Teaching functions

El concepto de funciones lo presentaría a los estudiantes a partir de actividades practicas tales como confeccionar un collar con cuencas las cuales repetirán un patrón y así incorporar el concepto lo cual permitirá incorporar el aprendizaje de manera enriquecedora. Luego comentan al grupo de curso, y presentan otros tipos de actividades que permitirán aplicar las funciones.

Excelente ,comparto la misma opinión en relación a las experiencias previas o tareas cotidianas que les permitirán entender el concepto de funciones a los estudiantes , además es importante entender el paso a paso ,y el poder repetir ciertas acciones que les permitirán incorporar las funciones.

Me gustó mucho la idea de compartir con mis niños/as sobre Funciones, a través de las canciones y darles la oportunidad a ellos para que asocien “los coros o estribillos” de la canción con las funciones. En la clase de programación los invitaría a cantar una canción que a ellos/as les guste, proyectándola con el data, los versos estarían de color azul y el estribillos de color rojo. Después de cada verso escribiría el estribillo, que se va a repetir , dependiendo de la canción, varias veces. Luego les preguntaría cómo lo harían ellos para escribir y no repetir tantas veces el mismo coro, escucho sus ideas y tomo aquella que indica que sólo escribiremos “coro o estribillo” después del verso. Proyecto nuevamente la letra de la canción con los versos y sólo la palabra “estribillo” con rojo, debajo. Y cantamos con esas instrucciones. ¡Lo logramos¡. Finalmente les pido que entonemos una canción, cuyo coro además de repetirse en casi todo el verso, incorpora una nueva palabra al terminar y aquí les explico que en programación también utilizamos “Coros” y que se llaman “Funciones” las cuales son una parte de un programa (subrutina) con un nombre, que puede ser invocada (llamada a ejecución) desde otras partes tantas veces como se desee. Un bloque de código que puede ser ejecutado como una unidad funcional.

Hello my name is Magdalena to my students as they are young we would work this concept of functions in the subject of mathematics in basic operations in the field trip specifically to the city fair whose products are sold who are responsible for selling the products l eat they realize what attitude they should have in front of the public so we would see the functioning of the free act the families that supply it and how the basic mathematical operations are linked to the different functioning of the commune.

I would give both a song lyric example and a melodic example. (e.g. AABA or ABAC or ABABCB) #jazz Maybe teaming up with the music teacher so see what they’re learning and if they could fit song forms in class there.

Explicaría el concepto de funciones en una clase de geometría en la que es necesario usar una determinada fórmula matemática para obtener el área y perímetro de una región, pues así cada vez que exista una situación similar, podrán usar la misma función matemática.

A function is a series of actions- algorithm- that can be described in a word or phrase. In gym class, we work on dribbling when we play basketball. Dribbling has a sequence of steps that we practice. That practice creates a “function” that is used throughout the rest of the unit - “dribble” the ball to the basket, “dribble” down the court.

Best explanation of a function - copy of art. I’ll be using that in the future.

Throughout these modules I have been really trying to branch out and be creative with lesson ideas that would work for my students, but I REALLY like the songwriting lesson in Course E, even though it is geared for students that are younger than mine. I think using music and song lyrics is a great way to introduce functions and I honestly wouldn’t change much about this lesson. My students would be so shocked to see me singing and they would also be required to step just slightly out of their own comfort zones, which in the end will be a powerful and memorable learning experience.

The only modification I would make for my 6th graders is during the main activity. Rather than giving them a song or selection of songs, I would allow them to work with their groups to choose their own songs. They love listening to music, singing ALL the lyrics, and doing all the latest dance moves, so I think they would take more ownership in the activity if they could use popular (school-appropriate!) songs on the radio.

In Course E, students are introduced to functions by singing songs which include a repeated chorus. Instead of singing the word “chorus” several times throughout the song, the word signifies that we should go back and repeat the original chorus from a previous part of the song.

As a 3rd grade teacher, I was brainstorming situations students are familiar with that could easily illustrate the concept of functions. I thought about the breakfast line or lunch line at our school. While the sequence to getting a meal does include some choice, there are certain functions, or groups of instructions, that will be repeated several times. For example, a function could be written for moving the tray down the line. The function could be something like:

-place hands on either side of the tray
-grip tray
-slide tray to the right
-take 2 steps
-pause

…or something along those lines! I know that this is an activity every one of my students is familiar with so I think it would be a great example. I would also like to challenge my students to think of other functions that could be written in the activity of getting breakfast or lunch in the cafeteria, there are certainly more!

I teach first graders, so I would want to keep the analogy to real life simple. I like the Little Bunny Foo Foo exercise. I’d also like to use a comparison of cleaning the rooms of your house. The basic steps remain the same for each room.

I teach little ones. I’m technically a K-6 Substitute Teacher, but I’ve spent most of my days in 1-3rd grade. Functions are a little abstract, but we really do use them all the time. Nursery rhymes and songs (Old MacDonald, for one) uses functions, the section of the song (the chorus) that is repeated throughout the song. There are a bazillion songs, poems, and nursery rhymes that use functions, and all of these fit quite nicely into a primary classroom and would lend themselves well to teaching about functions.
I also liked the Bill Gates video on “Draw a Square.” Most first graders know what a square looks like, so I could have them actually draw a square on their paper and then lead a discussion about what they did. I’m quite certain they would just say, “I drew a square, like you said!” but I would help them to see that what they actually did was have the concept in their head and followed the series of four lines in a particular arrangement to draw what we all know of as a square.

Hi all! I teach third grade in Edmonds, Washington.
In Course E, fourth graders are shown what functions are. They learn that functions are similar to a repeated chorus; though we don’t say the word “chorus”, we look at the top of the paper to figure out what the chorus is, similar to functions. The word (chorus/function) shows and tells us that line will be repeated several times, in different parts of the song (or program).
I would probably use the same strategy of using a song to teach my third graders about functions. I think that the song idea can reach a lot of students, because they all attend music at least once a week. I would like to use a song they currently know (or are learning in music), to make it easier for all the students to understand functions. Having all the students know the song would make it easier, as they could focus lesson on the chorus and more on understanding what a function is.

Hi Mrs.Wilson!
I love the idea of having your own sixth graders pick a song. They would LOVE that so much. I can already see the music, dancing, and understanding of functions unfolding in your classroom! What a great idea!

I teach 5th grade and the way I would introduce functions to my class is to find a popular song they would all know. I would have them look at and hear the lyrics then discuss with each other what they were noticing. After a few minutes I would have them share out their ideas. I would then introduce the words chorus, point out what the chorus is doing in the song, how it is being used. Once they understood that, I would introduce the word “functions” and show that its job in the computer program is similar to how we use a chorus in a song. We would then practice the songwriting activity then have them work on the puzzles online.

I would introduce the idea of functions by drawing students into a math conversation. I would ask if students enjoy making many repetitive steps over and over when solving math problem. For example, long division is full of many repetitive steps. Is there a way students can shorten the process by pulling out functions that repeat.

I would teach functions as chunks of code to be used over again.

How would you explain the concept of functions to your students?
I love the idea of using songs and the idea of a chorus. I would collaborate with our music teacher to see about using a song that all the students had a similar experience with from that class. Then I would know that all students had heard of the song. I would want to show them the song in writing, as it is written in a song book for a real world reference as well.

I like the idea of using songs and song lyrics to teach functions and I think using a popular song that is school and age appropriate will create more buy-in for students and allow them to understand the concept better. Introducing it using a “little kid” song would be a good chance for students to be silly but might not resonate with some students.

My classroom is for 4th-7th grade students with significant cognitive impairments and medical needs. I love the way that functions are taught here through songs, as it is so relatable. Some good songs to introduce the concept would be BINGO or Hokey Pokey.

For functions with parameters, you could use “If You Are Happy and You Know It” or “Farmer in the Dell” or “She’ll be coming around the mountain.”