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The Calculus �Playground

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Stepping onto� the Playground

  • My history: “Traditional lecture” style
  • EMU Dev Math department activities (2015ish) + �MichMATYC (2015?) session “Beyond the Worksheet” = Playtime
  • Why: practice, student-student and student-teacher camaraderie, learn by discussion… FUN

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Limit Sort Cards

  • Includes limits at a constant, left/right sided limits, limits at infinity
  • Small groups of students work together to group limit expressions by their values
  • Give minimal instruction. “Match cards with the same values”
  • A fun secret “twist” : two cards don’t have a match

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Link to PDF

Online Version Link

Credit: Julie Gunkelman - OCC

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Graphing Steps � – Graphing with limits

  • Students are provided “fact(s)” about a function that they have to demonstrate graphically, with more facts added as you move on.
  • Individual thinking 🡪 partner to compare 🡪 select some to share with class
  • Base PDF doesn’t include limits at infinity

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  • MathEqualsLove.net

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Tic-Calc-Toe (kinda)� – Competitive Derivatives (or anti-)

  • Pairs of students take turns attempting a derivative (or antiderivative) to claim a square on the game board, hoping to make four-in-a-row.
  • If a student is wrong, other person gets space.

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  • The square blocking can get dramatic��
  • Directions and OG game from Busynessgirl.com

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JeopardyLabs

  • Jeopardy-style board, “Question Answers” optional
  • Pair/groups take turns picking category, in hotseat for points
  • BUT all students are participating for all questions, can pick up ‘lost’ points if correct when “hotseat” team gets it wrong�
  • Points system built into website
  • Paid accounts can insert images, videos, use nice formatted math, (HTML basics otherwise)
  • Free to copy/build, or $20 lifetime for private account
  • My templates

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Graph Matching� -Derivative Graphs

  • Groups of students work together to match a set of functions to their derivatives based on graphs only
  • Possible third set of tiles, match an additional fact (2nd derivative signs, concavity, POI, function value, etc.)��
  • Tiles PDF and Directions from University of Colorado / BOALA

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Hex Tiles� -Derivative Matching

  • Groups of students work to join triangular pieces of a puzzle together to form a large hexagon, by evaluating derivatives and matching them with their values�
  • Derivative Tiles PDF

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Tarsia

  • Puzzle generator for math jigsaw, dominos, sorting cards

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  • Tarsia Puzzle Builder

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Thank you

Jen Wiedenfeld

jwiedenf@schoolcraft.edu

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https://bit.ly/CalcPlay

(case sensitive!)