Unit Plan

Unit Overview 7th Grade Special Education
Content Area: Mathematics
Unit Title: Ratios and Unit Rates
Target Course/Grade Level:   7th Grade, Special Education (Resource Room)
Name: Becky Konschak
School: Lakeside Middle School
Date: 1/2/11

Unit Summary
In the context of ads that sell products and American records, students study ratios, rates and relationships between them.  This investigation involves exploring ratios and rates in cola ads.  Pupils will analyze comparison statements involving a middle schools preferences survey.  The class will also write comparison statements using a table about tree dimensions.  The students in the resource classes generally have specific learning disabilities, other health impairments, emotional disturbances, or multiple disabilities. 

Primary interdisciplinary connections:  Children’s Literature, Science, Social Studies
21st century themes:  Financial, Economic, Business
Unit Rationale We see ads everyday that tout their product using ratios or claim their product is better.  Knowing how to read and interpret ratios and rates is a skill that will be used all throughout life.  Later, in the unit, the class will learn about proportional reasoning, which is used in so many things in life (to name a few: recipes, scaling in construction and other areas, traveling, money dealings, etc.

Learning Targets
Standards
Ratios and Proportional Relationships 6.RP

Content Statements
Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.
CPI #              Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
6.RP1              Understand the concepts of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.

Unit Essential Questions

Is b part of the group or is it the whole?         

Unit Enduring Understandings

Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...

Evidence of Learning
Summative Assessment (day 4)
At the end of this investigation, the students will respond to the Mathematical Reflections, journal understandings, and take a short quiz.

Equipment needed:  Copies of Transparency and Additional Practice pages, journals, calculators, white board, SMART Board/projector, laptop computer(s) or student desktop computers, document camera, story books (see Goals/Objectives/CPIs: Exploration for titles)
Teacher Resources:  Comparing and Scaling Teacher’s Guide, Transparency [1.1, 1.2, 1.4 (TG pages 120-125)] pages and Additional Practice Investigation 1 (TG page 150), blank transparencies, laptop computer

Formative Assessments

Lesson Plans
Lesson                                                                 
Lesson 1.1 Exploring Ratios and Rates - 1 hour
Lesson 1.2 Analyzing Comparison Statements - 1 hour
Lesson 1.3 Writing Comparison Statements - 1 hour

Assessment
Mathematical Reflections, journaling, quiz - 1 hour
Teacher Notes:

Curriculum Development Resources
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:

 Unit Author:     Rebecca Konschak                                                                           Date:  12/11/10

 Lesson Plan 1
Content Area:  Mathematics                                                                           Grade: 7 (Sp. Ed.)
Lesson Title: Comparing and Scaling Investigation 1                           Timeframe: 4 days
Lesson Components

21st Century Themes
X Global Awareness
(See Learning Activities 1,4,5)
X Financial, Economic, Business,  and Entrepreneurial Literacy
(See Learning Activities 1,4,5)

Civic Literacy

Health Literacy 

21st Century Skills
Creativity and Innovation       
X Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (See Learning Activities 4,5)          
X Communication and Collaboration (See Learning Activities 1,3,5)
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT Literacy
X Life and Career Skills (See Learning Activities 1,4,5)

Interdisciplinary Connections: Literature, Science, Social Studies
Integration of Technology: SMART Board, computers, projector, document camera, http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/AreaExplorer/, http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/PerimeterExplorer/, Students will be encouraged to use www.phschool.com (Web Code: ame-9031) for homework support and/or in class. 
Equipment & materials needed:

Goals/Objectives/CPIs
Students:

Learning Activities/Instructional Strategies

Remembering:  Students will be asked to recall, “How many people took the taste test?  How many more preferred Bolda Cola?  What percent of people preferred Bolda Cola?  People who preferred Bolda Cola outnumbered those who preferred Cola Nola by a ratio of what?”

Centers:  One or more of the following  may be read at the Literature Center - "One Inch Tall" and “Smart” poems from the book Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, and Ratio and Proportion by David Schwartz;  Computer Center includes using - http://www.southjerseyacademy.com/tr/tre.htm  which has: Ratio Stadium (ratio equivalency – multi-player), Ratio Blaster (find equal ratios – single player), Ratio Martian (identifying ratios – single player) games to play, or  http://www.ixl.com/math/practice/grade-7-understanding-ratios or any of  the other games on the left side of that webpage that would help the students understand ratios and how they are used in a comparison relationship, or if remediation is needed in changing fractions to decimals to percents (http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/FractionFour/)

 

Short Quiz (on the last day of Investigation 1):  1.  Create an ad for a product of your choice.  2.  Write the ad using a ratio comparison between your product and a competitor’s product.  3.  Explain the advantages/disadvantages of each.

Formative Assessment Tasks

Universal Design for Learning Options (UDL Teacher Tool Box for Lesson Plan)
Multiple Means of Representation

  1. Perception For the many students that cannot read well,   http://www.newbedford.k12.ma.us/edtech_toolkit/students/cast/classroom/getting_started.htm.
  2. Language & symbols To help the students learn the vocabulary and concepts of ratios, they will use the http://www.ronblond.com/MathGlossary/  math glossary to take notes/write definitions about the term ratio.
  3. Comprehension   http://quizlet.com/create_set/ is an activity that will be available for those students that would like to make flashcards.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

  1. Expressive skills and fluency To help students that would like to create a video http://animoto.com/ is an option for helping students refine their work.
  2. Executive functions Class presentations and discussions as well as exit tickets will allow the pupils to demonstrate knowledge/skills gained.  The exit tickets will be used to group students in the following day’s activities.  To help the class maintain attention to their task we will use http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/Noise_Thermometer.jpg.  (See #8 below.)

Multiple Means of Engagement

  1. Sustaining effort and persistence to help the class maintain attention to their task, we will use http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/Noise_Thermometer.jpg.
  2. Self-regulation The students will need to set some goals for themselves.  http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/02/08/helping-my-students-set-goals-the-smart-way/ will help the class complete that task. 

Resources

Universal Design for Learning Options (UDL Teacher Tool Box for Unit)
Multiple Means of Representation

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

  1. Executive functions A project option may include using http://cst.cast.org/cst/guest/PAGE,tutorial?vid=internet to help students.

Multiple Means of Engagement

  1. Sustaining effort and persistence The classes will be asked to work cooperatively at different times to share ideas http://www.edutopia.org/math-social-activity-cooperative-learning-video.
  2. Self-regulation Learners diaries may be used throughout this unit to help the students develop mathematically, socially and emotionally http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/learner-diaries. 

Resources