2.+Instructional+Plan

=Instructional Plan =

"Foundations of Algebra with Comics"
 * Title **

This activity can be implemented in any middle school or high school math remediation course. I use this activity in a 9th grade, Algebra remediation course. Special education students in a resource classroom are the targets of activity.
 * Audience **

This comic creation activity is used to help engage high school math students in a remediation activity. Students will be able to build the foundation of their basic Algebra skills in this lesson activity. In the first comic worksheet, students will review basic foundational skills for identifying expressions and writing expressions given mathematical statements. The second comic teaches students to solve basic one-step equations and then it sets up the transition into solving two-step equations.
 * Purpose **

Students will:
 * Learning Objectives **
 * Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
 * Interpret the structure of expressions
 * Write expressions given mathematical statements
 * Understand the definitions of operational terms
 * Create equations that describe numbers or relationships
 * Understand solving equations as a process of reasoning and explain the reasoning
 * Solve equations and inequalities with one variable

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">MCC9-12.A.SSE.1 - Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">MCC9-12.A.CED.1 - Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and exponential functions. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">MCC9‐12.A.REI.1 - Explain each step in solving a simple equation as following from the equality of numbers asserted at the previous step, starting from the assumption that the original equation has a solution.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Georgia Common Core Standard **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Teachers will also need copies of the “Structure of Expression” and “Solving Equations” comic consumable worksheets for the instruction to take place. Teachers should use a computer and LCD projector to project the comic worksheets for the whole class. Toondoo and a computer lab with Internet capabilities will be required for the follow-up strategies. The follow-up strategy will ask students to create their own comics with Toondoo.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Materials **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This comic resource is design to stand alone as an independent learning opportunity for a small group of math remediation students. Teachers may want to read through the comics once to make sure students with significant reading deficits can comprehend the comic instruction and the problems that the comic strip asks them to complete. Once the teacher has presented the comic, then it is time for the students to work through the comic independently, almost like they would a webquest. After students complete the comic instruction students should direct any questions or concerns to the teacher for further intervention. It is important for the teacher to encourage self-assessment by projecting the answers on the screen and having the students check their answers for accuracy. Teachers should supplement this comic activity with practice problems that relate to the content covered in the comic
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Instructions **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Assessment Strategies **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Students will participate in self-assessment after they have completed the comic activity.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Teachers should use informal methods to predict mastery of the content presented in the comic.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Teachers should also give the students short quizzes related to the information in the comic.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">After completion of this lesson teachers can have students create their own two to three frame comics that summarizes any new strategies that maybe they did not know or understand before working through the comic activity
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Follow Up Strategies **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As I was thinking of how I might use comics to teach math, I thought of one particular student this year that came to me from New York. This student had very little algebra skills. This student had difficulty understanding operations in an expression and he also had trouble solving one-step equations. He simply did not have the foundational skills needed to do much of the algebra work that was required in our class. Looking back at this student’s situation, I thought how much more important it was to help him acquire the basic algebra skills that he needed to be successful in his future math courses. I thought putting the instructions in the students’ language and connecting to students’ culture and experiences could help transform their basic algebra skills. My school is mostly made up of minority students and they are always listening to hip-hop, so I decided to create celebrity characters based on two very popular Hip-hop and R&B music, Jay Z and Beyoncé. I even researched teenage slang words in order to write the dialogue for the cartoon in a more exciting way and teenage friendly way.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Reflection **

About the Author

 * [[image:jameytrask7465/jamey head crop.jpg]] || =====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">James Trask or "Jamey" is a special education teacher at Fayette County High School, in Fayetteville, GA. He has been teaching and coaching varsity football there for the past 9 years. This year he also accepted a part-time position as a teacher for the Georgia Virtual School. Jamey is currently teaching one engineering course through the GA Virtual School. Teaching online has been a great challenge for Jamey and he is glad to have been given this opportunity to be on the front-end of a movement toward online education. Jamey received his undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University in graphic design. He completed his masters degree in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia in the spring of 2012. Jamey spends most of his professional time co-teaching math, but he also co-teaches a British Literature course. Jamey always looks for opportunities to use and share the knowledge he has in graphic design and technology with others that will listen. ===== ||