Materials 3 for 8th Grade Mathematics

Kirsten Schmidt

 Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Pythagorean-Theorem-Minus/dp/B00169IZOM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1211645256&sr=8-8

Lamar Holley

Teaching topic of the materials:

            8^th grade: Pythagorean Theorem

Brief description of how the materials would be used:

            This is a song that I found about Pythagorean Theorem. It could be used it class during the practice of the Pythagorean Theorem. I think the students should be taught about the Pythagorean Theorem first and given the song to listen to just in case students do not have a clear understanding of the process.

Identify other material that you could use with this material to augment instruction, especially for EC students:

            I think that this material does not need any implications because  I think it would be useful for any student even in younger grades.

Explain why you would use this material with your students. How will the material help your students learn the topic?

            The song describes the process of the Pythagorean Theorem and offers it in a rhythmic tune that is catchy for students to remember when practicing or testing on the Pythagorean Theorem.

Materials 2 for 8th Grade Mathematics

 Kirsten Schmidt

  The Futures Channel

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/algebra/water_pressure.php

 Teaching topic of the materials:

            8^th grade mathematics: using graphs and drawing lines

Brief description of how the materials would be used:

            The lesson that I found on this site (Water Pressure) is about collecting data and displaying it in linear form. I also found a video that describes water pressure and how the pressure of water is in the deep sea.

Identify other material that you could use with this material to augment instruction, especially for EC students:

            I think that the EC students would enjoy the video provided and also can contribute to the experiment by measuring the level of the water, measuring the stream of the water, and plotting the points. The lesson in done in teams so a student will have help and can share tasks.

Explain why you would use this material with your students. How will the material help your students learn the topic?

            First I would show my students the video Voyage of the Ventana. This video offers some interesting facts about the ocean and water pressure. The lesson that I found is an in-class experiment that measures the pressure of water as it comes out of the hole at the bottom of the container. Measurements of the level of the water and the distance traveled by stream are made then the measurements from each are plotted on a graph. The line connects and points and then the students are to find an equation of a line that best fits the plotted points.

Materials 1 for 8th grade Mathematics

 Kirsten Schmidt

 SAS Materials

http://www.sasinschool.com/ProductEntrance/Tools/IntroductoryAlgebraTools/tool.jsp?tool=9

Teaching Topic of the Materials:

            8^th grade mathematics focused on lines and linear equations.

Brief description of how the materials would be used:

            I would take my class to a computer lab so they can us the interactive tools available on the website to work on problems we are learning about in class.

Identify other material that you could use with this material to augment instruction, especially for EC students:

Explain why you would use this material with your students. How will the material help your students learn the topic?

            What I liked so much about the interactive tools on this site is that it did not just require a right answer-it wants the player to work problems going through each step. For instance, with the “How to Solve” game students are given the problem and the steps used to solve the problem. With each step you have to tell what exactly is taking place. Then the game is flipped where the steps are all written out and you have write out the equation for each step. These helps students to learn that math is a process and you need to see all of your work so mistakes can be seen.

Materials Summary

While completing my research for materials, I explored Discovery, Wiseowl, SAS, NCTM, Amazon, The Future Channel, and Kathy Schrock’s Educational Resources. Discovery did not prove to be a beneficial site for me because I could not figure out how to get to the resources. Wiseowl has been beneficial to me in the past but this time I decided to explore on into Grolier and was disappointed. Most of the information provided from this site was geared more towards other subjects instead of mathematics. I also checked out SAS and was completely overwhelmed with all the activities the site had to offer. I spent a couple of hours playing the games this site offered. NCTM is another site that I looked into and I have always respected the way they have their lessons and activities coordinated with school standards. This is actually the first time that I have used Amazon as a resource for teaching materials. I began my search with a broad topic such as “middle grades math” and did not have much offered but then I narrowed the search to Pythagorean Theorem which offered plenty of resources and helpful reading and music for the students. The Future Channel is an interesting site. I liked how each of the lessons was provided with a video. At Kathy Schrock’s Educational Resources I could not find much on my particular subject but I did find puzzles and games that could be altered to use in math classes.

Article Summaries – Kirsten Schmidt

“From Efficient Decoders to Strategic Readers” by Richard T. Vacca

            What I liked about this article is that Vacca begins with a story about his grandson being a beginning reader. His story gave the article a personal touch and a good example of decoding and questioning what is being read. I believe that this article made a strong point that reading and interpreting skills need continuous instructing. Vacca says that in elementary levels there is so much time focused on reading and writing skills but there is a lack of interpreting and comprehension skills being taught in the adolescent years. This article is important to us as middle grades teachers because along with learning about the curriculum, we need to make sure students comprehend what they read and are able to make connections with previous knowledge.

“You Can’t Learn Much from Books You Can’t Read” by Richard L. Allington

            I really like this article because I do have a problem with teaching an entire class based only on the textbook. I have been aware of the fact that textbooks contain many mistakes in them but why would schools even purchase textbooks for a certain grade level when it is above their reading level. Okay, so the only time North Carolina history is in the curriculum is in the fourth and eighth grade. These fourth grades have to reading something that was written for sixth or seventh graders? That is ridiculous! I think it is great how this article included teachers and their strategies that did not just focus on the textbook. The “Student Choice” idea is great and I have done that many times in a classroom as a student. I think this is a good strategy for students to do because they have to become responsible about becoming an “expert” on their topic and then to teach it back to their peers.

Kirsten Schmidt – American Mathematical Society

Kirsten Schmidt

Content Area: Middle Grades Mathematics

Primary Professional Organization: American Mathematical Society (AMS)

Website: http://e-math.ams.org/

Journals:

·         Journal of the American Mathematical Society

·         Mathematics of Computation

·         Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society

·         Transactions of the American Mathematical Society

Overview:

            On this website, I found information on mathematical reviews which gives you access to journal articles especially older articles which use to only be available in print. They also had this interesting link called Math in the Media. Also another interesting link they had included images that are created from mathematical equations.

Curriculum Resources:

            The website did not offer much in the curriculum area of middle grades mathematics but it did offer resources and tools for high school students and undergraduates. They did offer summer programs and camps for high school students to challenge their math skills.

Membership:

            Memberships range from $40-$160 per year

            Student Memberships is $40 per year

Mathematics-Kirsten Schmidt

I am using 8^th grade mathematics for my content area. The NCSCOS shows that for this subject and grade I will be teaching:

·         ratio, proportion, and percents

·         linear functions

·         Pythagorean Theorem & indirect measurement

·         Factors & multiples

·         Scatterplots, box plots, & histograms

·         Slope

·         Equations & inequalities

·         Volume and surface area

·         Students should also be taught to use the proper technology

While at the NCPS website I searched around for a while but got caught up in NC Wise Owl website from the Program Areas drop down menu. At the NC Wise Owl website I went on to the Middle School Zone. Through this site I have found so many resources that would be useful for students. The offer citation generators and copyright guidelines but also have other helpful websites that encourage critical thinking, techniques to help with memory and studying, and so many more tools that are helpful for students and teachers.

Web Link Tools-Kirsten Schmidt

I really like the Furl.net tool. It was super easy to use because I use my link bar on my home computer for everything that I need for my internet use.  I like that all I have to do when I find an interesting site is to just click the Furl It button and key in any extra notes.

I do not like the del.icio.us so much. Not that I don’t think that it is any less useful but every time I open a new window or a new tab on internet explorer I have to go find the buttons. It is a constant game of hide-and-seek. I know all that I have to do is go to View and Toolbars but I can’t get it to stay up there permanently.

 

Kirsten Schmidt

Search Findings-Kirsten Schmidt

I used six different search engines while trying to find information on “factoring.” I looked at Google and Kartoo.com and I was satisfied with both of these because they both are general search engines but they provide plenty of educational websites. With Kartoo.com the left margin contained subtopics which refined the search results to websites that were more suitable for what I was looking for.

Next, I looked at two search engines that were designed for educational purposes. I used Thinkfinity and EduHound. With Thinkfinity I found it really useful with all the refining tools that they give before they even perform the search. EduHound gives all kinds of websites for all sorts of categories such as: Teacher/Student Resources, lesson plans, mathematics, and even Early Childhood Education (which I found useful with activities to do with my son).

Finally, the two other websites that I used were really dissatisfying for an educator looking for resources. I used Metacrawler and AlltheWeb. After I typed in “factoring” the search engine mainly threw a whole bunch of business websites at me that only dealt with settling financial situations instead of offering useful information.

 

Kirsten Schmidt

Autobiographical Introduction

Hello! I am Kirsten Schmidt and I am studying Middle Grades Education at Appalachian State University with concentrations in math and social studies. I want to teach middle grades math because I know I can teach it so that students will enjoy learning about it. In high school I knew that I wanted to be a math teacher and it wasn’t until I tutored eighth grade AVID students that I learned that I loved that grade level.

The first thing that people will find out about me when they meet me is that I am a mom of a two-year-old, Cody. I am engaged to his father, Adrian. I have a pretty big family. I have three brothers and two sisters. One of my brothers’ is my twin…but I am the baby. My mom has nine grandchildren and Cody is #9. My family is the most important part of my life.

 

Kirsten Schmidt