mathematics – Page 9 – iLearn Technology

iboard: Interactive Number Square

December 14, 2009December 14, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments2929 views

What it is: Interactive Number Square is another great sample application from iboard for interactive whiteboards. This number grid is versatile allowing you to hide numbers, change the color of squares, change the start number of the grid, add more or less columns and rows, and choose a step number.

How to integrate iboard: Interactive Number Square into the classroom: Interactive Number Square is a wonderful tool for teaching various number concepts. Hide some numbers and ask students to determine which numbers are missing based on those left on the board. Ask them if the numbers are in a pattern, go up in steps of 1, 2, 5, etc. Create a number pattern and hide the answers. Encourage students to keep the pattern going as long as they can and then invite students to check their answers on the Number Square. The Number Square can be used for everything from counting, to learning multiples, to skip counting, to adding, to introducing algebraic concepts and understanding number relationships. Students can interact with the Number Square on an interactive whiteboard or on classroom computers as a math center.

Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased. Interactive Number Square one of their freebie samples.

Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Interactive Number Square in your classroom.

Math Nook: Counting Money

November 9, 2009November 10, 2009Kelly Tenkely5 Comments1833 views

What it is: Math Nook is a website with a collection of great flash based math games. Counting Money is a fun little game from this website. In this game students man a cash register and are given a target number to give change for. This game allows for multiple solutions. For example, if the target is ten cents, students could give a dime, two nickels, or ten pennies. Any of these answers would be considered correct. Target numbers are given in number and written form (0.10 and ten cents).

How to integrate Math Nook: Counting Money into the classroom: Counting Money would make a great math center on classroom computers. Students can take turns manning the cash register. Keep a class tally of the high score for this game and see how high the students can go. If you have an interactive whiteboard, students could take turns returning change. After the student at the board gives the solution, ask students what other coin combinations would have worked to solve the problem. You could also turn Counting Money into a whole class game by splitting your class into teams and keeping score separately.

Tips: Thanks to @cwebbtech for sending me the ad free version of this game! Update: The ad free version URL does not always work so I changed the links back to the ad supported version.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Nook: Counting Money in your classroom.

Fantastic Flexible Foldables

October 25, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4593 views

What it is: I love online activities that students can take part in, but because most of us don’t have the luxury of a 1 to 1 school setting, good old paper manipulatives are winners in the classroom. Fantastic Flexible Foldables is a collection of mini math books and games that you can print out and create with your students. You and your students can create a fraction mini-book, a factors and multiples mini-book, a fortune teller fractor game, a geometry tetraflexagon, an integer infinity square, Flippers (fraction, decimal, music), and lines trihexaflexagon. These foldables help your students to interact with and practice math concepts that can be difficult to grasp apart from manipulatives where they can see the problems worked out. The Flexible Foldables by Carol DeFreese are well thought out and have step by step picture instructions for folding and using these with your students. Carol has also generously provided blank foldable templates that you can download and use to create your own foldables.

How to integrate Fantastic Flexible Foldables into the classroom: These foldable templates really are fantastic. They are a wonderful addition to the math classroom. Even if you don’t focus on any of the skills that Carol has created foldables for, download her blank templates and create foldables that will help your students learn difficult math concepts. These foldables will help your students visulaize and interact with math in new ways. This is an incredible resource and even more incredible that it is free! Sometimes the best part of technology is the way it allows for the sharing of ideas and teaching methods… this site is proof of that!

Tips: Files on the Fantastic Foldables site are in pdf or .doc formats.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Fantastic Flexible Foldables in your classroom.

Kids Numbers

October 22, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment1853 views

What it is: Kids Numbers is a website from the Kids Knowit Network (they also have spelling, biology, history, etc. sites). Kids Numbers is a free collection of resources for the math classroom. Math skills include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, telling time, mixed skills, geometry, and Algebra. When you select a skill to focus on, you will get a week by week break down of skills to practice and accompanying online games and activities. There are games to play and mini tutorials to go through that will teach the foundational skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Everything on Kids Numbers is research based and designed by teachers to increase your students math abilities.

How to integrate Kids Numbers into the classroom: I love the way the mini tutorials on Kids Numbers teach students foundational math skills. They are easy to follow along and perfect for your visual learners. Throughout the tutorial students are asked to participate by counting, sorting, etc. There are games aligned to each skill that act as a practice area for the skill. This is a great site to keep on your classroom computers as a math center year-round. Students can use Kids Numbers to learn new skills, review skills that have been taught, or practice skills that they are learning in the math classroom. Kids Numbers could be an excellent homework helper for students who are getting hung up on the basics and need a little extra help.

Tips: Kids Numbers does have advertisements on their pages. Help your students identify the advertisements and use this as a learning opportunity about what an ad is and what they are used for. Identify the differences between advertisement links and game and activity links on the site.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Kids Numbers in your classroom.

Math Apprentice

October 11, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1772 views

What it is: Math Apprentice is an awesome flash site that shows kids how math is used in the real world, with real world jobs. Students can explore math through games that feature bicycle designers, biologists, artists, mechanics, inventors, doctors, engineers, astronomers, game designers, programmers, chefs, veterinarians, sportscasters, and meteorologists. Students can explore the math of these jobs as a math apprentice by selecting a character and cruising around a virtual world where they can visit places of business where math happens. The character describes how they use math and provides a fun interactive activity that gives students a chance to practice using the math.

How to integrate Math Apprentice into the classroom: Math Apprentice is a fantastic site that teaches students about how math is used in the real world. Students are often asking “where will I use this?” of math. This site answers those questions through a fun virtual world. Kids can explore first hand how math is used and then act as an apprentice and solve problems. Use this website in the computer lab where students can explore the virtual world individually and work through the math at their own pace.

Tips: To begin playing the Math Apprentice games, you have to click on “Explore the Math” button on the bottom of the homepage.

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

iPlay Math Games

September 12, 2009Kelly Tenkely6 Comments3325 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.

Math Mania Back to School Challenge

September 1, 2009September 9, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2199 views

What it is: Math Mania Back to School Challenge is a FREE 48 hour math competition hosted by Voyager. Voyager also holds the World Math Day competition each year, Math Mania is a similar competition. Students compete against other students in real time using the Vmath Live math program. This challenge is limited to 2nd through 8th grade students in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas who are registered by September 14th. Other Math Mania challenges will follow (different dates depending on US state) so if your school isn’t in a state listed above, check out the Math Mania website to find out when your challenge will take place. Although the official competition is September 15-16, students can begin practicing on VmathLive as soon as they are registered. Prizes include student and school trophies and plaques, on-site pizza parties, visits from Vbot, and a champion hall banner awarded to the top overall performing school. Awards will be given to the top 10 students overall, the top 5 classes, and the top 3 schools.

How to integrate Math Mania Back to School Challenge into the classroom: You have never seen students so excited to practice math facts! Students face off with other students from around the world practicing their math facts. The live competition with students from around the world is highly motivating and has students asking “can I play this at home?” When have you ever had students ask to practice their math facts?! Reserve a computer lab for September 15th and 16th so that your students can take part in the competition. In the mean time, students can be practicing for the competition by playing on VmathLive in a computer lab setting or as a center activity on classroom computers.

Tips: If your state is not listed above, be sure to visit the VmathLive site to find out when your Math Mania challenge will be held. Print out the fliers from the VmathLive and post around your school to raise interest and excitement about the competition.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Mania Back to School Challenge in your classroom.

Make 5

August 30, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1750 views

What it is: Make 5 is a fun interactive tic-tac-toe type game (it actually reminds me of Connect 4) that I learned about this morning on Twitter from @annemarie80. This game is a great way for students to practice math facts and to recognize relationships between numbers. Students are given a target number, they choose an equation on the grid that equals the target number. The goal of the game is to get 5 squares on the grid in a row in the least number of tries. The game has several play options; students can play the game with one or two players, set up the game to get 5 or 3 in a row, and can play to practice addition, subtraction, or multiplication.

How to integrate Make 5 into the classroom: Make 5 is an excellent little game that students can play to practice math facts. Use Make 5 as a math center on the classroom computers. Students can visit the center in groups of two and play the game together. In the computer lab setting, students can play Make 5 individually. Make 5 would be a fun whole class game using an interactive whiteboard. Split the math class into two teams. Students take turns coming to the board as representatives of their team. Give teams 30 seconds to plan their move before sending up their representative. Make sure that every student has the opportunity to be at the board (you may have to play more than once).

Tips: Send this site home to parents, this is a great way for students to practice their math facts at home, too!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Make 5 in your classroom.

Pictogram Graph

August 9, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment1958 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.

Tangram House

August 5, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2043 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.