TODAY'S HOMESCHOOL FREEBIE: TEACHING MATH CONCEPTS

THIS SITE provides suggestions and lesson plans that help educators incorporate technology (spreadsheets, graphing calculators, word processors, and presentation software such as Powerpoint) into math instruction. It also will help provides tips on using a math journal to integrate writing with your mathematics curriculum.

If you have a student with learning difficulties, this site is also geared to help them avoid endless drill work in order to make the subject more meaningful.

Read the "Site Overview" and then explore:

*Math Concepts - This section provides activities covering a range of math
strands commonly taught at the late elementary and middle school level. The
lessons incorporate the use of spreadsheets and/or calculators extending
conceptual understanding and allow students to apply their knowledge in
practical everyday contexts. These activities are designed to enhance
day-to-day curriculum, not replace it.

*Integrated Lessons - This section gives students a framework for
problem-solving. Students collect data and analyze it using a spreadsheet.
Then, they must develop a written report that summarizes the findings and
makes specific recommendations.

*Journals - Get a model for incorporating writing into math instruction.
Find out how students can use a math journal and get prompts that will
inspire students to write about their mathematical thinking.

The idea of the site is to move beyond rote learning, by using a more conceptual (and sophisticated) approach through technologies that will be standard for even minimum wage employment in the future. They have taken over the hand computations that for so many American students in the 20th century was the central goal of mathematics instruction.

HAPPY FREE HOMESCHOOLING!