Math Superheros

When teachers start a lesson for new material, they need to create a "hook lesson" for students to become interested in the new material. The following activity is a GREAT game to start an introduction to the topic of exponents. 

POWER UP! 

Create your Hero: 

Step one: Choose your abilities

Super Speed        Super Strength        Invulnerability       Telepathy           Telekinesis 

Lightning              Fire                         Ice                       Earthquake        (Creature) power 

High teach Gadgets   Blaster                Magic                  Power ring/gem   Stretchy 

Greater Ability 1: (base: 4)    Lesser Ability 2: (base: 3)    Random Ability 3: (base: die roll)

In the battle, you choose which ability you're using each round before you roll the dice. For Greater and Lesser Ability, you will use one die and whatever the outcome of the roll that number will become the exponent. For Random Ability, you will roll two dice and choose which is number is the base and which number is the exponent. 

Step Two: Origin Story 

Name: 

How did you get your powers?   

Mutant                Story: 

Alien 

Magic 

Science

Other 

Step Three: Are you a             Hero   or     Villain 

Step Four: Picture of your character. 

BATTLE: 

Each battle you will use each power once. *Note: it is ok for heroes to fight heroes and villains to fight villains.

Battle last for three rounds. Roll the dice to see who goes first. 

ROUND 1: first player chooses an ability. Second player chooses an ability. Roll the dice at the same time to discover the exponent for the base of the ability. Highest exponent total wins round one. 

ROUND 2: Switch! Second player and first player chooses an ability they haven't used in round 1. Roll the dice at the same time to discover the exponent for the base of the ability. Highest exponent total wins round two. 

ROUND 3: Both players will use the remaining ability. Roll the dice at the same time to discover the exponent for the base of the ability. Highest exponent total wins round three. 

TIEBREAKER: The players will use their random ability one more time. 

VARIATIONS: 

• Team Play: a team of super heroes fight another team of villains or heroes. Teammates multiply their scores each round.  
• Character design: players assign their power base. The student choose the base (1 or higher) for each power so that the three abilities add up to 12.

This game can be used in a lesson plan to teach exponents and to make the connection that we sometimes refer to the exponents as a power. This will also get the imagination of the students and get them really into the math lesson that will follow. The teacher could also have the student describe the battles in a paper and explain how they either won or lost the battle. They would have to explain what the exponents mean and the total of at least six different exponents. They would also have to explain for their random ability, why they choose the base number and the exponent number. This is a great connection to refer back to through the chapter about exponents. 

As the students learn more about the exponent rules, the teacher could bring back this game and create new rules about using the exponent rules.

City of Angles

City of Angles

This project was presented to Mrs. Meyer's 9th and 10th grade geometry class after the introduction of interior, exterior, and corresponding angles. This project brought the students into using these three angles into a real world problem. After the student complete the activity, they will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of parallel lines with a transversal and will be able to show when angles are congruent or supplementary given parallel lines and a transversal. 

Overview of Project:  

For this project, each student will make his or her own street map for a fictional city. This city will consist of: 

1. Six streets that are parallel to each other (each will be named for reference). 

2. Two transversal streets (each will be named for reference). 

3. Traffic lights or stop signs at four different intersections. 

4. The following building, represented in your city: 

     - Post Office 

     - Bank 

     - Fire Department 

     - Police Station 

     - Gas Station 

     - School 

     - Restaurant 

     - Grocery Store 

     - Courthouse 

     - Your House 

Instructions: 

Please place the buildings in the following locations: 

1. Your house and the school at congruent alternate interior angles. 

2. The post office and the bank at same side interior angles. 

3. The fire department and police station at congruent alternate exterior angles.
4. The restaurant and courthouse at non-congruent alternate interior angles.
5. the gas station and grocery store at congruent corresponding angles.

BE CREATIVE!!

Above is my creation of: City of Math! (sorry about not being artistic, I cant draw for the life of me)

My thinking process as I created my City of Angle
I created six parallel lines. I had to think what a parallel line was and I know that they could not intersect each other. Then I created two transversals that intersected the six parallel lines. I created mine so that they did not intersect each other on my graph, but a student could create that type of transversals. I then ha to place stop signs at the intersections of a few lines. I know that intersections are where two lines cross each other creating a t-shape in the image. I next had to place my building in the city. I first read all of the placements of the city to see if any of the building corresponds to more than just one building. I noticed that each building only corresponds to another building within the city. I started with the buildings that had congruent angles (your house, the school, the fire department, the police station, the gas station and the grocery store). Once I placed these buildings, I had four more buildings to place. I first did they non-congruent angles ( the restaurant and the courthouse) because I knew that it was the opposite of congruent angles. Lastly, I placed the final two buildings (The post office and the bank) because these building did not relate to corresponding or non-corresponding, but had to deal with interior angles.

This is one way of thinking to create this city. Each students will take different steps in creating their own city. A great follow up question would be asking the students explain why they place their building in the spot and relate it back to corresponding angles.


Below are some student's cities in the making!

FINAL City (Millbrooks Town) by a student:

When the project is completed the students will have a better understand of interior, exterior, and corresponding angles and it also allows the students get artistic and have a little bite of fun with math.