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Living Math Book List: Fiction for (almost) every math concept

January 3, 2012January 3, 2012Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4278 views

Happy New Year!! You may have noticed…I took a tech break for the holidays! There may not have been an abundance of posts and sharing happening, but I was still collecting away and have more resources than ever to share in 2012. Thank you all for making my 2011 such a wonderful year to be a part of!

What it is: You know what I love? Reading and books. Particularly fiction. Living Math Book List is a fantastic site that introduces books (mostly fiction) for every math concept (okay, almost every math concept!). The site is SO easy to use, just click on the “Search categories” tab and choose the math topic your students are working on. A list of books with links to Amazon is at the ready. The site is being updated regularly so new books pop into the different categories on occasion. Isn’t it great to stumble on a new jem-of-a-book that you can use in your classroom? I love teaching through story, and Living Math Book List makes it easy to bring stories into your math class. Including books in math gives students who struggle with math concepts a new vantage point and understanding. It makes math meaningful by showing students why they learn the math concepts they do and how math really is all around us. You have to love that! Topics include: addition, angles, area, calendars, capacity, combinations, comparisons, counting, skip counting, data collection, division, doubling numbers, equal sets, equations, estimation, even/odd, fractions, graphing, making predictions, matching, measurement, metrics, money, multiplication, negative numbers, opposites, ordinal numbers, patterns, percentages, perimeter, place value, positional words, probability, problem solving, proportions, ratio, reading a schedule, regrouping, rounding, sequences, shapes, sizes, sorting, subtraction, symmetry, time, and weight. So yeah, something for everyone!

How to integrate Living Math Book List into the classroom: As I said, I am a big fan of reading and books. Any time you can tie learning back to story is a win in my book. Use the books you find on Living Math Book List to introduce new concepts, to enrich students interaction with a concept, as a launching point for writing their own math-related fiction, or just to expose students to a new way of thinking about the math they are learning. The books make a great classroom read-aloud or can be used as a math center during a unit.

At Anastasis Academy, we made sure to have plenty of these types of math books available to students during silent reading. They really enjoy reading them with a partner and pointing out the math concepts they recognize along the way.

Tips: Embed the link to Living Math Book List on your class website or blog, this will make it easy for you, and your students, to find math-related books any time.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Living Book List in your classroom!

iPlay Math Games

September 12, 2009Kelly Tenkely6 Comments3094 views

What it is: iPlay Math Games is an outstanding collection of printable math games for grades k-12. Math games can be searched by grade level or skill. These math games are printable pdf files and can be played with common items (dice, cards, and other manipulatives). iPlay Math Games helps students build math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percents, algebra, long division, measurement, graphing and exponents, problem solving, puzzles and games, geometry, probability, reasoning, logic, numeration, patterns, and counting.

How to integrate iPlay Math Games into the classroom: iPlay Math Games is an excellent collection of printable math games that can be downloaded and printed out for the classroom. Use these games as math center activities, and to reinforce math skills being learned. These games are a great way for students to practice math skills sans worksheet.

Tips: iPlay Math Games has not always been a free resource, take advantage of the new free status!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using iPlay Math Games in your classroom.

Pictogram Graph

August 9, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1782 views

What it is: Most elementary math curricula include lessons on graphing with pictograms. This online version of the Pictogram Graph lets teachers and students create and learn about pictogram graphs in an interactive environment. The Pictogram Graph website makes it simple to add titles, descriptions, choose a picture and a color, choose what value each picture is worth, choose the number of rows/columns, and enter a value on the graph.

How to integrate Pictogram Graph into the classroom: This interactive website is a great way to teach graphing with pictures. Use Pictogram Graph with an interactive whiteboard for whole class graphing. This site would also make a great math center in the classroom. Groups of students can visit the center and graph collected values.

Tips: In addition to the Pictogram Graph site, there is a link at the bottom of the page to a farm animal pictogram which changes the look of the webpage. The farm animal pictogram would be ideal for the kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Pictogram Graph in your classroom.

Math Playground

October 8, 2008Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2413 views

What it is: As promised yesterday, today’s post is all about Math Playground. This is a great site packed full of games, videos, and puzzles all centered around math for elementary and middle school students. Math Playground features some great games touching on topics from money to graphing. The games are interactive and a fun place for students to practice those math concepts they are learning. The word problem sections are divided up by grade level, ensuring that your students are challenged at an appropriate level. The logic puzzle section contains some awesome online traditional logic puzzles (I love these!). The Math video section contains videos introducing students to math concepts (all I have used are very good). The Math Videos are generated after students submit a math question to be answered. Students can ask their own math question…who knows, their question may generate the next Math Video!

How to integrate Math Playground into the classroom: The more I use Math Playground with my students, the more I am convinced that no math class should be without it! Use the Math videos to help introduce or review concepts with your math class. Use the games and word problems as a center or whole class practice. The logic puzzles are fun to bookmark for year round problem solving and playing. We use the logic puzzles often on snow days or when students are finished with work early. Your students will enjoy the activities on Math Playground, my students often come to tell me the latest game or puzzle that they played at home. Voluntary math practice, what a concept!

Tips: Math Playground usually has one banner advertisement. As I have mentioned before, I use advertisements on websites to teach students about how to spot an ad and why sites feature ads.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Playground in your classroom.