8.PS.6 Represent problem situations verbally, numerically, algebraically, and graphically
8.PS.7 UnderstandUnderstand that there and disadvantages.
8.CM.4 Share organized mathematical ideas through the manipulation of objects, numerical
tables, drawings, pictures, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, models and symbols in written and verbal form

Lesson 1: Becoming a Researcher
Grade Level: 8th
Time: 50-60 minutes
Objective:
Discussing information on communication technology, students will learn the steps a researcher takes in creating questions for a survey. Students will in turn, create and administer a survey to develop a sense of the information they would like to obtain while also distinguishing between effective and ineffective survey questions.
Reading Objective:
After learning about surveying, students will make predictions and inferences about what the responses to their survey questions.
Types of Literacy involved: prediction, inference, and prior knowledge
Standards:
Mathematics
8.RP.2 Use mathematical strategies to reach a conclusion
8.CN.6 Recognize and provide examples of mathematics in their everyday lives.
8.CN.7 Apply mathematical ideas to problem situations that develop outside of mathematics
8.CN.8 Investigate the presence of mathematics in careers and areas of interest
English/ Language Arts
Standard 3
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Materials:
- Access to Google Documents (a Gmail Email Account)
- Computers for a Whole Classroom
- Blog Account (Bloggster)
Procedure:
1) I will start by asking the students what types of information they would like to find out about communication technology related to their peers. The information can be either about a specific mode or use of communication technology or very general.
2) The students will Think-Pair-Share about this topic and I will record the information on a whiteboard/SMART board.
3) I will tell the students that mathematicians turn their interests about a topic into a survey to obtain information. The students will start to be like researchers in this unit.
4) I will model for the students how to turn their inquiries into survey questions.
5) Students will break into groups of 4-5 students.
6) Students will, together, develop survey questions based on their inquiries from the “Think-Pair-Share”
7) Students will use Google Doc to add their survey questions
8) Students will upload their survey questions onto the Unit Blog so that other’s can see the class results.
9) The questions will all upload to the same spot so students can answer the questions after they have finished.
10) Lastly, the students will make predictions about what the outcomes of the survey may be.
Accommodation:
Students will work in differentiated teams to create survey questions. They can work together to create at least 5 survey questions that they would like to find the answer to. In working together, the students will monitor one another’s effort and input into the questions.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the effectiveness, creativeness, and relevance of their teamwork and the survey questions they develop. Students will be able to gage whether or not their questions are good research questions in the next lesson.
Lesson 2: Analyzing Data like a Researcher
Grade Level: 8th
Time: 50-60 minutes
Objective:
After completing survey questions and learning about analysis of data, students will in turn analyze and interpret the data they have collected. Students will also use their prior experiences to discuss how they will display their data to others.
Reading Objective:
In analyzing the collected data, students will either confirm or reject their previous predictions and inferences they have made.
Types of Literacy involved: confirming/disconfirming predictions and making connections
Standards:
Mathematics
8. PS.15 Choose methods for obtaining required information
8.CN.6 Recognize and provide examples of mathematics in their everyday lives.
8.CN.7 Apply mathematical ideas to problem situations that develop outside of mathematics
8.CN.8 Investigate the presence of mathematics in careers and areas of interest
8.R.10 Use mathematics to show and understand social phenomena (e.g., determine profit from sale of yearbooks)
English/ Language Arts
Standard 1
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Materials:
- Access to Google Documents (a Gmail Email Account)
- Computers for a Whole Classroom
- Microsoft Word/ Excel (Access to Creating a table and a Word Processor)
Procedure:
1) I will start by asking the students what they should do now that they have the information they were looking for. What does this information mean?
2) The students will Think-Pair-Share about this topic and I will record the information on a whiteboard/SMART board.
3) I will tell the students that mathematicians analyze their survey results to determine whether or not the questions were effective. The students will start to be like researchers in this unit.
4) I will model for the students how to determine a good/ bad survey question.
5) Students will break into groups of 4-5 students then eliminate “bad” (misleading) survey questions.
6) After the students will talk about the findings their questions have shown them. I will demonstrate, on Google Documents, how to hide and view certain information
7) Students will then compare their current findings to the predictions they made from the class before.
8) Students will think about how these findings can be expressed to other viewers in a friendlier version.
Accommodation:
Students will work in differentiated teams to discuss the findings and compare predictions. They can work together to analyze the information and judge the questions. In working together, the students will monitor one another’s effort and input into the analysis.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the effectiveness, creativeness, and relevance of their teamwork and the findings they develop. Students will hand in a copy of their predictions page that will confirm or disconfirm them. Students will also record their findings of the survey questions.
Lesson 3: Presenting the Data
Grade Level: 8th
Time: 50-60 minutes
Objective:
After creating and implementing a survey and analyzing the data, students will discuss the different ways to display and present data. Students will develop graphs and other forms of representation to present their data. Students will also make connections across graphs and generalize information, as researchers do.
Reading Objective:
After interpreting data, students will synthesize the information and record information learned in both graphical and written representations. Students will also make connections amongst the graphs and generalize to real world situations.
Types of Literacy involved: making connections (for comprehension)
Standards:
Mathematics
8.PS.4 Observe patterns and formulate generalizations
8.PS.5 Make conjectures from generalizations
8.PS.6 Represent problem situations verbally, numerically, algebraically, and graphically
8.PS.7 Understand that there is no one right way to solve mathematical problems but that different methods have both advantages and disadvantages.
8.CM.4 Share organized mathematical ideas through the manipulation of objects, numerical
tables, drawings, pictures, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, models and symbols in written and verbal form
8.CM.5 Answer clarifying questions from others
8.R.1 Use physical objects, drawings, charts, tables, graphs, symbols, equations, or objects
created using technology as representations
8.R.11 Use mathematics to show and understand mathematical phenomena (e.g., use tables, graphs, and equations to show a pattern underlying a function)
English/ Language Arts
Standard 3
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Materials:
- Access to Google Documents (a Gmail Email Account)
- Computers for a Whole Classroom
- Microsoft Word/ Excel / PowerPoint (Access to Creating tables, graphs and a Word Processor)
Procedure:
1) I will start by asking the students how we can represent the information we obtained? How can we show others what we have learned?
2) The students will Think-Pair-Share about this topic and I will record the information on a whiteboard/SMART board.
3) I will tell the students that mathematicians represent their data in graphical and table forms.
4) I will model one type of graph and students will decide, in their groups, which graphs they could make.
5) After the students will talk about the choices they have made and discuss how they would explain the data to an observer.
6) Students will make connections from the findings to their everyday lives, what they have learned in other classes, and the “real-world.”
7) The connections will be written, individually, and handed in.
Accommodation:
Students will work in differentiated teams to discuss the findings and compare predictions. They can work together to analyze the information and discuss findings. In working together, the students will monitor one another’s effort and input into the analysis.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the effectiveness, creativeness, and relevance of their teamwork and the connections they develop. Students will also hand in a discussion of their findings and the connections they have made to the research.

ELA Classroom Connections
Lesson OverviewOverview
This unit is focused on the exploration of communications technologies. These technologies will be approached as vehicles of information that can be understood through literary terminology, specifically reliant on the terminology focused around the discourse of genre. Young people far too frequently believe that a medium dictates the form of the information, rather than the constraints, purpose and audience of the information.
Lesson 1: Texting and Audience
Objectives
Students will be able to define the term audience as it applies to literature.
Students will identify text messaging as a genre.
Students will appropriately address their audience with faux text messages 8 out of 9 times
Standards
Standard 3:NYS ELA
1. Students will speak for critical analysisinformation and evaluation.
Studentsunderstanding.
4. Students will be manipulating text based onread, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
NCTE
1. Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the conceptexchange of audience.information).
Accommodations
Talented - have them
Have students read __http://www.newmappings.net/archives/theory/genre-and-audience__ comment format.
Materials Texting and Audience Handout
Procedure
Activity 1: Quickwrite
Lesson 2 - E-mail and Tone
Rationale
for workplace connectivity.connectivity and will be a powerful skill in many job situations. While students are natives of the digital world, they often forget the need to
Objective
Students will identify email as a genre of literature and be able to identify one quality of
Standards
NYS ELA
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
NCTE
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
Accommodations
If students are unaware of what email is or have limited exposure to it, show them this video, which explains the basics of an email. __http://assets.gcflearnfree.org/topics/19/email.html__
Materials
Smartboard or digital projector
One computer for each of four groups
Procedure
1) Quickwrite: WhatActivity 1: Quickwrite
What is the report about bmxing and telling friend about bmxing?
Activity 2: Lecture
How do you write a proper email? Go through as much or as little of this as you need to. The focus is on the difference between a structure with which they are familiar (a letter) and the structure of an e-mail. The presentation is full of examples of good and bad emails.
__http://www.gcflearnfree.org/emailbasics/1.1__
Activity 3: Internet Game
__http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/FCE_writing.htm__
Students will need a computer to play this, let them work in groups where you can see to make sure they don’t cheat. Anyone who clicks the show words button before the time is up (when a student reaches 100 words revealed) is disqualified from the activity.
Activity 4: Signatures
Lesson 3 - Blogging and Targeting An Audience
Rationale
electronic communication that is becoming increasingly popular. Blogs are a collection of blog posts usually centered around a particular theme. Blogs can have large readerships and authorship of one can be some one's permanent job. As news decentralizes, more blogs appear that are high interest to students, allowing them an avenue for
These are frequently confused with online journals, which are subtly different, in that there is less expectation of communication between author and reader.
Objectives
Students will be able to identify blogging as a genre and identify one defining aspect of the genre.
Students will make inferences about the target audience of a blog based on its components identify techniques used to attract the target audience of a blog 8 out of ten times.
Standards
NYS ELA
1. Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
2. Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
4. Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
NCTE
1. Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
Accommodations
Students who are not strong writers could be assessed verbally on the webquest after they collect notes on the questions
Students who are interested in blogging as a profession can look at __http://www.problogger.net/make-money-blogging/__
Materials
Computer lab
Blogging worksheet printout
Procedure
1) StudentsActivity 1: Webquest
Students will engage in a webquest found at .webquest. This webquest
(Key ideas: Blogging is informal, but deliberate. It is centered not around giving out information, but engaging readers in a conversation that is open and essentially never ending. The author is expected to respond to comments made on his or her blog.)
2) NowThe webquest is found at...
If the webquest is down, students can examine the following blogs. The
__http://blog.defgrip.net__
Activity 2: Group Project
Now students will might write.
What are some ways Each groups is to create a fictional blog, describe what kind of content would be included in the blog, who would the audience be and what steps would the bloggers take to reach that we could market your blog?audience.
Final Project - Making and Marketing a Blog
Get an account on Wordpress.com.
Using the guide, create a two to three post blog using the guidelines below.

ELA Classroom Connections
Lesson Overview
2) Now students will get into groups of three or four and use the BLOGGING WORKSHEET to frame a blog that they might write.
What are some ways that we could market your blog?