My name is Michelle Sonderman and I am pursuing a degree in Middle School

Mathematics Education. I will begin student teaching in January 2012 and will graduate in May

2012. I began my college career at Missouri State University in August 2005 and came back

home to St. Louis in January 2007 and started attending UMSL. I graduated from UMSL in

December 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with emphasis in

Management. As I was nearing the end of this degree, I came to the realization that the business

world wasn’t for me. I found myself wanting to make a difference in people’s lives and didn’t

think I would be able to do much of that sitting behind a computer all day long. I have always

loved Mathematics and decided to pursue a degree in Education. I am so happy with my

decision and feel like I was meant to be in a classroom teaching Math!

As you can see from the picture of me and my mom above, I love the St. Louis Cardinals

and I am so happy that they are the 2011 World Series Champs! I’m also a huge fan of music

and will listen to almost anything. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, walking, watching TV

series, and reading when I have the time. I love being around children and I am a part-time nanny

for two boys that I have been taking care of for over three years. Most of all, I love to laugh and

have a good time!

“Teaching isn’t just about getting the content across; it’s about seeing that light bulb go off in a

student’s mind and knowing that you helped them get to that point of learning something new.”

-Michelle Sonderman

“Be nicer than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

–Anonymous

“It’s All About Me” Magazine

8th

Grade Algebra

Michelle Sonderman

Fall 2011

The Overview

The Rationale:

Everyone has a hobby, right? Well, middle school students are going through many

different changes in their lives and they are still trying to figure out what their hobbies and

interests are. Not only that, but they are also trying to figure out who they are and what kind of

person they want to become. Their interests and hobbies have a lot to do with their personalities.

As a way to discover themselves a little bit, they will be writing an article to put into a class

magazine.

There are many different activities that students enjoy, but I want them to go a bit further.

Many students often complain and ask in Math class, “Why do we need to know this?” For this

assignment, I would like the students to find out exactly why they need to know the material that

I am teaching them. This will also be a great way for the students to learn more about their

classmates and people outside of their friendship circles.

The Summary:

The students will be asked to compile a magazine filled with different information. They

will be asked to write about a hobby or interest that can tie into Math. For example, they can

write about a sport that they like and talk about statistics, salaries, compare ticket prices, etc. If

sports aren’t their thing, they can write about shopping and talk about sale prices, money they

spend throughout the year, taxes, etc. If that isn’t an interest, they could write about being in

Drama Club, reading, playing video games, you name it. As long as the students are able to

relate Math to their topic, it is acceptable.

The students must choose something that is relevant to the curriculum. They must

incorporate money, statistics, percentages, fractions, or decimals into their assignment. How the

students write about their topic is up to them. They can choose advertisements, articles, advice

columns, etc. Anything that they have seen in a magazine that they think they can mirror will

work. They will research their hobby or interest of choice and then over a period of 8 days, we

will polish their articles and then compile each student’s work into “It’s All About Me”

magazine.

Objectives:

GLE’s:

Numbers and Operations, Section 1, Letter A: Read Write and Compare Numbers, Grade 8: use

fractions, decimals, and percents to solve problems.

The Show-Me Standards:

Goal 1.1 and 1.4: Students in Missouri public schools will acquire the knowledge and skills to

gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas. Students will demonstrate within and across

all content areas the ability to develop questions and ideas to initiate and refine research, and use

technological tools and other resources to locate, select, and organize information.

Length of Curriculum:

This project will take approximately 8 days. This will give the students time to

brainstorm, research, write a rough draft, revise their article, and add art work.

Materials and Resources:

School

o Computers with Internet Access

Teacher

o Examples from previous years

Students

o Rulers

o Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils

Assessment:

Formative

o Research different types of articles in a magazine and choose one that they will

exemplify

o Proof of Research (printed or copied materials from the internet, books, or

magazines)

o Math problems that are incorporated into their topic

Summative

o Finished article to enter into “It’s All About Me” Magazine

NOVEMBER

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

14 15 16 17 18

Introduce

Assignment:

Brainstorm

hobbies and

interests—how

they can relate

to Math?

HW: Bring 3

possible Topics

for tomorrow’s

class

Library Day:

Research

Hobby/Interest

How does

Math fit into

your Topic?

Figure out how

to incorporate

Math into your

article

HW: Bring in

possible Math

concepts to work

with for Topic

Library Day:

Research

Hobby/Interest

Math Day:

Problem

Solving

Work out the

actual Math you

will put in the

article

21 22 23 24 25

Rough Draft:

Start Writing

your article

HW: Finish

Rough Draft

Proofreading

Day:

Work in groups

to revise each

other’s articles

HW: Revise

articles

Art Day:

Add/Draw

pictures and

make final

touches on

article

NO SCHOOL!

NO SCHOOL!

28 29 30

Teacher’s Calendar

November

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

14 15 16 17 18

Introduce

Assignment:

Brainstorm

Topic ideas due

for next class

Meet in

Library

Give students

time to research

their

hobby/interest

Students will

work on

incorporating

Math into their

topic

Meet in Library

Math Day

Students will

work on Math

that involves

their topic

21 22 23 24 25

Rough Draft

Rough Draft due

tomorrow

Proofreading

Day

Revisions due

tomorrow

Final touches

and add art work

or pictures to

articles

Thanksgiving

NO SCHOOL!

NO SCHOOL!

28 29 30

Lesson Plan Template

Heading Class 8

th Grade Algebra Your Name Michelle Sonderman

Name of Lesson “Why do we need to know this?” Time Frame Day 1

Objective The students will brainstorm ideas for their magazine article.

Reading Material Example articles from previous years

Instructional

Framework

Initiating Constructing Utilizing

Lesson Plan

Format Teacher Centered:

Direct Instruction – providing information and building skills

Presentation – demonstrating, lecturing

Student Centered:

Discussion

Grouping Whole Class Pairs Individuals

Materials &

Resources

School – Whiteboard, markers

Teacher – Example articles

Student – Textbook, Pencil, Notebook

Literacy Strategy Brainstorming

Phase One Class will begin with the introduction of the magazine project. The students

will be shown examples from previous years. This will be a teacher-led

instruction on what is expected for the assignment. Different article types

will be shown and talked about, as well as different topics.

Phase Two The students will have more time to look at the examples and then there will

be a discussion about how math is part of our daily lives. This will get the

students ready to brainstorm potential topics that they are interested in that

involve math.

Phase Three The students will be given time to brainstorm their interests and hobbies and

thinks of ways that math fits into those topics. The will be required to turn

in 3 potential topics the next day.

Formative

Assessment

Homework will be to bring in 3 topics. One will potentially be their topic

for the magazine article.

Brainstorming Web Name:______________________

Miss Sonderman

Algebra

11/14/11

Directions: Brainstorm your hobbies and interests and fill in the bubbles with possible topics

for the magazine project. Keep in mind that you will need to relate this topic to Math.

Excerpt from a student example

Sue Smith

Miss Sonderman

Algebra

11/5/10

Advice Column

Dear Mr. Jones,

I think I might have a shopping problem. I have realized that I am spending a lot more money

than I should. I always think that sales are just an excuse to spend money. Whenever I get

coupons or an advertisement for a sale I feel the need to go shopping. For example, today I had a

coupon for $20 off when you spend $50. 20 ÷ 50 = 0.4…that’s 40% off, how could I pass that

up? Sometimes it is a “Buy One, Get One Half-Off” sale. When that happens, it just makes me

want to buy two things instead of one! If one pair of shoes is $40 and the second is $30, that

means that 50% off the second pair will make it only $15. Two pairs of shoes for $55, that’s a

steal! And the other day I went to buy my daily soda from the vending machine at school and

thought to myself, “I am spending $1 everyday on soda. I wonder how much I spend on soda

throughout the entire school year?” Well I figured it out. Let’s just say I am spending $5 a

week on average and we go to school about 40 weeks a year. If I spend $5 a week times 40

weeks, which is $200 a year just on soda! What am I thinking? I could buy some really nice

clothes for that amount of money. But wait, that is just more shopping. Oh boy, I need your

help! Do you have some ideas to help me budget my money? Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Sue Spends-A-Lot

Lesson Plan Template

Heading Class 8

th Grade Algebra Your Name Michelle Sonderman

Name of Lesson How does Math fit? Time Frame Day 3

Objective To further develop ideas for magazine article.

Reading Material Previous student examples and magazine examples.

Instructional

Framework

Initiating Constructing Utilizing

Lesson Plan

Format

Teacher Centered:

Direct Instruction – providing information and building skills

Presentation – demonstrating, lecturing

Concept – introducing a new theory, symbol, idea

Student Centered:

Discussion

Cooperative Learning

Problem Solving

Grouping Whole Class Pairs Individuals

Materials &

Resources

School – Whiteboard, markers

Teacher – Example articles and magazines

Student – Notebooks

Literacy Strategy Exit Slips

Phase One The beginning of the class will be a discussion for the whole class. Students

will share their interest and hobby ideas and will talk about how they can

incorporate math problems into these topics.

Phase Two Students will get into pairs and they will further develop their ideas. They

will give their partner at least one comment and one suggestion.

Phase Three As the class comes to a close, the students will be given an exit slip

question: “What is your topic and how does it involve math?”

Formative

Assessment

The exit slip will be a way to see the variety of topics and make sure that

students have an understanding of the assignment.

Lesson Plan Template

Heading Class 8

th Grade Algebra Your Name Michelle Sonderman

Name of Lesson Rough Draft Day Time Frame Day 6

Objective To begin writing their rough drafts of the magazine article.

Reading Material Magazine article examples.

Instructional

Framework

Initiating Constructing Utilizing

Lesson Plan

Format Teacher Centered:

Direct Instruction – providing information and building skills Presentation – demonstrating, lecturing

Concept – introducing a new theory, symbol, idea

Student Centered:

Discussion

Cooperative Learning

Problem Solving

Grouping Whole Class Pairs Individuals

Materials &

Resources

School – Whiteboard, markers

Teacher – Entrance Slip Questions

Student – Textbook, Pencil, Notebook

Literacy Strategy Write-Around and Journal Entry

Phase One Students will begin class with a write-around. They will each put their topic

on a piece of paper and then they will all move from topic to topic and write

and idea about how to incorporate math into each person’s topic.

Phase Two From their ideas in the free write, they will write a journal entry with their

own ideas for their article.

Phase Three The students will begin their rough draft using ideas from the write-around

and journal entry as well as from their brainstorming from day 1 and the

research found in the week prior.

Formative

Assessment

The write-around will be used as a way to give the students participation

grades.

“It’s All About Me” Magazine Article Name:________________________

Miss Sonderman

11/2/11

“It’s All About Me”

Students, it is your chance to talk all about YOU! For the next 8 days, we

will be working on an assignment that will allow you to write about something that

you love. You will be choosing a hobby or interest and writing and article about it.

But wait, isn’t this Math class? You’re probably thinking “Why do we have to

write a paper for Math class?”

Well, here’s the catch…

Math is something that you will deal with in your everyday lives. For this

assignment, I would like you to discover how Math is involved in your hobbies and

interests. Many times I hear the question “Why do I need to know this?” and I

would like you to discover why you do need to know Math. The assignment will

be for you to write any type of article that you can find in a magazine. It can be an

advertisement, and article, advice column, etc. As long as you can find a way to

involve math with your hobby or interest, it will be acceptable.

Acceptable Math Topics:

Decimals

Fractions

Percents

Money

Statistics

Please keep this handout as a reference. We will begin brainstorming for this

assignment on November 14th

. Examples from previous students will be

available. Good luck and happy writing!

“It’s All About Me” Magazine Article Name:________________________

Miss Sonderman

11/2/11

Rubric

1-5 6-10 11-15

Organization Ideas are

unclear

Math didn’t

make sense

with topic

Ideas are

mostly in

order and

make sense

Writer uses

some

transitions

between

topic and

math ideas

Ideas are in

order and make

sense

Organization is

clear and writer

used transitions

between topic

and math ideas

Grammar Over 7

grammatical

errors

3-7

grammatical

errors

Only1 or 2

grammatical

errors

Math Content Writer

briefly

incorporated

mathematics

into topic

Math

problems

were

incorrect

A few math

topics

incorporated

into article

Math

problems

completed

with a few

errors

Writer

incorporated

various

different math

topics into

article

Math problems

were completed

correctly

Organization: ____/15 points

Grammar:____/15 points

Math Content:_____/15 points

Total:_____/45 points