The document provides guidance for teaching mathematical concepts and vocabulary to English language learners at a middle school level. It introduces topics such as graphs, coordinates, shapes, volume, surface area, types of numbers, functions, and quadratic functions. Activities are suggested to help students learn new terms, such as plotting points on a graph and solving word problems involving mathematical expressions. Visual aids, examples, and having students practice reading equations are recommended to build understanding of the concepts. Student feedback is solicited to assess if the content was at the right level.
The document provides guidance for teaching mathematical concepts and vocabulary to English language learners at a middle school level. It introduces topics such as graphs, coordinates, shapes, volume, surface area, types of numbers, functions, and quadratic functions. Activities are suggested to help students learn new terms, such as plotting points on a graph and solving word problems involving mathematical expressions. Visual aids, examples, and having students practice reading equations are recommended to build understanding of the concepts. Student feedback is solicited to assess if the content was at the right level.
Original Description:
A guide to the basics of plotting functions and working with volume and surface area.
The document provides guidance for teaching mathematical concepts and vocabulary to English language learners at a middle school level. It introduces topics such as graphs, coordinates, shapes, volume, surface area, types of numbers, functions, and quadratic functions. Activities are suggested to help students learn new terms, such as plotting points on a graph and solving word problems involving mathematical expressions. Visual aids, examples, and having students practice reading equations are recommended to build understanding of the concepts. Student feedback is solicited to assess if the content was at the right level.
The document provides guidance for teaching mathematical concepts and vocabulary to English language learners at a middle school level. It introduces topics such as graphs, coordinates, shapes, volume, surface area, types of numbers, functions, and quadratic functions. Activities are suggested to help students learn new terms, such as plotting points on a graph and solving word problems involving mathematical expressions. Visual aids, examples, and having students practice reading equations are recommended to build understanding of the concepts. Student feedback is solicited to assess if the content was at the right level.
• Student English: Simple conversational English. Effectively zero mathematical vocabulary.
• Student Math: A good understanding of mathematical concepts through middle school level. • Use visual aids that allow students to connect familiar ideas with new vocabulary.
Graphs: Finding things
Start by drawing on the board and introducing some basic terminology. Then provide students with an example, before giving them a chance to try for themselves. After you feel they have a decent grasp on the concepts, present them with a problem they will have to solve. The level of the students is not yet clear, so the first activity is intended to be easy.
Vocabulary: point, line, line segment, parallel, perpendicular, x-axis, y-axis, intercept, 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, coordinate plane, coordinates, positive, negative, origin, quadrants.
Activity: Check the Graph
I’ll pass out a sheet with a graph similar to the one below and ask students some questions: • What color is the circle around the origin? • Can you draw me a line from the point (1, 1) to the origin? • What quadrant is the point (2, 2) in? • etcetera....
Figure 1: An example of the Coordinate plane in- cluding points color-coded by quadrant.
Ask the students to add arrows to the x and y axes on their print out. Then have them try drawing their own graph. Ask them to plot the following set of points and connect them with lines: (1,1), (-1,1), (-1, -1), (1, -1), (0, 2), (2, 2), (2, 0). What shape do you get? (cube) This shape is ???-dimensional (3-dimensional).
1 Volume and Surface Area Let’s move on to some more complicated vocabulary. I want to push the students a little to get an idea of what they’re capable of. Additionally the ability to read mathematical expressions will form the basis for the rest of the course, so we might as well dive right into it. I want the students to take notes, and to use subscripts so that they get a chance to practice writing the words. Vocabulary and Variables: subscripts (i.e. fn ), superscripts, area (A), Volume (V), surface area (SA), radius (r), pi (π), squared (i.e. r2 ), cubes (i.e. r3 ), exponents geometric shapes (Cylinder, Sphere), formula, equation
Activity: Find Volume and Surface Area
Draw a square on the board and label the side length s. Ask the students for the area of the square (A). The students should easily reach the formula below. Explain the way it’s read and the relation to the area of a square. Asquare = s2 7−→ Area square equals s squared Next, ask them to calculate the volume of the cube they drew in the previous activity. Finally have the write a formula for the volume of a cube of side length s. Show them why this expression can be read as s cubes. Vcube = s3 7−→ Volume cube equals s cubed Finally, show them how to deal with higher powers, and that this method also applies for 2nd and 3rd powers. Explain that in many cases people omit the word ”power.”
an 7−→ a to the nth (power)
As an additional challenge ask them for the formula for the surface area of a cube.
SAcube = 6r2 7−→ Surface Area cube equals six r squared
Review this topic by next introducing circles, cylinders and spheres. For this they will need to know the variable π. In the last formula (Vsphere ) a fraction appears. Use this as a launch point to start talking about how to read various kinds of mathematical expressions.
Acircle = πr2 SAcylinder = 2πr2 + 2πr ∗ l Vcylinder = πr2 ∗ l SAsphere = 4πr2 4 Vsphere = πr3 3 In the last equation was can see a fraction ( 34 ) We read this as ”four-thirds” or ”four over three.” a 7−→ a over b b A fraction is really just one kind of number. Let’s talk about some other types of numbers.
After giving the example of the square root of two. Introduce the students to the way we read roots.
√ a 7−→ square root of a √ 3 a 7−→ cube root of a √n a 7−→ nth root of a
Activity: Reading Equations
First, I will write some equations on the board and read them to the students. Then I will just write the equations and ask students to try and figure out how to read them. I’ll give them some time on their own to figure it out before I provide the answer. I’ll also ask the students if there are any expressions they would like to know how to read or if they would like to challenge their classmates by providing an expression. Finally I’ll break them up into pairs and have the try reading each other’s equations.
Thinking About Math in English
At this point I will have introduced a lot of new vocabulary. In order to help solidify some of these con- cepts and encourage the students to think in English I’d like to present them with a few story problems. We’ll work the first one out together, they’ll work the second one out in groups. Then we’ll come back together for the last problem.
Problem 1 Jeff has two containers of water, both are 2m tall. One is a cube, and one is a cylinder of radius r. Both containers have the same amount of water. Find the radius of the cylinder.
Problem 2 Count the number of boys and girls in the room. What is the ratio (fraction) of boys over girls? What is the ratio of girls over boys? Can you write this ratio as a decimal? Is the number an integer?
Problem 3 What is the largest exponent in the equation below? What is the y-intercept?
y = ax2 + bx + c
3 Function Names The equation you just saw in problem three is called a function, and can be written as
f (x) = ax2 + bx + c
Additional examples of how to say the name of a function.
g(x) 7−→ g of x g(a) 7−→ g of a
Quadratic Functions The function presented in problem is the general form of quadratic function. If we graph functions of this form, the shape we get is called a parabola. You will always be able to see that your function is quadratic if the highest power on x is 2. The function is 2nd order.
Figure 2: An exam- ple of reflections and translations of simple quadratic functions of the form x2 + c.
To close this lecture let’s label two places on these functions: vertex, line of symmetry. Maybe try explaining the concept of symmetry using the geometric shapes, then ask the students to tell you where the line of symmetry is.
Completed square form, y-intercept, x-intercept,...if you have time....
f (x) = a(x − h)2 + k
Ask the students how they felt about the class, was it too many words at once? Was the math too easy, too difficult?
4 Name: Date:
Problem 1 Jeff has two containers of water, both are 2m tall. One is a cube, and one is a cylinder of radius r. Both containers have the same amount of water. Find the radius of the cylinder.
Problem 2 Count the number of boys and girls in the room. What is the ratio (fraction) of boys over girls? What is the ratio of girls over boys? Can you write this ratio as a decimal? Is the number an integer?
Problem 3 What is the largest exponent in the equation below?
f (x) = ax2 + bx + c Problem 4 The purple function is f (x) = x2 . The blue function is g(x) = x2 + c, find c.
Problem 5 Graph the function h(x) = x2 + 3. Also, graph −h(x). Vocabulary point 点 line 線 line segment 線分 parallel 平行 perpendicular 垂直 x-axis X軸 y-axis Y軸 intercept 切片 1-dimensional 一次元 2-dimensional 二次元 coordinates 座標 positive 正 negative 負 origin （座標軸の）原点 quadrant 四分円 subscript 下付きの文字 superscript 上付きの文字 area 面積 volume 容積 surface area 表面積 radius 半径 pi (π) 円周率 squared 二乗 cubed 三乗 exponent 指数 Cylinder 円筒 Sphere 球体 formula 公式 equation 方程式 Integers, natural numbers 整数 decimal 少数 fraction 分数 rational 有理数 irrational 無理数 square root 平方限 cube root 立方限
