skip counting – iLearn Technology

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

January 3, 2012January 3, 2012Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4674 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!

iboard: Interactive Number Square

December 14, 2009December 14, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments2943 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.

Splat Square

January 26, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment13500 views

What it is: Splat Square is one of those very simple websites that you will end up using weekly in your math classroom. Splat Square is a 100 grid that starts out blank. There are different ‘splat’ colors on the right side of the screen. Choose a color and then click on the square, ‘splat’, the number is revealed with a splatter of colored paint. The interactive grid is wonderful for several applications in the math classroom.

How to integrate Splat Square into the classroom: Splat Square is perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard. Teach students to count by 2, 5, 10, etc. by ‘splatting’ those spaces as you count aloud as a class. Teach students the difference between odd and even numbers by color coding the 100 grid, prime numbers, skip counting, and ordinal counting can also be practiced with Splat Square. This is a great grid to use with the whole class with the students interacting with the grid on an interactive whiteboard. It can be used as a interactive math help center or individually in a lab setting. I like using the grid for whole class math games, I call out what rule I want the teams to follow and they can take turns at the board.

Tips: Share this one with parents, it can be a big help for your visual learners during math homework.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Splat Square in your classroom.