The NC Public School site has some algebra resources that might be worth checking out, including weekly directions for learning the graphing calculator:
Math:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/mathematics/secondary/
Specifically Algebra:
http://mathlearnnc.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4507283&pageId=5849478
Sunday, August 1, 2010
File Folder Games
Lots of great file folder games for Pre-3:
http://www.filefolderfun.com/FileFolderGames.html
From the description:
File Folder games are a great way to introduce fun ways of learning with your children. They are great for topics and subjects that children are having difficulty with. Additionally they make great time filler activities, or even travel games. On our site you'll find many games you can print for free. Our site is organized by Subjects (such as Dinosaurs, Flowers, ect.) as well as Age Level (PreK-Third Grade.)
http://www.filefolderfun.com/FileFolderGames.html
From the description:
File Folder games are a great way to introduce fun ways of learning with your children. They are great for topics and subjects that children are having difficulty with. Additionally they make great time filler activities, or even travel games. On our site you'll find many games you can print for free. Our site is organized by Subjects (such as Dinosaurs, Flowers, ect.) as well as Age Level (PreK-Third Grade.)
Distance Learning Options for Highschool
University of Nebraska: http://highschool.unl.edu/
Free online classes in many subject areas at Hoagies' Gifted Education
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm
--> BBC SPanish: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/steps/spanish/
CompuHigh: http://www.compuhigh.com/
Florida Virtual School: http://flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx
Education Program for Gifted Youth (Stanford): http://epgy.stanford.edu/
Indiana University Highschool: http://iuhighschool.iu.edu/
Keystone HighSchool: http://keystoneschoolonline.com/
Great Books Academy: http://www.greatbooksacademy.org/curriculum/curriculum-book-list/
Free online classes in many subject areas at Hoagies' Gifted Education
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm
--> BBC SPanish: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/steps/spanish/
CompuHigh: http://www.compuhigh.com/
Florida Virtual School: http://flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx
Education Program for Gifted Youth (Stanford): http://epgy.stanford.edu/
Indiana University Highschool: http://iuhighschool.iu.edu/
Keystone HighSchool: http://keystoneschoolonline.com/
Great Books Academy: http://www.greatbooksacademy.org/curriculum/curriculum-book-list/
Sunday, July 11, 2010
ACT vs. SAT
Differences between the ACT and SAT:
http://www.math.com/students/kaplan/satoract.html
A good analysis of who does better on the ACT vs. the SAT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/guidance.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2
http://www.math.com/students/kaplan/satoract.html
A good analysis of who does better on the ACT vs. the SAT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/guidance.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2
Friday, July 2, 2010
Computer Science at the Highschool Level
From the collegeboard, there is a Pre-AP Teacher's corner that has quite a bit of info and resources. This is the one for preAP computer science.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/22778.html
I really like the book she describes: an online book on "How to Design Programs" (http://www.htdp.org/2003-09-26/ ) with the following table of contents (below). It talks through a logical, step by step approach to learning how to approach a problem for programming and the text looks like it is written to the student instead of to the teacher. It prepares the student for more in-depth java or any other language:
Processing Simple Forms of Data
1 Students, Teachers, and Computers
2 Numbers, Expressions, Simple Programs
2.1 Numbers and Arithmetic
2.2 Variables and Programs
2.3 Word Problems
2.4 Errors
2.5 Designing Programs
3 Programs are Function Plus Variable Definitions
3.1 Composing Functions
3.2 Variable Definitions
3.3 Finger Exercises on Composing Functions
4 Conditional Expressions and Functions
4.1 Booleans and Relations
4.2 Functions that Test Conditions
4.3 Conditionals and Conditional Functions
4.4 Designing Conditional Functions
5 Symbolic Information
5.1 Finger Exercises with Symbols
6 Compound Data, Part 1: Structures
6.1 Structures
6.2 Extended Exercise: Drawing Simple Pictures
6.3 Structure Definitions
6.4 Data Definitions
6.5 Designing Functions for Compound Data
6.6 Extended Exercise: Moving Circles and Rectangles
6.7 Extended Exercise: Hangman
7 The Varieties of Data
7.1 Mixing and Distinguishing Data
7.2 Designing Functions for Mixed Data
7.3 Composing Functions, Revisited
7.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Shapes
7.5 Input Errors
8 Intermezzo 1: Syntax and Semantics
8.1 The Scheme Vocabulary
8.2 The Scheme Grammar
8.3 The Meaning of Scheme
8.4 Errors
8.5 Boolean Expressions
8.6 Variable Definitions
8.7 Structure Definitions
II Processing Arbitrarily Large Data
9 Compound Data, Part 2: Lists
9.1 Lists
9.2 Data Definitions for Lists of Arbitrary Length
9.3 Processing Lists of Arbitrary Length
9.4 Designing Functions for Self-Referential Data Definitions
9.5 More on Processing Simple Lists
10 More on Processing Lists
10.1 Functions that Produce Lists
10.2 Lists that Contain Structures
10.3 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures
11 Natural Numbers
11.1 Defining Natural Numbers
11.2 Processing Natural Numbers of Arbitrary Size
11.3 Extended Exercise: Creating Lists, Testing Functions
11.4 Alternative Data Definitions for Natural Numbers
11.5 More on the Nature of Natural Numbers
12 Composing Functions, Revisited Again
12.1 Designing Complex Programs
12.2 Recursive Auxiliary Functions
12.3 Generalizing Problems, Generalizing Functions
12.4 Extended Exercise: Rearranging Words
13 Intermezzo 2: List Abbreviations
III More on Processing Arbitrarily Large Data
14 More Self-referential Data Definitions
14.1 Structures in Structures
14.2 Extended Exercise: Binary Search Trees
14.3 Lists in Lists
14.4 Extended Exercise: Evaluating Scheme
15 Mutually Referential Data Definitions
15.1 Lists of Structures, Lists in Structures
15.2 Designing Functions for Mutually Referential Definitions
15.3 Extended Exercise: More on Web Pages
16 Development through Iterative Refinement
16.1 Data Analysis
16.2 Defining Data Classes and Refining Them
16.3 Refining Functions and Programs
17 Processing Two Complex Pieces of Data
17.1 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 1
17.2 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 2
17.3 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 3
17.4 Function Simplification
17.5 Designing Functions that Consume Two Complex Inputs
17.6 Exercises on Processing Two Complex Inputs
17.7 Extended Exercise: Evaluating Scheme, Part 2
17.8 Equality and Testing
18 Intermezzo 3: Local Definitions and Lexical Scope
18.1 Organizing Programs with local
18.2 Lexical Scope and Block Structure
IV Abstracting Designs
19 Similarities in Definitions
19.1 Similarities in Functions
19.2 Similarities in Data Definitions
20 Functions are Values
20.1 Syntax and Semantics
20.2 Contracts for Abstract and Polymorphic Functions
21 Designing Abstractions from Examples
21.1 Abstracting from Examples
21.2 Finger Exercises with Abstract List Functions
21.3 Abstraction and a Single Point of Control
21.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures, Again
21.5 Note: Designing Abstractions from Templates
22 Designing Abstractions with First-Class Functions
22.1 Functions that Produce Functions
22.2 Designing Abstractions with Functions-as-Values
22.3 A First Look at Graphical User Interfaces
23 Mathematical Examples
23.1 Sequences and Series
23.2 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
23.3 Geometric Sequences and Series
23.4 The Area Under a Function
23.5 The Slope of a Function
24 Intermezzo 4: Defining Functions on the Fly
V Generative Recursion
25 A New Form of Recursion
25.1 Modeling a Ball on a Table
25.2 Sorting Quickly
26 Designing Algorithms
26.1 Termination
26.2 Structural versus Generative Recursion
26.3 Making Choices
27 Variations on a Theme
27.1 Fractals
27.2 From Files to Lines, from Lists to Lists of Lists
27.3 Binary Search
27.4 Newton's Method
27.5 Extended Exercise: Gaussian Elimination
28 Algorithms that Backtrack
28.1 Traversing Graphs
28.2 Extended Exercise: Checking (on) Queens
29 Intermezzo 5: The Cost of Computing and Vectors
29.1 Concrete Time, Abstract Time
29.2 The Definition of ``on the Order of''
29.3 A First Look at Vectors
VI Accumulating Knowledge
30 The Loss of Knowledge
30.1 A Problem with Structural Processing
30.2 A Problem with Generative Recursion
31 Designing Accumulator-Style Functions
31.1 Recognizing the Need for an Accumulator
31.2 Accumulator-Style Functions
31.3 Transforming Functions into Accumulator-Style
32 More Uses of Accumulation
32.1 Extended Exercise: Accumulators on Trees
32.2 Extended Exercise: Missionaries and Cannibals
32.3 Extended Exercise: Board Solitaire
33 Intermezzo 6: The Nature of Inexact Numbers
33.1 Fixed-size Number Arithmetic
33.2 Overflow
33.3 Underflow
33.4 DrScheme's Numbers
VII Changing the State of Variables
34 Memory for Functions
35 Assignment to Variables
35.1 Simple Assignments at Work
35.2 Sequencing Expression Evaluations
35.3 Assignments and Functions
35.4 A First Useful Example
36 Designing Functions with Memory
36.1 The Need for Memory
36.2 Memory and State Variables
36.3 Functions that Initialize Memory
36.4 Functions that Change Memory
37 Examples of Memory Usage
37.1 Initializing State
37.2 State Changes from User Interactions
37.3 State Changes from Recursion
37.4 Finger Exercises on State Changes
37.5 Extended Exercise: Exploring Places
38 Intermezzo 7: The Final Syntax and Semantics
38.1 The Vocabulary of Advanced Scheme
38.2 The Grammar of Advanced Scheme
38.3 The Meaning of Advanced Scheme
38.4 Errors in Advanced Scheme
VIII Changing Compound Values
39 Encapsulation
39.1 Abstracting with State Variables
39.2 Practice with Encapsulation
40 Mutable Structures
40.1 Structures from Functions
40.2 Mutable Functional Structures
40.3 Mutable Structures
40.4 Mutable Vectors
40.5 Changing Variables, Changing Structures
41 Designing Functions that Change Structures
41.1 Why Mutate Structures
41.2 Structural Design Recipes and Mutation, Part 1
41.3 Structural Design Recipes and Mutation, Part 2
41.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures, a Last Time
42 Equality
42.1 Extensional Equality
42.2 Intensional Equality
43 Changing Structures, Vectors, and Objects
43.1 More Practice with Vectors
43.2 Collections of Structures with Cycles
43.3 Backtracking with State
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/22778.html
I really like the book she describes: an online book on "How to Design Programs" (http://www.htdp.org/2003-09-26/ ) with the following table of contents (below). It talks through a logical, step by step approach to learning how to approach a problem for programming and the text looks like it is written to the student instead of to the teacher. It prepares the student for more in-depth java or any other language:
Processing Simple Forms of Data
1 Students, Teachers, and Computers
2 Numbers, Expressions, Simple Programs
2.1 Numbers and Arithmetic
2.2 Variables and Programs
2.3 Word Problems
2.4 Errors
2.5 Designing Programs
3 Programs are Function Plus Variable Definitions
3.1 Composing Functions
3.2 Variable Definitions
3.3 Finger Exercises on Composing Functions
4 Conditional Expressions and Functions
4.1 Booleans and Relations
4.2 Functions that Test Conditions
4.3 Conditionals and Conditional Functions
4.4 Designing Conditional Functions
5 Symbolic Information
5.1 Finger Exercises with Symbols
6 Compound Data, Part 1: Structures
6.1 Structures
6.2 Extended Exercise: Drawing Simple Pictures
6.3 Structure Definitions
6.4 Data Definitions
6.5 Designing Functions for Compound Data
6.6 Extended Exercise: Moving Circles and Rectangles
6.7 Extended Exercise: Hangman
7 The Varieties of Data
7.1 Mixing and Distinguishing Data
7.2 Designing Functions for Mixed Data
7.3 Composing Functions, Revisited
7.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Shapes
7.5 Input Errors
8 Intermezzo 1: Syntax and Semantics
8.1 The Scheme Vocabulary
8.2 The Scheme Grammar
8.3 The Meaning of Scheme
8.4 Errors
8.5 Boolean Expressions
8.6 Variable Definitions
8.7 Structure Definitions
II Processing Arbitrarily Large Data
9 Compound Data, Part 2: Lists
9.1 Lists
9.2 Data Definitions for Lists of Arbitrary Length
9.3 Processing Lists of Arbitrary Length
9.4 Designing Functions for Self-Referential Data Definitions
9.5 More on Processing Simple Lists
10 More on Processing Lists
10.1 Functions that Produce Lists
10.2 Lists that Contain Structures
10.3 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures
11 Natural Numbers
11.1 Defining Natural Numbers
11.2 Processing Natural Numbers of Arbitrary Size
11.3 Extended Exercise: Creating Lists, Testing Functions
11.4 Alternative Data Definitions for Natural Numbers
11.5 More on the Nature of Natural Numbers
12 Composing Functions, Revisited Again
12.1 Designing Complex Programs
12.2 Recursive Auxiliary Functions
12.3 Generalizing Problems, Generalizing Functions
12.4 Extended Exercise: Rearranging Words
13 Intermezzo 2: List Abbreviations
III More on Processing Arbitrarily Large Data
14 More Self-referential Data Definitions
14.1 Structures in Structures
14.2 Extended Exercise: Binary Search Trees
14.3 Lists in Lists
14.4 Extended Exercise: Evaluating Scheme
15 Mutually Referential Data Definitions
15.1 Lists of Structures, Lists in Structures
15.2 Designing Functions for Mutually Referential Definitions
15.3 Extended Exercise: More on Web Pages
16 Development through Iterative Refinement
16.1 Data Analysis
16.2 Defining Data Classes and Refining Them
16.3 Refining Functions and Programs
17 Processing Two Complex Pieces of Data
17.1 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 1
17.2 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 2
17.3 Processing Two Lists Simultaneously: Case 3
17.4 Function Simplification
17.5 Designing Functions that Consume Two Complex Inputs
17.6 Exercises on Processing Two Complex Inputs
17.7 Extended Exercise: Evaluating Scheme, Part 2
17.8 Equality and Testing
18 Intermezzo 3: Local Definitions and Lexical Scope
18.1 Organizing Programs with local
18.2 Lexical Scope and Block Structure
IV Abstracting Designs
19 Similarities in Definitions
19.1 Similarities in Functions
19.2 Similarities in Data Definitions
20 Functions are Values
20.1 Syntax and Semantics
20.2 Contracts for Abstract and Polymorphic Functions
21 Designing Abstractions from Examples
21.1 Abstracting from Examples
21.2 Finger Exercises with Abstract List Functions
21.3 Abstraction and a Single Point of Control
21.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures, Again
21.5 Note: Designing Abstractions from Templates
22 Designing Abstractions with First-Class Functions
22.1 Functions that Produce Functions
22.2 Designing Abstractions with Functions-as-Values
22.3 A First Look at Graphical User Interfaces
23 Mathematical Examples
23.1 Sequences and Series
23.2 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
23.3 Geometric Sequences and Series
23.4 The Area Under a Function
23.5 The Slope of a Function
24 Intermezzo 4: Defining Functions on the Fly
V Generative Recursion
25 A New Form of Recursion
25.1 Modeling a Ball on a Table
25.2 Sorting Quickly
26 Designing Algorithms
26.1 Termination
26.2 Structural versus Generative Recursion
26.3 Making Choices
27 Variations on a Theme
27.1 Fractals
27.2 From Files to Lines, from Lists to Lists of Lists
27.3 Binary Search
27.4 Newton's Method
27.5 Extended Exercise: Gaussian Elimination
28 Algorithms that Backtrack
28.1 Traversing Graphs
28.2 Extended Exercise: Checking (on) Queens
29 Intermezzo 5: The Cost of Computing and Vectors
29.1 Concrete Time, Abstract Time
29.2 The Definition of ``on the Order of''
29.3 A First Look at Vectors
VI Accumulating Knowledge
30 The Loss of Knowledge
30.1 A Problem with Structural Processing
30.2 A Problem with Generative Recursion
31 Designing Accumulator-Style Functions
31.1 Recognizing the Need for an Accumulator
31.2 Accumulator-Style Functions
31.3 Transforming Functions into Accumulator-Style
32 More Uses of Accumulation
32.1 Extended Exercise: Accumulators on Trees
32.2 Extended Exercise: Missionaries and Cannibals
32.3 Extended Exercise: Board Solitaire
33 Intermezzo 6: The Nature of Inexact Numbers
33.1 Fixed-size Number Arithmetic
33.2 Overflow
33.3 Underflow
33.4 DrScheme's Numbers
VII Changing the State of Variables
34 Memory for Functions
35 Assignment to Variables
35.1 Simple Assignments at Work
35.2 Sequencing Expression Evaluations
35.3 Assignments and Functions
35.4 A First Useful Example
36 Designing Functions with Memory
36.1 The Need for Memory
36.2 Memory and State Variables
36.3 Functions that Initialize Memory
36.4 Functions that Change Memory
37 Examples of Memory Usage
37.1 Initializing State
37.2 State Changes from User Interactions
37.3 State Changes from Recursion
37.4 Finger Exercises on State Changes
37.5 Extended Exercise: Exploring Places
38 Intermezzo 7: The Final Syntax and Semantics
38.1 The Vocabulary of Advanced Scheme
38.2 The Grammar of Advanced Scheme
38.3 The Meaning of Advanced Scheme
38.4 Errors in Advanced Scheme
VIII Changing Compound Values
39 Encapsulation
39.1 Abstracting with State Variables
39.2 Practice with Encapsulation
40 Mutable Structures
40.1 Structures from Functions
40.2 Mutable Functional Structures
40.3 Mutable Structures
40.4 Mutable Vectors
40.5 Changing Variables, Changing Structures
41 Designing Functions that Change Structures
41.1 Why Mutate Structures
41.2 Structural Design Recipes and Mutation, Part 1
41.3 Structural Design Recipes and Mutation, Part 2
41.4 Extended Exercise: Moving Pictures, a Last Time
42 Equality
42.1 Extensional Equality
42.2 Intensional Equality
43 Changing Structures, Vectors, and Objects
43.1 More Practice with Vectors
43.2 Collections of Structures with Cycles
43.3 Backtracking with State
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Highschool (and Middleschool) Geometry
I never really did get high school geometry -- I could do it, I got an A, but proving things that have already been proven just for the sake of proving them is really not in my personality.
My son is part way through Algebra 1 and it's time to start thinking about Geometry options for him. Not sure how well he'll do. Though he's much more right brained than I am, and he thinks much more spatially than I do, his analytical skills (& motivation) are not nearly as strong as mine. I think I need to look at several approaches.
This is a great article about Geometry, brain development, and introducing concepts early by Home School Math. It discusses the 5 Van Hiele Levels of geometric understanding that is necessary to successfully get to the understanding of proofs:
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/geometry.php. Might be worth introducing some of those concepts early!
Middleschool Geometry recommendations to cover basic levels of geometric understanding in a more visual age-appropriate way:
High School Geometry
One of the most common high school geometry texts is Jacobs.
Carnegie Learning (part of Carnegie Mellon for high school math programs) has a Geometry book with online supplement. It looks easy to use with good reasoning. One interesting thing I hadn't realized until going through all these options is that there are no proofs. Is the point of high school geometry and understanding of geometrical thinking or of understanding how to do formal proofs or....?
Teaching Textbooks Geometry is another option -- it does add in proofs. My problem is that for Algebra I and II, I don't think that Teaching Textbooks covers enough. Not sure about Geometry.
(Thinkwell doesn't have Geometry, ChalkDust is $354! VideoText is another option but I've heard some unhappy reviews of its algebra from some people -- not sure learning styles)
My son is part way through Algebra 1 and it's time to start thinking about Geometry options for him. Not sure how well he'll do. Though he's much more right brained than I am, and he thinks much more spatially than I do, his analytical skills (& motivation) are not nearly as strong as mine. I think I need to look at several approaches.
This is a great article about Geometry, brain development, and introducing concepts early by Home School Math. It discusses the 5 Van Hiele Levels of geometric understanding that is necessary to successfully get to the understanding of proofs:
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/geometry.php. Might be worth introducing some of those concepts early!
Middleschool Geometry recommendations to cover basic levels of geometric understanding in a more visual age-appropriate way:
- Right Start Geometry
- Mammoth Math Geometry (inexpensive e-book)
- Key To.. Geometry
High School Geometry
One of the most common high school geometry texts is Jacobs.
- A review from PA Homeschoolers suggests Jacobs is more for right brained learners than is Saxon, with more visual descriptions, etc.
- In the reviews on Amazon, there is apparently a big difference between the 2nd and 3rd editions, with the 3rd edition being better (click here)
Carnegie Learning (part of Carnegie Mellon for high school math programs) has a Geometry book with online supplement. It looks easy to use with good reasoning. One interesting thing I hadn't realized until going through all these options is that there are no proofs. Is the point of high school geometry and understanding of geometrical thinking or of understanding how to do formal proofs or....?
Teaching Textbooks Geometry is another option -- it does add in proofs. My problem is that for Algebra I and II, I don't think that Teaching Textbooks covers enough. Not sure about Geometry.
(Thinkwell doesn't have Geometry, ChalkDust is $354! VideoText is another option but I've heard some unhappy reviews of its algebra from some people -- not sure learning styles)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Highschool Summer Camps
I have a rising-9th grader. We often use summer camps to explore new areas or areas of interest that we don't get to during the rest of the year. However, high school camps are fewer and further apart than camps for younger students. If you know of some, would you mind sharing?
Here are some I know about in the NC Raleigh area (many have middleschool offerings as well):
Art Space:
http://www.artspacenc.org/summer_arts.html
Wake Tech Community College (Tech camps):
http://atec.
Cary Academy Summer Camps:
http://www.caryacad
NCSU Pre-college camps:
http://www.ncsu.
NCSU's Engineering camps:
http://www.engr.
Meredith (girls only camps):
http://www.meredith
Duke summer camps:
http://www.learnmor
iDTech Camps at UNC Chapel Hill
http://www.internal
Marine Science and Activities
Marine Quest camps through UNC-Wilmington
http://www.uncw.edu/dpscs/marinequest/summercamps.htm
Residential Programs:
Sea Turtle Camp at Wrightsville Beach, NC -- very cool (10 days):
http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/signup/camp_schedule.asp
Here are some I know about in the NC Raleigh area (many have middleschool offerings as well):
Art Space:
http://www.artspacenc.org/summer_arts.html
Wake Tech Community College (Tech camps):
http://atec.
Cary Academy Summer Camps:
http://www.caryacad
NCSU Pre-college camps:
http://www.ncsu.
NCSU's Engineering camps:
http://www.engr.
Meredith (girls only camps):
http://www.meredith
Duke summer camps:
http://www.learnmor
iDTech Camps at UNC Chapel Hill
http://www.internal
Marine Science and Activities
Marine Quest camps through UNC-Wilmington
http://www.uncw.edu/dpscs/marinequest/summercamps.htm
Residential Programs:
Sea Turtle Camp at Wrightsville Beach, NC -- very cool (10 days):
http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/signup/camp_schedule.asp
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Visual Learning Fractions Site
Fractions:
A great visual exploration of multiplication of fractions using rectangles and sliders:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_194_g_2_t_1.html?from=category_g_2_t_1.html
A great visual exploration of multiplication of fractions using rectangles and sliders:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_194_g_2_t_1.html?from=category_g_2_t_1.html
Math Options for Elementary
I know preschool and kindergarten is a time to play -- and find learning in everything we do. However, I also know that some kids are really searching for more in certain areas at different stages. And, sometimes a curriculum or a spine or some other framework can provide more sanity for an over-committed Mom who may not have "preschool play" energy!
If I was to look at math philosophy, the closest math curriculum to fit my style would be Math on the Level where students need to cover a certain amount of the concepts but the order and timing is really up to their individual learning styles. Sometimes students are in "fraction mode" and just want to keep exploring fractions way beyond what "2nd grade" fractions entail. Sometimes you need to go with the window that's there and keep moving.
However, it's sometimes more work to be on top of those areas and know what to pull in next, it's often unsettling to go with a completely flexible route --especially for a math-uncertain parent, and many traditional math programs have great aspects to incorporate.
Guess that's why we've used many different programs over the years with my oldest.
Here are some to look at for Early Elementary.
Right Start Math (if one agrees with their math approach, it's worth starting as you mean to go on, rather than re-learn some of the approaches)
Singapore Math -- for $8/workbook, if you have a workbook kid who wants to do more school, this is an inexpensive approach and is great at approaching math concepts in a couple different directions to give a really solid understanding of what's going on.
Moving Beyond the Page -- some of these 5 to 7 yo units look like they'd be a great fit for Jm.
For Bj, we had great success with Math-U-See -- the best parts were: Decimal Street (an amazing intro to adding and subtracting, place value, carrying) and Skip Counting.
If I was to look at math philosophy, the closest math curriculum to fit my style would be Math on the Level where students need to cover a certain amount of the concepts but the order and timing is really up to their individual learning styles. Sometimes students are in "fraction mode" and just want to keep exploring fractions way beyond what "2nd grade" fractions entail. Sometimes you need to go with the window that's there and keep moving.
However, it's sometimes more work to be on top of those areas and know what to pull in next, it's often unsettling to go with a completely flexible route --especially for a math-uncertain parent, and many traditional math programs have great aspects to incorporate.
Guess that's why we've used many different programs over the years with my oldest.
Here are some to look at for Early Elementary.
Right Start Math (if one agrees with their math approach, it's worth starting as you mean to go on, rather than re-learn some of the approaches)
Singapore Math -- for $8/workbook, if you have a workbook kid who wants to do more school, this is an inexpensive approach and is great at approaching math concepts in a couple different directions to give a really solid understanding of what's going on.
Moving Beyond the Page -- some of these 5 to 7 yo units look like they'd be a great fit for Jm.
For Bj, we had great success with Math-U-See -- the best parts were: Decimal Street (an amazing intro to adding and subtracting, place value, carrying) and Skip Counting.
PreK-1 Math Story Books
A set of PreK-1 math books to check out of the library for Jm:
http://www.stuartjmurphy.com/books/level_1/
Lots of science, math, stories -- and accompanying activities on the website.
http://www.stuartjmurphy.com/books/level_1/
Lots of science, math, stories -- and accompanying activities on the website.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Technology 2.0 and up sites
Rethinking Education Technology -- book about using the new technologies in education
http://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Education-Technology-Education-Connections-Education-Cnnections/dp/0807750034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264994196&sr=8-1
EduCon 2.2
An online (and in person) conference about using Education and Web 2.2 technology. Worth exploring some of the different people who attended.
http://www.educon22.org/conversations/The_Decoupling_of_Education_and_School_Where_do_We_Begin
The wiki for the conference above:
http://i3educon.wikispaces.com/
One of the speakers at the EduCon conference -- haven't explored it much yet.
http://sites.google.com/site/sunilityching/
ScienceOnline 2010 Website
Some interesting local people and websites to look at (see the attendees list):
http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki/
Math future wiki -- for the scienceonline website
http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki/
http://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Education-Technology-Education-Connections-Education-Cnnections/dp/0807750034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264994196&sr=8-1
EduCon 2.2
An online (and in person) conference about using Education and Web 2.2 technology. Worth exploring some of the different people who attended.
http://www.educon22.org/conversations/The_Decoupling_of_Education_and_School_Where_do_We_Begin
The wiki for the conference above:
http://i3educon.wikispaces.com/
One of the speakers at the EduCon conference -- haven't explored it much yet.
http://sites.google.com/site/sunilityching/
ScienceOnline 2010 Website
Some interesting local people and websites to look at (see the attendees list):
http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki/
Math future wiki -- for the scienceonline website
http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki/
Visual Technology Tools
Mind mapping:
http://mind42.com/
Poster creation for whatever topic is being used -- a very cool idea, however if you go to the website and browse it, it is full of female teen angst and stories. Not necessarily a place for younger kids!
http://www.glogster.com/
Here's one with Harriet Tubman that is very cool:
http://mariaha.glogster.com/harriet-tubman/
A periodic table of visualization methods -- so many types of visualization methods but inspiring to look at:
http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
http://mind42.com/
Poster creation for whatever topic is being used -- a very cool idea, however if you go to the website and browse it, it is full of female teen angst and stories. Not necessarily a place for younger kids!
http://www.glogster.com/
Here's one with Harriet Tubman that is very cool:
http://mariaha.glogster.com/harriet-tubman/
A periodic table of visualization methods -- so many types of visualization methods but inspiring to look at:
http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
Learning Math with Python
The Python Rag -- a newsletter for beginning python users.
http://www.pythonrag.org/
Pythonic Math -- how to teach math using Python (a bit "up there" but interesting...)
http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/pymath.html
A forum/discussion about using python to teach math:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2009-April/009281.html
There's also a Python Users Meetup group in Raleigh that would be interesting to attend -- or to find out if they would do a career field trip.
http://www.meetup.com/trizpug/
http://www.pythonrag.org/
Pythonic Math -- how to teach math using Python (a bit "up there" but interesting...)
http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/pymath.html
A forum/discussion about using python to teach math:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2009-April/009281.html
There's also a Python Users Meetup group in Raleigh that would be interesting to attend -- or to find out if they would do a career field trip.
http://www.meetup.com/trizpug/
Sunday, January 24, 2010
More science and online highschool stuff
Good reviews for Singapore highschool science texts (biology, physics):
http://www.singaporemath.com/Science_Matters_s/128.htm
Also some positives for the U of Texas online highschool classes (don't know anything about them!):
http://www.utexas.edu/ce/k16/cbe-ea/high-school-courses/
And another online highschool list of classes (though I don't like their url and again, know nothing about them):
http://www.govhs.org/
http://www.singaporemath.com/Science_Matters_s/128.htm
Also some positives for the U of Texas online highschool classes (don't know anything about them!):
http://www.utexas.edu/ce/k16/cbe-ea/high-school-courses/
And another online highschool list of classes (though I don't like their url and again, know nothing about them):
http://www.govhs.org/
Algebra options
My son is currently using Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1. It was going OK for awhile. He really liked TT PreAlgebra last year, and it was, in fact, the first math text we ever used for a whole year and finished. The combination of video and math worksheets was a hit. I wondered if we ever would get through one entire text as he likes to work with different approaches to topics and has never been willing to take the same approach for more than a month or two at a time. Over the years we've played with math, done some Math-U-See, Singapore Math, Key To's, a Canadian math series, math games, Ed Helper worksheets, Mammoth Math, etc.
However, he seems to be hitting a wall with TT Algebra. Not that there is an identifiable concept problem, just that he doesn't seem to be internalizing WHY he's doing things. There are many errors, and answers just don't work out "right." I would prefer him to figure it out and understand why, not just memorize steps and I'm not sure TT will get us there.
We did a free month of Aleks in December. Worked GREAT! (Highschool prep for Algebra -- he finished it all). However, we aren't picking up math successfully again after that -- TT's doesn't seem to be a good fit, Aleks... don't know. He liked some of it but felt the explanation of new topics wasn't as good as TT. Decided to try paying for a month of Aleks to try Algebra 1. He scored 84 out of 288 of the topics in the initial assessment. I'm also having him read "Algebra Unplugged" for a qualitative filler to Algebra. Not really sure what the problem is (maybe it's me???). I do think we need to play more with algebra to really get what the problems are. Hard to find the time and brain cells to do that with him.
SO, here are some options:
Key To Algebra: http://www.keypress.com/x5205.xml
Benefit: We've worked through Key To's for fractions, decimals, geometry over the years and it's gone well. Straight forward. Not busy. Step through. However, is the Algebra approach enough "play" and understanding of real-life uses of algebra?
Discovering Algebra: An Investigative Approach: http://www.keypress.com/x5265.xml
I like the investigative part. It looks interesting. The first edition is available for about $15. Bj says it looks interesting. I like that it uses a graphing calculator to get those skills well ingrained early. My hesitation is that it's lots of investigating (with my learning style, I would have HATED it -- just tell me how to do it and I'll do it... of course, his learning style is much different). I'm also not sure about deviating so much -- will we lose some important "skill based" learning or will it be more than made up for by him figuring out some of the concepts in a much stronger way.
Hippocampus: http://www.hippocampus.org/Algebra Some video, some text, some multimedia, free... A definite alternative to consider.
Kinetic Books: http://kineticbooks.com/ Saw this on a loop this week and hmmmm... looks like it has great potential. Online text with lots of problem solving and multimedia. Price isn't bad. Is there enough "worksheet" work so he will get used to that skill as well?
Saxon, Chalkdust, some of the more traditional textbooks -- not really that interested. He is not a strong textbook learner. Nor is he quick at doing problems. Both of those really stress the problems. That's all we'd do -- and his learning would not be any better, I don't think.
And help for algebra:
http://www.algebrahelp.com/
However, he seems to be hitting a wall with TT Algebra. Not that there is an identifiable concept problem, just that he doesn't seem to be internalizing WHY he's doing things. There are many errors, and answers just don't work out "right." I would prefer him to figure it out and understand why, not just memorize steps and I'm not sure TT will get us there.
We did a free month of Aleks in December. Worked GREAT! (Highschool prep for Algebra -- he finished it all). However, we aren't picking up math successfully again after that -- TT's doesn't seem to be a good fit, Aleks... don't know. He liked some of it but felt the explanation of new topics wasn't as good as TT. Decided to try paying for a month of Aleks to try Algebra 1. He scored 84 out of 288 of the topics in the initial assessment. I'm also having him read "Algebra Unplugged" for a qualitative filler to Algebra. Not really sure what the problem is (maybe it's me???). I do think we need to play more with algebra to really get what the problems are. Hard to find the time and brain cells to do that with him.
SO, here are some options:
Key To Algebra: http://www.keypress.com/x5205.xml
Benefit: We've worked through Key To's for fractions, decimals, geometry over the years and it's gone well. Straight forward. Not busy. Step through. However, is the Algebra approach enough "play" and understanding of real-life uses of algebra?
Discovering Algebra: An Investigative Approach: http://www.keypress.com/x5265.xml
I like the investigative part. It looks interesting. The first edition is available for about $15. Bj says it looks interesting. I like that it uses a graphing calculator to get those skills well ingrained early. My hesitation is that it's lots of investigating (with my learning style, I would have HATED it -- just tell me how to do it and I'll do it... of course, his learning style is much different). I'm also not sure about deviating so much -- will we lose some important "skill based" learning or will it be more than made up for by him figuring out some of the concepts in a much stronger way.
Hippocampus: http://www.hippocampus.org/Algebra Some video, some text, some multimedia, free... A definite alternative to consider.
Kinetic Books: http://kineticbooks.com/ Saw this on a loop this week and hmmmm... looks like it has great potential. Online text with lots of problem solving and multimedia. Price isn't bad. Is there enough "worksheet" work so he will get used to that skill as well?
Saxon, Chalkdust, some of the more traditional textbooks -- not really that interested. He is not a strong textbook learner. Nor is he quick at doing problems. Both of those really stress the problems. That's all we'd do -- and his learning would not be any better, I don't think.
And help for algebra:
http://www.algebrahelp.com/
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