Resources For Teaching Fraction Operations
Khan AcademyThe Khan Academy is a free web-based math web site. Students can create a free account and learn math by watching videos and practicing exercises. There are a variety of subjects available to learn. Teachers can use the site to evaluate student progress and make necessary interventions.
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LearnzillionLearnzillion is a website dedicated to helping students and teachers navigate and succeed in the age of The Common Core. There are extensive videos and resources, like note taking templates, available for free.
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IlluminationsThe Illuminations web site is designed by the NCTM, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has an extensive number of hands on math activities.
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Virtual NerdVirtual Nerd is strictly math related videos. These videos are produced to be very kid friendly and can easily be used by students and parents to reinforce or brush up on forgotten skills. There are no frills or fancy gadgets, just a person, a whiteboard and a pen.
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PatrickjmtPatrickJMT is simple math videos. The quality is not necessarily good, but the content is solid. Another resource and another voice explaining a wide variety of math topics.
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Collaborative Resources
Mastery ConnectMastery Connect is a way for teachers to connect with other educators and share resources. Additionally, Mastery Connect allows teachers to monitor student progress on the Common Core Standards.
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EdutopiaEdutopia is a wonderful resource that allows teachers to find all sorts of creative materials and ideas to use in the classroom. Interestingly, Edutopia was founded by George Lucas.
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EdmodoEdmodo is a virtual classroom website where teachers and students can share, create, discuss and learn. All of this with the appeal of a social networking site.
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SchoologySchoology is almost exactly the same as Edmodo. Schoology is a virtual classroom website where teachers and students can share, create, discuss and learn. All of this with the appeal of a social networking site.
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Creative Commons Resources
School of Open
Schoolofopen is a community of volunteers providing free education for anyone. Teachers and students can learn to add Creative Commons licenses to their work and find free resources to use in the classroom, amongst other topics. The list of individualized courses is good for an open source based organization. Schoolofopen also offers facilitated courses, workshops and training programs.
Flickr
Flickr is an online repository of photos from all walks of life. One of the best aspects of Flickr is the ability to search for images that fall under the various Creative Commons licenses. Below is a quick slide show I made on the topic of Fractions. All of the images below are linked to the original photo on Flickr and the Creative Commons license can be viewed on Flickr.
Multimedia/Interactive Resources
YoutubeYoutube is a tremendous resource for math. Many videos found on Youtube are not professionally done, but the content is good. It take a little bit of searching, but for most topics, finding good looking video with good content is achievable. The video below is from Learnzillion and has great visuals and great content.
These videos can be used as direct instruction instead of the teacher, or a better use if for review. Teachers can post videos or link to webpages, blogs or other interactive tools for students to review or preview. |
Khan AcademyThe Khan Academy offers a large number of instructional videos, but also many interactive practice problems like the one below. Students get an opportunity to practice at their own pace and seek help through the Khan Academy. Many of the exercises require the student to manipulate and rearrange items on the screen to achieve a correct solution.
These Khan Acadmey exorcises can quickly identify which students need intervention and which students can move on. Khan Academy exercises could also be used a a form of formative or summative assessment. Additionally, the student receives instantaneous feedback and can make decision on how to move forward with that feedback. Understanding Multiplication of Fractions Fractions on the Number Line Fractions Cut and Copy |
Manga HighMangahigh is an online math tool. Manga is a paid service that allows teachers and students to create free accounts with limited access. However, the free access is pretty good, especially the games.
Kids love games. Teachers can use these games to help reinforce topics and create interest in Math. Confidence in math class is critically important and this resource could help bolster some kids that lack self-assurance. |
StorybirdStorybird is an excellent way to integrate writing and creativity into the math classroom. For instance, story below discusses a way to recall how to multiply and divide fractions. Students are asked create their own method for recalling the algorithm to multiply and divide fractions.
Many students do not like math. Storybird gives these students a way to apply other talents to math. This tool is a far reach from the old school wrote, worksheet based math classroom. In addition, Storybird raised the level of Bloom Taxonomy for virtually any activity. If students expected to analyze, evaluate and create products about a specific topic, they will need to internalize that information to some degree. |
MobyMaxMobymax is very similar to Mangahigh, except it does not offer any free games. However, Mobymax does offer more math content than Manga and the price for the paid features is reasonable at 79 dollars. Mobymax allows teacher to monitor student progress toward specific standards and provides skill builders and interactive exercises to keep students interested.
Mobymax is another tool teachers could use to help struggling students, or identify gaps in student knowledge. |
SlideshareSlideshare, as the name implies, is a sharing platform. Users can upload documents, presentations, graphics and more to share with whomever they wish.
For classroom use, students could create their own lessons to share with each other. Additionally, students could review,critique and analyze the validity of one another's product. Slideshare is a great way to get reluctant learners to do math and provides an easy way to increase the level of Blooms Taxonomy in the classroom. |
WordleWordle is a fun and creative way to visualize words. Teachers can use this to create interest in a topic or use it for a literacy activity.
Wordle is very simple. Paste or type in words and it creates the visual, with any words used more often as a center piece of the visual. |
Literature Review
Primary Sources
Below are links to primary sources which could be used in my classroom.
1. First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
Students could use this document to make conversions and predictions about money and costs of goods during this time period and make conjectures about the future cost of goods.
2. The progressive higher arithmetic
This document could be used to analyze how simple arithmetic has changed over time. Does math change? In the last 150 years can you find any differences in the math we are learning versus the math in this document? What about the language? Do we use the same language? Compare and contrast our textbook to this document.
3. Map Showing Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal
This resource could be used in a unit on ratios, rate and scale, also incorporating fractions. Students could dissect and inspect this model and compare it actual drawings and dimensions of the panama canal.
4. An elementary arithmetic
Students could critique and analyse this work and compare it to our current text. We could also use iPads to create our very own textbook on the basics of fractions. Additionally, students could identify words in the resource that are different from normal everyday words we use now.
5. List of Purchases Made by Meriwether Lewis in Preparation for the Expedition to the West
This resource could provide an easy connection amongst subjects. Students could figure out what they would need if they were heading West today by car, bike or other transportation. A comparison between today's needs and costs could be analyzed for similarities and differences.
1. First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
Students could use this document to make conversions and predictions about money and costs of goods during this time period and make conjectures about the future cost of goods.
2. The progressive higher arithmetic
This document could be used to analyze how simple arithmetic has changed over time. Does math change? In the last 150 years can you find any differences in the math we are learning versus the math in this document? What about the language? Do we use the same language? Compare and contrast our textbook to this document.
3. Map Showing Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal
This resource could be used in a unit on ratios, rate and scale, also incorporating fractions. Students could dissect and inspect this model and compare it actual drawings and dimensions of the panama canal.
4. An elementary arithmetic
Students could critique and analyse this work and compare it to our current text. We could also use iPads to create our very own textbook on the basics of fractions. Additionally, students could identify words in the resource that are different from normal everyday words we use now.
5. List of Purchases Made by Meriwether Lewis in Preparation for the Expedition to the West
This resource could provide an easy connection amongst subjects. Students could figure out what they would need if they were heading West today by car, bike or other transportation. A comparison between today's needs and costs could be analyzed for similarities and differences.