Student 3D Creation and ItsLearning Page for Volume

The unit we just completed focused on solving the volume of rectangular prisms/pyramids, triangular prisms/pyramids, cylinders, cones, and spheres. Before lesson planning for this unit I continued to ask myself "How can I get my students to create?"

My answer was giving students the shapes that were required and then allowing them to be create whatever their imaginative minds could think of with those shapes. The amount of imagination, dedication, and student learning exceeded my expectations and blew my mind!

Click HERE to view the rubric students received. You will notice they only received 10 points for the actual creation and 90 points for the mathematics behind the creation. With our previous unit, many students fell behind in their agenda and were not able to truly practice solving for lateral and total surface area. What better way to practice then to spiral it back into this unit? Students were expected to use each shape a minimum of one time and were also expected to solve for the surface area and volume of each one of those mandatory shapes.

The second part of the project was for students to create an ItsLearning Page in which they could upload pictures, videos, and voice recordings displaying the shapes they created and how they solved the volume of those shapes. Sadly, not many students got to this part because they invested more time in creating. However, it was exciting to see the ones who did get to this part. Since time was running short I awarded the students who managed their time and created their ItsLearning Page bonus points for their unit exam. Here is a video showing an example of an ItsLearning Page that was created (I did remove the student name):

The results of the unit exam were phenomenal and it was all due to the fact that I had allowed my students to create. Last school year 94% of the students reached the approaches level (they passed with the minimum score) and 26% reached the masters level (commended). This school year 100% of my students reached the approaches level and 54% of them reached the masters level. The school year is coming to an end however, the amount of rigor will only increase!

Reflections: Harvey did impact the amount of days cut so hopefully, next year I am able to give more time to the prior unit which contains surface area. If it is possible I would like to remove surface area from the creation so that students can focus more time on solving for the volume. This will then allow them more time to create their ItsLearning Page. I will also have students measure their nets before beginning their creations so that they are able to manage their time better. I would also like to have a day in which students can do a gallery walk to view each others creations in which they can leave positive comments on sticky notes. This will help increase the ownership and pride in their work.

Here are pictures of some of the wonderful creations: