"Two Thumbs UP"

Introduction

This lesson was developed as part of the District 123 mini-grant engaged learning workshop.  It is the development of the State Goal #6 for Mathematics which is to demonstrate and apply a knowledge and sense of numbers, including numeration and operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), patterns, ratios and proportions for late elementary.  This lesson will help the student learn place value, rounding, estimating, and step by step processes in solving word problems.  Its main purpose is to be used as resource tool for students experiencing difficulty in the basic operations of whole numbers and their applications.  The Web site is designed as "student" friendly, so that the links and sites listed are accessible for "hands on" activities for mathematical review and reteaching activities.  Teacher assistance will be needed for access to the Web site, and some simple instruction on how to move from one site to another.

  The lesson is geared to students in third, fourth, and  fifth, and grade who have difficulty in whole number operations, rounding, and multi-step problems.  The format is developed as a resource site for students to visit for review, reinforcement, or  reteaching activities.  It is also a resource site for additional information needed for problem solving that students could have access to for multi-step problems with reference charts for mathematical conversions.

*The Learning Standard is to demonstrate knowledge and use of numbers and their representations in a broad range of theoretical and practical settings.

*Benchmark 6.A.2-Compute and estimate using mental mathematics, paper and pencil methods, calculators, and computers.

Learning Objectives:

• The student should:  solve problems including those that involve:
• choosing the correct operation
• identifying extra information
• using number sense
• using the four operations, select the appropriate method, given a choice of mental math and estimation.

Individual lessons are set up for students for selective review or reinforcement purposes.  These lessons have been developed to expand each student's reasoning ability at his/her independent level. Each site has information at the beginning of the lesson for the student to review to enable better understanding as they move through the online math exercises.  Upon completion of these tasks, the math assignment online is scored which enables the student to continue or go back and review.  The lessons are meant for reinforcement and the encouragement of accepting mistakes and errors as natural parts of the solution process in math.  It is teaching students to think mathematically while trying to maintain an entertaining, pressure-free classroom environment...becoming problem solvers at an independent level.

http://www.mathforum.com/dr.math/
http://www.mathleague.com/help/wholenumbers/wholenumbers.htm#placevaluehh/

ONLINE INTERACTIVE LESSONS

• Place Value
• Interpreting Data
• Word Problems
• Metric System
• Math Baseball (review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
•  Converting fractions to decimals
•  Baseball trivia
•  Fraction practice

Other materials for additional implementation:
*Class sets of books: Steck Vaughn's-Math Mastery (levels A through E)

http://www.steckvaughn.com/

Optional:  Worksheets printed from websites for reinforcement.

*Teacher support will be needed to initially get to specific websites and instruction for students will be on need basis.  Also teacher assistance may be needed to print worksheets off each site.

The students will need the prior basic knowledge of whole numbers and their basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division); however, student page is applicable as an instructional tool also.  Other concepts of place value, rounding, and estimating have been designed with the same concept.

The evaluation of this lesson is twofold and will be determined by the enthusiasm and accuracy by which it is completed by the student.  The engaged learner will be completing each web site they visit by working through the various math problems to evaluate the site for future use by other students.  Upon completion of the assignments, the student will first receive a score from the website itself determining the accuracy.  Then the student will complete a rubric on the student page to express their opinion on sites visited which will validate their efforts.  Ultimately this is the purpose of the task which is to engage the student in a math activity while seemingly evaluating it for the purpose

Some of the websites have the option of printing worksheets of a particular lesson.  This could be used as a means for further reinforcement or as a means to evaluate the child's mastery of that particular concept.

Math is more than just numbers and formulas.  Math is all around us.  We use it everyday, many times without even knowing it.  Why not engage our students in an activity that seems like it is fun and be successful too!