Ratio, Proportion and Animal Identification

📖 Standard

CCSS.Math.Content.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

⏰ Time

60-70 minutes

📲 Technology Required

A computer, phone or tablet with Internet connection is required to watch the video and play Making Camp Navajo. If these are not available, the assignment can be printed out and distributed to students or shown in the classroom on a projector with computer.

📃 Summary

Students hear or read a presentation on ratio, percentage decrease, rate and proportion. They watch a short video on ratio. Students collect data either outdoors or using images provided. They then compute ratio, rate, increase and proportion using the data.

📚Lesson

Review the concepts and introduce the assignment

Begin with this presentation that explains ratio, rate, percentage increase/ decrease and proportion. The presentation also introduces the assignment students will complete. There is a video included in the presentation on ratio. If you have difficulty playing the video Atlantean Dodgeball, in the presentation, here is the direct link.

Students complete data collection, ratio, rate and proportion assignment

There are four options for completing this assignment, depending on your environment. Ideally, students would collect data outside, but if you are in the middle of the city or it is winter and there are no animals around, you may want to select one of the other options. Allow students to choose one of the four options or delete whichever does not fit your situation.

If observing animals outside is not an option, here are two images your students can use to identify animals. Click the link for an image you can save in your Google classroom.

Scene 1- Animals in the savanna

**Yes, all these animals can be found in the African savanna**

Key for scene 1 – Image with animals labeled

Names of the 23 animals in scene 1

If students don’t have a partner, they can use Scene 2, Animals in unexpected places, for their second data collection.

Key for scene 2 – Image with animals labeled

Names of the 24 animals in scene 2

Play Making Camp Navajo

Play the Making Camp Navajo game to learn more about ratio and equivalent ratio.

(Available Fall, 2021). If you’d like access to the beta version, please email us at growingmath@7generationgames.com We’d be happy to provide it to you.

Differentiated instruction (optional)

The presentation discusses the animal kingdom and the six kingdoms many biologists use for classification of living organisms. For students who are particularly interested in this topic, the post, “Are insects animals?” can be provided as supplemental reading or teachers may wish to print this out for students who do not have home Internet access.

RELATED LESSONS

These two lessons are recommended for students prior to this assignment.

Teach ratio with Math Snacks – introduces ratio in the context of a bad date.
For another introduction of ratio, see the lesson Introduction to Ratio and Proportion.

Converting fractions to decimals

📖 Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.NS.A.2.D Convert a rational number to a decimal using long division; know that the decimal form of a rational number terminates in 0s or eventually repeats.

⏰ Time

30-40 minutes

📲 Technology Required

A projector or smart board is required to show the Google slides presentation in class. It can also be shown using any web meeting software for remote learning. The random candy generator can be used by students in anything with a browser, including computers, tablets or phones. This activity is optional. It’s actually more fun with fun-size bags of candy like Skittles or M & M’s.

📃 Summary

Students watch a video or hear a presentation explaining using long division to convert fractions to decimals. A second method of using place value is discussed when the denominator is tenths, hundredths or thousandths. Students then play a game that teaches converting fractions to decimals and end with an activity finding the decimal representing each color in a bag of candy. A simulator is included if no bags of candy are available!

📚 Lesson

EITHER watch the video below

This is a 7-minute video that gives the steps in converting fractions to decimals, with multiple examples, using both long division and place value.

OR Use this Google Slides Presentation

The Google slides presentation covers the same material as the video with the same examples. The steps in the long division problems are animated in the presentation. If you prefer a PowerPoint presentation you can find that here. Both can be viewed from these links or you can copy into your own Google drive or download to modify for your class.

The presentation and video both include two sample problems to work as a class.

NOTE: The presentation includes an activity converting fractions to decimals using candy or a random sample application.

Play a Game

On mobile devices

Play the Empiric Empire game for 10 minutes. This game teaches fractions and decimals in the context of concepts from epidemiology such as prevalence, incidence and mortality rate. This game is available for iPad, iPhone or Android.

On Chromebook

Don’t have any of those devices? Play the Minnesota Turtles game for five minutes. After the game (it’s short), assign these problems:

The game says that 5/9 = 56% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal? HINT: Remember that 56% = .56
The game says that 4/9 = 44% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal?

Convert fractions with Candy

The Google Slides/ Powerpoint ends with an activity where students use a pack of candy to find fractions, convert those fractions to decimals and graph the result. If you don’t have time / forgot to buy bags of candy, you can use a simulator here. Random fact: The average fun-size bag contains 12 pieces of candy. There is a link for plain graph paper in the slides. If you’d prefer graph paper with fractions and decimals already entered, this page is divided into sixteenths.

Assessment

This lesson includes three types of assessment. There are the problems completed together in class, included within the presentation or video. There are the problems completed within the Empiric Empire game which you can see in the teacher reports. Alternatively, there are the two problems assigned after the Minnesota Turtles game. There is also an assessment at the end of the slides using different colors of candy to convert fractions to decimals and chart the results.

Individualization

Assign this problem to more advanced students:

Think back to what we learned in the previous lesson about fractions, decimals and percentages being three different ways of looking at the same number. You answered the two questions below. What is a different way to prove that 4/9 = 44%/

The game says that 5/9 = 56% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal? HINT: Remember that 56% = .56
The game says that 4/9 = 44% – prove it using long division. Is this a repeating or terminating decimal?

Raising Sheep and Rational Numbers

📖 Standards

Dine’ Culture Standards (3.PO2) I will develop an understanding of Dine’ way of life through Iina’. I will implement and recognize the Dine’ lifestyle. I will present the stories related to Land and Water Beings.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.EE.B.3 Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals)

⏰ Time

45 minutes

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, phone or tablet

📃 Summary

Why would a Navajo sheep farmer need rational numbers? Our sheep farmer wants to build a new sheep corral. He would need to know positive and negative numbers, fractions, and decimals. This middle school lesson on rational numbers is integrated with some Navajo sheep history and is for grades 7 to 8. The examples are detailed and include word problems of rational numbers as applied to finding sheep farming profits. Operation rules are covered along with application of ratio and perimeter skills.

📚 Lesson

1. Bell ringer: Navajo Sheepherding Life

Have students watch this short spotlight video of Navajo sheepherding life in Arizona.

2. Write answers to prompts

Write a short response to it to keep in their notes for discussion during the history parts of the lesson.

What do you notice about the northern Arizona terrain?
What do traditional Navajos think of land ownership?
How does the grandmother, Helen, care for her animals?

3. Math Lesson on Rational Numbers

This presentation, Raising sheep and rational numbers, introduces the concept of rational numbers as anything that can be explained as a ratio. Negative numbers are illustrated both as loans a sheep farmer would take out and depth of holes in the ground that the farmer needs to consider in selecting the size of posts. Students are given rules of integer addition and subtraction to use as an aid in solving problems.

4. Play Game

Play Making Camp Navajo – Sheep Herding and Rational numbers.

Differentiated Instruction

For students who may need a review of the basics, this video on What are Rational provides a good and entertaining refresher.

Related Lessons

Adding and subtracting decimals — Students watch two videos explaining decimal and fraction equivalence. They are then presented with a brief reminder of natural, integer and rational numbers. A slide presentation discusses adding and subtracting decimals. The lesson ends with teacher and student-generated practice problems.

Assessment

There are five problems within the presentation to be worked as a class. Teachers can present the question and have students write the answers and then present the answers. Alternatively, for students working at home, each slide with questions is followed by worked answers.

Teachers can also see which standards students have attempted and how many problems they have answered correctly in the Making Camp teacher reports.

Google Slides and Math

2 Replies

📖Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.C Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

⏰ Time

120 – 180 minutes (You may wish to use 2-3 class periods)

📲 Technology Required

The games used here require a Chromebook, Windows or Mac computers or iPads.

📃 Summary

Students play three games that teach fractions and statistics. Students learn enhanced features of Google slides. They then create a Google slides presentation stating which is their favorite game and why.

📚 Lesson

0. Optional: Google Slides Basics

If students are not familiar with Google Slides, begin with the Google Slides Basics lessons. If students know how to create slides document, select a theme, add text, images, transitions and animations, you can skip this step.

1. Introduce the assignment

Explain to students that they will be playing three different educational games and making a recommendation for future classes. If there is only time to play one of these games, which should the teacher choose. A copy of the assignment is here with both Chromebook and iPad games included. Save to your Google classroom or other system and delete whichever device is not available to your students. If your students have access to both devices, no editing is required. Since their presentation will be made with Google Slides and they want it to be as convincing as possible, they should include images and video to support their points.

2. Play AzTech: The Story Begins

This game teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow students 10 -15 minutes to play the game.

3. Learn about Google Slides Advanced Features

This presentation has links to six videos beyond Google slides basics.

Click on the links on the left side of the screen to learn about:

Modifying the theme
Inserting video
Adding effects to text and images

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and start on their presentations.

4. Play Forgotten Trail or Fish Lake Adventure

Students play Fish Lake Adventure (iPad) a game that teaches fractions or Forgotten Trail (Chromebook), a game that teaches fractions and statistics.

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

5. More Google Slides Advanced Features

Continue with more Google slides basics. Watch three videos on the right side of the screen on :

Customizing with Word Art
Publishing to the web
Presentation notes

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

6. Play AzTech: Meet the Maya

Allow students the option of playing AzTech: Meet the Maya or continuing one of the two previous games. Meet the Maya continues the game series that teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow 10-15 minutes to play and continue their presentations.

7. Finish !

It’s decision time. Students will select one game to finish for their presentation. Students who finish ahead of the class may play the other games.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.

8. Optional (extra credit) Present or publish

Depending on your class and your own objectives, you may want to end this lesson with students either publishing their presentations to the web or presenting in class and trying to convince their classmates that the game they have chosen is the one students should be using to learn next year.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.

Google Slides Basic Skills

1 Reply

⏰ Lesson Time

15-20 minutes EACH for two lessons

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, iPhone or iPad

📃 Summary

There are 6 short videos on Google Slides topics like adding images and choosing a theme. We recommend breaking the first four videos into two separate lessons that students complete during class. 💡 Curious about the power of lasix? Discover its role in managing common medical conditions! 💊 Lasix, a diuretic, is frequently prescribed to tackle issues like high blood pressure, edema due to heart failure, liver disease, or kidney disorders. By helping your body rid itself of excess fluid and salt, it can ease swelling and reduce strain on your heart. 🫀💪 Understanding its uses empowers you to take charge of your health! Always consult with a healthcare professional for personalized advice. Questions or experiences to share? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

📚 Lesson

These lessons from Google for Education provide a good overview to Google Slides. These are part of the Applied Digital Skills program for which you can register your class and/or yourself or you can just select individual lessons. In our experience, students do better when the lessons are split over 3 or more days. Did you know that neurontin is a versatile medication used to address a variety of medical conditions? 🤔 Known for its effectiveness in treating epilepsy, it’s also frequently prescribed for managing nerve pain like that from shingles or diabetic neuropathy. 💊 This medication works by calming nerve activity in the brain, bringing much-needed relief to many. Whether you’re dealing with chronic pain or seizures, understanding how neurontin can help is crucial to achieving better health outcomes. Stay informed and always consult with your healthcare provider to see if Neurontin could be right for you! If you’ve had experience with this medication, share your thoughts below! 👇

Day 1: Watch videos 1, 2 and 3

Learn Google Slides while creating a presentation about you. This lesson can be used as is or modified for other topics. The default assignment is for students to create an “All About Me” presentation. The first three videos explain creating a presentation, choosing a theme, inserting a title, adding text and images. You can copy the link and paste it into your Google classroom or other site used for assignments or have students watch these together as a group in class.

For younger students, these three videos may be adequate for your class requirements.

Day 2: Create a Presentation (Bells and Whistles optional)

Watch this five-minute video on Animation and Transition in Google Slides.

Create Your Own Presentation

After watching this 5-minute video, students are ready to create their own presentation. Students can create an “About Me” presentation as suggested in the Google slides or teachers can assign their own preferred topic.

Assessment

Rubric for assessment includes:

Student created Google slides presentation
Presentation includes the following elements: headers, text and images
Presentation uses at least one animation and one slide transition

For younger students, you may wish to eliminate the last requirement.

Related lesson:

Google Apps Basics for Hamsters — As the name implies, a super-basic introduction to Google Drive and Google Docs.

Google Apps Basics for Hamsters

3 Replies

While I have heard many teachers say,

“My students know technology better than I do.”
– Teacher who is often incorrect.

I have often found this not to be the case when it comes to Google apps. I’ve often found that students sometimes don’t want to admit that they don’t know Google apps, assuming that everyone else does.

No hamsters were available so I used my guinea pig

This is the first in a series of lessons for either teachers or students who may not be extremely familiar with Google apps.

For many years, I taught statistics in graduate programs in education, psychology, business and engineering. On a conference planning committee, we had a request that read,

“I would like a session on statistics, but not statistics for dummies. I want a session so easy that a hamster could understand it.”

So, that was the origin of my session, “Statistics for Hamsters.”

Now, maybe you are a Google apps guru and you don’t need any of this. Yay for you. Seriously, yay! Let’s hang out. Still, you may find these resources helpful to share with your students. Just copy the link into your Google classroom, which, of course, you know how to do.

If that is not you, keep reading, and we can still hang out. Especially if you bring coffee.

⏰ Lesson Time

25 minutes

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer, iPhone or iPad

📚 Lessons

Google Drive and Google Doc: Super-Basics

All the Google apps lessons follow a similar format of a series of 15-30 second videos on simple tasks like opening the app, creating a new file and sharing. The lessons are 6-7 minutes but by the time your students get their computers open, log on and start the lesson we estimate around ten minutes of class time.

We have had more success with having students do these activities in class prior to an assignment that will use the app.

This is our favorite basic–basic lesson on Google Drive. From Google for Education, takes six minutes and ends with a quiz where you can test your knowledge.

Introduction to Google docs – The total lesson should take about 7 minutes.

Use what you learned

Follow up this lesson with a simple assignment in Google docs. This provides three prompts students can choose from to answer a question. They will practice creating a doc, copying and pasting from a doc (or, alternatively, saving to their drive), editing a doc and sharing it.

Note to the teacher: You should save the assignment in your Google classroom or other system and be sure to edit it to include your email before assigning to students.

Ratio, rate and proportion

📖Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

📲Technology Required

⏰TIME

45 minutes

📃SUMMARY

In this lesson students are given definitions of ratio and rate and examples of computing rate and distance. Students complete a short assignment using animals observed outdoors as the data for computing ratio, rate and proportion. An alternative assignment is given for students learning at home or otherwise requiring modification. The lesson concludes with game play.

📚LESSON

Mini-lecture

Begin with this Google slides presentation defining ratio and rate and including examples of rate and distance problems. Students learning at home can read the presentation and do the activities and problems on their own.

OPTIONAL VIDEO

If your students are having difficulty understanding the problems, this video may help.

An example of solving time, rate and distance problems

Compute rate, ratio and proportion

In this short assignment, also linked in the Google slides presentation, using animals observed outdoors as the data for computing ratio, rate and proportion.

Everyone needs to get a partner. You and your partner will go outside and each count as many different species of animals as you can. Do this for exactly 5 minutes. Two of the exact same kind of animal only count as one species.
After 5 minutes is up, find the ratio of your animals compared to your partner’s list of animals.
Next, find the rate. How many animals did you see per minute?
Lastly, your group shall compare your ratio to another group. Are they proportional or non-proportional?

An alternative assignment is given for students learning at home or otherwise unable to work outside with a partner, where students find animals in two slides.

End with a game

Students play AzTech games for 15 minutes to end the lesson. Time-rate-distance problems are included as a bonus question in AzTech: The Story Begins and are required to win the game in AzTech: Meet the Maya.

Assessment

Once students have played the game, you can look in the AzTech teacher reports to see an individual students response. You will need to know your students’ usernames. To see an example of a report, enter the username “ddtester” .

Related lesson

Introduction to ratio and proportion is a recommended lesson prior to this discussion of rate, ratio and proportion

Rational numbers, adding and subtracting decimals

2 Replies

📖STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.NS.A.1 Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.EE.B.3 Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers

⏰TIME

30-45 minutes

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A projector and computer in class or a computer, phone or tablet at home is required to watch the videos and see the Google slides. Slides can also be printed and sent home with students.

📃LESSON SUMMARY

Students watch two videos explaining decimal and fraction equivalence. They are then presented with a brief reminder of natural, integer and rational numbers. A slide presentation discusses adding and subtracting decimals. The lesson ends with teacher and student-generated practice problems.

📚LESSON

Since the previous lesson discussed rational numbers and fractions, we introduce this lesson with two videos explaining the equivalence of fractions and decimals.

Video Introducing Decimals

This three minute video discusses fractions, decimals and percents as three ways of expressing the same number.

This second video shows examples of fractions and decimals as equivalent.

Presentation and Practice Problems

Use this Google slides presentation to reinforce the understanding of rational numbers introduced in the previous lesson. Students can answer two formative assessment questions during a presentation or these can be done on their own with students learning at home. The lesson ends with students writing and sharing their own decimal addition and subtraction problems with classmates.

Enrichment Option

To provide motivated or advanced students more information on types of numbers, assign this optional two-page reading on types of numbers.

ASSESSMENT

Formative assessment problems are given in the presentation. Students also write their own problems and answers. AzTech: Empiric Empire teacher reports are available for assessing student answers in Data an d Reports.

STATE STANDARD

Missouri Learning Standards (MLS) 7.NS.A.1.a

Ratios as fractions

3 Replies

📖Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

⏰Time Required

10 minutes

📲Technology Required

Projector or smart board for in–class or access to computer or tablet for web meeting for remote learning.

📃Lesson Summary

Students are presented with definitions of ratio and proportion along with multiple examples and ways to solve these problems.

📚Lesson

Watch the video Ratios and Rates below, which discusses ratios and fractions.

Yes, this lesson plan is just a video. We watched LOTS of boring videos on ratios and rates to find this one!

This video can be used before or after the lesson on Introduction to Ratio and Proportion, either as an introduction for students who need more preparation or a second look for students who could benefit from having the material presented in a different way.

Assessment

Use assessment from Introduction to Ratio and Proportion lesson.

Introduction to ratio and proportion

5 Replies

📖Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

⏰Time Required

30 minutes

📲Technology Required

Projector or smart board for in–class or access to computer or tablet for web meeting for remote learning. Presentation could be printed for students at home without computer access.

📃Lesson Summary

Students are presented with definitions of ratio and proportion along with multiple examples and ways to solve these problems.

📚Lesson

Introduce ratios and proportions

Use the Google slides presentation for definition of ratio and proportion and some practice problems.

NOTE TO TEACHER: This presentation includes multiple explanations for multiple levels of understanding. There is a solution using algebra, with cross-multiplication and an explanation of why cross-multiplication works. There is also an explanation using equivalent fractions. If you are teaching an algebra class, use the first explanation and delete the second. For a more basic math class, delete the first explanation and just use equivalent fractions.

Use ratio and proportion in real life

The end of the presentation gives a recipe for biscuits. You can delete the answer in slide 29 if you want to test their knowledge or you can leave it in for students to check themselves.

Here are three ways you can use this:

Have students actually bake using their recipe solution.
Have students simply answer the question (easiest)
Select one or more incorrect answers as well as the correct answer and bake yourself. Then bring the results in and have students taste them. This takes more work from the teacher but can be pretty hilarious if you feel in a baking mood or can get a volunteer to do it.

Assessment

Assessment can be done as a group, having students answer the questions posed in the presentation or students can submit answers individually.

Related lesson

Ratios as fractions is a nine-minute video that can be used to preview this material or for re-teaching for those students who are still struggling.