Here is a list of websites and apps demonstrated during my session at NYSCATE 2013. EngageNY.org: where you can download the full curriculum modules for free. commoncore.org: access Eureka, the interface for the full math curriculum modules. Number Pieces (Free): Virtual Base 10 blocks and whiteboard AL Abacus ($1.99): Virtual abacus, sometimes called a Rekenrek 10 Frame Fill (Free): Basic ten-frame game/app. Virtual Manipulatives! (Free): Fraction, decimal and percentage tiles Teaching Table ($2.99): Smartboard-like manipulatives and interactivity for math presentations Number Bonds: Addition & Subtraction to 99 ($1.99): Number bonds app for composing and decomposing numbers Bugsy Kindergarten Math ($2.99):…
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It’s been a while since my last post on iPad apps, and in the meantime a lot has happened. For one thing, I have downloaded and tried quite a number of math apps. I’m going to start a round-up of some of the most useful apps as I have time. First up: exciting news! The Number Bond software, that I lamented being only on Mac or PC for so long, is now ported to iOS. As far as I can tell, having downloaded only the addition/subtraction version, it’s pretty much exactly the same as the computer version. This has its…
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A teacher recently asked me a question: “What do I do with the student who is strong enough in his math concepts, but he has no idea about Singapore Math approaches like number bonds, and he starts our school late in the year?” For her and other teachers in the same boat, I’m making this “cheat sheet,” which is targeted at elementary school children who start mid-year in Math in Focus or Primary Mathematics. 1. Number Bonds Number bonds show the ways in which numbers relate to each other. They can also be thought of as “part-whole” pictures, in which you…
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With March (and spring!) right around the corner, many teachers are already thinking about celebrating Pi Day, or March 14. This is a great day to celebrate how much fun math can be. I was inspired all over again by this music video using Pi to make music. If you would like to make Pi Day fun for your students, there are lots of fun ideas in this lesson plan, available from Teachers Pay Teachers for $1.99. I also offer a free downloadable Pi Poster showing almost 1,500 digits of pi. My students always love these. Enjoy!
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How is it possible to assess a whole classroom in a moment? One great tool for this is pinch strips. To use these, the children are asked a question, for example, “How much is $1 minus 95¢?” The children then pinch the strips on the segment showing the correct answer – in this case, the nickel – and all hold them up to show the teacher. I prepared these pinch strips for lessons on money, and then I realized other teachers would probably find them useful, so here they are. These get printed on card stock and can be folded…
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Or, Why Baby Animals Have It Better Than Schoolchildren UPDATE: Pediatricians say not to cut recess! “In order to learn well, children need a period of concentrated academic activity followed by a break that allows them to process information…” Back in the mid-2000s, when I was a newly-minted teacher launching my career, I interviewed at a number of different schools. One school – where they had us take a test and write an essay in response to a question – was a near miss: the teachers and other hiring team members loved me, but then I interviewed with the principal,…
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In the course of my teaching and tutoring experience, I’ve come across the fact that Americans often fall short of others in geometry1,2. Besides the fact of test scores, I see that in how difficult it is for bright high school students I tutor to grasp certain spatial concepts. In fact, I was recently tutoring one incoming tenth grader, and she was unable to visualize how many cubes were in a stack. Recently, I found these foam blocks in packs of 50 for $1.00 at Dollar Tree. I bought a bunch, and they have been so useful for my teaching…
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Like many teachers, I am always looking for ways to economize while giving my students the highest-quality educational experience possible. Math journals are part of this experience in my classes. Rather than buying commercial journals, though, I make my own quickly and inexpensively. If you’d like to learn how to do the same, please visit this link that tells you how to do it, and also gives a few tips about using math journals in your classroom. If you have other ideas about how to use math journals, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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When I saw this book at the library, I was drawn directly to it. Why? For one thing, my post on dyscalculia and teaching math is one of my most popular posts ever. For another, I am always seeking good children’s books with mathematics themes to enhance my teaching or recommend to students. Finally, given that the theme of dyscalculia is such a hot topic, I thought I might be able to learn more about it, as I have done with books about people on the autistic spectrum, such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. So…
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As the fall gets into high gear, I will be getting on the road again. If you’re in New York, try to attend NYSCATE this year and register for my session on Singapore Math on Sunday, November 20. If you can come on Saturday, I will be giving a three-hour workshop on NaNoWriMo in the classroom, which will be fun and hands on. I will also be offering six Singapore Math full-day workshops this fall, starting in October and ending in December. The schedule and links to register for those, and for the conference, are at the bottom of my…
