Phone Book Math

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson270.shtml

Did the phone company just deliver new phone books to your door? Don't throw out the old ones! Ask students to bring them to school. Those old phone books offer opportunities for lots of valuable math practice; they're a great teaching tool! Included: Five "phone book math" lessons!

 

Following are some details about the five original lessons included in this week's Lesson Planning article:

 

Area Code Mathematics

Students solve math problems based on a U.S. area code map. (Grades 3-12)

 

Surname Survey

A study of data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals the most common family last names in the United States. Does your local phone book reflect that list of most common last names? Where does your surname appear on the Census Bureau list? (Grades 3-12)

 

1-800-MATHFUN

What numbers and letters can your students combine to form creative 1-800 numbers for businesses in the local Yellow Pages? Invite them to design posters featuring prominent phone numbers used to advertise fictitious businesses. (Grades 3-12)

 

Yellow Pages Ad-dition

Help students determine the revenue generated by sample pages from the Yellow Pages. Discuss with them the value of advertising a business in this venue. (Grades 3-12)

 

Let Your Fingers Do the Estimating

How many phone listings can be found in the White Pages of the local telephone directory? Nobody could possibly count them all, but your students can estimate! (Grades 3-12)

 

 

 

MORE MATH LESSONS FROM THE ED WORLD

Have you seen these math articles in the Education World archives?

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson265.shtml

Math Fun! -- Five "Invisible Math"

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson124.shtml

On-Line Math Tools -- and Activities to Use With Them

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson118.shtml

Use It or Lose It: Puzzles to Exercise the Brain

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson061.shtml

Math Sites to Count On

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr403.shtml

Hitting the Math Trail

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson173.shtml

Count on the Census for Math Lessons

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson232.shtml

Financial Literacy Begins at School

 

 

TEACHER-SUBMITTED MATH LESSONS

Education World's Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plan database includes the following math lesson plans:

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson012.shtml

Ladybug Math

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson009.shtml

Telling Time

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson003.shtml

Counting With Marshmallows and Licorice

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0031.shtml

Lighting the Perimeter

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0026.shtml

Twenty-Five: A Math Card Game

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0025.shtml

Area and Perimeter

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0017.shtml

Two-Dimensional Geometric Shapes

 

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0015.shtml

Web Adventure -- Oakland to Chicago Flight

 

 

August Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/calendar/august02.shtml

A reproducible student work sheet. Add the dates and color the August scene!

 

25 Ideas for Using Education World Monthly Calendars

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson272.shtml

Turn the monthly coloring calendar into a teaching resource!

 

 

 

 

OVERALL GRADE: A+

NASA Connect

http://connect.larc.nasa.gov

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8

 

CONTENT: A+

"NASA Connect is an annual series of free integrated mathematics, science, and technology instructional distance learning programs for students in grades 6-8" that can be viewed right from your desktop computer.

 

AESTHETICS: A+

The site features an easy-to-navigate format that has a nice mix of color and graphics. RealPlayer is required for viewing the broadcasts.

 

ORGANIZATION: A+

A left-side menu on the main page and a top menu on subsequent pages make the site user-friendly. There is also a helpful site index.

 

REVIEW: A+

Students and teachers will find that this site is a natural for teaching and learning critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The NASA Connect programming is available free to any school, and provides lessons in math, science, and technology competencies for grades 5-8. By registering at the site (free) teachers can fully involve their students in the broadcasts. Registrants receive program schedules and lesson guides via e-mail. The programs are transmitted via satellite hookups and PBS stations but are also available on the Web through NASA's Learning Technologies Channel. Accompanying each broadcast is a teacher's guide with hands-on activities and an interactive Internet activity. Additionally, teachers can request a mentor to help students complete the work. All the shows for the past three years are archived in the library, and there is an extensive list of additional resources.

 

RELATED REVIEWS:

 

Science: General

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml

 

Educational Technology: Miscellaneous Technology

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/ed_tech.shtml#Misc.%20Technology

 

Math & Finance: General Math

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/math.shtml

 

 

 

 

OVERALL GRADE: A+

The U.S. Mint's Site for Kids

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/

GRADE LEVEL: All

 

CONTENT: A+

This site, also called H.I.P. (History in your Pocket) pocket change, offers many entertaining and informative games and activities about coins. Kids can put together a puzzle of a state quarter, watch an animated movie about how coins are made, and read lots of fun facts about the U.S. Mint and what it does. A time machine takes visitors back to look at periods in this country's development and lots of other games and activities involving coins.

 

AESTHETICS: A+

This professionally developed site is colorful and inviting, but not too busy -- very child-friendly!

 

ORGANIZATION: A+

The U.S. Mint's Site for Kids is easy to navigate, and the activities load surprisingly fast, considering the quality of the animations and activities. Many activities opened in a new window, which made moving back to the original page quite simple. There is a search function, and easily accessible links appear on each page.

 

REVIEW: A+

This is a quality site that kids and adults will enjoy. The site presents plenty of factual information about the Mint and its workings, along with activities such as Cents of Color, a paint program for kids; Coin Memory Machine, concentration with coin fronts and backs; Mark My Words, a word search with lots of history included, and many other great activities. The Teacher section provides lesson and unit plans involving the Mint and has project suggestions and links to other coin-related sites. The Camp Coin section includes an animated timeline of the development of the coins of our country. This site is not to be missed for anyone who is interested in the history of our money!

 

RELATED REVIEWS:

 

Teachers: General

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml

 

Internet: Interactive Web Sites

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/internet.shtml#Interactive%20Websites

 

Social Sciences: Economics

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Economics

 

Students: Games & Fun Sites

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/students.shtml#Games%20&%20Fun%20Sites

 

 

 

September Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/calendar/sept02.shtml

Students fill in the numbers and color the picture. For additional ideas for using the calendar, don't miss...

 

Twenty-Five Ideas for Using the Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson272.shtml

 

 

 

September Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/calendar/sept02.shtml

Students fill in the numbers and color the picture. For additional ideas for using the calendar, don't miss...

 

Twenty-Five Ideas for Using the Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson272.shtml

 

 

 

 

OVERALL GRADE: A

Math-Kitecture

http://www.nycenet.edu/oit/math-kitecture/

GRADE LEVEL: 6-12

 

CONTENT: A

This site, alternately named Real-Life Math, Architecture and Computers, has a number of activities to encourage students to study math by doing architecture. Students can work on "Architivities," including Floor Plan Your Classroom and then use CAD software to create a design and submit it to this site.

 

AESTHETICS: A

Math-kitecture is easy to read and use.

 

ORGANIZATION: A

The Math-kitecture site is organized into five sections, easily accessed by buttons at the top of each page. On each page, links are organized in tables to allow easy reading. There are also links to the sections at the bottom of each page.

 

REVIEW: A

Math-kitecture uses architecture to offer opportunities for students to study estimation, measuring skills, proportion, and ratios by hand-drafting a floor plan of their classroom to scale. Then students may use software to create a computer-aided design (CAD) version. Students may submit their work to the site for display in the online Student Work Gallery. The Office of Instructional Technology of the New York City Board of Education designed the site. The Student Work Gallery has many valuable examples for students to study and discuss. Mathematics & Architecture: Resources has more than 25 links to software resources and other Web resources to study architecture and other uses of math skills. Some examples include Archi-Maticians links to Frank Lloyd Wright and R. Buckminster Fuller and Archi-Design links to Skyscrapers and the Big Buildings site.

 

RELATED REVIEWS:

 

Educational Technology: Computers

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/ed_tech.shtml#Computers

 

 

Math & Finance: Geometry

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/math.shtml#Geometry

 

 

 

 

Clocks -- Teaching About Time

Rating: A+

http://www.education-world.com/awards/past/2000/r0300-14.shtml

The change of the seasons is a marking of the passage of time. This website highlights how we mark time

 

 

 

September Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/calendar/sept02.shtml

Students fill in the numbers and color the picture. For additional ideas for using the calendar, don't miss…

 

Twenty-Five Ideas for Using the Coloring Calendar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson272.shtml

 

 

 

 

OVERALL GRADE: A

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/

Grade Level: K-5

 

CONTENT: A

The home page of this site offers links to pages where you can print flash cards for grades 1-4 - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Pre-made worksheets are also available. There is also a page available where you can design your own worksheet.

 

AESTHETICS: A    

Simple graphics on this homepage allow easy access to each section of this site. White backgrounds make reading the pages easy. This site is visually attractive.

 

ORGANIZATION:  A

This site offers links from the homepage to all its' features. It is easy to move from one area to another. The help feature is an easy way to get information about the site.

 

REVIEW: A+

The home page of this site offers links to all the other features - Pre-Made offers fact sheets for grades 1-4, and Flashcards has printable cards for grades 1-3 with 4th grade coming soon. Build Your Own allows you to choose problem type, font size, division answers with choices such as whole numbers, ranges for the numbers used in the problems, and the amount of space available on the page for working area. Newsletters are available from January 2001. You can sign up to be sent current newsletters as they come out. In addition, you can sign up for notification of new features added to the site. The relax and play a game section allows you to play the peg game made popular at CrackerBarrel restaurants. This site offers a tremendous resource for teachers of grades 1-4 in math. Easy to use and print, the worksheets and flashcards can be valuable for teachers and parents of children at these grade levels.

 

RELATED REVIEWS:

Math & Finance : General

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/math.shtml#General

 

 

Parents : Home Schooling

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/parents.shtml#Home%20Schooling

 

 

Teachers : Grades 1-5

http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#1-5