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HotChalk: Math Matters – Off Road Algebra
Age Range: 11-15 (Pre-Algebra, Algebra)
HotChalk.com is an education technology company that provides free, ad-supported resources for educators, parents, and students at its massive website. It also has free lesson plans that are contributed by the users of the site, along with free worksheets, science experiments, and helpful articles.
Recently, they have branched out into creating free You-Tube style lessons. “Off-Road Algebra” is the first in a planned series titled “Math Matters” that includes a series of 30 free video lessons that focus on Pre-Algebra and Algebra through the world of off-road motorcycle racing.
As explained at the website, HotChalk worked with a group of young cyclists and videotaped them jumping off ramps and racing along dirt bike trails in central California. Math teachers scripted out the algebra problems based on the bikers’ challenges, and guide students through step-by-step solutions in each video lesson.
When you get to the site (free registration required) you’ll see an introduction followed by a menu of the 30 lessons that cover topics such as:
- Conversion Between Gallons and Liters
- Miles Per Gallon
- Velocity X Time = Distance
- Comparing Decibels
- Slope of Ramps
- GPS Axis, Conversion, Distance
- Mixing Gas and Oil
- Lap Time Math
- Tire Revolutions
- Choosing Between Mean and Median
- Cylinder Volume
- Acceleration
You can view the lessons in order from 1-30, or choose just the topics that are of interest to you. (Note: On several visits to this site there were times when random lessons would have the note “not available at this time.” On subsequent visits the lessons were fully operational.)
The idea here is to make math more meaningful and relevant through topics that interest students, and through delivery of the lessons in more engaging formats via video and interactive technology. Hotchalk encourages your feedback and suggestions as they develop this resource.
Don’t forget to look around the rest of this website for all kinds of free learning resources. It is heavily ad-supported so parental guidance, as always, is advised.
Enjoy!
