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Columbus Day Math!

October 10th, 2011

Hi! It’s Monday, October 10, 2011 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Columbus Navigation Homepage

Age Range: 9 and up (with parental supervision)

It’s Columbus Day, a U.S. federal holiday. This website (that we’ve featured in the past) integrates math into the history, navigation and landfall of Christopher Columbus. When you get to the site you will see a menu that includes:

*Columbus’ Navigation — Learn what “dead reckoning” means and how Columbus used celestial navigation. Explore nautical math terms like “league.” Learn how fast the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria sailed and how much cargo they carried. Explore the theories of Columbus’ first land fall (and the mathematical calculations that back them up).

*Columbus’ History — See a timeline of Columbus’ voyages and events.

*Columbus Special Topics — Explore some personal opinion pieces by the webmaster on the topics of who really discovered America, and the destruction of native peoples. Parents, as always, should PREVIEW this information to determine suitability of content.

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Museum of Mathematics

October 3rd, 2011

Hi!  It’s Monday, October 3, 2011 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Mo Math: Museum of Mathematics

Age Range: 5-18 and beyond (with parental supervision)

This website is a virtual companion to the real-life Museum of Mathematics in New York.  It is dedicated to “revealing the wonders of mathematics” to the general public through exhibits and activities that stimulate inquiry and spark curiosity. The museum also sells products, but you don’t have to purchase a thing to explore the freebies.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of featured items. Our favorites include:

*Math Encounters Videos – Click on this link to watch a 1 hour and 23 minute “Math Encounters” video about symmetry, art and illusion presented by Scott Kim. If you would like to see more videos, visit the “Gallery” located in the horizontal navigation menu on the top of the page.

Note: The videos open on “You Tube” so parents should preview the videos and landing pages to determine suitability of content, and supervise internet usage.

*Math Mondays at Make – Explore a gallery of amazing mathematical creations made from various materials and objects that were originally featured in articles in “Make Magazine.” You’ll learn how to make:

  • Mathematical Haircuts
  • Math Candy
  • A Ball of Money
  • Coffee Stirrers
  • A Pencil Star
  • Modular Clothing
  • Egg Carton Constructions
  • Wearable Geometry
  • ~ And Much More!

Then, look in the far, right margin of the home page and click on the “Activities” link. There, you can print out puzzles in PDF format that include Soma structures, a tetrahedral chain, and more.

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Language Arts Activities for K-8

September 28th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, September 28, 2011 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Mr. Nussbaum: Language Arts

Grade Range: 5-14 (grades K-8, with parental supervision)

This ad-supported website is a massive archive of all kinds of learning activities and resources for every school subject.  For this review, we are focusing on the huge variety of free language arts games, printables, reading comprehension activities, grammar editing, spelling help, and other resources.

When you get to the site, you will see a variety of menu boxes below the words, “Language Arts.”  To access each activity, click on the words below each box (rather than the boxes themselves) that include:

*Language Arts Games – Play 12 games that teach sentence and paragraph editing, spelling, punctuation, and writing basics.

*Online & Printable Reading Comprehension Exercises – Read a paragraph or essay on any topic you select and answer multiple choice questions about it. Use either the online or offline versions. Topics include the American Revolution, the Silk Road, Galaxies, Lewis and Clark, Peregrine Falcons, etc.

*Story Units – Read 3 different online stories and enjoy the interactive activities that further learning.

*Sentence Surgeons & Paragraph Paramedics – Learn to be an editor! Correct sentences for spelling, grammar, and punctuation online.

*Cloze Reading – Fill in the blanks in a sentence or paragraph with the correct word from a vocabulary bank.

Other activities teach and/or remediate spelling, alphabetical order, parts of speech, punctuation, and more. Many of these activities will allow you to choose either printable or online exercises.

When you are through with the Language Arts section, use the menu at the top of the page to find activities for math, geography, science, etc.

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Tangrams!

September 26th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Monday, September 26, 2011 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Tangrams

Age Range: All (Young children and non-readers will need assistance. Parental supervision required.)

A Tangram is an ancient Chinese puzzle made with seven flat pieces called tans. By combining these seven tans, thousands of shapes or pictures can be made that help teach geometric concepts including shape recognition, area, perimeter, symmetry, etc.  Plus, it improves problem-solving skills.

This commercial website sells tangram puzzles, but it also offers terrific information about tangrams along with free puzzles and solutions.

When you get to the site, you can read an introduction and learn about various tangram puzzles made from bone and mother of pearl.

Look for the red icon menu on the left side of the page and use it to explore:

*History – Read about the history of tangram puzzles and how they became so popular.

*Make It – Get instructions to make your own set of tangrams pieces.

*Puzzles – Print out free tangram puzzles along with a set of rules, and use your skill and intuition to find solutions.

Click on “Tan Links,” “Downloads,” and “Play” to find links to other websites that offer information and activities. Note: We did not review the linked sites, so PARENTS MUST PREVIEW the sites to determine suitability of content.

This site provides a great way to engage in some hands-on geometry with tangrams!

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Study High School Math for Free!

September 19th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Monday, September 19, 2011 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Math Planet

MathPlanet.com is sponsored by a Swedish non-profit organization called Mattecentrum.  It’s an online community where students can study U.S. high school math courses for free through theory, examples, and video lessons.

When you get to the site you’ll see an introduction along with featured lessons and news items.  Look for the colorful menu on the right side of the screen to access lessons that include:

*Pre-Algebra – Covers integers, one-step equations, graphs and functions, ratio and percent, probability, area and volume, etc.

*Algebra 1 – Discover algebraic expressions, linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, exponents, polynomials, radical and rational expressions.

*Algebra 2 – Explore equations, graphs, matrices, exponential and logarithmic expressions, sequences, probability and trigonometry.

*Geometry – Study points, lines, planes, angles, parallel lines, triangles, similarity, trigonometry, quadrilaterals, and more.

*SAT – Practice sample questions similar to what you’ll find on the SAT exam. If you have difficulty, watch the linked video lessons.

*ACT – Try your hand at solving questions similar to those on the ACT. Linked video lessons explain challenging concepts.

*Download – Get access to the documents you’ll need to study the lessons offered at MathPlanet, along with ACT and SAT sample tests and answer sheets.

If you want to interact with others using MathPlanet, check out their Facebook page.

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Amazing Math Games & Activities for K-12!

September 12th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Monday, September 12, 2011 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
CountOn.org

Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision)

You won’t believe the selection of FREE interactive math games and activities designed for students of all ages that are available at this website.

When you get to the site you will see the newest featured games with titles such as Codebreaking, Pentagonal Room, Crazy Clock, Sudoku, and more. Use the menu on the left to find:

*Games – Over 25 interactive games that students of a wide range of abilities can play to improve arithmetic, math and logic skills.

*Matrix – Explore a virtual gallery of amazing measurement and mathematical devices used in a variety of science and technology industries.

*Explorer – Enjoy math explorations that include: mathemagical tricks to confound your friends, origami, fractals, online math stories, and much more!

*Maths MagNet – Check out a selection of fun activities for younger mathematicians.

This site also provides links to additional math resources for every math strand. Bookmark this one – you’ll want to return often.

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