Algebra: The Early YearsElijah R. Swift, Jr.Chandler-Gilbert Community CollegeMaricopa County Community College District, AZ

Aline WilsonLenora Braynon Smith Elementary SchoolMiami-Dade County Public Schools FL

John RobertsLeflore County P.S., MS

What do you do when a student asks, “When am I ever going to use this?”

What do you do when a student asks, “When am I ever going to use this?”

What do you do when a student says, “I’m just not a math person”?

What do you do when a student says, “I’m just not a math person”?

What do you do to help struggling students succeed? What do you do to help struggling students succeed?

Motivate Them!Motivate Them!

Motivate them?This is easier said than done.

HOW????HOW????

Agenda Creed Introductions Giving/ Following

Directions Activity What is Algebra? How

does it look at the elementary school level?

What’s My Rule? Pattern Play Puzzling Patterns

Patterns of Penny Placement

Just the Facts Song Find the Missing Number How Fast Are We Going? Find Perimeter and Area

Using Straws and Fishing Line

Creed

CreedI AM LARGER THAN LIFE

I WILL LEAD NOT FOLLOWI WILL BELIEVE NOT DOUBT

I WILL CREATE NOT DESTROYI AM A FORCE FOR GOODI WILL DEFY THE ODDS

I WILL SET A NEW STANDARDI WILL STEP UP

I AM WHAT I CHOOSE TO BEAND EVERY DAY,IN EVERY WAY,

I GET BETTER AND BETTER

Introductions: Who are you? Think of an adjective that describes you.

Stand. Tell us your adjective, why you chose it, and briefly tell us about yourself.

Giving/ Following Directions Do you give clear

instructions?

Are you able to follow directions?

In this activity, you will work with a partner (groups of 2).

Person 1 will give instructions. Person 2 will follow the given directives.

What is Algebra?

Algebraic ThinkingThe NCTM has constantly emphasized that beginning with the earliest grades, the curriculum should stress patterns (Bassarear, 2005). More specifically, students should be afforded opportunities to focus on recognizing, describing, and extending patterns.

Algebraic Thinking

The NCTM also states that elementary teachers should have sufficient familiarity with the ideas of algebra so that their students will explore and develop, before they enter high school, the concepts and skills that are essential prerequisites to formal algebraic thinking .

Patterns

What’s My Rule? Activity

What’s My Rule? Cut out shapes.

Create a pattern using the shapes.

Pair up with a partner. See can you figure out the rule for the pattern that your partner created.

What’s My Rule? Discussion

Which patterns presented the least amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Which patterns presented the greatest amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Use/ Adapt for Use

Pattern Play ActivityNoodlin’ With Numbers

Pattern Play – Noodlin’ With Numbers

Pattern detectives everywhere, we need your help! A dreadful number villain is vandalizing our town. No number is safe from his evil clutches.

Pattern Play – Noodlin’ With Numbers

This mysterious phantom is noodlin’ with our numbers and causing chaos in our town. You can imagine the confusion when highway 3 suddenly became highway 7 and the speed limit changed from 20 to 41 miles per hour within minutes. Addresses are being changed. The ice cream shop isn’t 127 Cedar Avenue anymore. It is now 255 Cedar Avenue.

Pattern Play – Noodlin’ With Numbers

We’re stumped. Please help us solve this mystery. Do you see a pattern? Maybe if you can discover the pattern, we can save the next town.

Pattern Play – School’s InThere are 20 fish in the “school.” There are three

different colors of fish – blue, green, and red. The school was lined up so that the pattern of fish was blue, blue, green, green, red, blue, blue, green, green, red…

What color is the last fish in the line? How many blue fish are in the school?

Pattern Play – Pyramid of PenniesChin built a pyramid of pennies. He had one

penny on top. He had three pennies in the second row. He had five pennies in the third row and seven pennies in the fourth row.

How many pennies did he have in the 10th row? Which row had 27 pennies?

Pattern Play? Discussion

Which patterns presented the least amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Which patterns presented the greatest amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Use/ Adapt for Use

Puzzling Patterns

Puzzling Patterns Look at the Hundred’s Chart.

What patterns do you see?

Record results on flip chart paper.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Puzzling PatternsLet’s break the chart apart.

Puzzling Patterns? Discussion

Which patterns presented the least amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Which patterns presented the greatest amount of challenge to figure out? Why?

Use/ Adapt for Use

Patterns of Penny Placement

Just the Facts Song

Find the Missing Number Activity

Find the Missing Number Discussion

Use/ Adapt for Use

How Fast Are We Going Activity

How Fast Are We Going Discussion

Use/ Adapt for Use

Find Perimeter and Area Activity

Find Perimeter and Area Activity Discussion

Use/ Adapt for Use

Wrap it Up

IF A CHILD DOES NOT LEARN

THE WAY YOU TEACH,

TEACH

THE WAY THE CHILD LEARNS.

CreedI AM LARGER THAN LIFE

I WILL LEAD NOT FOLLOWI WILL BELIEVE NOT DOUBT

I WILL CREATE NOT DESTROYI AM A FORCE FOR GOODI WILL DEFY THE ODDS

I WILL SET A NEW STANDARDI WILL STEP UP

I AM WHAT I CHOOSE TO BEAND EVERY DAY,IN EVERY WAY,

I GET BETTER AND BETTER

Contact Info:elijah.swift@cgcmail.maricopa.edu

awilson@dadeschools.net

tony51156@aol.com

This presentation can be found online at:http://eport2.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/s/wi/swift/collection/11/