Mathematics and FCIT

Check out the new activity sheets that have been added to the site!  In addition to the skip-counting sheets using dominoes and bundles of sticks, there are new ones involving money.  You can have students practice counting by tens using images of stacks of dimes or count by fives using images of stacks of pennies.  This is a great way to make the skill relevant to your students.  Additional sheets can be made by accessing the currency page on Math Clipart. 

Looking for a fun activity for your algebra students?  Try Spaghetti Bridges!   I have done this lesson and found it to be a success in the classroom.  It is appropriate for middle and high school math students.  The Sunshine State Standards addressed are:  MA.8.S.3.1 (Select, organize and construct appropriate data displays, including box and whisker plots, scatter plots, and lines of best fit to convey information and make conjectures about possible relationships) and MA.912.A.3.11 (Write an equation of a line that models a data set and use the equation or the graph to make predictions. Describe the slope of the line in terms of the data, recognizing that the slope is the rate of change).  The lesson plan includes teacher notes and student activity sheets, in addition to assessment questions.  Especially helpful is the video clip and narrative showing real students in action on this lab.  Your classes will enjoy collecting their own data and then interpreting the results.

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!

There has been a push for incorporating reading into every classroom.  Middle school and high school mathematics teachers often find it a bit challenging.  Lit2Go has math activities that go along with the literature.  There are various ways to incorporate this into your curriculum.  Here is an activity that you can use while working with an English and/or a science teacher at your school.  The reading is about white blood cell counts.  There are several more on the site.  I chose this one to showcase because I like the idea of an activity that incorporates science and literature with the mathematics.  Browse the site for other interesting ideas.  I will discuss Lit2Go for elementary teachers in another post.

Visit Lit2Go

Today’s lesson uses a map from FCIT’s Florida Maps project. The project takes historic maps - state, county, and city - from the entire history of Florida and makes them available for download for classroom use.

Image from Florida Maps at FCIT

This is an example of how you can use the Florida maps site in mathematics. This activity addresses proportionality while referencing a 1975 map of Florida showing hardness of water state-wide. This is a great example of a cross-curricular activity that addresses math, science, and social studies. I’ve also included an activity sheet that you can download and print for your class.