Math DEEP groups
"Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms: it is about understanding."
- William Paul Thurston
Third Grade
This term students used the Rules Icon to learn to identify what rules must be followed to correctly code Sphero. They identified three main components, time, speed, and degrees. Students experimented and discovered that there are 360 degrees in a circle. They used the multiple perspectives icon to look at the room from Sphero's perspective instead of their own. Then, they were challenged to code Sphero to make various quadrilaterals including squares and rectangles. They used the details and pattern icons to identify features of each quadrilateral and write rules that would allow them to determine which shape they created with their Sphero robot. Finally, students calculated the area and perimeter of their multiple shapes.
Third grade previous terms
First Term
This term students learned about the history of the number system. Students practiced their knowledge of place value while learning Egyptian numbers. Next, students learned about Roman numerals. Finally, students compared our base ten number system to the Mayan base 20 system. Students even practiced addition and subtraction using the base 20 system.
Fourth Grade
Students began the term by exploring the language of Geometry. They identified and measured several different kinds of angles including acute, obtuse, right, complementary, and supplementary angles. Students then took their knowledge further and identified angles in shapes. They learned how to use a compass and a protractor.
Next, students used the multiple perspectives icon to look at architecture and nature from the perspective of Frank Lloyd Wright. Students used the across disciplines icon to apply their knowledge of angles to architecture and other fields of study.
Finally, students were challenged to create their own geometric stained glass. Students were given a checklist of over 15 different kinds of shapes and angles they were required to incorporate into their various designs.
Fourth Grade Previous Terms
First Term
How can we figure out what percentage we scored on a test when we answered 5 out of 6 questions correctly? That is just one question students explored during this math unit.
During the first term, students began exploring how fractions, percentages, and decimals relate to the whole. They first identified how to write fractions, decimals, and percentages that represent one whole. Students learned how to convert fractions to decimals, decimals to percentages, and percentages into fractions.
Next, students applied their knowledge by creating pixel art. Then, using their artwork they identified what fraction, decimal, and percent each color comprised of their whole piece of art.
Following that, students completed the unit by answering challenge questions that forced students to color portions of a hundreds cube based upon the percent, fraction, or decimal the challenge requested.
The unit concluded with a real world application of what they had learned.
Fifth Grade
Who stole the school mascot? That was the mystery fifth grade students were challenged to solve this term.
Before they could solve the mystery there were a few math concepts that students explored. First, students learned about ratios. They explored how they compared to fractions, what rules did they both have to follow and in what ways were they different.
They also learned about mean, median, and mode. They explored what each one represents and explored when it might be best to use one over another.
Finally, they applied that knowledge to answer 10 different math riddles that required them to understand ratios, equivalent fractions, mean, median, mode, and finding the percent of a number.
Fifth Grade Previous terms
First Term
How much would it cost to drive from West Point, Utah to Washington D.C.? DEEP students were given the miles per gallon of three different vehicles and were asked to calculate the cost of this road trip based upon the current cost of fuel.
Next, students worked to figure out how much the cost would be impacted if the type of fuel switched from regular to premium gasoline. Students were surprised to see how much the price could fluctuate based upon these variables. Students also had to calculate how many times they would have to stop to fill up their car with gas by using the fuel tank capacity. After the students worked to finish these calculations, they were asked if they thought gasoline was expensive. Most students answered that they thought it was.
Then, students were asked how much it would cost to fill up a car with a liquid other than gasoline. Students applied their knowledge of unit rate conversion to calculate the cost per gallon of various fluids found in the grocery store. A few of the favorite fluids were honey, olive oil, mascara and vanilla. After the students picked their favorite car and researched the fuel tank capacity they calculated how much it would cost to fill up their car with these other fluids.
Sixth Grade
This term students used the across disciplines icon to apply their math knowledge to a real world problem. This problem required the students to use science and math together.
The challenge: each student was charged with creating a bid for a design for a 600 meter seawall to protect a major coastal highway. The bid was to be submitted using PowerPoint.
The first step students took was to identify what background knowledge they had and what knowledge they would need. Students identified that although they had some knowledge of energy transfer they would need additional knowledge of how that applies to wave energy and seawalls.
Students learned about places like Washaway beach where coastal erosion has claimed a schoolhouse, a lighthouse, a Coast Guard station, more than 50 homes and close to 2 miles of land. It is estimated that this location loses an average of 100 feet per year to coastal erosion.
After students researched coastal erosion and seawalls they were challenged to calculate the total energy of waves. Of course it is much more fun to do math with really big numbers so we calculated the energy in tsunami waves. The students were shocked!
For their proposal students had to calculate the total energy of small, medium and large waves that would hit a seawall 300 meters long.
Next, students had to explore what materials could withstand the wave energy calculated previously. After they identified the materials they determined how much would be needed and how much that would cost.
Finally, all of this information was compiled into their bid. They had to be careful that their calculations were accurate and that the materials selected were strong enough but also had to take into consideration that if their bid was too high someone else might be selected to build the seawall instead of their company.
Sixth Grade Previous Terms
First Term
How do you solve a problem that has information missing? That is the question we explored during DEEP this term. We learned how variables can be used to represent missing information. Then, we explored different methods used to solve for the unknown variable. Students practiced balancing equations, an important part of understanding how to solve for variables. At the end of term students were given the cost of a medium two topping pizza and the cost of a medium four topping pizza. They were asked to calculate how much a cheese pizza costs and how much each topping costs based on the information given. Once those calculations were complete students were tasked with writing an equation to represent how they could calculate the cost of a pizza that had an unidentified number (variable) of toppings. Students used the equation to create ordered pairs. Then, students learned to graph these ordered pairs. Afterward, students applied this knowledge to graph the cost per topping of small and large pizzas. Finally, they analyzed their various graphs to determine which pizza was most cost effective.