Activity Topic: Everyone's Playing Basketball

I. Preplanning Tasks

A. Activity Objective:

Given the problem and students will be able to develop models to equally distribute the basketball playing time amongst the fifteen players, given the only ten at a time, and thirty minute requirements.

B. Connection Analysis:

-1.1 understand and apply concepts and procedures from number sense

number and numeration, computation, and estimation

-2.3 construct solutions by choosing the necessary information and using the appropriate mathematical tools

C. Activity Description:

Students will be presented with the following problem and asked to formulate solutions: During a thirty-minute physical education class, Mrs. Lach's 15 students want to play basketball.  If only 10 students can play at a time and if each student plays the same amount of time as every other student, how many minutes does each student play?  How would you set up a schedule that indicates how to rotate students in and out of the game?

D. Activity Rationale:

This problem will require students to use number sense to allow for all of the 15 players to play the same amount despite the fact that only 10 can play at a time given a 30 minute period.  The problem will also ask the students to understand the concept of time in a real world application and use this understanding to make sure the time is equally divided.  By applying mathematics to a real-world example, the students should increase their sense of the role mathematics plays in the world around them.

E. Prerequisite Skills/Knowledge:

1. Students should have an understanding of time and its units.
2. Students will need to have a concept of equal distribution of units among a given set.
3. It would help if students understood the game of basketball is most often played with teams of five on five, though this is not necessary.

F. Key Vocabulary:

Minute - A unit of time, where sixty equal one hour, of which there are 24 in a day.

Basketball- A game where a ball is thrown through a tall hoop, usually teams of 5 vs 5.

Rotate - To replace (a person, troops, etc.) by another or others, usually according to a schedule or plan. (dictionary.com)

Schedule - A plan of procedure, usually written, for a proposed objective, esp. with reference to the sequence of and time allotted for each item or operation necessary to its completion. (dictionary.com)

II. Activity Beginning

A. Signal for Attention:

"Students, eyes and ears up here please."  Use your own.  The students should be well aware of what this statement means as well as the expected behavior and possible consequences for failing to meet expectations.

B. Statement of Behavior Expectations:

As always...

- Eyes should be on me and mouths should be closed when I'm talking.

- Raise your hand when you have something to contribute to the class.

- Participate in the activity.

C. Opening:

Does anyone here know what a schedule is? A brief discussion on the meaning of the word schedule will follow (1-2 minutes).

Who here knows what the game of basketball is? We will have a brief discussion of what the game of basketball is (1-2 minutes).

III. Activity Middle

Materials: - A transparency with the problem written on it for the overhead.

Getting ready: Get transparency ready prior to lesson, as well as familiarize myself with key terminology.

Directions:

1. I will put the transparency on the overhead.
2. I will then ask the question:

During a thirty-minute physical education class, Mrs. Lach's 15 students want to play basketball.  If only 10 students can play at a time and if each student plays the same amount of time as every other student, how many minutes does each student play?  How would you set up a schedule that indicates how to rotate students in and out of the game?

3.   I will then make sure the students understand what the word rotate means in this situation.

4    I will call on a couple of students to tell me what the question is asking them to do.  Once several students have explained what they are to be doing, I will ask them to be sure to write down their work, emphasizing the fact this more about the process of problem solving than simply finding the correct answer.

5.   I will then ask the students to work quietly on their own to solve the problem for ten to fifteen minutes if necessary.

IV. Activity Closing

Once the time for working is done, and all of the class (I will work with student who may be struggling to help them with the problem solving process) has finished the work.  I will invite students to the board to share their answers.  I will be sure to praise effort and to have students articulate their thought process while showing how they solved the problem.  This will be a period of reflection, where the students are allowed to share with each other their thought processes and solutions (5-10 minutes).