Geo in the Wild

Geometry was never my best subject in math - I loved algebra, but geometry just wasn't my thing. Now I'm teaching it and my students feel the EXACT SAME WAY. So I asked myself, "Self, how do you get your learners to engage with the material even if its not their favorite? How would you have enjoyed learning this material?" I knew it was certainly not with the packets I had been giving them for the past 4 months . . . So after a lot of reflection and searching on the internet and Twitter, "Geo in the Wild" was born.

I originally saw this idea from another user on Twitter. This was an engaging way to introduce the new unit's vocabulary and integrate technology effectively. In "Geo in the Wild" students work collaboratively to create a definition of the vocabulary word given to them by the teacher. They can use any of the resources around them (i.e. their Chromebook, geometry book, each other, Interactive notebook, etc.). They also find a picture of their vocabulary word in the real-world. When finished, students present their word to the rest of the class. Acting as the teachers allowed the students to take ownership over their learning and they were much more engaged in hearing their peers' ideas. A template of the Google Slides presentation shared with students for "Geo in the Wild" can be found here. Some student examples are shown below. 



As a close to this activity, students watched a Powtoon I had created to summarize the first lesson of that chapter.


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