Category: Math

iboard: Balancing Animals

Kelly Tenkely3 Comments on iboard: Balancing Animals2913 views

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What it is: Balancing Animals is another fun activity for your interactive whiteboard that lets students use animals as ‘non-standard’ units to weigh others.  Students can drag an animal (or animals) up to the scale, other students try to balance the scale by choosing animals that would cause the scale to be balanced.


How to integrate Balancing Animals into the classroom: Balancing Animals is a nice visual for students to use to learn about weight.  Choose an animal to weigh and drag it to the scale.  Encourage students to whisper a guess of how many animals it would take to balance the scale to their elbow buddy (the student next to them).  Groups of students can come to the board and test out their guesses.  This game could be completed on an interactive whiteboard or on classroom computers as a math center.


Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased.  Balancing Animals is one of their freebie samples.


Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Balancing Animals in your classroom.

iboard: Visual Numbers

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on iboard: Visual Numbers1390 views

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What it is: Visual Numbers is another great sample application from iboard for interactive whiteboards.  Visual Numbers lets students add numbers (1-20) to the workspace above.  You can show or hide counters to represent each number.  This is a fantastic visual for students learning how to count, add, subtract, or multiply.


How to integrate iboard: Visual Numbers into the classroom: Visual Numbers will help your students to visualize number concepts.  Ask students to add all the numbers on the workspace without the spots, then reveal the spots for students to check their answers.  Put several numbers in the workspace and ask students to order numbers from smallest to largest.  Reveal the spots so that students can check their answers and visualize which numbers are smallest and which are largest.  Teach beginning multiplication skills by putting groups of numbers on the board (for example three groups of eight).  Students can visualize what 3 groups of 8 looks like by revealing the spots.  Visual Numbers is wonderful for the interactive whiteboard or as a math center on classroom computers.


Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased.  Visual Numbers is one of their freebie samples.


Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Visual Numbers in your classroom.

iboard: Interactive Number Square

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on iboard: Interactive Number Square2770 views

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What it is: Interactive Number Square is another great sample application from iboard for interactive whiteboards.  This number grid is versatile allowing you to hide numbers, change the color of squares, change the start number of the grid, add more or less columns and rows, and choose a step number.


How to integrate iboard: Interactive Number Square into the classroom: Interactive Number Square is a wonderful tool for teaching various number concepts.  Hide some numbers and ask students to determine which numbers are missing based on those left on the board.  Ask them if the numbers are in a pattern, go up in steps of 1, 2, 5, etc.  Create a number pattern and hide the answers.  Encourage students to keep the pattern going as long as they can and then invite students to check their answers on the Number Square.  The Number Square can be used for everything from counting, to learning multiples, to skip counting, to adding, to introducing algebraic concepts and understanding number relationships.  Students can interact with the Number Square on an interactive whiteboard or on classroom computers as a math center.


Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased.  Interactive Number Square one of their freebie samples.


Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Interactive Number Square in your classroom.

iboard: Counting Fish

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on iboard: Counting Fish3491 views

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What it is: Counting Fish is a fun sample interactive whiteboard activity from iboard.  Students can count fish added to the ocean, add, group, subtract, and compare sets.  Click on “Totals” to find out how many of each fish have been added to the ocean.


How to integrate iboard: Counting Fish into the classroom: Counting Fish is a great little web application that can be used in the primary math class.  Use with the interactive whiteboard asking questions such as: “Can you count the creatures as I put them into the ocean?” “There are two lobsters already, how many will there be if we add four more?,” etc.  Counting Fish can be used to help students visualize complex problems or word problems.  Set up Counting Fish on classroom computers as a math center where students can practice adding, subtracting, grouping, and counting.  Create question cards to accompany the center that students can answer with a partner when they visit the center.


Tips: iboard has a variety of activities for the interactive whiteboard that can be purchased.  Counting Fish is one of their freebie samples.


Leave a comment and share how you are using iboard: Counting Fish in your classroom.

Interactive Advent Calendars

Kelly Tenkely8 Comments on Interactive Advent Calendars9761 views

What it is: It is December!  This means the beginning of Advent along with the anticipation and excitement that it brings.  The Internet is full of interactive advent calendars that you can use in your classroom to teach about how the Christmas season is celebrated all around the world.  These advent calendars reveal fun facts, interactive activities, and stories.


Santa’s House Advent Calendar– This advent calendar tells a fun story.  Each day reveals another secret about what goes on inside Santa’s home on the 24 days leading up to Christmas.  In each picture, there is a little mouse hiding.  When students click on his ears, he jumps out.

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Christmas Around the World Advent Calendar– Each day students click on the date to reveal a fun fact about how countries around the world celebrate Christmas.  The facts are accompanied by great illustrations and pictures.  This site shows up very small inside my Internet browser (Firefox).  To remedy this problem, click on “view” in your menu bar and choose “zoom”.  You may need to zoom in several times.

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Christmas Mice Advent Calendar– This calendar tells the story about a mouse family who celebrates Christmas.  Each day a little more of the story is revealed.  Each picture includes some animation.

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Santa’s Advent Calendar– On this advent calendar, each day reveals a new song or activity for students to complete. There are some fun Christmas themed mysteries to solve, stories to read, and activities to work through.

Picture 4French Carols Advent Calendar–  This is a French advent calendar.  Each day contains a new French Christmas carol sung by children.  This advent calendar would be a fun one to include in a study of Christmas around the world.

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Christmas Around the World Advent Calendar Quiz–  This advent calendar tests students knowledge about how other cultures celebrate Christmas.  Each day students are asked a question and given hints to help them answer.  When the answer is revealed, students can click on links to learn more about the Christmas celebrations in that country.  This site also includes great activities and teaching resources for Christmas.

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Christmas Advent Calendar– Follow the adventures of Zac the elf as he tries to find a Christmas present for Santa.  Each day a little more of the story is revealed.

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Christmas Activity Advent Calendar–  This advent calendar has fun little games and activities to play each day.  The games and activities are quick and easy to complete, building mouse and keyboard skills.  This advent calendar would be a good one for the classroom computers as a center activity.

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How to integrate Interactive Advent Calendars into the classroom: The season of Advent is always filled with eagerness and expectancy. Build some of that anticipation into your school day by allowing students to unlock a new secret on the advent calendar each day.  Use these advent calendars with the whole class on an interactive whiteboard or projector, or set them up as a quick center activity that students can visit.  Use the advent calendars that reveal a story to practice looking for foreshadowing clues, using context clues to guess what will happen next, or as story starters for students own stories.  The Christmas around the world advent calendars are wonderful for teaching students some of the history of Christmas and the way that other cultures celebrate the familiar holiday.


Tips: Each of these advent calendars has some fun goodies and hidden surprises, find the one that best fits your classroom needs.


Leave a comment and share how you are using Interactive Advent Calendars  in your classroom.

ZuiTube

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on ZuiTube10535 views

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What it is: KidZui is a site I have written about in the past.  The KidZui network has added some sites to the network that I just learned about.  ZuiTube is a kid friendly You Tube portal.  It is the largest collection of kid friendly videos online.  New videos are added to ZuiTube daily.  All videos are approved by parents and teachers before being posted on ZuiTube.  Students can watch educational videos, funny videos, movies and movie clips, silly songs, and music.  There is also a special section on ZuiTube just for videos related to Thanksgiving.  The Thanksgiving collection includes everything from the Turkey Dance to videos about Native Americans and Pilgrims.

How to integrate ZuiTube into the classroom: ZuiTube videos can be used as an introduction to new teaching (on nearly any subject), to add some humor to the classroom, or to reinforce teaching.  Videos are a wonderful way for students to make connections to new learning.  I have found a video that correlates with nearly every part of our curriculum.  I even found a great Berenstein Bears video for character education…gotta love that!  With all the snow we get in Colorado, there are bound to be some indoor recess days for the kids.  ZuiTube is a safe place to find kid friendly videos that students will enjoy while they are staying dry and warm inside.

Tips: I often have parents asking me what they can do at home to keep their kids safe online.  KidZui is an excellent recommendation, the parent reports are a great way to keep parents involved in their children’s online activities.

Leave a comment and share how you are using ZuiTube in your classroom.

Math Nook: Counting Money

Kelly Tenkely5 Comments on Math Nook: Counting Money1670 views

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What it is: Math Nook is a website with a collection of great flash based math games.  Counting Money is a fun little game from this website.  In this game students man a cash register and are given a target number to give change for.  This game allows for multiple solutions.  For example, if the target is ten cents, students could give a dime, two nickels, or ten pennies.  Any of these answers would be considered correct.  Target numbers are given in number and written form (0.10 and ten cents).

How to integrate Math Nook: Counting Money into the classroom: Counting Money would make a great math center on classroom computers.  Students can take turns manning the cash register.  Keep a class tally of the high score for this game and see how high the students can go.  If you have an interactive whiteboard, students could take turns returning change.  After the student at the board gives the solution, ask students what other coin combinations would have worked to solve the problem.  You could also turn Counting Money into a whole class game by splitting your class into teams and keeping score separately.

Tips: Thanks to @cwebbtech for sending me the ad free version of this game! Update: The ad free version URL does not always work so I changed the links back to the ad supported version.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Nook: Counting Money  in your classroom.

Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin2044 views

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What it is: You really can’t beat free clip art and this collection of clip art beats all I have seen for the classroom.  Phillip Martin has created a great educational collection of free clip art for classroom use.  Great features: it is easy to use (when you click on a subject or topic you are taken straight to the clip art selection, this is not true of most free clip art sites), there are no advertisements flashing and taking you to other clip art sites, all of the clip art is perfect for educational use, and the clip art is really great quality.  This is seriously one to bookmark right now!

How to integrate Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin into the classroom: This clip art is ideal for educational use, there are so many great images that would liven up any worksheet, blog, class website, newsletter, slide show, flipchart, notebook, or classroom wall. The clip art would make creating a bulletin board a snap.

Tips: If you Phillip Martin (who created the clip art) has the following on his website: I would like to relocate to New York City. So, I’m asking for some networking here. You’ve seen the art. Do you know a private school that needs an art teacher ? Or, I could turn to publishing with Children’s books, magazines, literature or for museums, UNECSO or the UN. Or I could paint murals in hospitals or private nurseries. I’m open to suggestions. Are you connected?

If you can help him out please do!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin  in your classroom.

Link Up

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Link Up1288 views

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What it is: Link Up is a web app that helps kids link words to categories.  Each game requires two categories with six linked words each.  Once you have created a game you can save it to access at a later time or to share with others.  Students use Link Up by dragging links between categories and words.  The game is easy to customize and create on the fly.  It would be a great site to use with an interactive whiteboard.

How to integrate Link Up into the classroom: Link Up is a great way to help students organize information and discover similarities and differences.  Use Link Up for word sorts in science, language arts, geography, social studies or math.  Students could sort living vs. non-living things, events in WWI vs. WWII, long vowel words vs. short vowel words, odd vs. even numbers, and a host of other topics.  The click and drag interface makes this site perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard as a whole class activity or as a center on classroom computers.

Tips: Link Up allows you to save and share your activities (hooray!) this makes creating activities for lessons significantly easier.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Link Up in your classroom.