Got A Kindle? Read Surviving the Trenches of Education For $2.99

I'm working on volume 2 of Surviving The Trenches of Education but if you're not someone who likes to read the book online, you can kindle it for $2.99 (just click on the pic or go here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ASOSIS)

Available in Kindle For $2.99

Solving Equations Using Weigh Scales

The following is a hand drawn experiment, however, i believe it would best be received if the educators actually used a scale and a real doggy-bowl(or a paper bag) on both sides to represent the variable as well as actually manipulated the experiment so as to show how the scale must balance. Thus, i'm well aware that the hand drawn experiment here is flawed...but i think you'll get the idea :)

How Many Bones Are In The Dog Bowl

Use Algebra To Solve

Now look in the dog bowl to see if you are correct? 

Foldables: Study Organizers

I've always been a huge fan of foldables as study organizers. Here are the three that I used most often. Any suggestions?

Teaching the Value of the Pythagorean Theorem with a Football Field

Activity: Teaching the Value of the Pythagorean Theorem with a Football Field

You will need:

Yard sticks

Pen and paper

Clipboards
(Measure using inches to avoid added conversions)
Overview of Activity:

Students will be split into groups and placed at the four corners of the end zone of a football field. Using a yard stick students will measure how many yards are from one corner of the end zone to the other. After the activity, the students will be shown how they could have easily calculated the distance by simply using the Pythagorean Theorem.



Pre Activity:

1. How to measure using a yard stick.

2. How to keep record of each yard stick using tally marks



Activity:
1. Have Students split into four groups

2. Ask them to measure how many yard sticks reach from one corner of the end zone to the other (the hypotenuse of the triangle).

3. Place each group at each corner of the end zone and have them measure how many yards from one end zone to its diagonal.

4. Have them record their data
Post Activity:
1. Have students share their data and compare it to your own

2. Share the way you calculated the distance using the information that the field is a rectangle with a distance of 120 yards and a width of 50 yards)

3. A^2 + B^2 = C^2, A= 120, B= 50. C = Square root(16900)

4. Introduce the Pythagorean Theorem

5. Practice

Hiring Your Students As FBI Agents (Cool Way to Teach Area and Circumference of Circles)

Let face it, circles are just not that exciting for math students, especially the area and circumference of circles. 


Let’s change this...

First, hire all your students as FBI agents

Next, they must begin working immediately, as there’s an emergency. Somewhere in the school (you may use town if you would like) is a bomb with a blast radius of 500 feet!

Our job is twofold: We need to know how far back the citizens need to stand to insure their safety (circumference of a circle). Second we need to know what type of damage we are looking at (area of circle).

Now, have them imagine if they were faced with job calculating such information of a nuclear weapon with a blast radius of  plus or minus a mile (Good reference sites for blast radius here and here)

The Real Number Universe (The Realverse)

I must confess that i have a love for these Real Number themes. Here our latest variation, The Realverse.

An awesome idea would be for your students to list some crazy properties about each world. For example, in Natural World, everyone grows directly from 2 feet to 3 feet. Or, everyones age on the planet is in natural numbers

Here is The New Workbook For Teaching Polygons and Quadrilaterals

Available for download or paperback

Algebra With Toothpicks and Popsicle Sticks

Hands On Math Powerpoint (pics from our site)

Hands on Math Powerpoint

View more presentations from Jeremiah Dyke.

Absolute Value's and Magnets

Here is an awesome idea for helping young students remember that absolute values are positive numbers using magnets 

Materials Needed:

Magnets and popsicle sticks

Place two of the magnets under a piece of paper and glue them both south side up.

Label the third magnet negative 3 on the south end and positive 3 on the north end

Now drop the magnet as follows (see video) to show how absolute values are always positive

The Real Number System Zoo

There are tons of ways for teaching the real number system without relying simply on drill and kill. This is an awesome project. As you can see, nothing is labeled except the numbers themselves. This way your student must explain the project to you--helping him solidify his or her memory of the terms

Happy Meals and Math

I'm envisioning a double lesson here. Proportions & Volume/Area of Irregular Shapes (with a built in lesson, if you would like, on choosing the right quantity of food per serving).

Foremost, have your students bring in a happy meal box sometime within two weeks prior to the class, labeling everything that came in the box on the inside of the box with their name. You may want to swing by your local McDonald's and ask for extras for those who forget (don't forget to bring your teacher badge).

Next, you can go here and figure out the calories of each item. Or download the pdf

Next, have your students figure our what the proportion of calories in one Happy Meal is to their daily allotted proportion of calories per day , of which 2000 is probably a safe estimate. Happy Meal/Calories Per day Next, Looking at the shape of the Happy Meal box you can see an irregular figure Thus, have your students attempt to calculate the Area of the sides or Volume of the box. Good Luck!

The Real Number Diorama. Shoebox & Math

The Real Number Sea

This was fun. Notice that each of the foam sea creatures correlates in some way to the real number system. 

Moving From Rectangle Paper To Other Polygon Paper

You may find it helpful when teaching about various polygons to actually have your students take all their notes on a specific polygon shaped paper. Students normally take all their notes on rectangular ruled paper so , try trapezoid paper. Each day you can switch up the shape. (Any ideas for the unused portion of the paper?)

Or Octagon Paper

Here is The Optimums Prime Number Powerpoint

Optimus prime number

View more presentations from jeremiahdyke.

Both The Powerpoint and The Worksheet is Free To Download Below

Another Variation of Teaching The Real Number System:

Divide your classroom desks into a real number system so that each desk represents a place in the number system.

You may randomly assign each student numbers or make them draw from a cup. Its also a good way to play musical chairs. They must be seated in a desk in the right spot of the room i.e. the correct spot in the number system before the music stops or they are eliminated. As always, send me pics or ideas if you have them :)

Quadrilaterals and Pop Tarts

Slight variation of the polygon post, now were making quadrilaterals. It's not as easy as you may think, the pop tarts end up falling apart

Trapezoid





Square



Rectangle 

Parallelogram

 

Pop Tarts and Polygons

Thought of this while eating a Pop Tart with my son

Have your students bring in their own Pop Tarts, you provide the plastic knifes.

1) Start With a Pop Tart Quadrilateral

2) Ask your students to make a Pop Tart Pentagon by cutting off a corner (and eating it)

3) Now make a Pop Tart Hexagon

...and so forth till you reach a decagon (send me pics)

Teaching Number Sets With A Twist

Whole, Natural, Integers, Rational, Irrational and Real definitions are hard to remember for the students, especially when they must know which numbers go where. I have posted lots of ideas about how to teach this but thought of another form--using blueprints

Have your students work in groups to create blueprint for a house that all types of numbers could live in while maintaing the House Rules (i.e. no zeros in the natural numbers' room, no fractions playing in the integer section of the house). Please send me pics if you try this