Lesson Plan: Life Applications of Math

Working with middle schoolers is often a challenge.  One of the most challenging parts of teaching this group is they tend to question everything.  As a math teacher, this question can be quite daunting as algebra does not have an obvious application to everyday life. This lesson will help them answer this question for themselves and provide some added motivation going through math class.  Here is the lesson plan that takes advantage of a WebQuest for help:

1.       Descriptive Data- This lesson is for a class of 16 8^th graders.  There are 7 boys and 9 girls in the class.  The class is a mix of rural and suburban backgrounds.  There are 15 Caucasian students with one African-born student adopted into a Caucasian-American family.  There are no special learning needs in the classroom.  This class is part of a departmentalized middle school within a 160 student K-8 Lutheran school.  About one-third of our school is Lutheran, with one-third some other Christian affiliation, with one-third having no church ties.

2.       Prior Requirements- For this lesson, the students already have a working knowledge of the internet and PowerPoint.  They are also on an 8^th grade level or higher in math.

3.       Learning Objective:

a.       To investigate and research the math requirements for desired career options.

b.      To create a presentation showing the importance of higher-level math in professional life.

c.       To present their presentation to the rest of their class clearly and effectively.

4.       Assessment of Student Learning- The students will create a PowerPoint presentation and present it to the class showing what they have learned.  This will be graded according to the rubric provided by the WebQuest.

5.       Rationale- This lesson is important because middle school students are constantly asking the question “why?”  This not only helps answer one of those questions, but also helps them discover some potential career paths they could pursue.  By taking the time to present this in this way, it allows for the students to find something that truly interests them and investigate it.

6.       Materials and Equipment – A computer lab of computers equipped with PowerPoint will be needed.  Also, the WebQuest located at this address: http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=168570

7.       Procedure

a.       This lesson is not specific to one specific piece of curriculum so it can be presented at any time during the school year.

b.      Start by having a discussion with the class about why math is important.

c.       Continue the discussion with how math can affect one’s future.

d.      Ask who knows what they want to be when they grow up.

e.      Have an assignment due the next day giving, in one paragraph, an occupation they are interested in and why.

f.        The next day take the class to the computer lab and introduce the WebQuest as an investigation of their future.  They will investigate what job they want to do and what kind of math will be expected of them to do it.

g.       Give them the link for the WebQuest and allow for two days for them to work.  When their research is completed, they will prepare a presentation for the class on their findings.

h.      At the end of two days, each student will give a 2-4 minute presentation on their findings.  The presentation will be graded on length of presentation, clarity of speech, and use of technology to aid in the presentation.