End Of Summer Report
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Mary LeBoulanger
Conrad High School, Dallas ISD
Algebra I
Mostly 9th grade
I plan to cover this material in the first week of November. It will require two weeks
to complete.
The research being conducted in my mentor’s lab all impacts water quality. His research
concerns water purification in both the developed and the developing world. One of the
projects deals with water reclamation in space. The research I am involved in involves
use of UV rays to oxidize organic contaminants in waste water. I am researching the
absorbance spectrum of contaminated water. The other project I am involved in concerns
the use of ceramic filters to remove contaminants from water. The ceramic filter is very
good at removing organic contaminants but does not remove heavy metals as well. I am
working on designing a prototype of a filter to use in addition to the ceramic filter that
will be cheap, easily replaced and efficient in removing arsenic from filtered water. Many
of my students actually come from third world countries that could benefit from using the
ceramic filter. All students are impacted by water quality.
The core elements of the research in my mentor’s labs involve properties of water,
systems, and water usage and purification. I will be targeting Algebra I in my
engineering project. I plan to use water purification to translate to mathematical lessons.
I will target Obj 1 Ab1 A,B,C,D,E, Obj 2 Ab2 B,C,D, Ab3 A,B, Obj 3 Ac1 A,C Ac2
A,B,C,D,E,F, and Obj 4 Ac4 A. . These TAKS objectives cover topics including
graphing, rate of change, and multiple representations of data. I will talk about science
objectives involving systems and properties of water to some extent. I will also cover
TEKS that are not tested on the TAKS test but are required in the Algebra I curriculum.
These will include but will not be limited to A(11) A and C which cover exponential
growth and decay. Some discussion of geography and culture will also be addressed.
This project will begin with a discussion of what I did this summer. I will share video
clips that illustrate why water purification is important. I will probably do this project in
the early part of the third six weeks. By then the students will be familiar with the math
that will be involved and will be ready for an extensive hands on project to take us to the
Thanksgiving holidays. This project will take Approximately 5 90 minute classes.
Students will be challenged to create a filter that will remove impurities from water. The
impurity for this project will be food coloring, salt and vinegar.. This will prevent
students from actually being exposed to harmful contaminants and will allow quantitative
analysis.
Students will be given a budget and will be encouraged to research items before building
their first filter so they will not waste funds. Items that may be used to build their filter
will cost “money”, however, materials brought from home will only cost a base rate.
This will encourage exploration and resourcefulness. Water purity will be measured with
a colorimeter, a pH meter, and a salinity probe. There will be two prizes in each class
and also overall. One prize will be for most effective/least expensive filter and the other
will simply be for the most effective filter. After plotting the data and removing the
outliers if necessary we will determine if there is a correlation between cost and
effectiveness. If there is a relation students will use their calculators to determine a
regression to fit the data. After students have completed this project the PUR packets
will be introduced and demonstrated. We will gather water from a pond on campus,
examine the water under the microscope, then purify the water and examine it again. We
will determine cost of usage of the PUR packets and create a five representation of cost.
Students will then have an opportunity to learn about the clay filters. We will purify
water with one and then determine cost of usage, rate of purification, and number needed
for various size groups such as families and villages. These data will be represented in
the five representation model. Conclusions will be drawn about economic feasibility of
each method of purification. A Socratic seminar will be conducted to allow students to
defend their point of view and discuss issues surrounding water. As an enrichment project
students will design and construct a water purification model to purify the water in a river
terrarium that will support a system in my classroom. This will be a multi class project
and much of the construction work will be done after school. Neighborhood students can
easily remain after school and others can use the late bus if they want to participate. This
part of the project will be an enrichment project and will not be used as a grade although
it may be used for extra credit.
Projects will be evaluated based on rubrics provided before the projects begin. Student
progress will also be evaluated based on a pre and post test.
I have the needed calculators, paper and markers needed for the math portion of the
project. I do not know if the school has a colorimeter, pH meter, or salinity probe
available. If not, I have found several and am researching which ones would provide
adequate readings. The school has microscopes and slides that I will be able to borrow
from the science department. I will need to provide materials that students can use to
construct filters. These items are inexpensive and can be purchased locally. I would like
to add a river terrarium to my classroom that we can set up as a living system and design
filtration for. My classroom has adequate room for my materials and I believe I can fit
this into my curriculum by replacing other activities that explore the same math
principles in different ways. I am fortunate that my principal supports project based
learning and will support this activity. I hope I can involve our biology teachers and
other Algebra I teachers in the filter part of the project.
Students will use real world data to practice the five representations of an equation. They
will see the real world use of the math they are learning. They will practice gathering
data and using it to calculate answers to real world situations. They will be exposed to
what engineers do and how they help people.
Students will engage in:
 Independent activities
 Cooperative learning
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Peer tutoring
Visuals
Simulations
Hands-on
Whole group instruction
Technology integration
A project
Centers
Lecture
Science integration
Social Studies integration