Ratios Reflection :)

WikiVisual. https://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Ratios

Hello math friends!

After being off for reading week, it felt good to get back into routine. This week in math class we had two awesome presentations on ratios! Ratios haven't always been my strongest math area so I was pleased to see two great ways to communicate ratios to students. One involved cookies, so that is definitely going to increase student engagement, as well as make ratios relatable to real life. The other one was a fun worksheet where you "Crack the Code" to find a secret message, through getting the ratio problems correct. I noticed all of the feedback for the presentations involved integrating more collaboration amongst students (e.g. having students work in groups, and each group member has a different word for their "code" and then all the codes combine together to create a secret message). That makes me happy knowing that only a month and a half into school, we are all thinking about collaboration and ways to integrate it into lessons.

Additionally in class, we went over the math curriculum book for grades 1-8. It was really helpful to break down the text in terms of how to read it. For example, we looked at overall vs. specific expectations, and how content and assessment changes per each grade. It is helpful to understand curriculum, so we can have that in mind when we are learning how to teach. After class I was thinking about if I will find it difficult to integrate all of the curriculum requirements into my future lesson plans, and how I can do it in a way that is both engaging and inclusive to all students. That is probably my biggest worry when it comes to teaching. I want to ensure I teach all aspects of the curriculum, but in a way that is interesting and relatable, and also a way that is understandable by all levels of learning and learning styles. Moving forward, I am going to try and read areas of the curriculum, most likely the overall and specific expectations, at the beginning of the math curriculum, and have that in mind when doing the readings, during presentations, and in class, so I can become familiar with the integration.

In regards to the text book reading for this past week, a couple things really student out to me that I wanted to reflect on or gain a deeper understanding of. On page 315, the text book recommends using "ratio tables" to help students understand ratios. I don't recall using this in school, but I find it is a great tool. The text states that it is a great way for students to move as quickly or as slowly as is comfortable for them, to get from one form of a ratio to a desired equivalent form. This could be done on paper, or if you wanted to implement blended learning, you could do it on excel! I found this to be good for visual learners, but another text book "tip" I found is even better for visual learners. The textbook recommended explaining ratios using drawings or visuals and essentially relating them to the real world. The provided example was thinking like an "artist" and breaking down the drawing of a human body into a ratio (e.g. the ratio of the head to the body, to the arm, to the leg, etc). I think this example might be slightly too complicated, but I would maybe suggest drawing things such as a glass with liquid and discussing the ratio of liquid to air. Another drawing could be of a house, and discussing the ratio of windows to doors, or house to roof. This will help students relate ratios to the real world, think meaningfully about them, and provide an assortment of learning opportunities for them to understand the content.

Anyways! That is my reflection/deeper thinking for the week. I hope you enjoyed or some part of it resonated with you. I also wanted to leave you with a fun game to practice ratios! Ratio Blaster :)