shapes – iLearn Technology

Which One Doesn’t Belong? K-12 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

December 7, 2016Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4048 views

What it is: Which One Doesn’t Belong? is a site I learned about from @TeamBaldwin today. This math site is for students of all ages and challenges them to look at a set of four images and determine which image doesn’t belong and justify their answer. The best part of this site is that each problem has multiple correct responses that can be justified. Students have to think through the differences that they see and then make logical decisions and be able to explain it to others. There are three different categories for Which One Doesn’t Belong including: Shapes, Numbers, Graphs and Equations.

How to Integrate Which One Doesn’t Belong? in your classroom: My favorite part about this site is that there are multiple answers for each set. Students can see how perspective and which attributes you are looking at can change the answer. The site is a great catalyst for critical thinking and problem solving in math (or any) class. Put a problem set up on a projector as a math class starter and ask your students to independently choose their answer and be ready to justify it. Then, as a class, discuss answers. After students have done this once, challenge them to find as many possible answers as they can independently before sharing responses. This site would be a great tie-in with the humanities to discuss perspective and vantage point. Even in something that feels as static as math, perspective can actually make any problem quite dynamic.

Yesterday, @TeamBaldwin used the site this way:

This is a class of kindergarten and first grade students! @michellek107 will be blogging more about the class experience on the class blog, Architects of Wonder if you’d like to read more.

Tips: The graphs and equations appear quite challenging, but even young students can begin making observations about the types of graphs that could lead to some higher-level math discussions.

Oxford Owl Maths: math ebooks, activities

July 24, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment4496 views

What it is: Oxford Owl is the awesome site I wrote about yesterday. They have a fantastic collection of free ebooks and accompanying activities for kids. The site is making an appearance in today’s post because they ALSO have Oxford Owl Math for ages 3-7. There isn’t quite the breadth of resources here that you will find on the main Oxford Owl site, but they do have some great suggestions for math activities, both online and offline, and there are some online math e-books. The 3-5 section currently has the most e-books, online math games, activity sheets that can be printed out, and offline games to play.

How to integrate Oxford Owl Maths into the classroom: Oxford Owl Maths has some wonderful math themed interactive ebooks that include practice with position words, counting, shapes, time, and adding/subtracting. The ebooks make for a great introduction or review in the kindergarten and first grade classrooms. The telling time ebook and activities are even appropriate for second grade students. In the kids treasure box, students can collect online trophies for the games and puzzles they complete, find recipes to make in the kitchen, and download offline activities.

Oxford Owl would be a nice center activity that even the youngest students could explore independently or with a partner. It could also be used for whole class stories with an interactive whiteboard or projector.

This is a good site to introduce parents to for at home reading, play and math practice. If you have a classroom website, Oxford Owl is a great one to link to!

Tips: If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Oxford Owl Literacy site.

Tell us how you are using (or plan to use) Oxford Owl Maths in your classroom!

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

January 3, 2012January 3, 2012Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4279 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!

Gudli: learning games for math, language, science, puzzles and fun

June 9, 2011Kelly Tenkely4 Comments5002 views

What it is: Gudli is a collection of games for kids that makes learning fun. Students can play these interactive educational games while developing skills in math, logic, memory, words, creativity and more. Gudli is free to use and a fantastic learning space for students in kindergarten, first and second grade.

Learning games include:

Math

Color Addition
Learn Shape
Color Subtraction
Number Series
Number Wheel
Add Numbers
Match Shape
Minus
How Many
Number Writing
Spider Counting
Color by Number
What Number Missing
Billing Counter
Time Zone
Table Memory
Mission Subtraction
Tick Tock Time
Quick Match
Math Story
Pattern Match
Counting Coins
Mission Addition

Language

Simple Sentences
Lead the Way
Rhyme Time
ABC Words
Word Rhyme
ABC Jigsaw
Word Trail
Sight Words
Labeling
Save Panda
Letter Blox
Word Hunt
The Blank
Opposite Adjectives
Spellathon
Scramble
Phonic Train
Googly Balloon
Alphabet Writing
What Letter Missing
Word Search
English Memory

Puzzle

Connect Pipe
US Map
Jigsaw Wonders
Stardoku
Shape and Shadow
Jigsaw Puzzle
Tetris Mania
Tricky Shuffler
Tic Tac Toe
Sliding Puzzle

Science

Butterfly Life Cycle
Grow Plant
Water Cycle
Animal Quiz
Jigsaw Safari

In the side bar student will learn fun “did you know” facts, Math tricks (like “Multiply by 9: Multiply by 10 and subtract the original number”) and grammar hints. Each game is labeled with the grade level and has a short description of the game and learning goals.

How to integrate Gudli into the classroom: Gudli is a fun way for kids to practice learning in math, English and science. These games make great center activities to support learning. The games are short enough that they can be set up on classroom computers and students can take turns reinforcing learning and skill practice. Gudli has enough games that students can play several in a lab setting where each student has a computer. Students can choose the games that best meet their learning needs.

Gudli is a great site to share with parents looking for some ways to reinforce learning over the summer!

Tips: Gudli has a brand new virtual world coming soon! Students will be able to explore a fun virtual world, “chat” with their friends, play in an interactive environment, challenge friends to games and of course learn!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Gudli in your classroom!

Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Lesson

September 23, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments4636 views

What it is: Isn’t it great when author’s have websites as enchanting as their books? Mo Willem’s has a collection of wonderful websites starring his characters including my favorite, the Pigeon. On the Pigeon Presents website, your students will find fun games starring their favorite characters. They can learn more about Mo Willem’s books, meet the characters he has created, and even watch video interviews where he talks about his love of writing and illustrating. In the teacher’s section of the site, you will find printable posters for your classroom. On the Go Mo! site students will find Cat and her friends. Here students can play games, learn animal sounds, color online, and see Cat the cat’s gallery. Here students can see pictures that other students have drawn of cat and even submit their own. My favorite discovery of all: Mo Willem’s Pigeon has a Twitter account!

How to integrate Mo Willem’s Websites into your curriculum: If you are a Mo Willem’s fan like I am, you will be thrilled to introduce your students to his site starring his characters. Mo Willem’s has been a Caldecott Award honor for several of his books. His first, in 2004, was Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. I used this book to teach my younger students about the Caldecott award, and to help them identify shapes. Since I was in the computer lab, I taught my students to draw the pigeon using computer drawing applications. This was a great way for my students to learn how to use digital drawing tools, while creating Caldecott worthy results. The students pigeon’s always turned out fantastic and looked so much like the original that the kids felt like they too could be Caldecott honorees. If you are interested in my lesson, you can purchase it here. Mo Willem’s collection of websites would be a great tie-in to the drawing lesson and help students connect to their favorite characters.

Tips: The videos on the Pigeon Presents Get to Know Mo page are really well done and will give students and inside look at how author’s develop characters.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Mo Willem’s Websites in your classroom!

[wp_eStore_fancy2 id=12]

Tangram House

August 5, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1785 views

What it is: I love tangram puzzles, so when I found Tangram House I was thrilled. This online version of the Chinese puzzle lets students select a puzzle to complete and work with 7 tans (shapes) to fill the puzzle. The tans can be rotated, flipped, and dragged into place. The puzzles can be completed online or downloaded for free as an offline game.

How to integrate Tangram House into the classroom: The format of this website would be appropriate for an interactive whiteboard activity. Split students into teams that will take turns at the board forming the tangrams. Encourage the students who are not at the board to help out with good directions and clues for the student working on the puzzle. This is a good way for kids to practice giving and receiving quality instructions and descriptions. Tangram House could also be used on classroom computers as a math learning center or individually in a computer lab setting.

Tips: Play online or download for free and play offline.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Tangram House in your classroom.

Interactives Geometry 3D Shapes

January 23, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment9816 views

What it is: I ran across this site yesterday as I was searching for a Geometry site for a teacher. Interactives Geometry 3D Shapes is a great website for students to learn about 3D shapes, surface area and volume, Euler’s theorem, and platonic solids. Each section gives students an interactive environment where they can manipulate 3D objects as they learn. In the surface and area section, students can learn how to calculate area of a 3D object and then have an interactive space to practice calculating the area of 3D objects. At the end of the site there is a place where students can put their knowledge to the test and apply what they have learned. This is an outstanding alternative to learning from a text book. The Interactives site gives students what a text book can’t, interaction with 3D shapes and the ability to rotate and manipulate the shapes. Throughout the site, math words are highlighted in red, students can click on these words and are taken to a glossary that defines the word for them.

How to integrate Interactives Geometry 3D Shapes into the classroom: Use the Interactives Geometry 3D Shape site to introduce 3D shapes, area, Euler’s Theorem, and platonic solids to your students. This is a great way for your students to learn geometry, especially 3D geometry, in an environment where they can interact with and manipulate 3D shapes. This site could be used with a projector, interactive whiteboard, as a math center in the one computer classroom, or individually in a lab setting. Use the interactive portions with an interactive whiteboard to manipulate shapes for students to see as you are teaching new concepts about 3D shapes. This would be a wonderful site to point your students to for geometry homwork help, students can use it to model and define concepts they may find difficult as they work.

Tips: The Test Your Skills section gives students 15 problems to complete that are accompanied by photos, illustrations, or animations. I wish my geometry tests looked like this! I am such a visual person, I think I would have been so much more successful.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Interactives Geometry 3D Shapes in your classroom.