It’s just a fraction of it!

I like many people struggled with fractions my whole life that is until now.  Fractions have long been a source of frustration for student young and old.  However I believe that learning fractions with manipulatives or games both on the computer and off the computer can help especially young students to quicker grasp the concept of fractions.  Fraction bars are a great visual tool to help students understand equivalent fractions. 

   

Using real life items such as pizza, cookies, cake, bread, or pie are a great way learn that even though the slices are not the equal in size they still make a whole. 

http://www.visualfractions.com/CookiesF.html

Here is a great lesson for teaching equivalent fractions:

http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L336

As you can see there are many ways to teach kids fractions visually.  Here are some more websites with fraction games:

http://www.teacherlink.org/content/math/interactive/flash/kidsandcookies/kidcookie.php

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/fractions/index.html

http://www.primarygames.com/fractions/start.htm

Math is Mental

Teachers, mathematicians, and even students have developed several different mental math strategies throughout history.  They have however not been in the for front of mathematics as regularly since the invention of the calculator. 

                Just by Google searching “mental Math strategies” you will get thousands of hits for strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and more.  I have decided to put a spotlight on just a few commonly taught mental math methods. 

                Such as the “nines track for multiplication” in which by using your fingers you can discover the answer to most of the basic nines times tables. 

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/385234/cool_9_times_table_trick/

Here is a mental math method for finding the percent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4mREPIzDIw

Here is a good mental math lesson for multiplying two digit numbers in your head

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/412541/cool_mental_math_trick/

A new twist on base ten blocks

                Most people remember the old yellow base ten blocks that they used to understand place value and number concepts from elementary school.  Well for children with severe and profound handicaps those concepts are hard to grasp just by looking at the linked together blocks in a new base ten system.  The Digi- Block company has come up with a new spin on the old base ten systems that are designed for children with severe cognitive disabilities.  Digi- Blocks are designed to not only teach students place value but they also help them with one to one correspondences and understanding the meaning of one, ten, hundred, and thousands.  The blocks only downfall is the size of the “ones” pieces and that for a child that is prone to putting things in their mouth they are a choking hazard. 

http://www.digi-block.com/about/howItWorks.html

This video gives the break down of how to make a "good" digi block train.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzO1nDk8jvI

Is it logical?

                Logic puzzles can be simple or complex and are often referred to in there simpler form as word problems.  One of the earliest logic puzzles was originally found in Egypt:

Seven houses contain seven cats, and each cat kills seven mice.  Every mouse had eaten seven ears of grain, which each would have created seven hekats of wheat.  What’s the total of all these?

They are many strategies for solving logic puzzles from using cards with the different elements of the puzzle on them so that you have a visual way to solve the puzzle, you can also make a chart representing the different elements. 

Here is a list of websites that contains the option to print premade logic puzzles for kids or make them for you:

http://www.thekidzpage.com/learninggames/logic_games/logic-game-petcenter.html

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/math_puzzles/index.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/logic-puzzles-for-kids.html

FANTASTIC FIBONACCI

I am very intrigued by the fact that Fibonacci i sequences can be found everywhere in nature.  I found it very interesting that someone would take the time to find out that objects in nature like pine cones, flowers and plants all have a mathematical sequence imbedded in them.   The Fibonacci number sequence was discovered by Leonardo Pisano who called himself Fibonacci which was short for Filius Bonacci, standing for "son of Bonacci".  The sequence has one rule that every number is sum of the two preceding numbers, ( 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34…).  Here are some examples of the Fibonacci in nature:

                

As I continued to research the Fibonacci sequence I found that it is not only found in plant nature but in animal, humans, music and architecture. It is often known in nature as the golden spiral or the golden ratio represented by a series of rectangles.  

The sequence is in everyone's hands, animal shells, animal horns, sheet music and even in the Parthenon.
             

I also found a great lesson plan for teaching 4 graders about the Fibonacci sequence, the golden rectangle, and the golden sprial.  Check out "Fabulous Fibonacci and His Nifty Numbers":

http://www.mensaforkids.org/lessons/Fibonacci/MFKLessons-Fibonacci-All.pdf