Archive for the 'math' Category

Graphs Galore

Published by Tricia on June 30, 2008 in resource links and math. 0 Comments

I’m in the midst of teaching a class called Improving Elementary Math. I have a great group of teachers with whom I am exploring ways to expand their repertoire of tools for teaching a variety of concepts in math. For part of the day today we focused on graphs and data analysis. I am a HUGE fan of daily graphing in the elementary classroom, so I spent some time looking for ideas to share. I came across some really terrific resources, so I’m sharing them here.

Mrs. Meacham’s Graphing
 http://www.jmeacham.com/graph.of.the.week.htm

Graph of the Day (with printables)
 http://www.kinderpond.com/graphingideas.html

Daily Sign-In Questions
 http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=14153

Mathwire Resources

Graphing in Your Classroom
http://www.teachingheart.net/graphing1.html

Kidscount1234 Resources

Classroom Graphing Ideas
http://www.abc123kindergarten.com/graphmka2001.html

Mrs McGowan’s Graphs
http://www.mrsmcgowan.com/math/graphs.htm

CanTeach Math: List of Daily Math Graph Questions
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/numbers13.html

In addition to these resources, I recommend these two books about graphing.

tigermath.gif graph.jpg

Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel - This book uses a variety of picture, circle (pie), bar, and line graphs to demonstrate how an orphaned Siberian tiger cub grows as he is raised by hand. The story of T.J.’s growth told through text, photos and graphs, with graphs appearing on the left page with explanations.

The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy - What happens when a snail, toad and lizard get together? Why the snail sets up a contest between his friends to see who can make the best graph! Points will be awarded by snail for correct math, creativity, and neatness. Who do you think will win? There is much going on here that kids will love. A great deal of information is shared in word balloons. At the end of the book, the data collection and construction of each graph are carefully explained.

Elementary Math on the Web - Guided Tour

Published by Tricia on May 19, 2008 in math and teaching. 1 Comment

Are you looking for great resources to help you plan and deliver math instruction at the elementary level? Boy, do I have the sites for you! Sit back, relax, and take this guided tour of some great places to start planning for next year. Turn up the volume on your computer so you don’t miss the audio portion many of these sites contain. Are you ready? LET’S GO!

Why don’t we start with terms. Vocabulary can be a big problem for both students and teachers. Let’s look at a great site for math vocab. This site is has resources for grades K-6. Select your grade level and check out a few terms. Don’t forget to click the speaker when you see it!

Harcourt Multimedia Math Glossary
http://www.harcourtschool.com/glossary/math2/index_temp.html

While we’re looking at resources from textbook publishers, let’s visit the Houghton Mifflin site. Select your grade level and check out all the resources available to you. You will find background information, reproducible vocabulary cards, teaching tools, leveled practice materials, resources for math investigations and math at home, connections to Weekly Reader magazine, and more! DON’T MISS the Teaching Models. The overview section provides background on the topic, while the actual model is available for your kids.

Houghton Mifflin Math
http://www.eduplace.com/math/mw/

Here’s one more site from a textbook company. Take a look at the Math Advantage site by Harcourt. Click on your grade level and then click on the Parent and Teacher View link. This will take you to a page of online learning activities (dare I say games?) with annotations describing each one.

Harcourt School Publishers - The Learning Site
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/l_math.html

Let’s move on to manipulatives. You’ve used them in the classroom, now try them online. Here are a few sites with interfaces that allow kids to work with familiar materials like base-10 blocks, pattern blocks, tangrams, and more. These are sites that require some experimentation and patience. You need to learn HOW to use them before you plan lessons for students. Some have instructions and help menus for teachers, while others do not. Take a look at these and see what think.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
NCTM Illuminations Tool (searchable index)
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx
Educational JAVA Programs in Math
http://www.arcytech.org/java/
Harcourt Brace E-Lab Sample Activities (activities begin at grade 3)
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/index_2004.html

For those of you teaching early grades, math centers can be an efficient way to allow students to explore mathematical concepts. Here are some terrific sites with a wealth of ideas and reproducibles for math instruction that is more self-directed.

CanTeach Math: A List of Ideas for Math Centres
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/mathcentres.html
Math Tub Fun
http://www.marcias-lesson-links.com/MathTubs.html
Math Tubs (Hubbard’s Cupboard)
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/math_tubs.html
Math Tubs (Ms. Powell)
http://www.mspowell.com/otherwebpages/centerpics6.htm

Are you looking for a good book to use during your math lesson? Here are some great sites to help you find titles that work for different topics in math. Start your search with one of these searchable databases of children’s books. Enter a keyword and see what comes up. (Be careful entering keywords in the first database, as you are limited to 10 characters!)

Children’s Picture Book Database
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature
http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp
Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs
http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections/

Do you want a ready-made lesson plan to go with your book selection? Visit this site to find just that! You can select books by grade level or mathematical strand.

S.M.A.R.T. Books
http://www.k-state.edu/smartbooks/index.html

Scholastic has some terrific sites for both kids and teachers. Let’s start with the sites for students. Explore some of these great resources for your class!

Max’s Math Adventures (K-2)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/max/
Math Maven’s Mysteries (3-5)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/

Now that you’ve seen some stuff for the kids, take a look at what Scholastic has for teachers!

Teacher Tools (FREE flash card factory, rubric maker, calendar, home page builder, and more!)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/
Lesson Plan Database (searchable)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/

Here are some additional sites that offer searchable databases or extensive lists of math lesson plans.

PBS TeacherSource: Math
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/math/
NCTM Illuminations Lesson Plans
http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons.aspx
UEN Resources: K-2 Core Lesson Plans (Scroll to find math lessons.)
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=1209
UEN Resources: 3-6 Math Lesson Plans
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview.cgi?core=2

So, your lessons are planned and you have all your resources ready. How are you going to assess student learning? Here are some sites with ideas for evaluating student work, developing rubrics, and more.

Math Performance Assessment Tasks
http://www.esd112.org/smerc/mpat_detail.html
Balance Assessment in Mathematics
http://balancedassessment.concord.org/
K-5 Mathematics Assessment
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/math/assessment.html
K-5 Performance Assessment Tasks
http://arlingtonschools.org/Curriculum/Assessment/mathassess.html

For those of you looking for resources to differentiate instruction, or for those of you working with students exhibiting forms of dyscalculia, here are some sites you may find helpful.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students: Differentiating Mathematics and Science Instruction
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/12.99.pdf
Mathematics and Science Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities
http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/09.99.pdf
Teaching Mathematics and Science to English Language Learners
 http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/11.99.pdf
Math Graphic Organizers for Students with Disabilities
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/mathgraphicorganizers.asp
MathVIDS
http://coe.jmu.edu/mathvids2/
Dyscalculia.com
http://www.dyscalculia.org/
LD Online: Math
http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/math
TeachingLD: Teaching How-to’s: Math
http://www.dldcec.org/teaching_how-tos/math/default.htm
The Resource Room - Math
http://www.resourceroom.net/math/index.asp

Are you interested in making a home-school connection? Here are some resources to involve parents.

Early Childhood: Where Learning Begins - Mathematics
 http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EarlyMath/title.html
Engaging Families in Mathematics and Science Education
 http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/06.98.pdf
Helping Your Child Learn Math
 http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/index.html
Math @ Home
 http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/
Math Activities to Do With Your Children
 http://www.learner.org/catalog/resources/activities/content/mact01.html
Top Ten Ways to Help Your Kids Do Well in Math
 http://school.familyeducation.com/mathematics/parenting/38812.html?yf_kids

By now you should realize that there are so many resources on the web for math, that I can’t possibly include them all here. I hope this tour helped you find some resources you can use and excited you about the possibilities of using online resources for both planning and delivering instruction.

Measurement Podcast - Counting on Frank

Published by Tricia on April 25, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

frank.jpg

In this podcast, Kelsey Rdzanek introduces listeners to the book Counting on Frank, written and illustrated by Rod Clement.

Introduction
I selected Counting on Frank because it was very creative and included amazing facts that I thought kids would be interested in. For example, how many blue whales would fit into a house and how long a line a pen could draw until it ran out of ink. This book can be used for teaching about measurement and ratios, as well as topics like addition or subtraction.

Related Books
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

More Information
Look at this sample performance assessment where students read Counting on Frank and then wrote a letter to the author commenting on at least one example of the mathematical claims made.
Try this NCTM lesson on volume that is based on the book.
Here is a series of lessons on estimation that are based on the book.
Here is a short video introduction to Counting on Frank. It also includes a handout on estimation.

Measurement Podcast - How Big is a Foot?

Published by Tricia on April 24, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

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In this podcast, Megan Ney introduces listeners to the book How Big is a Foot?, written and illustrated by Rolf Myller.

Introduction
How big is a foot? This is a good question, and an important one. When a King wants to have a bed built for his Queen, he proceeds to walk around her and gives the measurements in feet. However, when the apprentice uses foot measurements to build the bed, things don’t turn out as everyone would have hoped. Thrown into jail for making a bed that is too small, the apprentice must solve the puzzling question of why his bed didn’t measure up.

Related Books
Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement by Susan Hightower

More Information
Try this lesson using the book that includes a reader’s theater script.
NCTM also has a measurement lesson based on the book.
Follow this outline for a computer (Excel) graphing lesson based on the book.
Here’s a great chapter of information on nonstandard measurement.

Measurement Podcast - Once Upon a Dime

Published by Tricia on April 23, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

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In this podcast, Cory Widdowson introduces listeners to the book Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure, written by Nancy Kelly Allen and illustrated by Adam Doyle.

Introduction
Follow Farmer Truman Worth, a young boy and their animal friends Lewis and Cluck, and Grover Clevelamb in an exciting story about a tree that actually grows money! Truman and the boy use different organic fertilizers on the tree, each of which cause the tree to grow different kinds of money. If only they could find out which fertilizer grew the most money…

Related Books
The Coin Counting Book by Rozanne Lanczak Williams

More Information
Try this economics lesson that is based on the book.
The author has some class activities for the book on her web site.
Try a word search puzzle based on the book.
Here is an activity guide for use with The Coin Counting Book.

Measurement Podcast - Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Published by Tricia on April 22, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

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In this podcast, Kristin Coffee introduces listeners to the book Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.

Introduction
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday incorporates math facts into a traditional children’s book format. Judith Viorst writes in the voice of Alexander, a boy who, after receiving a dollar from his grandparents, tries to save up for a set of walkie talkies but ends up spending his dollar over the course of several days. By the end of the week, Alexander is left with only bus tokens, but readers have been provided with many opportunities to practice their math skills through reading about his adventures.

Related Books
The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain
The Story of Money, written by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Giulio Maestro

More Information
You can visit the official site for the Berenstain Bears.
You can read an interview with the Judith Viorst.
Visit this site for kids about the history of money.
Try this economics lesson that is based on the book.
Try this problem-solving lesson based on the book.
Try this lesson on opportunity cost based on the book.
Young Investor has a web site for kids on saving money.

Measurement Podcast - A Second is a Hiccup

Published by Tricia on April 21, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

second.jpg

In this podcast, Jamie Malone introduces listeners to the book A Second is a Hiccup: A Child’s Book of Time, written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Kady Macdonald Denton.

Introduction
A Second is a Hiccup explains the differences between units of time, such as a second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. By using day to day activities, which are common and easy for students to understand, Hutchins does a wonderful job of introducing and teaching students about different units of time.

Related Books
It’s About Time! by Stuart Murphy
Just a Minute by Bonny Becker

More Information
Experiment with elapsed time at this interactive web site.
Visit this site where kids can practice telling time.
Check out this thematic book list on telling time.

Nonfiction Monday - If You Hopped Like a Frog

Published by Tricia on April 21, 2008 in nonfiction, math and book review. 1 Comment

frog.jpg

This book has been in my teaching collection for a while now. I pull it out every time I teach algebraic thinking and my students and I explore the concepts of ratio and proportion. If You Hopped Like a Frog, written by David Schwartz and illustrated by James Warhola, looks at the world of animal facts and applies them (mathematically) to children of average size. In the introduction, Schwartz lets readers in on a little secret–as a child, he wanted to hop like a frog! But how far could he hop? Realizing that a little bit of math would help him find the answer, he tells readers that with math, they can figure anything out!

The book looks at a series of if-then propositions. If you could hope like a frog, then you could jump from home plate to first base in one leap. In the back of the book, readers learn how each calculation was made. In this case, we learn that a 3-inch frog can hop 60 inches, or about 20 times it’s body length. If the child reading the book is 4.5 feet tall, this means he or she could hop 90 feet! This informational section on hopping like a frog ends with this.

How tall are you? If you could jump 20 times your body length, how far could you go? Measure your height and multiply by 20 to find out!

Some of the other comparisons explored in the book include:

  • If you were as strong as an ant
  • If you had the brain of a brachiosaurus
  • If you swallowed like a snake
  • If you ate like a shrew
  • If you high-jumped like a flea

The comparisons are startling and fun. The illustrations show just how fantastic some of these feats would be if you could indeed do them.

This is a wonderful book for encourage mathematical thinking and for introducing a concept that is often difficult for children to understand. This is an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: If You Hopped Like a Frog
Author: David Schwartz
Illustrator: James Warhola
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 0-590098-57-8
Source of Book: Personal copy.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in learning more about the ideas presented in this book, check out these resources.

Measurement Podcast - Chimp Math

Published by Tricia on April 18, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

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In this podcast, Farah Salman introduces listeners to the book Chimp Math: Learning About Time from a Baby Chimpanzee by Anna Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel.

Introduction
Chimp Math is full of adorable photos of Jiggs a baby Chimpanzee who grows under human care first in a Kansas Zoo and then in the Denver Zoo, Colorado. The authors give details of the chimp’s growth through timelines, daily charts, graphs and calendars. The book can be integrated in Math (Time), Reading and Science lessons for 2nd through 5th grades.

Additional Books
A Second is a Hiccup by Hazel Hutchins

More Information
Learn more about the author.
Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees site has several good educational resources.
The San Diego Zoo has information on chimpanzees.

Measurement Podcast - All in a Day

Published by Tricia on April 17, 2008 in children's literature, podcast and math. 0 Comments

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In this podcast, Laura Bradlee introduces listeners to the book All in a Day by Mitsumasa Anno.

Introduction
Mitsumasa Anno and eight other amazing artists have created an exceptional picture book all about measuring time and the different time zones in All In A Day. The book is comprised of unique illustrations depicting the activities of children in various parts of the world in one 24-hour day and encourages readers to accept and embrace cultural differences. Most any age audience would enjoy this book; however, if it were being used to help students understand the more complex concepts about measuring time, I would use it in a 3rd to 5th grade classroom. There are many activities that could be done to enhance the educational value of this book. Since the book only gives the time in digital format (standard and military), one way to help students would be to have them use models or diagrams of real clocks to represent the time in each country as the book is being read. Students could also practice elapsed time by giving and/or depicting the time on a clock in one country if it is a certain time in another (use examples other than what the book gives). Students could also come up with other activities that children might be doing in the eight different countries based on whatever time it is when the book is being read. This book is a great way to integrate science into math and teach across the curriculum on a very interesting subject. Subsequently, depending on the depth desired, students could investigate different time zones, how the Earth’s orbit plays a factor in night & day and the seasons, and then give oral presentation of their findings to the class.

Additional Books by Mitsumasa Anno
Anno’s Counting Book
Anno’s Journey
Anno’s Magic Seeds
Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar

More Information
Learn more about the author in this interview.
This sample from the The Big Book of Picture-Book Authors & Illustrators features Mitsumasa Anno.