World Wide Web sites for learning and teaching math

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K – 12

“Having fun with math is the goal of Cynthia Lanius's site, Mathematics Lessons that are fun! http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/ [corrected website]. Here is a true bonanza of superbly crafted math activities ranging from simple counting to graphing, pattern blocks, and learning about ratios. The activities are straightforward and the explanations are written in clear and concise language. The graphing activities are excellent tools for reviewing the concepts before taking the various standardized tests used in many districts. Some of the activities are available in both English and Spanish. Several alternatives include Java applet options and print options.” (Troutner, 2005, p. 29). Here is one of the sections of the website that was fetured. http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/fractions/index.html “Here is a fun and easy way to learn all you will need to know about fractions. “Who Wants Pizza?” created by Cynthia Lanius, provides students with brief instruction, practice, and immediate feedback. This site also includes useful teachers’ quotes.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3)

“www.gomath.com “This web site, covering every area of mathematics, is an immeasurably valuable find for students in grades K-12. Kids don't have to come to the web site armed with math problems; they can simply use the practice exercises on the site in whatever discipline they're struggling with. There are more than 51,000 math questions with solutions provided by GoMath.com tutors that users can access either by utilizing the automated search engine or selecting from a list of categories.” (Armstrong, 2006, p. 29).

“http://illuminations.nctm.org/ [corrected website]This partnership between NCTM and MarcoPolo provides dozens of virtual math manipulatives with lessons divided by grade level and correlated to NCTM standards. Each searchable lesson has detailed plans many enhanced with activity sheets and related web resources.

http://www.ct4me.net/math_manipulatives.htm A comprehensive took at the philosophy of virtual manipulatives and their use in the classroom. The list of annotated web resources where math manipulatives and online tools can be found is quite extensive. This one is a must-have in your bookmarks or favorites!” (Lindroth, 2005, p. 26)

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html This site, developed by Utah State University, has been a leading light in interactive mathematics resources since its launch in 1999. Clever use of Java has allowed the site designers to build countless manipulatives that allow the student to visualize abstract concepts and engage in mathematics. The site neatly sums up this philosophy to learning mathematics as 'Mathematics is not, as has been said, a spectator sport'. Hence, the manipulatives are just that — activities that allow students to manipulate mathematical objects which they are learning about. The homepage menu allows teachers to find an appropriate resource quickly, with the simple two-way table making it easy to select both topic and age/ability range at once. This site contains material suitable for all age and ability ranges. Not to be missed!” (McCourt, 2006, pp. 32-33). “A variety of activities appropriate for K-12 students are available on this site, the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, supported by the National Science Foundation and hosted by Utah State University. These activities, which make use of numbers and operations, geometry, algebra, measurement, data analysis, and probability, will truly engage students’ higher-level thinking skills. If you’ve ever listened to NPR’s “Cartalk,” don’t miss the coin-weighing problem pegged to “algebra” for grades 6 through 8.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3)

“http://mathforum.org/dr.math/index.html Have a question about math? Through this valuable resource maintained by the Drexel University School of Education, Dr. Mathcan answer all the questions students — and teachers, too — might raise. The answers are simple yet detailed.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons.html is a website that offers all sorts of activities and lesson plans for K – 12 it states the California standards as well as NCTM. Lesson plans include resource materials. An example of one of the links is: http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons/mandm.html “M&M’s Candies, Line Plots, and Graphing” is a lesson plan that lets students enjoy practicing estimating, sorting, counting, graphing, plotting, fractions, percentage, and calculating mean, median, and mode. Maintained by Deanna Fricks, it uses the little candies that melt in your mouth, not in your hand.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

“www.getsmarter.org/index.cfm For an international comparison, TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) certainly has drawn a great deal of coverage in the U.S. How would you perform in math compared to other students worldwide? Take a few math quizzes on this interactive learning site to find out.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

“http://education.apple.com/education/ilife/subject_template.php?subject_id=3 This link will take you to a page to view several math projects completed by classrooms across the U.S. Each one has a lesson plan and a list of math standards that are met during the project. Also remember to check out the resources on the ITEA and TECC sites. There are lots of activities that integrate math and technology education— have fun!” (Nelson, 2004, p. 9).

“http://www.nctm.org/ If you haven’t been to the NCTM website lately it is worth a regular browse. The Illuminations and Student Notes sections are great! There are also creative ideas for assessment (Partner Quizzes) and grading posted. Some access requires membership to NCTM – consider joining as a department or a school and you will benefit from receiving their monthly newsletter.” (Zink, 2006, p. 20).

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/math/ This site has activities and lesson plans for K -12. It is free. Select a grade range and a topic and it sends you to all sorts of activities. It gives you the lesson plan with materials needed and it correlates them to NCTM standards. Very detailed and supplies worksheets and answer keys.

http://alex.state.al.us/search.php?fa_submit=PLANS This site has activities and lesson plans for K -12. It is free. You check boxes for the subject matter, grade level and topic, and as an option you can use keywords. It will return results with and abstract. Click on the one you want and it is a full lesson plan with objectives and materials.

www.unitedstreaming.com First a school code needs to be acquired. The teacher will need to log in to the site and put in his/her school code and then set up an account using whatever login and password he chooses. This site has a bunch for all grade bands. There are thousands of videos, bunch of clipart, articles, images, and songs. The videos have lesson plans, worksheets and aligned to NCTM standards.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ Has all sorts of resources including lesson plans, activities, problems, worksheets and more for all ages, teachers, parents, and students. Some featured links are as follows: “www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/maths/ Revisewise Maths, from the BBC, offers skills, skills, and more skills. There are a variety of activity pages, fact sheets, worksheets, and quizzes that are bound to hook any student.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3). “www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maths/ This site is the best by far. It is well laid out and easy to follow. Pupils can ask a question and generally get a reply within 24 hours. The site covers all the levels and allows the user to choose between revision and test pages. There is good interactivity, allowing the user to answer at crucial points.” (Ransom, 2005, p. 10).

K – 3

“www.brainpopjr.com BrainPOP Jr. is a web resource for grades K-3 that covers topics that fit the core content for the primary level.” (Lindroth, 2005, p. 26).

“Number Fun resources http://www.numberfun.co.uk/ [corrected website], uses songs to help develop numeric skills. These are available on CD, together with the music scores and words in the resource books. The books also contain objectives, lesson ideas and worksheets. Interactive whiteboard files link to the songs and activities. The resources looked useful and engaging for the classroom, as well as being fun.” (Cobden, 2006, p. 33).

“www.globalclassroom.org/authors/florida/math/interactive.html Have students practice using pattern blocks, integer bars, and base-10 blocks to reinforce their understanding of perimeter, area, division, and geometry. Great for visual learners! This interactive site is maintained by Judy Perdue and Patti Weeg.

http://library.thinkquest.org/3896/index2.htm Click on Bricks, created by the Dennisarmouth/Nauset ThinkQuest Junior Team, lets students use Lego blocks as manipulatives so they can learn their multiplication facts from 1 to 4. The site offers an instructional page to learn the theory behind this skill, problems to complete, and a printable multiplication table.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

K – 6

“www.rainforestmaths.com This interactive resource is a collection of activities that provides exploration and practice of math skills related to standards. There are more than 800 Flash activities for levels K-6 and scores are kept for many of the games for self-assessment” (Lindroth, 2007, p. 26).

“http://www.virtualimage.co.uk/html/nubble.htm [corrected website] On the Virtual Image stand I could not resist a game of Nubble. Originally this was a board game but is now available on CD. Why not download a sample from [the site]? This is an excellent game for KS2 and upwards, which gives practice with the four rules in a challenging and fun way.” (Cobden, 2006, p. 33).

“www.sln.org/pieces/knox/onlineactiv.htm Geared toward the primary grades, this site from Online Museum Educators and the Science Learning Network provides online activities and quizzes to help reinforce concepts about addition and money. Activities provide immediate feedback for students and allow them to keep trying until they get the correct answer.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

“http://www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/aunty/ Solve math problems with Aunty Math. There are elementary level arithmetic problems on a weekly schedule here. Aunt Mathilda Mathews is the problem creator, and we try to solve the math problems she creates each week. You may submit an answer or ask for an easier or harder problem to solve. Teachers and parents can review tips for helping their children solve these problems. http://www.factmonster.com/mathmoney.html It's an atlas, it's an almanac, it's a dictionary, and it's an encyclopedia. I clicked on the math link and found lots of math stuff for kids to do. Very self-explanatory and easy to navigate.” (Nelson, 2004, p. 9).

K – 8

“AAA Math, http://www.aaamath.com/, provides an enormous amount of online practice for students in grades K-8. Each activity contains an explanation of the concept and then an interactive drill and skill option. Learners enjoy building math skills through various game options related to the drill and skill activities for each concept. This is a flood site to share with parents.” (Troutner, 2005, p. 29).

“Need worksheets? On the Math Worksheet Site (www.themathworksite.com) you can generate basic math worksheets (either with or without answers) and print them out for your students.” (Branzburg, 2005, p. 48).

5 – 9

“http://education.jlab.org/smdeluxe/index.html SpeedMath Deluxe, from Jefferson Lab, challenges students’ knowledge of basic math facts. Given four digits, students must create an equation using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But as the game suggests, this site is devoted to developing speed, and teachers should make that purpose clear.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

6 – 12

“Teaming up with CBS and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the company has created a "We All Use Math Every Day" web site, which contains weekly activities based on the mathematics presented in each episode. Registered teachers and students can view the new classroom activities coordinated with each show a week prior to the Friday night episode. Incidentally, the math used in each NUMB3RS episode is based on actual FBI cases, making the activities even more exciting and relevant to real life. The new fall season begins on September 23 at 10 p.m. Register now for your free teaching kit by visiting http://www.weallusematheveryday.com/tools/waumed/home.htm [corrected website]” (Moore, 2006, p. 6).

“www.explorelearning.com Math and science with Gizmos for grades 6-12. Each Gizmo allows students to manipulate elements related to a specific math concept to explore the world of math and science. Gizmos have complete lessons, assessment and record keeping, with a correlation to state standards and even textbooks. Teacher Only, $349 a year - try using the Gizmos for whole class demonstrations with a projector; Teacher and Students, $799 a year; Home, $149 a year. You can also try a free 30-day trial.” (Lindroth, 2005, p. 26).

“www.subtangent.com Subtangent is written by Duncan Keith, a teacher at Corby Community College in Northamptonshire, and is one of the best free-to-use mathematics websites. Suhtangent is full of excellent resources for whole-class teaching, individualized learning, and investigational work and is, of course, fun! The site continues to grow with the regular addition of new material. Navigation is very easy and the activities, which range from revision lessons and self-assessment tests to mathematical games like Countdown, are all presented in a professional, clear and interesting style. In addition to the interactive materials, Duncan has also included a useful resource section with numerous worksheets as well as practical materials such as isometric paper. This site is aimed mainly at secondary level, but would also prove interesting to some primary students.

www.kangaroomaths.com Although some of Kangaroo Math’s requires the purchase of a password (which can be bought using ELCs), Matt Nixon and Steve Lomax's site contains the excellent Kenny's Pouch — a section with masses of free resources. You will find interactive materials to put to use on the whiteboard as well as worksheets for use in class. Most impressive, though, is the amount of advice and number of great ideas that Matt and Steve have crammed into the site. This includes the excellent Subject Leadership area — a must for all HoDs! The site is designed and written with wit and creativity, and this is reflected in the type and style of the contents — there are lots of innovative ideas that can be put to use in the classroom. Even at A-Level, this creative approach continues — the Integration Treasure Hunt, for example! This site is aimed at secondary school level.”(McCourt, 2006, pp. 32-33).

“www.stfx.ca/special/mathproblems/welcome.html Funded by Canada’s SchoolNet, this site features word problems classified by grade levels for grades 5-12. Though more traditional in its approach than the previous site, it is designed to help improve problem-solving skills and offer helpful hints for students to get started.” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

“http://www.cut-the-knot.org/index.shtml [corrected website] Dedicated to “interactive mathematics and miscellany,” this site created by Alexander Bogomolsky will appeal to many older students and, yes, their teachers too. If you haven’t visited it before, you should. Covering a range of topics from fast arithmetic tips, to stunning your friends with card magic, to Taylor series for cosine, this site always strives to make clear the ‘peculiar beauty of mathematics.’” (Loucks & Gangloff, 2006, p. C3).

“http://teachertech.rice.edu/Lessons/index95.html These are lessons with an Internet connection. Students use their math skills to make real-world decisions.” (Nelson, 2004, p. 9).

“http://www.s-cool.co.uk/topic_index.asp?subject_id=15 This site is well laid out with easy access. As well as notes there are questions to tackle. Answers are provided, but the methods of obtaining them are not.” (Ransom, 2005, p. 10).

“http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/gvma/speakerhandouts.htm [corrected website]The recent GVMA conference, hosted at U of W, was very worthwhile. Of particular interest to teachers of grade 7 – 10 would be the GSP presentation by Chris Wadley.

www.oame.on.ca. The OAME (Ontario Association of Mathematics Educators) posts up-to-date information and teacher support links regarding the revised grade 11 courses, the new grade 12 courses to be implemented in 2007, revised pathways for 2006/2007, TIPS4RM and TIPS ELL, and LMS. Check it out often!

http://www.skillplan.ca/ , http://measureup.towes.com/ For teachers of secondary workplace mathematics, here is a great website which offers many career-focused tasks for students of mathematics. Includes skills in literacy and document use, such as interpreting bills, business invoices, insurance forms, etc. (promoted and maintained by the BC skills improvement council)

http://www.curriculum.org/lms/ The LMS (Leading Math Success) website is a must read! Get GSP support, ideas for engaging boys in the class, and TIPS 4RM course outlines for grade 7 and 8, 9 and 10 Applied, and all grade 11 courses.

http://www.purplemath.com/ A very useful site for mathematics teachers and students. Great lessons for all levels of Algebra. (equations, ratio and proportion, matrices, and more!) Also offers homework assistance, on-line tutoring and clarification of concepts.

http://www.nearnorthschools.ca/it/PRISMNEO/Grade11/index.asp Geometers Sketchpad Users – here is a great site for pre-made sketches to use in all grade 11.” (Zink, 2006, pp. 20-21).

References

Armstrong, L. (2006). GoMath.com can help your child's summer add up. New York Amsterdam News, 97(30), 29-29.

Bliwise, N. G. (2005). Web-Based Tutorials for Teaching Introductory Statistics. Journal of Educational Computing Research, v33(n3), p309.

Branzburg, J. (2005). HOW TO: Find Educational Content on the Web. Technology & Learning, 25(8), 48-48.

Cobden, D. (2006). The Education Show 2006. Paper presented at the MT: Mathematics Teaching.

Handal, B., Handal, P., & Herrington, T. (2006). Evaluating online mathematics resources. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 11(2), 8-14.

Lindroth, L. (2005). How To . . . Find Online Math Manipulatives. Teaching PreK-8, 35(4), 24-26.

Lindroth, L. (2007). Hot Websites. Teaching PreK-8, 37(4), 27-28.

Loucks, K., & Gangloff, K. (2006). Reinforcing Math Skills. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(2), C3-C3.

McCourt, M. (2006). Webwatch. MT: Mathematics Teaching(196), 32-33.

Moore, P. (2006). Who Done It Series = Math Success. Tech Directions, 66(2), 6-6.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

Nelson, C. (2004). Connecting Math Skills and Their Applications. Technology & Children, 9(1), 9-9.

Ransom, P. (2005). Online on target. Times Educational Supplement(4619), 10-10.

Sinclair, M. P. (2005). Peer interactions in a computer lab: reflections on results of a case study involving web-based dynamic geometry sketches. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 24(1), 89-107.

Stefansson, G. (2004). The tutor-web: An educational system for classroom presentation, evaluation and self-study. Computers & Education, 43(4), 315-343.

Troutner, J. (2005). sites for curriculum activities. Teacher Librarian, 32(3), 29-30.

Zink, E. (2006). Math Web Sources for Intermediate and Secondary. School Libraries in Canada, 26(1), 20-21.