Microteaching Sample Lesson Plan - Math

Name: Alex Shum
Student Number: XXXXXXXX

Attended Effective Lesson Planning workshop: Yes
Teaching Lesson: Your favourite theory or theorist in your field of study.
Lesson Title: Didos Problem: An introduction to the Calculus of
Variations
Learning objectives (list 1-2 specific objectives):
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
TIME 15min
1 min
1) Determine the shape given a fixed number of sides and perimeter

that maximizes enclosed area.
2) Recognize the shape that encloses the maximum area given a
piece of string. (A Circle)
Pre-assessment: (Ask questions, try to engage each member of
the audience)
What do perimeter and area mean?
Who can tell me the formula of the area of a square? (Length x Width)
What is the area of a triangle? (Base x Height)/2
The Pythagorean theorem? (In a right-angle triangle, the sum of the
squares of the two shorter sides a,b is equal to the square of the third
side, c): a2+b2 = c2.
Opening your lesson:
Tell the story of Dido: A young woman who fled from her homeland
Phoenicia to escape her tyrant brother who had already killed her
husband. She escaped to Africa, where she struck a deal with the local
king, who in exchange for some treasure promised her the land that an
ox-hide could encompass. She cut up the ox-hide into long strips and
sewed the strips together. What shape did she use?
Learner engagement and participation
1.5 min
1 min
TIME
Activity 1: Have students pair up and determine on graph paper, that if 1.5 min
the perimeter of rectangle is fixed (at 24 units), what is the rectangle that
maximizes the enclosed area?
Goal: Have students recognize that the solution is a square (with a sidelength of 6 units).
If students are having trouble, tell them to try rectangles with:
a) Length: 2, Width: 10
b) Length 4, Width: 8
c) Length: 6, Width: 6
d) Length: 7, Width: 5
More importantly, explain that the maximizing shape has all sides that are
the same length, and same angles: Square
Activity 2: Have students to pair up and fill out a handout to determine 3.5 min
the area of a few isosceles triangles with the same perimeter to
determine the shape of the maximizing triangle.
Goal: Determine that the shape is an equilateral triangle. (All angles are
the same, all side lengths are the same).
If students are having trouble: Help them with using heuristic arguments.
Students do not need to rigorously prove the answer, simply have some
intuition. I will provide rulers, so they can simply measure the height of
these triangles. I will engage the students, and draw both isosceles
triangles that give zero area, and show that area must increase from a
certain point, then decrease after that.
Question: What do you expect the 5-sided shape to be? 6-sided? Use
pictures from slides. (Regular Pentagon, Regular Hexagon)
1 min
Calculation with class (on Whiteboard/Blackboard): Ask students to 1.5 min

assist in a calculation of comparing area of maximizing triangle with area
of maximizing square (both with same perimeter).
MATLAB Animation: Then show how as the number of sides increases
(with the same perimeter), the area increases. The resulting shape is a
circle, having an infinite number of sides.
Post-assessment:
1 min
Provide a verbal quiz: asking if certain shapes are area-maximizing

shapes. This will reinforce Objective #1.
1 min
Ask students to write down what they have learned: One-Minute-Paper,

(to be collected by the instructor)
Closure
1 min
Summarize that
1 min
1) The shape with x sides that maximizes enclosed area given fixed
perimeter has sides of the same length (and same angles).
2) The shape that maximizes enclosed area given fixed perimeter is a
circle.
If there is additional time:
3) Tell the rest of the story: That to maximize the land, Dido chose a
semi-circle and used the shore as one of the sides. (To be covered
in another lesson).
4) Explain that this is a popular problem in a branch of math known
as calculus of variations, and give two examples: Path Planning
and Brachistochrone.
Supporting materials/resources
-
Powerpoint Slides, with MATLAB animations.

Whiteboard/Blackboard
Graph Paper
Rulers/Calculator
TIME
TIME

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Name: Alex Shum

Student Number: XXXXXXXX

1) Determine the shape given a fixed number of sides and perimeter

Calculation with class (on Whiteboard/Blackboard): Ask students to 1.5 min

Provide a verbal quiz: asking if certain shapes are area-maximizing

Ask students to write down what they have learned: One-Minute-Paper,

Powerpoint Slides, with MATLAB animations.

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