11 Math Resources you don't want to miss for 2012!

To start off the new year, each day this week I'll be posting a list of eleven resources to try in a particular content area. Today's list is for mathematics teachers, tomorrow's list will be for science teachers.

Brain Nook is a virtual world in which students can practice their mathematics and English skills. Brain Nook provides students with a series of scenarios that they have to resolve by answering mathematics and language arts questions. The first scenario presented to me when I tried out Brain Nook required me to earn coins to buy materials for a vehicle that I would then use to explore one of the virtual worlds. I could earn coins by answering questions correctly. Brain Nook presents students with questions based on their skill levels which is determined by a quick pre-assessment and adjusted as they progress through Brain Nook's virtual worlds.  

Learn Your Tables is a neat little site for students to use to learn and develop multiplication skills. The site offers two basic games on two different levels. The most basic game is a simple drag and drop activity in which students match equations to their correct answers. The more "advanced" game has students enter the correct answer to a multiplication question. The easier of the two levels only contains problems from one multiplication table while the more difficult level contains problems from multiple multiplication tables.

Ten Marks, an online mathematics tutoring service, offers a free program for teachers. Ten Marks for educators is designed to be a supplement to classroom instruction, not a replacement for it.
Ten Marks provides educators with an online forum in which they can assign mathematics practice problems to students and track their students' progress. If a student gets stuck on a problem he or she can open a tutorial to help him or her through the problem. Ten Marks provides teachers with the option to CC parents on the assignments sent to students. The online curriculum provided by Ten Marks can be aligned to the state standards a teacher chooses.

Yummy Math is a website designed for the purpose of sharing mathematics problems and scenarios based on things happening in the world today. For example, the activity for December 4th was based on Lebron James's return to Cleveland. Yummy Math lists activities chronologically as well as by mathematics subject area. Two mathematics teachers, Brian Marks and Leslie Lewis, developed Yummy Math and welcome suggestions from other mathematics teachers. 

Web2.0calc is a free online scientific calculator. While it won't replace the TI-84 Plus, it can do what your average high school student needs it to do. The best part is, you don't have to use it on the Web2.0calc site because they offerthree widgets that you can use to embed the calculator into your own blog or website.

Math Open Reference is a free online reference for geometry teachers and students. Math Open Reference features animated and interactive drawings to demonstrate geometry terms and concepts. The table of contents on Math Open Reference is divided into four basic categories; plane geometry, coordinate geometry, solid geometry, and function explorer tools. Click on any subject in the first three categories to find definitions, examples, and interactive drawings. In the function explorer category users can select linear functions, quadratic functions, or cubic functions to explore how changes in variables affect the graphed output.

When it comes to creative uses of Google tools, Tom Barrett is certainly a leader that we can all learn from. A great example of this can be found in Tom's Math Maps. Math Maps are Google Maps on which Tom and others have created placemarks which when clicked reveal mathematics questions for students to answer based on the maps. There are questions available for every elementary school grade level. The placemarks are color-coded to indicate the level of the questions. Blue = Kindergarten, Red = 1st grade, Green = 2nd grade, Light Blue = 3rd grade, Yellow = 4th grade, Purple = 5th grade. Visit Tom Barrett's Math Maps page to view the existing Math Maps and read about how to contribute to the existing Math Maps.

Math Live is a neat mathematics website developed by Learn Alberta. Math Live presents students with animated stories that teach mathematics lessons. In all there are twenty-three lessons for elementary school and middle school students. The lessons are divided into four categories; Number, Patterns and Relations, Shape and Space, Statistics and Probability. Each animated lesson is accompanied by a mathematics worksheet that students complete either while watching the lesson or after viewing the lesson. Each lesson is divided into sections and students can advance or rewind as needed.

Conceptua Math is a provider of interactive visual mathematics lessons. Conceptua Math's primary focus is on the development of tools to aid teachers in the instruction of lessons on fractions. Conceptua Math's offerings are a mix of free and premium (paid) tools. There are a total of fifteen free interactive tools for teachers and students. Each of the free tools has an introductory video and a sample lesson plan.

If you've seen Dan Meyer's TED Talk, Math Class Needs a Makeover, you already know that he's an awesome educator. If you haven't seen his talk, go watch it now then come back to this post. This past summer Dan Meyer published his entire 38 week Algebra curriculum complete with slides, handouts, and just about everything you need in order to deliver the lessons. You can download each week individually or download the entire collectionas one file. Dan Meyer also has his entire 38 week Geometry curriculumavailable for free. Again, you can download each week individually or download the entire collection as one file.

Plus Magazine is a free online publication dedicated to introducing readers to practical applications of mathematics. Plus Magazine strives to reach that goal through the publication of mathematics-related news articles, podcasts, and mathematics puzzles designed around "real-life" scenarios.

Originally posted at www. freetech4teachers.com  by Richard Byrne. 

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Suggested Learning Activities that are creative...

Suggested Activities: The Game of Learning

For the first six activities, seat your students in a circle and introduce a ball or something else they can pass easily between them.

1. "I know a word"
You can begin this skills game by saying, "I know a word that starts with the same sound you hear at the beginning of butterfly." Students will raise their hands, and you choose one to tell you a word the starts with "B." Once they tell you the word, toss them the ball. They choose someone else to tell them another word that begins with that letter, passing the ball to the student who gets it right. As the game continues, change the letter every so often. Play until everyone has had a turn. You can use this game for beginning sounds, ending sounds, middle sounds etc.

2. Rhyme time
Say, "I need a word that rhymes with cat." Pass the ball to someone once they give you a correct rhyming word. Keep changing the starting word and continue the game until all kids have gone.

3. Practice counting
You can have your class practice counting by twos, fives and tens. Pass the ball clockwise or counterclockwise, with the student who receives it saying the number that comes next. For example, you say, "We are going to count by fives. Five!" The person next to you says "ten," the next one says "fifteen," and so on.

4. Spelling review
For older kids, you can pass the ball and go through your spelling words one letter at a time. For example, you say, "We're going to spell the word their, as in 'This is their ball.'" The first person says "T," the second person says "H," the third person says "E," and so on. If one says the wrong letter, the next person says correct letter and fixes the mistake.

5. "I need a synonym"
This is a great vocabulary building exercise. You can use the ball or a pair of flyswatters, depending on the age of your students. You say, "I need a synonym for mad." Choose someone to give you another word that means the same thing, such as angry, furious andenraged. For older kids, you can put a list of synonyms on the board and divide the class into two teams. Have one person from each team come up and compete. Whoever slaps the board with the flyswatter and says the correct synonym wins a point for their team. In the end all of your students win a better vocabulary.

6. Reinforce other skills
What other subjects are you teaching? You could adapt these games to fit pretty much anything. "I need a name of an explorer." "I need you to name one of the phases of matter." "I need to know one of the reasons for the Civil War." Be creative!

7. Roll dice to have your students answer story questions.
"What is the plot of the story?" you might ask them. "What is the setting?" You can introduce more reflective questions such as, "Why did this character do what he or she did?" and "What was the author's purpose?" You can write these questions on cards or purchase them fromreallygoodstuff.com.

8. Sight Word Slap Game
Write your sight words on the board. Separate your class into two random teams. Let one person from each team step forward and hold a fly swatter. Call out one of the sight words. The first one to slap the correct sight word gets a point for their team. Continue until everyone has gone. This is great for helping sight word recognition.

Suggested Activities: The Artsy Side of Creative

9. Use different voices or accents when reading stories to the class.

10. Dress in costumes of storybook characters to leave a lasting impression, or let students dress up as characters to retell stories.

11. Turn your room into the environment of what you are learning about. When the class is learning about fairy tales, turn your classroom into a castle. When you're learning about animals, turn your classroom into a jungle.

12. Create class songs about topics they need to know, or use the music of singers like Hap Palmer and Jack Hartman. You might also borrow songs and games from coworkers. Songs are catchy, and children learn quickly from them.

Creative Science

13. When teaching about the properties of friction, use KS2 for interactive projects you can do in small groups or as a class using a smart board. You might ask your students slide down the hallway first in their socks, then barefoot, and have them journal about the different amounts of friction.
14. When teaching phases of matter, drop some food coloring into beakers of cold and warm water and note the difference. Then pour the contents of one beaker in a bag and put it in the freezer. The next day, compare the liquid bag with the solid chunk of ice and note differences.
15. Use the ice from the above activity and talk about gravity. Stand on a chair and discuss what will happen if you drop the ice, and if it matters which way you drop it. Let your students predict the possible outcomes.

Incorporate Your Students' Favorite Things

16. Survey your students at the beginning of the year. Get to know them and what they like. Then make a point of using their names, favorite foods, games, books, etc. in word problems, writing exercises, shared reading and many other activities. People do better and learn more when working with things they like. As adults we know that we don't want to do something if it's not fun. The same goes for kids.

Creative time savers

17. Have your students rely on each other as resources. For each table, pick a team leader to try answering his or her classmates' questions before they come to you for help.
18. Pair your higher achievers with lower achievers to study sight words, letters or other skills.
19. Put them into literature circles to discuss books.
20. Have them read one another's writing to check for completion or suggest ideas before they come see you.
21. Use the Leap Frog Tag reading system. You can plug it into the computer to get student scores on activities, which will provide guidelines for what you need to work on. This is a great way to collect data!
22. Have a "math problem of the day" journal to review skills in which your students scored low on assessments. Put the problem on the board and have them copy it into their journals at the beginning of the day. You can take a minute or two after they have completed it to review the problem with the class. Check notebooks later for understanding.

For more see the website: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/creativity-in-classroom-trisha-riche from EduTopia.

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New Website for Parents with Special Needs...

A new website is currently in development, but was announced last night at the annual "Making The Transition" workshop held at Wilson Central High School. The website will become a clearinghouse for information to help parents navigate all of the services and opporutnities for their children with special needs.

The website is being authored by a group of new Special Education teachers graduating from Cumberland University as part of their new understanding of wanting to be proactive in their chosen careers.

The website will feature material for parents, referrals to other websites and services provided across the state of Tennessee and contact information for parents, as well as teachers, to help locate services or providers.

The website can be found at http://www.tntransitionproject.com/


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Holiday Tips for Special-Needs Families

Shopping for the holidays is often more fretful than fun, especially when you have children with special needs on your list and want to get them something they'll both enjoy and benefit by. Here you'll find good gift ideas for your child and yourself, along with some things to think about while shopping.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Travelers with disabilities to premier on Oprah's network OWN.

Show for travelers with disabilities set to premier on Oprah's network
A new television series focused on travel and adventure for individuals with disabilities is set to premier on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network Dec. 12. "Rollin' with Zach" is being developed and hosted by Zach Anner, who has cerebral palsy and won a contest in February to have the show produced by Winfrey's network. Disability Scoop  (11/14). Check out the details, HERE

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Students going to college...

Part II on Students with LD going to college...

Marybeth Kravets is fielding questions this week on The Choice about applying to college with a learning disability, the subject of my column published over the weekend in The Times’s Education Life supplement.


From CEC Smart Brief... 
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/marybeth-2/?ref=education

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Hard Decision for students with LD in preparing for college...

From the CEC Smart Brief:   Experts give advice in this blog post for students with learning disabilities who face particular challenges as they apply to college. Among other things, students should consider whether it would be helpful for schools to know about their learning issues before disclosing them on applications, and should consider using the main essay on the Common Application as a place to introduce their disability, they advise.

Click on the link here to read more about it from the article in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/hard-decisions-for-learning-disabled.html?_r=1

Teaching Social Skills...

Social competence and emotional well-being are issues for some adults and children with learning disabilities. Being liked, feeling accepted, and having self-confidence are all related to an individual’s social skills. Included in this section are the “dos and don'ts” for fostering social competence, the teacher’s role in developing social skills, and many helpful articles on behavior modification, anger management, disciplining students with disabilities, and the emotional issues experienced by some individuals with LD.

A great website has several ideas of helping with social skills. 

Check it out HERE!

Autism Task Ideas...

From the website FileFolderHeaven.com website... These are easy to make, easy to use and most importantly are FREE!!!

Sorting Animals Autism Task This printable Autism task is free. In this visually structured task, students will practice sorting types of animals.
	Snowmen Sort Autism Task This printable Autism task is free. In this visually structured task, students can practice sorting at three different levels.
	Colorful Leaf Autism Task This is a free printable Autism task.  In this task, students practice learning and spelling the color words.
	Know the Numbers Autism Task This is a free printable Autism task.  In this task, students practice identifying numbers and number words and spelling number words. Printable Autism tasks are not just appropriate for students with Autism. They are appropriate for any...
	Money Identification Autism Task This printable Autism task is free. In this visually structured task, students will practice identifying coins on three different levels. This Autism task is in the "book" style. Autism task are not only appropriate for students with...
	Know the Shapes Autism Task This printable Autism task is free. In this visually structured task, students will practice identifying shapes on two different levels. This Autism task is in the "book" style. Autism tasks are not only appropriate for students with...

For more examples and other Autism File Folder fun click on the link below:
http://filefolderheaven.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16

National Writing Project - About Using Google Docs

The National Writing Project has a great story on the use of Google Docs and how to use it in the classroom for writing assignments. A great collaborative tool!  You can read NWP's article by clicking HERE.

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Teacher Video Site...

Here’s a great teacher video site: http://www.watchknow.org/.


One of the links I looked at was the skip counting song for 2’s… http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=30275&CategoryID=5471  

It is really cute and now the song is stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

Hope you like it too!

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Great Graphic Organizers...

Need a quick graphic organizer to help with your lesson planning? Here's a website that provides several types of organizers for general purpose use as well as specific by subject. Check them out!

http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/graphic/

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College An Option for Students with Special Needs?

From time to time we are asked if there are any colleges or universities that will accept students with special needs or have programs for students with special needs. To help answer these questions, we have added a "College As An Option" in our Transition Informaiton page.... please note that Wilson County Schools does not recommend or endorse any specific college or university and that they information provided is for public educational purposes only.

If you find or know of any other options for a college or university, please let us know!

CLICK HERE to be taken directly to the Transition Information page...

Today (Oct 20th) is National Writing Day!!

Initiated by the National Council of Teachers of English in 2009, October 20 is the 
National Day on Writing!
Outline for writing mini-lesson in second grade
http://teachers.net/4blocks/outline_for_writing_mini_lessons.pdf


Reading/Writing - TEACHERS
A chatboard for teachers of reading and writing


Sequence of Events (Middle, Reading/Writing)


Journal Writing Ideas (Elementary, Reading/Writing)


Teachers.Net - 6 TRAITS OF WRITING CHATBOARD


Teaching Writing to 37 Second Graders


Please remember to help us while you browse these resources.


Use Picture Books to Teach Creative Writing

Practical Tips for Teaching ElementaryWriting

A Simple Way to Improve Students' EssayWriting

Writing Like Picasso

Writing prompts for October 20:

In 1883, the first vocational school in the United States was opened in Baltimore, MD. A vocational school specializes in training students for specific jobs. If you were to choose a job you might like to be trained for, what would it be? What are three things you would have to learn in order to do that job?


In 1956, a German doctor, Hannes Lindemann, began his successful attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a kayak. The trip took 76 days. The kayak was only 17 feet long, and had to carry all the supplies Lindemann needed for the entire journey. What are three problems a person trying such a trip would need to solve?


In 1859, the Minerva Club, the first club exclusively for women, was organized in New Harmony, Indiana. Some people think that there should not be any organizations for just men or just women, others disagree. How do you feel about this? Give reasons for your opinion.


Writing prompts for the remainder of October



NCTE resources for National Day on Writing: http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting


Brought to you by Teachers.Net Gazette. Your support is appreciated!

Active Parent Workshop...

Do you let your child manipulate you when you
are trying to discipline? Are you a pushover?
You could be a doormat.

Do you lose control of your emotions when you
discipline? Do you make it a point to win every
battle? You could be a dictator.

The Active Parent works WITH the child
respectfully, yet firmly, to avoid battles and get
desired results. Learn how in just two nights!

Click HERE for a printable flyer for this workshop.

5 Things To Do... Coming Back from Break!

Five Things to do when you 

come back from fall break:

 A. Reconnect. Our students have been off for over ten days and some have developed new routines now. They will need to reconnect to you and their fellow classmates. The first day back may be difficult for them to adjust back to the schedule and routine of class work. Everyone in the room should be aware of this and make necessary adjustments even as minor as letting them rest in between activities and in allowing the students to ease back into the class routines.

B. Re-teach rules & Procedures, especially. Some of the normal classroom rules and procedures may have been forgotten by the time the students return from break. Some may have not had to follow the same rules at home or at the sitters OR they may have learned different rules at home or at the sitters. They will need the opportunity to relearn the procedures of the classroom and of the school. So take the opportunity to re-teach, not merely re-tell. Practice the procedures just as if it were the first day of school. It will go so much smoother if you let them participate and achieve success early in their return back to school.

C. Routine. We all like routine, whether we will admit it or not. Our students especially like routine. They like knowing when to change from center to center, or when lunch will be, or when time for gym will be coming around. More often than not during the break they have established a new routine. One that may no longer fit in with the routine of coming to school and working in the class, so ease them back into the school routine. The first day may be okay, but it’s usually the second, third and fourth days the students will find difficult once the adrenaline from the first day eases. They may become sleepy or grumpy since they can no longer nap when they want or sleep in later in the mornings.

D. Relate. We have to begin teaching right away in order to make sure that we continue with our pacing guides and our lesson plans. But we can take the time to relate the lessons that are coming at the students to what they did on their break. The more we relate the material the easier the transition will be. If you are teaching math, then work into the lesson something they would have counted or computed during their break. If you are teaching English grammar then create a lesson with a writing assignment where the student could describe an event or activity he or she did on the break and would want to share it with you or the class.

E. Review. The material that was covered before the break may no longer be in the working memory of our students. Spend a few days reviewing and renewing the students’ mental functions by challenging them to retrieve the items they learned before the break. Make it fun. Redo a craft or an activity that you did just before the break to allow the brain to reset from that of rest to being active once again.

Returning from a break should be one of re-connection and returning to the mode of learning.

Let's make it exciting and keep everything going strong for the next nine weeks. Then it will be winter break and we can do it all over again!

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Fall Break - Relax, Refresh, Reflect and Renew!

One of the great parts of a modified nine and two calendar is that after nine weeks of instruction there is a two week of break for both the students and the instructors. Those two weeks are broken into intercession and professional development as well as time off. 

What will you do with the time? Will you relax, reflect or renew? Either way you and the students will be refreshed and ready for the next nine weeks of exciting instruction.  

Relax - Since school began there has been a constant pushing and pacing to get the material covered, the lessons taught and rules and consequences practice and in place, just in time for a two-week break. So take the time and modify your schedule. Do something that will allow you to relax. Change your routine around. Enjoy time with friends. Work on your hobby or visit places of interest that you can do as the autumn season allows us to enjoy.  The important thing is to make time for relaxation to clear the mind and to change the routine so that you are doing things differently. 

Reflect - Now that you are more relaxed, you can start to reflect on what worked, what didn't work and how you might do things somewhat differently in your classroom when school returns to session. This is a good time for self-reflection and for determining, without the pressure of a daily schedule, what really did work in the classroom over the last nine weeks and what didn't. If you are a list maker, then make a list of things to do again and things not to do again. Put the list aside for a couple of days and then look at it again. With fresh eyes and a mind that is clear you can then focus on what made the classroom work for you and for the students. 

Renew - You ask isn't this the same as relaxing? Not really. To renew is to "become new or as if new again," according to the dictionary. So, maybe you need to read over your lesson plans, your text book, visit some websites and see what others are doing in your area of expertise. Perhaps a renewal would be to personally recommit to be a life-long learner and to teach the students that same trait. To help them to understand that just because you are "out of school" we never really stop learning. What can you do to renew? Glad you asked. Here are ten great renewal techniques for all educators: 

      #1 - Laugh. Out loud. Completely and deeply find something that is funny and laugh out loud. This can be such a cleansing and laughter remains one of the healing mysteries. 

      #2 - Listen to music. Put your iPod, MP3 player or anything that you can listen to music with and turn off all of the other media inputs. Really listen to the music. Use headphones that totally cover your ears so that you can become engulfed in the music. Listen to how the music flows, get lost in it. Enjoy your favorites and get lost in your own concert. 

      #3 - Eat right. When we have time off we don't eat on the same schedule. Just because we can doesn't mean we have to eat those types of foods that will add additional sugars or fats -- those that taste so good. Instead, focus on eating foods that will help you to relax without adding to your waist. 

      #4 - Breathe. That's right, breathe. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly. For some of us we have been so busy that we've even been overheard to say, "I'm so busy with school I don't have time to breathe!" So, breathe!  Take deep breaths and exhale completely. The mind, heart and especially the lungs will thank you for it. 

     #5 - Exercise. Yes, even if it's just for a short time. Exercise doesn't necessarily mean power lifting at the gym or training for a marathon. A short walk around the yard or simply standing up to stretch during a break can offer immediate relief in a stressful situation. Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood almost instantaneously.

        #6 -  Sleep. Get some rest during this time. Unfortunately, lack of sleep is a key cause of stress. This vicious cycle causes the brain and body to get out of whack and only gets worse and worse with time. Make it a point to get the doctor-recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Turn the TV off earlier, manage your time, and do your best to get into bed. It may be the most effective stress buster on our list. Don't try to make up for the lost sleep during the school year. Now is the time to start a better habit of time management and getting the proper sleep. 

      #7 - Change your attitude. When you have a positive attitude you will feel better, work better and see things in a better view. Over time you’ll learn to meet negativity with a positive reaction. A positive attitude will keep you from slipping back so easily into feeling overwhelmed. Don't let the attitude of a few make you join their negative ways -- keep the positive attitude and those with negativity will go away. 

      #8 - Plan. Plan. Plan. Yes as educators we do a lot of planning. But this is more time management and planning of our day. Since you have some time now to look back at your daily schedule, then make some rules for your day. Drowning in papers? We’ve all been there, and it’s not a great place to be. To the extent you control your daily schedule, make your workload work for you. Time-management skills are vital to planning, prioritizing, and completing tasks. Set hourly or daily goals, but be realistic. If there’s no way you will complete a project in two days, do not push yourself. If, in the end, you’re left with some extra time after completing your project, consider it a few spare moments you can catch up on email or get ahead on your next task.

     #9 - Just say no.  Don't over commit. Sometimes we are asked to serve and to do and to work and we feel that we should. But there are limits to our commitments. We have to have a balance of time with our students, with our families and for ourselves. If you have no time left for you, then you will begin to regret the time you spend with others and it will add that much more stress. Take this time to look at your commitment and prioritize those things that you really want to be involved with and those that you don't want, just politely disengage yourself. You never know, but there maybe someone else who wants and has the time to volunteer, but doesn't because there are others already in place. Rotation of volunteerism is good. 

     #10 - Don't sweat the small stuff.  Focus on the things you can change, you can do and you are prepared to spend resources (time, money and energy) doing. Then let the rest of it go. Identify what and who you want to be and do those things that support that decision. You will be much happier and your stress level will be reduced as well. 

Enjoy the time provided in the nine and two calendar. Our next break will be coming up after the next nine weeks of instruction and what you don't get done in this two week time of renewal and reflection you can continue.

Enjoy your break and don't forget -- "Laugh often, laugh deep and take care of you." You are a teacher. You are priceless!

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