Tory Meneses
Text Set: Algebra (exponents & polynomial functions/factoring)
Grade 10
Guiding Questions:
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Why do I need to learn algebra?
How does math connect with me? The real world?
What are polynomials and exponents?
Offline Texts:
1.
Larson, Ron. Algebra 1. Evanston, Ill.: McDougal Littell, 2008. Print.
This 675 page textbook is organized very clear, organized, and is appealing to look at. Not only does the
book have wonderful images to go along with the topics, but it also comes with a teachers’ edition, study
guides and worksheets for each unit! The reading isn’t too difficult and the problems are across an array
of difficulties. It even provides a large amount of solutions to questions for checking your work. It covers
topics throughout algebra I, which include polynomial functions, exponents, and many other exciting
topics!
2.
Sherwood, Walter. Algebra. Portland, ME: J. Weston Walch, 1998. Print.
This is a very good 80 page workbook. It includes many examples to show the connection with algebra to
the real world. Connections include sports, business, mortgage and many others. This workbook would be
great for applications after covering the ‘big picture’ of the topic. The reading is limited and the word
problems are simple. It would help students be interesting in learning because they would be able to
make connections with themselves and the concept.
Online Texts:
3.
"A Short History." Wolfram Library Archive--Resources and References for Mathematica and Other
Wolfram Products. Web. 04 June 2010. <http://library.wolfram.com/examples/quintic/timeline.html>.
When you arrive on this online timeline, you’ll notice it gives different examples of things that
revolutionized mathematics. The timeline dates from the 15th century to the 20th century. This timeline is
interesting and gets you hooked on reading about the different people who helped math evolve into what
it is today. Articles like this can help students feel that math is interesting. The text is not a high reading
level and introduces and reinforces math terms. It also helps develop a well rounded student by subtly
adding other concepts (such as history).
4.
"Careers in Mathematics." Sarah-marie Belcastro's Home Page. Web. 04 June 2010.
<http://www.toroidalsnark.net/mathcareers.html>.
Knowing about mathematic related careers is very important for high school students. This website makes
the connection between math and non-math jobs. Some include computer science, law, music and
teaching. This will create motivation in students because they will believe that math matters. The wording
is at a low level and is written very informally.
5.
"Cool Math's Algebra Practice Problems - Polynomials: Simplifying with Exponent Rules, Adding,
Subtracting, Multiplying, Dividing, Factoring Trinomials and More." Cool Math .com - An Amusement Park
of Math and More! Math Lessons, Math Games, Math Practice, Math Fun! Web. 04 June 2010.
<http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/algebra-practice-polynomials.html>.
This is a math website made for kids. It offers lessons, practice problems and even games for students to
learn, practice and play. The lessons are funny and memorable. I really like the way the reading flows, its
attempt at humor can be cheesy, but it is easy to remember the cheesy lines than boring lecturing.
6.
"Education World ® - Curriculum: Making Connections Between Math and the Real World!" Education
World® The Educator's Best Friend. Web. 04 June 2010.
<http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr021.shtml>.
This is an interesting and short article I found online. It isn’t directed at polynomials or exponents, but it
talks math in general. I think this article will not only help the outlook of algebra learning, but also the
learning of most mathematics. I don’t think teacher stress the life connections enough in their lessons.
This is very important, especially when dealing with adolescents. The reading is more advanced than Cool
Math’s, but is still not the most challenging. The reading level for this article is probably a very early high
school or late middle school student.
7.
"Exponent Game." Math Play - Free Online Math Games. Web. 04 June 2010. <http://www.mathplay.com/exponent-game.html>.
This online game is fun and interactive. It lists the rules of exponents to check back to. It is a good game
that would be very good practice for students. It has simple and harder problems, so it would have a
broad spectrum of students to test their knowledge of the rules of exponents. This game focuses
(obviously) on exponents. This game does not really involve much text aside from reading the question.
The questions are similar to your average math questions, such as “Solve the set of Exponents using the
exponent rules listed below”.
8.
"TheMint.org - Tips For Teens - Earning." TheMint.org - Fun Financial Literacy Activities for Kids, Teens,
Parents and Teachers. Web. 04 June 2010. <http://themint.org/teens/index.html>.
This website makes the best connection between math, yourself and the real world. It talks about money!
Everyone knows that money is important. This website offers tips to teens on how to save, save guard,
earn, invest, and more! It also uses examples with numbers, aiding the importance of algebra and math in
general. TheMint.org definitely offers motivation for students to learn more about algebra. The ‘teen’
portion of the website was designed for the “average” teenage reading level. This means it may be
frustrating for very low reading level students, but should still be understandable.
9.
"WebMath." WebMath - Solve Your Math Problem. Web. 04 June 2010.
<http://www.webmath.com/_answer.php>.
WebMath may not be as visually appealing, but it provides a step by step solution to examples that are
given by the website or the user. It expresses each step in multiple ways. The method of writing on this
website is great. It writes how you would say the words out loud (ie: X multiplied by X equals X^2), how
you would see the numbers or variables (ie: X*X=X^2) and a few ways to find the answer.
10. YouTube - Math Magic. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 04 June 2010.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqY_q7riL-w>.
This video is about 15 minutes long. It would be a great opener to any math lesson, but would grab the
most attention to those who are beginning to learn about exponents. It is a very impressive video. The
man, Arthur Benjamin, can do math faster than a calculator. His main focus is on exponents. He squares a
5 digit number which brings the solution to a 10 digit number. I would probably cut the video in half, or
find a point where I could have grabbed enough attention of students. This video does not have text and
the words Arthur uses are intended for a crowd of various spectators. The main concept behind the video
is the motivation it will create when they see Arthur, nearly mindlessly, solving squared integers.
Everyone should watch this video.