First, check out this page full of Free Mathematics Tutorials, Problems and Worksheets

I also found that West Texas A&M Universtity has a Virtual Math Lab that contains some interesting and helpful information, much of it related to Algebra.

Please leave links to your favorite math help web websites in the comments below.

CLICK HERE to discover a wealth of teaching strategies and resources for maximizing student success!.

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Featured seminar – Differentiation Strategies to Reach ALL Learners in the Inclusive Classroom

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Sometimes though, I meet an innovator. During a co-teaching conference I spoke at in Chicago recently, I met Jesse Steffen, an Algebra teacher at Central Noble High School.

Jesse used the SMARTboard™ in his classroom and a Bluetooth™ microphone to record his Algebra lessons. Then he uploaded the videos to iTunes University so that his students can have access to all of his lessons whenever they need a review. He also uses the videos during class so that he can spend time helping students who need extra attention during the “lecture.”

Here are some websites with great ideas for using using Interactive White Boards in your classroom. Please let us know your great ideas too!

• SMARTboard™ Activities from Bristol, VA
• 4 Creative Ways to Use Your SMART board
• Ten Ways to Us the SMART Board in Your Classroom

The other piece of what Jesse is doing is the use of iTunes University to host and share his lessons. I have spent a lot of time in the last year learning how to use iPads in the classroom to support Really Terrific Instruction and iTunes University is a great resource.

Finally, some of you may have noticed that several of my little notes in the last few months have been stories or experiences from teachers, just like you, who have been kind enough to share their experiences and their successes.

What success stories would YOU like to share?

The post Discover What One Ingenious Teacher Did With His Interactive White Board! appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Test questions that require students to read a passage and answer questions are often more difficult than multiple choice questions because the student is being tested on their understanding of new material.

Math questions, too, are often difficult for many students, especially when written in a word problem format.

By using a few simple strategies, however, students can easily maneuver through both math and reading portions of state and classroom tests.

How to Handle Reading Passages on Tests:

• Find the main idea: Each passage has a main idea. Read for the main idea and skim the details.
• Read quickly, answer slowly: Most students do the opposite; they read slowly and answer quickly. Read for the main idea and you’ll read quickly.
• Mark as you read: After reading each paragraph, make a brief note of two or three words in the margin. Indicate what went on in the paragraph. Circle important details.

How to Handle Math Questions on Tests:

• Look for shortcuts: A student might know that an odd number multiplied by an odd number gives an odd number for an answer. If only one of the choices is an odd number, it has to be correct.
• Work in consistent units: If one side of a rectangle is given in inches and another in feet, convert them both to feet or inches before multiplying or adding.
• Don’t do all the computations in your head: Use the margins and white space to work difficult or detailed computations.

For more information about study strategies for your student, see Susan Fitzell’s book, Please Help Me With My Homework. Available in both print and electronic versions!

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CLICK HERE to visit the articles page.

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Test questions that require students to read a passage and answer questions are often more difficult than multiple choice questions because the student is being tested on their understanding of new material.

Math questions, too, are often difficult for many students, especially when written in a word problem format.

By learning a few simple test taking skills, students can easily maneuver through both math and reading portions of state and classroom tests.<>

How to Handle Reading Passages on Tests:

• Find the main idea: Each passage has a main idea. Read for the main idea and skim the details.
• Read quickly, answer slowly: Most students do the opposite; they read slowly and answer quickly. Read for the main idea and you’ll read quickly.
• Mark as you read: After reading each paragraph, make a brief note of two or three words in the margin. Indicate what went on in the paragraph. Circle important details.

How to Handle Math Questions on Tests:

• Look for shortcuts: A student might know that an odd number multiplied by an odd number gives an odd number for an answer. If only one of the choices is an odd number, it has to be correct.
• Work in consistent units: If one side of a rectangle is given in inches and another in feet, convert them both to feet or inches before multiplying or adding.
• Don’t do all the computations in your head: Use the margins and white space to work difficult or detailed computations.

For more information about study strategies for your student, see Susan Fitzell’s book, Ummm, Studying? What’s That?. Available in both print and electronic versions!

Bring Susan to your campus or parent organization!

Featured seminar – Umm Studying? What’s That? Learning Strategies for the Overwhelmed and Confused College and Secondary Education Student

Would you like to reprint this article, or an article like it, in your newsletter or journal?
CLICK HERE to visit the articles page.

The post Test Taking Skills – Ace Those Reading and Math Test Questions! appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Test questions that require students to read a passage and answer questions are often more difficult than multiple choice questions because the student is being tested on their understanding of new material. Math questions, too, are often difficult for many students, especially when written in a word problem format. By using a few simple strategies, however, students can easily maneuver through both the math and reading portions of state and classroom tests.

How to handle reading passages on tests:

• Find the main idea: Each passage has a main idea. Read for the main idea and skim the details.
• Read quickly, answer slowly: Most students do the opposite; they read slowly and answer quickly. Read for the main idea and you’ll read quickly.
• Mark as you read: After reading each paragraph, make a brief note of two or three words in the margin or on separate paper. Indicate what went on in the paragraph. Circle important details.

How to handle math questions on tests:

• Look for shortcuts: A student might know that an odd number multiplied by an odd number gives an odd number for an answer. If only one of the choices is an odd number, it has to be correct.
• Work in consistent units: If one side of a rectangle is given in inches and another in feet, convert them both to feet or inches before multiplying or adding.
• Don’t do all the computations in your head: Use the margins and white space to work difficult or detailed computations.

From Memorization and Test-Taking Strategies

The post Excelling with Reading and Math Questions on Tests appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Model and Solve Equations Using Manipulatives:

Using manipulatives is the only way some students can truly understand mathematical concepts. Unfortunately, a prevailing myth in secondary education, especially high schools, is that manipulatives are for elementary children only. I am a strong advocate for using manipulatives and concrete representation for teaching math to students at the secondary level, including high school students.

I was always saddened when a new math teacher attempted to use algebra tiles to teach algebraic concepts and then gave up the effort because of negative feedback from either the students or math colleagues. New research in the field promoting a three-pronged approach to teaching math at the secondary level is encouraging. The Concrete, Representation, Abstract (CRA) approach is a breakthrough in secondary thinking.

Research Background:

Using manipulatives provides students a meaningful context for mathematical knowledge and helps them understand fundamental relationships associated with the. Multiple embodiments – the use of many different models – allow students to focus on common characteristics and generalize to the abstract.

In regards to secondary math, such as Algebra, Henri Picciotto, a mathematics specialist and former teacher writes:

“Even though they cannot make Algebra easy, manipulatives can play an important role in the transition to a new algebra course:
• They provide access to symbol manipulation for students who had previously been frozen out of the course because of their weak number sense.
• They provide a geometric interpretation of symbol manipulation, thereby enriching all students’ understanding, and making a powerful connection to another part of mathematics.
• They support cooperative learning, and help improve discourse in the algebra class by giving students objects to think with and talk about. It is in the context of such reflection and conversation that learning happens.”

There are four main commercial versions of algebra manipulatives. In order of their appearance on the market, they are Algebra Tiles (Cuisenaire), the Lab Gear (Creative Publications), Algeblocks (Southwestern Publishing), and Algebra Models (Classroom Products). All four provide a worthwhile model of the distributive law. However, note that only the Lab Gear and Algeblocks allow work in three dimensions.

Bradley Witzel, co-author of the book Solving Equations – An Algebra Intervention, is also an advocate of using manipulatives to teach math through algebra. He describes the Concrete Representation Abstract method. The CRA sequence of instruction consists of teaching students to solve mathematics problems through three levels of instruction, from the manipulation of concrete objects to learning through pictorial representations to finally solving equations through abstract notation.

According to Witzel, the CRA approach to teaching mathematics has proven to be beneficial to secondary students with math difficulties, from small group settings to whole-class instruction. In fact, after receiving CRA instruction, students with learning disabilities had a success rate two to three times higher than their traditionally taught peers.

Witzel also states that CRA benefits students with math difficulties because it presents information in a multisensory way: visually, auditorily, tactilely, and kinesthetically. This multisensory approach causes the brain to process the information several times in various formats, making it easier for students to memorize, encode, and retrieve the information later.

In addition, CRA helps students solve abstract problems without thinking fluently at the abstract level by giving them other levels of learning, whether pictorial or concrete, to turn to solve the problem.

Try using the CRA approach in your classroom and watch your students, even those who struggle most with mathematics, begin to succeed. For more information on this subject and for practical ways to implement this strategy in your classroom, read my newest book, RTI for Secondary Teachers.

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Still, as I travel the country and speak to audiences of teachers at the secondary level, one area in math that is universally challenging is the skill of graphing.

Teachers tell me repeatedly that they have to stop their lessons and re-teach how to read graphs every time they encounter one in a lesson, text, handout, or news article. When I ask how long it takes to re-teach the process, responses vary from 15 minutes to a full class period.

To help students understand graphing and retain the information they learn about graphs, I would advocate that graphing be a skill that is practiced frequently even as a five minute mini-lesson or part of an acceleration center activity.

Research Background: Students will analyze sets of data.  Data can relate to social studies, science.

Graphing predictions prior to collecting data helps students evaluate relationships and establishes a foundation for the application of scientific and mathematical principles, at their level of achievement.  After data collection, students are able to see how their predictions correspond to actual data.

This process leads students to a better understanding of the nature of both science and mathematics. Science and math play a central role in modern culture. This process allows students to see how the two are linked and how these subjects are linked to actual data in every day applications.

By teaching, and then practicing, how to read and create graphs, students will not only be more successful in mathematics, but will also gain a valuable skill that can help them across the curriculum.

For ideas on how to help your students understand graphs, read my newest book, RTI for Secondary Teachers.

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As a model for successful teaching of math vocabulary, I’d like to share an example I saw effectively demonstrated at Permian High School in Odessa, Texas.

Ms. McAnnelly and Ms. Pettus, co-teachers at the tenth grade level, made vocabulary review part of their teaching practice. One of the techniques they used was to choose a state test question and spend five minutes a class period, usually at the end of class, reviewing the vocabulary in that item. They did not spend any time working out the math. They only focused on the vocabulary.

They presented a test question via laptop and projector on a screen. Each student had an index card. They were to review the question presented and list any words that they did not understand on that index card. Given that the class had a large bi-lingual population, this was an especially important exercise. The teachers collected the index cards as the students finished. They then used the information on the cards to drive vocabulary instruction throughout the semester.

In addition to having students list the words on an index card, they discussed the question with the class as a whole. I was fascinated to learn that the students found the question phrase, “Which of the following best represents…” the most challenging part of the test item.

We tend to focus on math skill in preparation for state tests in math, however, we also need to concentrate on vocabulary. Many students may do poorly on the test because of a lack of vocabulary understanding rather than a lack of math skill.
It’s important to teach math vocabulary to all students. It’s critical for non-responders.

Also, teach students to look for clue words in math word problems.
• Clue Words for Addition: Sum, total, in all, perimeter
• Clue Words for Subtraction: Difference, how much more, exceed
• Clue Words for Multiplication: Product, total, area, times
• Clue Words for Division: Share, distribute, quotient, average

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