Assessment
A rubric will be used to assess students in the following ways.
1) Students ability to add fractions with unlike denominators.
2) Students use of a computer system to connect to and access needed information from various Internet sites.
3) Students use of spreadsheets to analyze data.
See attached rubric
Learning Context/ Introduction
This learning experience involves two of my favorite things, fantasy baseball and math. Students participating in this learning experience will be creating a fantasy baseball team by purchasing Major League Baseball (MLB) players from a provided list. Students will compete by earning points based on real-life statistics for these players. The purpose of this learning experience is to reinforce the previously taught concept of adding fractions. Students will be working in collaboration with others to gather data and will be adding fractions with unlike denominators. The students will be gathering their players' statistics and computing the number of points for that player based on a provided scale. The student with the most points at the end of the experience is the winner.
Duration
5 days of 42 minute periods
Day 1: Introduction
Days 2-4: Compute team statistics
Day 5: Final touchups
Essential Question
How can adding fractions possibly be fun?
Instructional/Environment Modifications
Computer lab with projector, web access
Procedure
Day 1: Introduction of project and draft a team
On day one I will take my students to the computer lab. I will login to the main computer hooked up to an LCD projector so the students can see what I'm doing. I will discuss the project including the expectations and goals for each student. I will log on to my website and ask the students to as well. Here I will show each student where to find the information and links they need. Once I have explained what we are doing and where we can find everything I say, "now we can draft our teams." We will draft our teams using two different links. The first link is a word document titled "Fantasy Team Roster". The second link is a word document titled "Fantasy Player Values". Each student will be given a total of $30,000 to spend on players for each position (Catcher, First Base,...etc.) The students will complete the "Fantasy Team Roster" document. There is an excel spreadsheet inserted in this document to assist with calculations. Once the students have this completely filled out, they must save to their account and print a copy. I will also be drafting a team to model for the students.
Days 2-4: Compute team statistics
Prior to each class, I have posted links to websites for students to find the statistics for their players.
Step 1: I will show the class where to find the statistics I have posted and all documents needed today. (Daily Scoring Sheet and Scoring Criteria) Students must download these two documents and print three copies of the Daily Scoring Sheet and one copy of the Scoring Criteria.
Step 2: I will show the class where to find and how to read the statistics for two of my players. Allow students time to find and copy statistics for all their players on the Daily Scoring Sheet.
Step 3: Then I will show how to compute the points for my players using the Scoring Criteria document and the Daily Scoring Sheet. I will do this by hand using an overhead projector. The students will use the rest of class to compute the scores for their entire team. They may work with a partner if they wish or may work independently. I walk around the room and offer assistance when needed. Students must show all work on their Daily Scoring Sheet. Each day the student will have a total number of points for that day.
Day 5: Complete project
Students will now have completed Daily Scoring Sheets for three classes. Today I will show students where to access the Final Scoring Sheet on my website. They will download this and print a copy. Here the students will copy the total points for each day onto this Final Scoring Sheet. Then they will add all days together to get their total score.
See attached files for all documents
Reflections and Feedback
This is the second year I have used this project in my classroom. It is fantastic. Students love it. This year was the first time I incorporated technology into the project. It made an enormous impact. Having the students find all the information needed on the internet was enjoyable for them as well as less work for me. They really got into the game as they were in a competition. They looked forward to seeing how their players did in the games. I even had a few students ask if we could do this again later in the year. Students worked hard on this project and were upset when it ended. I would recommend this project to anyone looking to raise the level of interest of adding fractions to their students.
Student Work
Students will hand in the following
1) Completed Fantasy Team Roster. (Completed as a word document)
2) Daily Scoring Sheets. (Completed by hand- all work must be shown here)
3) Final Scoring Sheet. (Completed by hand- all work must be shown here)
See attached student samples
Related Resource
web sites
www.mlb.mlb.com: website used to determine player values and box scores of all games.
Website(s)
Mr. G's Fantasy Baseball and Math
Resource/Materials
FB Player Values 07.doc
FB Scoring Criteria.doc
FB Total Scoring Sheet.doc
FB Daily Scoring Sheet.doc
FB Rubric.xls
FB Team Roster.doc
Prerequisite
A lesson on adding fractions and three days of practice with adding fractions.
