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Curricular Supports
/ Math Tools
What it is:
Specific tools include:- Computer-based manipulatives, including converters, calculators, and simulations
- Equation editors
- On-line lessons, and games
For those with difficulty writing or lining up problems, working in a word processor or spread sheet makes things much clearer. As digital text, the problems can also be enlarged, color-coded, or highlighted. Some of the tools are multi-sensory, including animation and colorful graphics, appealing to visual and auditory learners. Computer-based lessons can present information in small chunks, allowing the user to control the speed. Many meet the needs of kinesthetic learners by providing hands-on exploration. They can all be used with physical manipulatives, as well as pencil and paper.
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How does it work:
These technology supports can help implement best practices:- Teaching in authentic and meaningful contexts.
- Repeated reinforcement and specific practice.
- Aids for students who have difficulty organizing ideas on paper.
- Finding different ways to approach math facts.
- Breaking instruction into smaller components.
- Giving students choices about how to do their work.
Classroom Examples:
Area of a Circle: Mr. A's Math Pages include colorful PowerPoint lessons that can be used in whole class instruction, but also allow students to review the lesson at their own pace. Circle Area Proof demonstrates the Egyptian method of determining the area of a circle. A sixth-grader, Tanya, can understand and retain the lesson when she is able to read the explanation and control the rate at which new information is presented. Tanya is paired with Alicia, a student who is learning English, and they read through the lesson together.
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Fractions: Some of the 7th graders in Mrs. G's class need additional practice on fractions. She sets up a station in the classroom with an applet that displays one or more pies with segments colored in, based on the values students have set. This allows quick changes and viewing of a wide range of fractional values in a short period.
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Counting: Mr. K's 1st graders are working on counting and patterns. He has seen a cute activity on the Internet but does not have a connection in his classroom. The Count Us In activity featured two adjoining paddocks and twelve sheep. Students were to move six sheep into each paddock. Mr. K realized he could do the same thing using KidPix. The advantage to the online version is that the number of sheep in each paddock was dynamically displayed and student's could ask the program to check their work. He sent information home to families about the 15 games, for those who use the Internet at home.
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Beginning Fractions: A Day with Fractions: Watch a charming short video of a student-created slide show done with a digital camera and student narration, using examples such as the percentage of students at the bus stop with red shirts, percentage of girls on the volleyball team, and percentage of the pizza that had pepperoni.
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Algebra Examples: Mission: Algebra for Grades 6,7,8 Standards-based Classroom Examples This set of 12 classroom examples aims to capture exemplary practices in the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
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Story Problems using FASTDRAW: The FASTDRAW acronym is a strategy for approaching word problems. For struggling students, providing the following list along with room for students to write in their thoughts can help them, and also allows you to see their process: 1. Find what you are solving for. 2. Ask yourself what is the important information. 3. Set up the equation. 4. Take the equation and solve it. 5. Discover the variable, the operations, and what the left side of the equation equals. 6. Read the equation and combine like terms on each side of the equation. 7. Answer the equation and check. 8. Write the answer for the variable and check the equation.
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Probability: Kathy, a 6th grade teacher, begins with a discussion of how spinners are used and also projects a computer-based spinner for whole class viewing in this Planning for All Learners universally-designed lesson.
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10 Tips for Software Selection for Math Instruction
Math Graphic Organizers for Students with Disabilites
MathVIDS
MathWorld
The Learning Toolbox
Thinking with Numbers
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