Mathematics and FCIT

Polar grids are available on theClipart ETC site!  For those of you that teach any type of Precalculus class, you know the pain of trying to find polar graph paper for your students to use.   There are several variations, labeled in both degrees and radians, in a variety of increments.  You are sure to find what you are looking for.  Are you teaching the unit circle and want the students to memorize the special angles?  Here you will find the ideal images to use in your presentations, quizzes, tests, and assignments.  I’m sure you’ll appreciate this resource as much as I have!! Enjoy!

Unit Circle in Radians

There are some wonderful activities linking literature to mathematics on the Lit2Go site.  “Five Little Tadpoles” has both Language Arts and Mathematics activities to go along with the poem.  After reading the poem below, students can complete the math activity that addresses addition and subtraction word problems about tadpoles.  This is a fun cross-curricular activity that catches the students interest with the poem and then addresses sunshine state math standards with the activity sheet.  This particular activity sheet is designed for kindergarten students, but there are activities on the site that pertain to all grade levels.

“Five Litte Tadpoles”
Traditional rhyme

 Five little tadpoles swimming near the shore.

The first one said, “Let’s swim some more.”

The second one said, “Let’s rest awhile.”

The third one said, “Swimming makes me smile.”

The fourth one said, “My legs are growing long.”

The fifth one said, “I’m getting very strong.”

Five little tadpoles will soon be frogs.

They’ll jump from the water and sit on logs.

This lesson, Go Fish!, has a great hands-on activity!  Although found in the FCAT 8th Grade Math section, it is appropriate for students in elementary school through high school.  (Note:  The site is due to update to the latest Sunshine State Standards very soon.  Stay tuned!) The real-life activity models a capture-recapture situtation so students can see how useful proportions are.  They collect data and use proportions to make generalizations.  I have done this activity and found it simple to implement in a classroom setting.  Everything you need is on the FCIT site - lesson plan, student activity sheet, teacher’s guide, and even a video!