Teaching Mathematics Through Role Play

Introduction

Games are able to provide a fun and motivating environment for teaching and learning of certain subjects. Role- playing games allow students to assume the role of a character in the game world and to determine the actions of their characters based on the characterization. This would provide an exciting and motivating strategy for students to practice skills that they have already learned. This paper describes the development of a role-playing game in learning mathematics. Due to its interactive and stimulating nature, the game is suitable for school children in learning this subject.

In real life a student measures water when he wants to make syrup as a drink in the kitchen. The student needs to add water into a pail before bathing and use water accordingly for bathing and they cannot waste water. Children always do not appreciate water and they need to train in conserving water. Children exposure to water management is important because they need to measure the volume of water in the classroom.

Also, they need to use other measuring tool, the ruler to measure the length of items because it acts as a skill for them to use the ruler and the metric system. In the first lesson plan, I combine all three skills so the students are able to use the skills in their daily lives. In this activity, students measure a container by its volume, the amount of water it can store. Second, they measure its mass with water inside by using the measuring scale. Cooking oil is sold by the kg and not in litres. Third, they measure how tall is the container in cm.

Measuring liquid using a person’s sense is not accurate without using the standard measuring tool. Students measure liquid in a liquid container and they look from the sides. They will see the difference in terms of width and height of the container.

Using a uniformed, non-standard cup to measure liquid content and using teapot a mug and lining them all up to show pupils. The pupils are asked on which container they perceive would hold more water. We use the plastic cup to determine the amount. The lesson here is when determining volume, we must measure them, at least  by using the same cup for all containers.

Use a cup to pour water into your 1 litre container until it is filled to the 1 litre mark. How many cups are needed?

The students are taught on the terms that are going to be used . Take for example a jug and a glass of water, which one holds more water than the other ? The pupils will decipher it based on the size, height and their previous knowledge.

The teaching is based on the HSP, and pupils learn based on their experience, they relate with their knowledge, and the teacher must know the pupils’ knowledge by asking them the things they know in the set induction.

One method to teach liquid content of a container is by comparison of two or more liquid containers of different size and height, using standard uniformed cup. First the students guess the liquid volume of container A and B. Second, they are given the time to measure both liquid content of container A and B. It proves that height do not determine the liquid volume.

Students are taught that height of a container does not determine liquid volume. Why do the students base on height, this is because they look at the container from the sides.

Worksheets are essential for the pupils as they become the training ground for pupils to deepen their understanding. By using pictures, pupils fill in the cup with the amount of water required by the partner. In the second lesson plan, I use role play, to teach the students how to measure the volume of fish aquariums using a non standard measuring device they create themselves.

DAILY LESSON PLAN 1

Theme/Learning Area           : Measuring Volume, Mass and Length

Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, students are able to

1.     Read scales to the nearest division

2.     Write the masses of objects to the nearest kg or gram.

3.     Write the masses of objects in kg or gram.

4.     Measure and record measurements of lengths in standard units

Materials:

1. The math worksheet that I have provided
2. A measuring beaker, a ruler and a measuring scale
3. A pail of water.
4. 500 ml of water and 500 ml of oil
5. An empty 500 ml bottle.

Activities:

1. The students sit in groups of 4 and they receive the materials.
2. First, they put the container in the scale and set the measuring scale to 0.
3. They fill in the first container with water.
4. Again, they weight the container with water with the measuring scale.
5. They record the measurement in gram or kg , or the nearest value in the worksheet.
6. They record the volume of the container in cm.
7. They measure the weight of both liquids the water and the cooking oil in the 500 ml bottles.

Measuring length

1. They use a ruler and stand the ruler vertically beside the container.
2. They record the height of the container.
3. After they have measured all three aspects, they are given another container to measure.
4. The team that has the most container and measures the most accurate wins the game.

DAILY LESSON PLAN 2

Theme/Learning Area           : Measuring Water

Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:-Compare measurements volume of water and liquid, able to use more, less or the equal amount of for the answers.

Equipment:

1. Mathematics worksheet
2. Cups
3. 2 Aquariums as 2 aquariums that has different volume of water.
4. A pail of water.

Procedure:

1)     The students are cat owners who have both cats and fishes. Sometimes the cat will drink up water from the aquariums and the water will be less, it will endanger the fishes, they will suffocate or jump out from the aquariums.

2)     Students are divided into groups of four. They are given 2 aquariums, these aquariums acts as goldfish aquariums, each has different capacities.

3)     The students are instructed to pour 3 litres of water in Aquarium 1 and 2 litres of water in Aquarium 2 using a 1 litre bottle.

4)     The aquariums have different sizes and water height, when seen from the sides. The water height is marked as 1 , 2 and 3 litres. It is easy to see the water level.

5)     They answer questions in the worksheet.

Pedagogy        : Thinking Skills

Techniques: Group work, Practical, Cooperative learning

Values : Confident & Independent, Rational

Experience

                   In the first lesson plan, we learn how to measure the litres of the water in the aquarium .Here, they are the cat owners and they look carefully. They need to be careful in measuring the volume of the water and when the rocks are put, they know that the water rises not because there are more water, but there are objects that are in the aquariums. They use their intelligence to measure the water using a standard beaker.

                    In the second lesson, they have 2 skills, they measure height and weigh. We use everyday things to measure that classrooms have never thought of using. We measure length and weigh because in the class we always measure things that we do not have in the homes such as the triangles and the prisms, it is not an everyday thing to have. We also measure the mass of 2 liquids. Water and oil are in the same volume, that is put in 500 ml, but we discover that they have different masses between each other. Earlier, we have measured the 500 ml container before using it, then we pour oil and water into 2 separate bottles and it shows that volume is not related to mass. Weight is not mass, weight relates to gravity, weight can change, but mass cannot be changed, it is what is inside us.

Conclusion

       Students fulfil time in learning to sharpen all three skills that are usually done one at a time. There are students who are good in/interested in measuring only one aspect of an item, and they can learn from their friends on the measurement that they are not interested in. They also can show their friends on measuring , in where they are good in. Water can be measured in its volume or mass, for example mineral water is measured in litres and cooking oil is measured by it mass, that is in kilogram. Knowing the litre of a 5 kg cooking oil is a way to measure and know how to measure. It is a good question to give to the students as well. Usually volume is discussed in one class, and this makes learning combined and it is applicable for the topics that are learnt. The second lesson plan was a bit fun, where they act as fish and cats owners, and they need to use their eyes only to look at the water measurement. When they have passed the first lesson, the second one will be an easy task for them.

Attachments for Lesson Plan 1

	Items	Measurement (litre)	Measurement (gram/kg)	Measurement (cm)
1	Container A
2	Container B
3	Container C
4	Container D
5	Container E

Attachments for Lesson Plan 1

Length

The standard unit of length in the metric system is the meter. Other units of length and their equivalents in meters are as follows:

1 millimeter = 0.001 meter

1 centimeter = 0.01 meter

1 decimeter = 0.1 meter

1 kilometer = 1000 meters

We symbolize these lengths as follows:

1 millimeter = 1 mm

1 centimeter = 1 cm

For reference, 1 meter is a little longer than 1 yard or 3 feet. It is about half the height of a very tall adult. A centimeter is nearly the diameter of a dime, a little less than half an inch. A millimeter is about the thickness of a dime.

Volume

The standard unit of volume in the metric system is the liter. One liter is equal to 1000 cubic centimeters in volume. Other units of volume and their equivalents in liters are as follows:

1 milliliter = 0.001 liter

1 centiliter = 0.01 liter

1 deciliter = 0.1 liter

1 kiloliter = 1000 liters

From these units, we see that 1000 milliliters equal 1 liter; so 1 milliliter equals 1 cubic centimeter in volume. We symbolize these volumes as follows:

1 milliliter = 1 ml

1 centiliter = 1 cl

1 deciliter = 1 dl

1 liter = 1 l

1 kiloliter = 1 kl

For reference, 1 liter is a little more than 1 quart. One teaspoon equals about 5 milliliters.

Mass

The standard unit of mass in the metric system is the gram. Other units of mass and their equivalents in grams are as follows:

1 milligram = 0.001 gram

1 centigram = 0.01 gram

1 decigram = 0.1 gram

1 kilogram = 1000 grams

We symbolize these masses as follows:

1 milligram = 1 mg

1 centigram = 1 cg

1 decigram = 1 dg

1 gram = 1 g

1 kilogram = 1 kg

Attachments for Lesson Plan 1

Mass is a measure of the quantity of matter present in an object. Volume is a measure of how much space it occupies. any small object is of low mass and any object of large volume is of necessity an object of high mass. Mass on the other hand, is the amount of matter that a body contains.

Volume is the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional solid body. Volume is measured in liters and gallons used for measuring volumes of liquids. The volume of an object can sometimes be determined by measurement if its various dimensions followed by a calculation of its volume based on a suitable formula. For example, a box has a volume that is the product of its length, width, and height, V = L x W x H.

Objects of high density will have a lot of mass occupying a relatively small volume. It is incorrect to assume that an object of large volume is necessarily an object of large mass. Put another way, just because an object takes up a lot of space doesn't mean it will have a great mass.  An object of small volume can have relatively great mass. Consider a balloon and a 1.5 litre bottle. Both are of approximately the same volume. However, the balloon has the greater mass and therefore the greater density. In simplest terms: Mass is a measure of the quantity of matter present in an object. Volume is a measure of how much space it occupies. As you can see, these terms do not mean the same thing. In common use the term "mass" is equivalent to "weight". Mass and volume are two properties of objects and they are independent of each other, that is, an objects mass can be high while its volume is low or the mass can be low and its volume high. These two things are a measure of different properties of an object. The volume of an object is how much space it occupies. The mass of an object is a measure of how much gravity it has.

A ruler is an instrument used in geometry, technical drawing, printing and engineering/building to measure distances and/or to rule straight lines. Strictly speaking, the ruler is essentially a straightedge used to rule lines, but typically the ruler also contains calibrated lines to measure distances.

Attachments for Lesson Plan 2

Worksheet 1)     How much does water aquarium 1 has? ____________________________________ 2)     How much water aquarium 1 has? _________________________________ Teacher asks the team to use the terms ; Compare: (more or less) 3)     aquarium 1 has _____ water than aquarium 2 4)     aquarium 2 has ____ water than aquarium 1. Teacher instructs everybody to close their eyes, and a volunteer (open eye) from each team takes 1 litre of water out from aquarium 1 using a paper cup and pour it into the pail. Teacher says: Oh no, a cat came and drank water.( a volunteer puts rocks in the aquarium) 5)     How much did the cat drink? Teacher says: Now measure the volume, pour water from the aquarium into the 1 litre container. Then, into the pail. Let’s see how much. The cat drank ____ litre of water. What is the mass of water that the cat has drinked ? (Students use the measuring scale to measure the mass) Teacher asks the teams to put another aquarium, the aquarium is named as aquarium 3. They close their eyes and a volunteer puts 3 litres of water into aquarium 3. Aquarium 3 has a goldfish too ! They open their eyes and they are asked a question. How much water aquarium 3 has ? _______________________ Now compare: 2) Aquarium 1 has _____ water than aquarium 2 3) Aquarium 2 has ____ water than aquarium 1 4) Aquarium 3 has ______ of all the aquariums. 5) Aquarium 1 _________ of all the aquariums

No of words: 2654

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