January 28
Math related sites
Calendars Through the Ages: http://webexhibits.org/calendars/
This is a content-rich site with information about the history of calendars,
the various calendars in use and not in use, and much more.
Haring Kids: http://www.haringkids.com/
This official site of the late modern artist Keith Haring is intended to inspire
in children a love for the arts. With brilliantly animated sections, devoted
to books, games and, of course, art, this site encourages creativity at a young
age. HaringKids also includes lesson plans and projects for teachers and parents.
Integers on Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/integers/
Would your students benefit from some extra integer activities? Math teacher
Rebecca Newburn edits this Squidoo page, which offers sites and videos that
can help students integrate integers into their learning.
Math2.org: http://www.math2.org/
Students who need a quick math reference, rather than a detailed explanation,
will find all sorts of help here. The sections, ranging from general math to
linear algebra to calculus, define terms, provide formulas and offer graphs
or drawing where applicable. This makes it easy to brush up on the formula for
determining the circumference of a circle, convert fractions to decimals and
prove calculus theorems. A message board, suggested books and software, and
links are also available.
Science Related Sites
Faultline -- Seismic Science
http://www.exploratorium.edu/faultline/index.html
Here's everything students need to know about earthquakes, presented through
video, graphics, photos, interactive classroom projects, webcasts and more.
The information is divided into five primary sections: Live Eye on the Earth,
Great Shakes, Quake Basics, Damage Control, and Active Zone. Education World,
which gave this site an A+ rating, says students may want to begin with Quake
Basics where they can learn about plate tectonics, faults, waves and how the
earth's movements
are measured. Great Shakes includes information about earthquakes in and around
San Francisco, including video from the World Series game when the 1989 earthquake
started. You'll also find links to other sites that track daily movements of
the earth.
MESSENGER - MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment,
GEochemistry and Ranging: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/flyby_movie.html
The Messenger spacecraft, which is headed for Mercury, recently snapped hundreds
of pictures of Earth. The photos have been tied together into stunning movies.
The photos start when the spacecraft was approximately 41,000 miles above earth.
When the camera stopped, Messenger was 271,000 miles out.
Using Technology
Fun-Based Learning: http://funbasedlearning.com/
Fun-Based Learning offers several free science and math games that teach chemistry
concepts, graphing, and more. You'll also find several lesson plans and a quiz
maker that lets you put quizzes and surveys on your own website page. It's free,
but if you subscribe the Google ads go away.
Integrating Technology in the Classroom: http://www.wtvi.com/teks/
Wesley Fryer offers a variety of articles and ideas for jumpstarting instructional
planning.
Library in the Sky - Educational Web Resources: http://www.nwrel.org/sky/
A searchable collection of annotated links, organized by departments (science,
language arts, ESL, library, etc.) and materials (education games, lesson plans,
grants, etc.); also has special portals for students, teachers, parents, and
librarians.
Microsoft Education: http://www.microsoft.com/education/
Go to the bottom of the page and click on one of the following Tutorials, Lesson
Plans, Innovative Teachers, Clip Art, Templates for help and ideas from Microsoft.
Product News Update: http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/productnews/
Read the latest company and product updates, as reported by the award-winning
editors of eSchool News. Learn what the leading technology providers have been
offering at the major ed-tech conferences.
Resources for class
Module 2: Watch Problem Solving and Assessment from My School Lab: http://www.ablongman.com/mylabschool/
Video Clip 3: Math Strategies for Problem-Solving
Summary: Students use a variety of problem solving strategies to solve math
problems: card game, estimation, and small group work. Teachers use different
strategies in the classroom to reach a variety of learners.
Key Concepts: Problem solving strategies
Question 1: Why do teachers need many different strategies in the classroom?
Question 2: What did the students learn from the lesson involving finding the
average height, and do you believe the strategy used was effective? Why or why
not?
Question 3: React to this statement from the NCTM's Principles and Standards:
"Most, if not all, important mathematics concepts and procedures can best
be taught through problem solving."
Question 4: Why is teaching with problems more difficult than teaching the concepts
and letting students practice on their own?
Video Clip 4: Authentic Assessment
Summary: Authentic assessment may take many forms. Classroom examples demonstrate
that how students communicate their understanding is as important as how they
solve the problem.
Key Concepts: Authentic assessment
Question 1: How does assessment help guide the teacher's lessons? What is the
relationship between curriculum and assessment?
Question 2: When assessing in math, what three things are we looking at?
Question 3: What is authentic assessment, and what role does it play in the
overall assessment of a student's academic performance?
Question 4: What are the advantages of authentic assessment over standardized
testing, and vice versa?
Module 3: Number and Operations
Video Clip 5: Using Manipulatives
Summary: A third grade teacher works with students to solve a problem using
manipulatives. The teacher stresses the need for students to understand the
relationship between the operations and when to use each.
Key Concepts: Using manipulatives, operations
Question 1: What is the difference between the way young children and older
children solve story problems?
Question 2: How does using manipulatives help young children solve a story problem?
Question 3: Manipulatives, or models, are popular tools for teaching mathematics.
Using the lesson in the video clip, explain how to take a student from the model
to symbolic thinking.
Video Clip 6: Strategies for Learning About Operations
Summary: Students solve simple problems and identify what strategy they are
using. Encouraging students to explain how they solved a problem helps students
understand the operations used.
Key Concepts: Problem solving strategies, operations
Question 1: Once children have solved a problem, it is important that
A. the teacher checks their answers.
B. they communicate how they got their answer.
C. they find the related operation.
D. they are rewarded for the correct answer.
Question 2: In the beginning of the video clip, what was the purpose of the
activity in which the students named the strategy they used to solve a problem?
Why is this a good teaching tool?
Question 3: Sometimes, children are taught to look at the key words in a story
problem to help solve it, such as "in all" to mean you should add,
or "each" to suggest multiplication. Name three reasons why this is
not a good strategy.
Question 4: Create two multiplication or division activities that begin with
models instead of word problems.
This site began in March 1998 by Janet Luch. This page was last
updated on
December 28, 2006
.
Email comments and questions to studyplans@yahoo.com.