In the spring of 2008 there was a joint effort made by a North Carolina School district and a group of local educators. It was an attempt to start a ‘Math Academy’ for students who were having various problems in the local schools in the subject of math and were in danger of either dropping out of school or failing the state mandated math exams. Those participating in the venture were drawn from various segments of the community and included educators, administrators, church members, student teachers, math teachers, volunteers and parents. The goal of this academy was twofold: 1) to rise the students’ confidences in dealing with mathematical problems and 2) to significantly raise the math scores of these borderline students to be within the passing range of the state math exams.
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Simply put a rubric is a scoring system that is part of a performance assessment. A well constructed rubric can be of an immense aid it determining. A good rubric is one that will allow the teacher to pinpoint exactly where a student needs help with a particular concept. For any rubric to be valid it must be constructed in such a manner that it applies equally to all students being scored or evaluated and the task that it is assessing be one in which the child is actually performing a task, as opposed to making a simple choice (such as making a choice from a multiple-choice or true-false test).
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Long thought to be the domain of the high school advanced math class, algebra is turning up in some very unexpected places. Elementary school algebra is now being taught in various schools across the country. There is an on-going debate as to whether elementary school is too early to introduce the mathematical concept.
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As part of the Five Interactive Favorites Video Series from StarrMatica.com, this video gives elementary teachers ideas for teaching Fractions with interactive, online resources.

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Fractions -A StarrMatica.com Educational Video

Original post: 
Beyond Slices of Pizza: Teaching Fractions Effectively, part 7

I love math, and I’ve always been really good at it. I haven’t conducted a scientific study, but from my observations there’s a direct correlation between the two—that is, the love of math and skill at it. It makes a certain amount of sense that someone who loves math would take the time to get good at it, and that someone who isn’t very good at math would be predisposed to dislike it. What I can’t

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How to Make Sure Your Kids are Good at Math- some good tidbits

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Beyond Slices of Pizza: Teaching Fractions Effectively, part 6

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Beyond Slices of Pizza: Teaching Fractions Effectively, part 5

Any elementary school teacher will tell you that teaching their students fractions is one of the most difficult exercises that they can perform. At this age the young student’s relationship with numbers is a tenuous one. The standard use of pie charts and colored bar sections while effective for some students, sometimes a more innovative approach is needed to help their understanding of fractions and their equivalents. (more...)

My son is starting a new geometry unit. I want to share with you the best Web sites I have found for kids. On the next geometry blog, I will share photos of handmade geometry books I am in the process of making, such as a circle book and a spinner book to teach other geometry facts. Great geometry Web sites for teaching kids: Diana Dell: Geometry Vocabulary – This is lesson one of my very favorite geometry site! Children can hear it, see it, and play geometry games!! Diana Dell: Geometry Uni

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Geometry Games, Glossaries, and Facts!