I love when you create a project that students are excited about! This project fits that description. We review area formulas in Geometry before we start surface area. I DID NOT WANT another “look up the formula” day. It’s boring! And, if I don’t like it, students won’t either. Then I stumbled across this post by @micahshippee on Kasey Bell’s website ShakeUpLearning.com. I have the privilege of knowing both of these wonderful people. Micah is part of my Google Innovator Cohort and he is amazing. And ya’ll know Kasey. If you don’t know them, look them up, RIGHT NOW. You’ve been missing out.
Micah created an activity where student use Google Slides to create an “app” that you can load on your phone or tablet. I decided to use this wonderful idea to review area formulas. My students created an app where you could click a button and find the formula and an example for each shape.
Bonuses: Students were VERY ENGAGED. They were still working when the bell rang and didn’t really want to stop. They were helping each other, critiquing without being prompted, and giving great advice. I was MORE THAN excited when students came into class the day the assignment was due with the app already loaded on their phone. They were soooo proud! I think, as an extension of this activity, we will share our apps with lower grade levels, who are learning about area for the first time, and have them give us feedback through Flipgrid.
Here is the activity I gave the students. My instructions are taken directly from Micah’s post because they are so thorough. He is cited in the activity.
I’ve also included some of the apps created by my students. OMGee, they make my heart happy. You should be able to click on the phone below and it will open a Google Drawing file where the links are active. If you use this activity, please share on Twitter and tag me @MandiTolenEDU and @micahshippee.
Make Math Not Suck 
I absolutely love this idea! I recently participated in some professional development with my district where different teachers presented different things that we could use in the classroom. One of the presenters demonstrated how to use codepen.io for programming in math class. He walked us through creating a code that would calculate volume. After creating the code, you could input any numbers and the coded program would calculate the volume for you. Do you have any experience with programs like these? Do you know if that kind of coding could be embedded in an app activity like this one? Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experiences with us!
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Wow! My brain is spinning. I’ll be doing some research and I’ll get back to you.
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