In Genesis 1:28, God instructs His people to be fruitful and increase in number; fill the

earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living
creature that moves on the ground. As Christians, how can we obey this mandate to fill the
earth and subdue it unless we understand the earth we live on? I believe that through studying
subjects like mathematics and science, we can better understand how God has blessed us and
what He intends we do to preserve what He has given us. I believe God created the heavens and
the earth, and that one of the ways we worship Him is by studying His Creation. God created the
earth with order, laws, and patternspatterns in the universe that are so beautiful and amazing
that they speak of a Creator through their existence. When we can identify those patterns and
name them and discuss them and use them effectively, we are honoring God and His work.
I am astonished by the accuracy with which we can use equations to predict things like
planets orbits and trigonometric ratios to give angles and heights, and the ability to identify
formulas to describe things like volume and area amazes me. We have formulas that can be used
to calculate and deal with concepts we could previously only imagine, and I believe that God
takes pleasure in our discoveries of His world.
Because of my worldview and because I want students to work with applicable
information that will allow them to explore the world, I chose to include lessons on composite
area and volume and solid geometry. These lessons will enable students to identify real life
applications where composite area and volume are occurring. In addition, students can appreciate
the solid geometric figures they encounter each day, as well as experiencing a sense of
accomplishment due to the fact that they know how to do calculations based on those figures.
My pedagogical decisions were a result of my desires to let students collaborate in groups to aid
in learning how to work together as well as my thoughts about letting students identify how well

they understand material through letting them teach it to other students (either through
explaining a homework problem to the class or through working in homework as a group). I
structure my lessons with homework time at the ends so students do not feel that they are alone
in this process; I want them to know that I am there for them and to answer their questions and
that they are able to take advantage of that in our time together. Historically, teachers did not
spend as much one-on-one time with classes; lessons were done through recitations and
memorization rather than experimentation and class discussion, and because I believe that God
created humans as relational beings with a desire to know more about the world we live in, I
believe that students should work together to build knowledge through discussion and shared
ideas.
As students work through my lessons, they will build enough knowledge to complete an
end-of-unit project. As well as being a form of summative assessment for me, the students will
also have the chance to consider pricing a toy they have created and how to do that fairly based
on the materials needed for the toy. Students should consider costs of materials, production costs,
and the state of the market for that toy, and in doing so, should consider what companies have to
think about when producing toys.
The students faith and worldview will affect their view of learning and their attitude in
the class. A student who believes that whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might
(Ecclesiastes 9:10, NIV) will behave in a much different manner than a student who has the
worldview of eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may dieit will show in their work
ethic, their attitude towards learning, and their appreciation (or lack thereof) for the material.
Through this unit and the pedagogical choices involved, students will have the chance to
explore Gods creation and how we can appreciate and study it, even if that study is not yet very

deep. Students will work together and develop an appreciation for community and the talents and
skills that come together in the classroom each morning. As a result of their worldviews, they
will see value in learning concepts that, at first, might seem impractical or textbook-confined, but
in reality, are useful in understanding the world they live in.