summative assignment

7/18/2019 Summative Assignment

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/summative-assignment-56d6641452910 1/29

March 1 st . 2014

Annotated Bibliography """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Strategies For Helping Students Who Have Learning Disabil it ies InMathematics """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Learning-Disabled Students Make Sense Of Mathematics """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" $ Early Foundations For Mathematics Learning And Their Relations ToLearning Disabilit ies """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Mathematics, Secondary Students With Disabilit ies, And Web 2.0Technologies """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Implementing CRA With Secondary Students With Learning Dis abilit ies

In Mathematics""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Mathematical Learning Disabilit ies In Children With 22q11.2 DeletionSyndrome: A Review """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

NCTM Article Reviews """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" # The Mathematical Candy store: Weight Matters """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" #) Exploring size With "The Grouchy Ladybug" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" #* Galleons, Magic Potions, and Quidditch: The Mathematics Of HarryPotter """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Math Manipulatives """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 1.Tangrams """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 2.Mira """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3. Geoboards """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4. Snap Cubes """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 5. Base Ten Blocks """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Mathematical Technologies """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" $* Math Playground """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Cool Math 4 Kids """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Math Activity Journal """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Lock and Key- Math Activity """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" $% Addition and Subtraction Match . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 25 Sticky Hundreds Chart Math Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Math about Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Math Video’s .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Skip Counting Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Scooby Doo Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28



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Annotated Bibliography

Steele, M. M. (2002). Strategies for helping students who have learningdisabilities in mathematics . Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School , 8 (3),

140-143. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.hil.unb.ca/stable/41181263

Strategies For Helping Students Who Have LearningDisabilities In Mathematics

The first article that we will be looking at is by Ms. Marcee Steele and is

entitled “Strategies for Helping Students who have Learning Disabilities in

Mathematics.” This is a very informative article that looks into many important

areas when it comes to students who struggle in the mathematics area. It centers

upon how students in the middle school system who have learning disabilities

are taught in inclusive classrooms. This method allows for the students to thrive

because it includes strategies that are designed to help the students who are

struggling in this subject. By doing this it allows for a much more cohesive

learning community for all students whether they have a learning disability or not.

I was very happy to see in the article that these are all methods and modifications

that could be used by any teacher without too much change or preparation to do

so.

In the article it had a small section that classified the fundamental

characteristics of what a learning disability is. It was good to see something like

that for readers who may not have much background information on learning



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disabilities in general. It is able to debunk some of the myths some people may

have heard of.

I really enjoyed how the article had a section solely for interventions. It was

very useful to learn about all these different strategies and I plan on using them

in my own career in the very near future. It was able to give myself such a better

insight on how to approach learning disabilities in Mathematics and I believe all

teachers should be exposed to articles such as this. There was one sentence in

this piece that has been stuck with me ever since I read it for the first time and I

believe it is a statement all teacher should live by, “ Because good teaching for

students with learning disabilities is good teaching for everyone, the

modifications are also well worth the time and effort required to implement them

for the whole class.”

Behrend, J. L. (2003). Learning-disabled students make sense ofmathematics. Teaching Children Mathematics , 9 (5), 2003. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org.proxy.hil.unb.ca/stable/41198150

Learning-Disabled Students Make Sense Of Mathematics

This article is one that I believe will stick with me for the entirety of my

teaching career. I say this simply because it gives such great in sight into a

students mind and opens up so many ideas about how to approach teaching this



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subject to students with a MLD (mathematic learning disability). In this piece it is

centered upon how we may approach the subject of mathematics when it comes

to teaching it to students with learning disabilities. It talks about two students

who struggle in mathematics particularly in remembering procedures. Once the

instructors noticed this they were able to use instruction that concentrated on

understanding what was going on in the problem and solving it was able to build

on their natural problem solving strategies.

This article is definitely a very interesting article, but has a lot of story

telling in it. I found it to be very interesting but I’m not sure it will be much use to

me because I may or may not run into a situation like this in my own classroom.

That being said, If I am ever to run into this situation I will have a much better

understanding of how to approach the situation in question and have

preparations done. It was also very interesting to see the pictures in the article

that showed how the students did their work. I am a very visual learning so I

found that to be very helpful.

Although I did find this article to be very interesting I’m not too sure how

much of this I will be able to use in my classroom. It’ll all just depend on the

students I work with each and every year.

Geary, D. C. (2013). Early foundations for mathematics learning and theirrelations to learning disabilities. Current Directions in Psychological



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Science , 22 (1), 23-27. Retrieved fromhttp://cdp.sagepub.com.proxy.hil.unb.ca/content/22/1/23.full.pdf html

Early Foundations For Mathematics Learning And TheirRelations To Learning Disabilities

The Article entitled, “Early foundations for mathematics learning and their

relations to learning disabilities” by Mr. D Geary was a very interesting article

that explored many interesting problem areas that many students struggle with

each year. It explains how children’s quantitative capabilities can shape their

educational paths from the time they begin kindergarten and even cause lifelong

penalties. Innumeracy is a problem that is plaguing many children these days and

there should be a way for use to work against it.

In the article it goes on to say that, although illiteracy is more likely to have

broader effects that innumeracy on most individual lives there are 22 % of the

adults in America that suffer from it and because of quantifiable problems of

living in todays economy their percent is progressively increasing. I really enjoyed

how the article touched on some of the early sources of Learning Difficulties in

Mathematics. I was disappointed to find out that there is very little research on

the link between quantitative development before entering school and later

problems in children with MLD.



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Later in the article it mentions something that I believe is most definitely

one of the most important parts of the article. The author mentions, “The

importance of attentional control and logical problem solving does not mean

that children with deficits in these areas cannot learn mathematics. It does

suggest, however, that explicit, direct instruction of core numerical relations may

be particularly important for these children.” We must realize that although

students may have an issue with mathematics doesn’t mean that they can’t learn

it.

I think that this is a wonderful article that all teachers in the primary field

should read at one point. It opened my eyes to the reality of what I will be facing

in my future classrooms and I am hopeful that I will be able assist my students

who may be struggling with this.

Brown, M. R. (2013). Mathematics, secondary students with disabilities, andweb 2.0 technologies. Intervention in School and Clinic , 49 (1), 54-58. Retrievedfrom http://isc.sagepub.com.proxy.hil.unb.ca/content/49/1/54.full.pdf html

Mathematics, Secondary Students With Disabilities, And Web

2.0 Technologies

This article entitled “Mathematics, secondary students with disabilities,

and web 2.0 technologies” was written by Ms. Monica R. Brown and was

published in 2013. This article takes a glimpse into today’s technology and how it



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affects students with disabilities in mathematics. Since the Internet is so

accessible in today’s culture and students are so tech savvy there is no reason we

shouldn’t use it in order to better our student’s learning. I really enjoyed how this

article stresses the point of inclusion of students with disabilities and how it

mentions the Individual With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No

Child Left Behind Act.

In the article it mentions how students who math learning disabilities often

struggle with learning concepts such as number quantity, addition, subtraction

and so on. I really enjoyed how it was able to pin-point the areas that the

students are struggling in so that we may understand where they are going with

the research. Since we now have the technology we, the teachers, should use it

so that our students won’t have to learn from the typical worksheets and instead

use technology that gives feedback and helps the students understand where

they may have went wrong.

There are some Web 2.0 tools like Go solve, Visual Fractions and

GeoGebra mentioned in the article that could be used for students who are

struggling with math concepts. I really enjoyed how this article did have tables

with different technologies that could be used in the class. I plan to use quite a

few of these and when I did look into them I found them to be very interesting

and tech friendly for students. The last thing that I’d like to touch on is even



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though this is a secondary article I feel like the information easily relates to just

about every grade.

Witzel, B. S., Riccomini, P. J., & Schneider, E. (2008). Implementing CRA withsecondary students with learning disabilities in mathematics. Intervention inSchool and Clinic , 43 (5), 270-276. Retrieved fromhttp://isc.sagepub.com.proxy.hil.unb.ca/content/43/5/270.full.pdf html

Implementing CRA With Secondary Students With LearningDisabilities In Mathematics

This article was one that I wasn’t to sure about when I first looked into it. But

I quickly realized how lucky I was to stumble upon it and it’s wealth of knowledge.

It is centered upon using the Concrete-to-Representational-to-Abstract

sequence of instruction with secondary students who have learning disabilities in

Mathematics.

This article looks into many different areas that pertain to the topic like,

Generalizing long word problems, Teaching concrete-representation-accurate

lesson to the point of mastery, and being able to math the abstract steps with

the suitable concrete manipulative. I really enjoyed how it went into all of these

different areas because I had never really heard of the CRA concept before and

found it very interesting. My only question on the subject is if and how can this

CRA method be used in the primary level?



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I found this to be a very interesting article but I did find it to be a bit text

heavy in some places. But the great examples and explanations made up for any

of the sections the reader may not of understood from the vocabulary. Like the

other articles I have read in correlation to this topic, it mentions how students

with learning disabilities tend to struggle with learning essential math concepts

and skills; but in this article it stresses how it even worsens in the secondary level.

By using CRA they are attempting to help the students who are struggling in this

area. Unfortunately using CRA doesn’t guarantee accurate and complete

mathematical understanding

Smedt, B. D., Swillen, A., Verschaffel, L., & Ghesquière, P. (2009).Mathematical learning disabilities in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: Areview. Developmental Disabilities Research Review , 15 (1), 4-10. Retrieved fromhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.hil.unb.ca/store/10.1002/ddrr.44/asset/44_ftp

.pdf?v=1&t=hsazutv0&s=59ba377d22bbcafbcc473076da8735c5e92439cf

Mathematical Learning Disabilities In Children With 22q11.2Deletion Syndrome: A Review

The final article that we will be looking at is entitled, “Mathematical

learning disabilities in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: A review” which

was published in 2009. I really enjoyed this article because it did have more

information on students that not only have learning disabilities but also other

exceptionalities.



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By reading this article we are able to learn that Children that suffer from

Mathematical Learning Disabilities (MLD) occur quite frequently in children with

particular genetic disorders. In this article they take an in-depth look at children

that have chromosome 22q11.2 aka deletion syndrome. This syndrome just so

happens to be the most common known micro deletion syndrome and effects 1-

4000 to 1-6000 children. The characteristics of this extra chromosome are velo-

pharyngeal abnormalities, congenital cardiac glitches, mild face deformities and

learning difficulties. Children with this extra chromosome show substantial

difficulties in math even though they may prosper in other areas.

When students with this chromosome are tested in math they typically test

averagely across all of the mathematical areas but these scores aren’t able to

reflect how the children are picking up on sub-components of math like number

knowledge and word problem solving. In recent years they have switched from

standardized testing to experimental cognitive measures to see the students

abilities. In 2005 they were able to see that students with 22q11.2 deletion

syndrome tended to preform lower than typical students on counting dots and

comparing quantities. Since this they have been able to put forward that

students with 22q11.2 have specific problems with understanding and

representing quantities.



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This was a very interesting article to read because I was able to learn so

much on a MLD that I didn’t know about previously. It was a bit confusing at

times because of the language used but I was able to make my way through it.

It’s good to see how easily we are able to approach working with children that

may have an exceptionality so that we mat reach them in the same way we do

with our other students.

NCTM Article Reviews

The Mathematical Candy store: Weight Matters

To be completely honest the reason that I first picked this article was

because of the title. It sounded very interesting and something that I would enjoy

doing in my own math lessons. This article is centered upon children’s hands on

and mind’s on exploration of math, which I believe is one of the best ways for

students to learn. It takes a fun spin on how to approach the subject

measurement in the class by using candy. In the article it lists the components

that make up what a mathematical investigation is. This is the list given:

A mathematical investigation:

- Has multidimensional content:

- Is open-ended and has several acceptable

Solutions;



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- Is an exploration requiring a full class period or longer to complete

- Is centered on a theme or event; and

- Is often embedded in a focus or driving question.

In addition, a mathematical investigation involves processes that include -

- Researching outside sources

- Collecting data;

- Collaborating with peers; and

- Using multiple strategies to reach conclusions.

Even though mathematical investigation is composed of all of these

different components and is in a sequence it says in the article that the 2000’s

NCTM standards encourages teachers and students to explore when engaging

in mathematics procedures and in this article it describes one way to do just that.

Measurement is a skill that students will require throughout their lives and

because of that we need to make sure that we are teaching it in the right way. If

we do that the students will be able to reference back to the skills we have

taught them at an early age and go on to use them. In the article it mentions that

a good way to teach students is to apply it to everyday experiences. In this article

there is a four-day lesson described in which the students explore weight

measurement and the components that go along with it. By using the Candy

store theme we they are able to both catch the attention of the students and



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allow them to “practice using balance scales as tools for standard and non-

standard measurement experiences.”

This is an extremely useful article for people teaching in the primary

mathematics level because it does have a very simple layout of how each day

goes along with a very though out explanation of why each of the activities are in

place. I found that I could see very easily where each day was going in order to

come to the outcome of teaching measurement. The explanations even went as

far as giving a list of what materials are needed for each day and how they will be

used. It explains what the students and teachers roles are and how to proceed

after each step. I can see myself using these activities in my own class because

they are so simple and yet effective. I also really enjoyed how the article included

the worksheets that are to be used in the activities.

The only real concerns I have with this article is that there may be a

problem in today’s school with using candy because of allergies and health

issues in general. I ran into this problem in my own class because of allergies and

ended up having to use tangrams so that all of the students could participate.

There is also the issue of keeping students on task when it comes to working with

sweets. I believe that they’re many have to be some small changes in order to

make this work in every class. I was also a bit concerned about the article being



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ten years old, but after careful consideration I realized that the material was all

still applicable and useful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this article and believe that I will be using the

activities given in my own classroom. It is a very well written article with a

wonderful lesson plan that would enrich anyone’s class. It also gives students the

opportunity to explore measurement in a way that they can use later on in life

and because of this experience it can strengthen students understanding of the

material.

Reference:Moyer, P. S., & Mailley, E. (2004). The mathematical candy store: Weightmatters. Teaching Children Mathematics , 10 (8), 388-393. doi: National Council ofTeachers of Mathematics

Exploring size With "The Grouchy Ladybug"

The reason I choose to read this article after quickly scanning it was

because of the integration between multiple subjects. Not only does The

Grouchy Ladybug apply to math but also in Language Arts, and social skills. In

the article it references how literature is one way to create tasks that allow

students to explore mathematical concepts. I really enjoy integrating lessons, so I

believe that this is a concept that I will definitely be exploring in my own

teaching.



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The main idea of the article is centered upon using “The Grouchy

Ladybug” as a theme that can be incorporated into a number of subjects. In the

instance given in the article it is happening in a grade one class. It describes how

it is able to be incorporated into a variety of subjects; these are the methods

given “Mathematically, students used nonstandard units of measure, counted

and wrote numbers, and demonstrated use of one-to-one correspondence.

Cooperative behaviors to promote social interactions supported the language

arts, areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The day's activities took

about two and a half hours, with breaks for recess and lunch.” I found that since

we were given these guidelines of sorts the reader is able to see how the lessons

are interrelated in a more concrete way.

The author gives a layout by explaining how they taught the lessons of the

grouchy ladybug. At first they read a novel called “This is the Bear” and then

move onto “And I mean it Stanley”. After reading these the teachers asks the

students what they thought about the characters situations. They then move onto

creating their own story about when they had been grouchy themselves. Once

the stories had wrote, shared and finished their stories it was then time to move

onto the math part of the lesson. I really enjoyed how the teachers move through

the different curriculum and still am able to make it flow together so seamlessly.



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In my own opinion the Math part of the lesson is by far the most

interesting part of The Grouchy Ladybug lesson. The students read the story and

begin to compare the size of the ladybug to the animals it encounters and tries

to pick a fight with by drawing them side-by-side. The students are able to notice

how the ladybug gets smaller as it comes up against bigger adversaries. The

lesson then moves onto estimation and counting by seeing how many ladybugs

would fit onto a stag beetle. It also allows for measuring by creating a line of

ladybugs and measuring how many ladybugs make up something in the room;

For example, the length of the doorway.

I really enjoyed how this article had a revisions and extensions section

especially since differentiation plays such a large part in today’s classes. The only

thing I disliked about this article is how it really would only be applicable for

grades k-2 because of the activities given. I’m sure there would be some way it

could be expanded but if that wasn’t possible I can’t see this being used in any

older grades. I believe that this is a wonderful way to introduce measurement

because it isn’t exact measurements but allows them to get a feel for it.

This article is a wonderful way to show how teachers can use a book in the

class to engross the students in measurement. As I mentioned earlier this lesson

could be used in a number of different subjects but I was happy to realize that

you could also integrate this into science. There could easily be a section on the



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different animals and their habitats, like the ladybugs or the bear. This lesson

also applies to real life experiences when teaching students how to measure

using a measuring tape. I will be in a younger class in my next placement and

hope to use this in my class to enrich my students learning.

Reference:Rozanski, K. D., Beckmann, C. E., & Thompson, D. R. (2003). Exploring size

with "the grouchy ladybug". Teaching Children Mathematics , 10 (2), 84-89. doi:National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Galleons, Magic Potions, and Quidditch: The Mathematics OfHarry Potter

Barta, J., & L'Ai, L. (2004). Galleons, magic potions, and quidditch: Themathematics of harry potter. Teaching Children Mathematics , 11(4), 210-216. doi:National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

I have to come out and admit the reason why I choose this particular article

to look at for my final NCTM article review. My answer is very simple, Harry

Potter. Throughout my entire childhood and adolescent years Harry Potter was

an extremely popular series that I enjoyed reading and I couldn’t wait to read

about how I could incorporate it into my class. This article is centered on a

practice that happened at Edith Bowen Laboratory School in Logan, Utah. A

fourth grade class are creating and practicing math activities that have been tied

into the magical world of Harry Potter. This is another article that has literacy

going hand in hand with mathematics. As stated in the article, this practice



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“illustrates how children deepen their understanding of mathematical principles

and operations when they are empowered to make their own connections

between mathematics and the literature they read and enjoy.” By using a well-

known novel that is enjoyed by the general population we are able to allow the

children to practice interesting activities that spark imagination.

It states in the article that by connecting student’s experiences with

subjects that they learn is very important as the children come to understanding

the relevance of the math they are studying and how different concepts are

applied in different situations. In each of the articles I have read it mentions that

in the NCTM standards that it is vital to connect the students knowledge with

what they have previously learned or experienced. In this article it also mentions

that this may and will happen in mathematics with other subjects, and real-life

experiences.

It states that since mathematics is such a generic subject we rarely find

trade books with interesting characters in mathematics. So it is up to the teachers

to supplement this and create interesting ways to teach the material. But why

should we look far and wide when we can find ideas by simply looking to our

students. This is such a wonderful thought! We should look to our students to

see what they are interested in so that we are able to create material that they

might enjoy.



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In the section of the Mathematics of Harry Potter and Classroom

Applications we are given so many wonderful ideas of how to use Harry Potter

and his magical life in a math class. Some of the ideas were, “children can count

the number of flavors in a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans or the cost of

items using Wizarding money (Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts) at the magical shops

along Diagon Alley” and that was just a few mentioned. It was interesting to see

how Ms. Linda L’Ai was able to incorporate her student’s thoughts into the

process by incorporating their ideas into one of her six categories. It was

refreshing to see just how interested her students got into the lessons and begun

to discuss the topics outside the classroom. L’Ai had two goals in mind, she

wanted her students to identify a variation of mathematical concepts that could

be seen in the books and she wanted to let her students develop their own math

activities from something they had connected too. This is a wonderful idea

simply because it allows for choice in the classroom in a subject that typically

doesn’t allow for much wiggle room.

The only real problems I had with the article were very small; the first being

that some schools won’t allow the use of the Harry Potter series. It has been

banned in some areas but that wouldn’t be much of a problem. The other

problem would be that some students aren’t allowed to read these books, which

actually goes hand in hand with my first problem with this practice.



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I really enjoyed how we were able to see a sample of some of the students

work. It was able to show how easily the students were able to connect to the

material and really make it all their own. It easy to misconstrue and say that this

doesn’t connect to real world experiences but in the end it is very evident that

there are some very real life concepts in this magical world. The gallons, sickles,

and Knuts are simply money work and potion making can very easily be

connected to follow measurement. This is such a great idea and since I am such a

huge fan of Harry Potter I feel like I will definitely be putting this type of class

work into my own lessons.



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Math Manipulatives

1.TangramsTangrams are a set that consists of seven different shapes that can be

positioned into the shape of a square. It originated in china over a hundred yearsago and is still being used today. I think that tangrams are a wonderful way forthe students to be able to experience math in a very hands on way. They are ableto create the shapes in front of them and allows for kinesthetic and visuallearners to gain more from the activity then they would have previously. I usedtangrams in my first placement and the students seemed to really enjoy workingwith them and picked up a lot quicker compared to just drawing out the shapes.It was a great tool to teach students how to combine different shapes in order to

find another and made the students go beyond the singular shapes and see thebigger picture.

2.Mira

Mira’s are a wonderful tool that can help teach different parts ofgeometry. It can also be used when teaching symmetry. By using these whenteaching symmetry the students are able to actually see the ideas in a concreteway. These tools are great to use in the class, especially for hands on learners. Ibelieve that I will use mira’s as much as I possibly can because they can be



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integrated into other subject areas. I have used them myself in art when creatingalien’s and it was a way of learning by doing for the students.

3. GeoboardsGeometry boards, otherwise known as Geoboards, are a wonderful math

manipulative that can be used to help teach students understand geometry.They are a wonderful tool to implement when teaching about perimeter, area,and shapes. I really enjoy using these because they are so hands on and reallywork for visual learners. They can be used in almost all grades but mostly in theprimary and middle levels. These wonderful tools can also be used for fun mathgames like creating shapes and a version of battle ship.



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4. Snap Cubes

I believe that snap cubes are one of the most diverse and useful mathmanipulatives for the primary aged students. They are the perfect size for smallhands to handle and are useful for so many different math concepts. Forexample they can be used for addition, subtraction, and grouping. Since thesemanipulatives are so useful I think that they should be placed around the class sothat the students are able to access them whenever they need some sort of aid.During my placement I used these during my math lessons quite often and foundthat they students enjoyed using them quite often.

5. Base Ten BlocksBase 10 Blocks are one of the most fundamental and essential

manipulatives used in primary mathematics. Base ten blocks are used to helpteach students place value by showing the different values in a concrete way. The

blocks represent 1000, the flats 100, a rod 10 and a cube represents 1 unit. Byusing the blocks the students the students are able to manipulate the blocks indifferent ways to show different numbers and patterns. I myself used them as astudent and found them very useful and I have used them in my own class andfound that the students response to them very well. These are another tool that Ibelieve should be present in each and every classroom, that way the studentscan use them whenever need be.



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Mathematical Technologies

Math Playground

This is a Mathematics website that I discovered during my first placementin a grade four class. It is jam-packed with math concepts masked as fun,enjoyable games for kids. It was actually created by a math teacher and becauseof that there doesn’t seem to be any foolish nonsense games on the site. This isa very user-friendly site that has all age appropriate games for the students toenjoy. They are all there for a purpose and allow for the students to learn bydoing. By using sites like this we are making our classes a tech savvy place as itshould be in a 21 st century classroom.

Cool Math 4 Kids

The second technology I choose to include is a math site that I actually

used when I was a student that I find to be very resourceful to this very day. It hasa variety of different activities and grade levels available. It is a free website soeveryone can use it and extremely user friendly. During my first placement mystudents were introduced to this site and within minutes they were navigating iton their own and having a marvelous time. I plan on using this site during mynext placement because it was such a positive experience during my firstplacement.



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Math Activity Journal

Lock and Key- Math Activity

Dear Math Journal,I found a wonderful activity today that can be used in the lower grade mathclasses. What you do is put stickers on the lock that have either an equation or awritten out number. The students must then find the corresponding key with theanswer in order to open the lock. When doing this activity we must stress thatthey shouldn’t just try random keys but try their best to figure out which onegoes with which. This is a fun math game that also works on improving fine motorskills!



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"##$%$&' ('# )*+%,(-%$&' .(%-/Dear Math Journal,

Today I was able to find an activity that I did with my own class during my

first placement. Addition/Subtraction Match is a wonderful way to enjoy mathclass and allow for some fun when studying their math facts. It is a very simpleactivity to prepare. Create a chart, the size depends on the amount of time youmay or may not have. You also need to make some corresponding mathquestions for each of the spots on the chart. When doing the activity read outthe equations to the class and have them cover the answers with the questiongiven. It’s a wonderful way for the students to go over their math facts and stillhave fun in the class!



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)%$-01 2*'#,3#4 5/(,% .(%/ "-%$6$%1

Dear Math Journal,I found an activity that I believe all students would really enjoy

participating in. All the materials you need to make this is 2 large sheets ofcontact paper, a permanent marker, card stock shapes, and tape. To make thischart all you need to do is cut out a hundred different read circles and label them1 to 100. You then need to make a 10 by 10 grid on the contact paper that are abit bigger than the circles. The fun part of this is hiding the red circles all aroundthe class so that the students can find them and match them to their counter parton the chart. This activity enables the children to practice counting, numberidentification, patterns, tens and ones, number that come before, skips counting,

addition and subtraction, and odd and even numbers.



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.(%/ (+&*% .37

Dear Math Journal,Today I found an activity that I cannot wait to try out with my future

classes. I found the template on Pinterest and it’s a simple activity that allstudents can enjoy. All the materials needed are the sheet, a pencil and somecrayons. This is a great activity because it allows for the students to connect themath they are doing to their lives. I believe that this is an activity that you coulddo in the earlier years simply because it is such an easy activity. I think that it’salso a wonderful way to get to know your students even better.



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.(%/ 8$#3&94

)0$: 5&*'%$'; )&';During my first placement we were working on skip counting and I found this

video and my students LOVED IT! It’s super catchy and helped them remember some of

the important factors when it comes to skip counting.- http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=64168

)-&&+1 <&& .(%/ 7This is a video that I found last year when volunteering in a grade 1 class. It

incorporates the well-known figure of Scooby Doo and his catchy theme song andchanges the lyrics to do with math. I found that the students really enjoyed this video

because they new the rhythm of the song and were able to catch onto the lyrics that had todo with addition and subtraction.

- http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=191369

summative assignment

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