<br />LESSONS
<br />
<br />Mathematics
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<br />The elementary school mathematics program must be designed so that
<br />students will be motivated and learn mathematics. It is particularly important
<br />Ihat the mathematics program be sufficiently flexible to accept, at any time,
<br />students who express new or deepened interest in mathematics,
<br />The goals of the elementary school mathematics program are two-fold: for
<br />those who will terminate their mathematics education at Grade 8 or Grade 9,
<br />the program must provide the survival skills in mathematics that contributing
<br />members of society must know, For those who will elect additional math-
<br />ematics courses, the program must provide a strong foundation and back-
<br />ground that will enhance the student's opportunity for success.
<br />In eilher case, mathematics must be presented so that students will
<br />become enthusiastic and develop both an intellectual curiosity and a spirit of
<br />inquiry, Students need learning experiences and classroom environments
<br />which will give them opportunities to explore, investigate, create and recreate
<br />mathematics.
<br />The most striking feature of the best mathematics presentations is the es.
<br />tablishment of a classroom climate which, under the direction of the
<br />enthusiastic teacher, is student oriented and self.directed in design. In this
<br />climate, teachers drop the role of the authoritative figures who pass judgment
<br />solely on what is right or wrong,
<br />They frame questions, plan work that excites curiosity, and encourage the
<br />students to exploit what they know and develop an intuitive feeling about the
<br />situation at hand. Within definable instructional objectives, they assume the
<br />role of guides who conduct their students into regions uncharted to them.'
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<br />This statement of mathematics philosophy was taken from the Course of Study used throughout California,
<br />a document which generally reflects the educational goals of school districts across the country, The quotation
<br />embodies the spirit with which the mathematics section of this workbook was designed and seeks to provide
<br />basic mathematic skills in a student-oriented format, with the flexibility to challenge students of varying
<br />abilities,
<br />Mathematics concepts and skills form a consistent curricular thread which weaves its way through the in-
<br />vestigation of the physical properties of water. The five pages of math lessons found in Captain Hydro present
<br />the opportunity to focus on some specific math skills and to utilize these skills as they relate to interdisciplinary
<br />learning experiences, Opportunities to apply these concepts may be found everywhere and the lessons lend
<br />themselves to adaptations according to the grade and ability of the students, For example, fourth graders
<br />require more help in setting up a graph before applying the data, Sixth graders, however, having acquired the
<br />basic skill of translating the data to the graph, can begin to set up their own graph, There is sufficient data
<br />provided to develop a series of graphing tasks for any ability level. Additional possibilities emanate from data
<br />the students collect, such as the lesson using the home consumption survey,
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<br />LESSON NOTES: The following annotations to the mathematics lessons are included to provide clarification and
<br />assistance in the implementation of the material.
<br />
<br />Meet Your Meter, p, 6.
<br />Students who live in apartments may not have a water meter for their unit. Alternative meter-reading sites might be
<br />the meter for their entire apartment building, the meter at the home of a friend, or the school meter,
<br />
<br />Water Problems, p, 7,
<br />Caution the students against trying to change a washer without supervision,
<br />Tie Fred Rood's problem into the science experiments on rainfall, evaporation, erosion, percolation, irrigation, and
<br />garden watering, .
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<br />1. Contra Costa County, Course of Study (Pleasant Hill. CA: 1974), p. 105. 0<8: ~
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