Mathematics and FCIT

This is a great way to integrate technology into the mathematics classroom.  Research shows that students enjoy learning from each other.  Assigning projects is an excellent way to differentiate instruction.  Assign students  a topic and have them create a podcast about the topic.  They can upload it to the web and others can learn from their work.  They can also present their podcasts in class so the rest of the students can learn a new skill or review an old one.  For help getting started and to dowload software, visit podcasting page under Standards & Software.

Podcasts are a great way for teachers to communicate mathematics!  Teachers can create podcasts of topics/lessons and upload them to the web for students to view.  What a great way to handle make-up work!  Teachers can explain procedures and work out examples in their podcasts.  Then, students can view them from home.  Remember…. podcasts can have video in addition to audio!  Need help getting started?  Visit Standards & Sofwarefor a list of free software you can download.  To listen to math specific podcasts that were created for professional development for teachers, visit Make Math Matter at iTunes U.

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. 

The Educational Technology Clearing House has links to numerous interactive websites for students in all grade levels.  This would be a great place to direct math students and parents for summer enrichment and/or remediation activities.  If you’re sending an end-of-year letter home to parents, consider listing this resource.

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.

Probability concepts are taught at several different academic levels.  Undoubtedly, you have had to draw bags of different colored marbles, spinners, and/or dice for your probability lessons.  On Clipart ETC you will find an abundance of probability tools that you can use when creating activities.

Bag of marbles for probability activity

Do students ever ask you, “Where are we ever going to use this?”   On April 5, 2009 an article written by Gregory McColm, an associate professor of mathematics at the University of South Florida, appeared in the Tampa Tribune to promote Math Awareness.  Figuring Out The Pattern Of Math answers that age-old question.  April is Mathematics Awareness Month.  This year’s theme is Mathematics and Climate, as announced by The American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.  For resources, visit the Math Awareness website.  Take this opportunity to show your students how important math is in their lives.

Conic Sections

If you teach Algebra II, Analytic Geometry, or PreCalculus, you probably teach your students how to graph conic sections.  This can be challenging, especially if you have to try and sketch the graphs on a chalkboard or white board.  Under the heading “In The Math Class - Using FCIT Resources” on bottom of the Math Guide Home Page, you will find PowerPoint presentations that I’m sure you will find beneficial to you and your students.  The lessons are ready to use and include teacher notes on the slides. You will find step-by-step instructions for graphing the conics, examples to work out, higher-order questions, and reviews. The ideal order in which to use the PowerPoint presentations is:  Introduction, Parabolas, Circles, Ellipses, Hyperbolas.  The illustrations and graphics are sure to help make this lesson a success in your class.

Dominoes are an excellent manipulative to use for teaching skip counting.  The clipart site has every possible domino.  Here is an acivitiy sheet created with dominoes found on the clipart site.  It has students use dominoes to count by fives.  There are other sheets that can be found on the main math site or you can create your own using the dominoes found in clipart. 

Domino with 5 spots and 0 spots