Jennifer Bassett
Mathematics Internet Resources
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports
Address: http://espn.go.com/
Description of Contents:
ESPN contains links to many sports, including basketball, football, tennis
gymnastics, etc. After navigating to a particular sport, the teacher can explore the
categories listed by the blue links to view statistics, rankings, players, schedules, injuries,
etc. For example, after clicking on the NFL statistics category, a window pops up
containing some of the top statistical rankings from the 2009 season. Clicking on the
name of a player provides individual information for that player and their individual
statistics and rankings. The site also provides “Fantasy Football” statistics. There are
also links to individual and team web pages, which could provide additional statistical
information.
How you can use this source:
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ESPN provides interesting statistics and facts about a variety of sports, which
might be interesting to incorporate into relevant math problems. Students can
explore math problems with up to date data from recent sporting events.
Students could use statistical information and scores to predict an athlete’s
success rate for the rest of the season and update calculations as the data becomes
available. They can also practice graphing the data.
ESPN. (2010). Retrieved September 9, 2010, from http://espn.go.com/
Jennifer Bassett
Guinness World Records
Address: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
Description of Contents:
The Guinness World Record web site is a valuable location with tons of engaging
and odd facts. On the front page of the site, there are links and photographs of the most
recent achievements from around the globe. For example, 1,062 individuals participated
in an event at Yanbian University. They achieved a gold recognition for the most people
juggling, or keeping a football (soccer ball) in the air at the same time. This was posted
on the website six days ago.
If a teacher wanted to find a record on a particular topic, there are several ways to
search through categories or the site to find a topic of interest. Students may also be
interested in seeing the requirements for setting a record and the rules involved. There
are also video clips from the television series to engage students visually.
How you can use this source:
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Kids love crazy trivia and odd information. Guinness World Records is a great
location to find creative, engaging and odd data for unique and interesting math
problems. For example, students could compare and contrast the measurements
of the world’s tallest and shortest man. They could also average the two
extremely different heights and determine how closely the class average height
compares to this measurement.
Guinness World Records. (2010). Retrieved September 9, 2010, from
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
Jennifer Bassett
PBS Teachers
Address: http://www.pbs.org/teachers
Description of Contents:
When you first arrive at the site, you will notice dark blue buttons at the top of the
screen indicating which age or grade category that you are interested in and each subject.
Inside each age category in math, there are printable games, interactive activities, student
practice, student instructional materials and teacher lesson plans. The elementary levels
include links to online math games.
For example, in the K-2 category, there are a series of educational games called
Dinosaur Train. This series includes two unique math games for young children.
“Dino Tracks” is a great pattern game. Students see three cartoon dinosaurs on
the screen and a pattern of their tracks show up in the sand. One pattern section will be
missing. Students first must examine the pattern to discover the missing section. Then
they must examine the feet of the dinosaur and discover whose tracks are missing. This
is a great activity for young kids, because it requires a two-step thinking process.
“How big are you?” is a great problem solving and estimating activity for an older
Kindergarten or first grade student. It takes the image of a large dinosaur and places the
image of a smaller dinosaur underneath it. Children then must estimate how many times
the small dinosaur will fit into the length of the big dinosaur. Students might find it
useful to use fingers, string, or even a ruler to size up the difference. Students must be
able to identify numbers so they can click the correct number.
How you can use this source:
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This source includes unique videos, lesson plans, printable activities and games
for students.
With the availability of science and social studies activities, teachers might find
useful cross-curricular resources.
PBS Teachers. (2010). Retrieved September 9, 2010, from http://www.pbs.org/teachers
Jennifer Bassett
Arcademic Skill Builders
Address: http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
Description of Contents:
This website is filled with arcade style math games, hence the arcademic name.
They are mainly skill building, or practice games. Students can calculate in a fun way
that will help motivate them to enjoy the practice. When you first arrive at the site, you
can choose one of the light blue categories at the center of the screen. These practice
areas are adding and subtract, multiply and divide, integers, and fractions and ratios. A
separate list of games will appear in each category. One caution is that some of these
games, due to the arcade style, have a great deal of colors and moving images on the
screen. This might be an issue for a student with an attention difficulty to be able to
focus on the strategies themselves. Most of these games are for older elementary
students and middle school students. The benefit is that the students must quickly
discover the answer to win the game or activity. This causes them to think less and just
act, or practice what they already know.
One example is “Jet Ski addition” which allows students to race other students, or
the game itself, by adding the two numbers and clicking on the correct answer. Each jet
ski with a correct answer moves ahead at a quicker pace. At the conclusion of the game,
the student views his or her score and the scores of the other players.
How you can use this source:
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The games on this site could be set up as in-class skill practice or the link could
be sent hone for at home practice.
A teacher could set up a private game for groups of students with similar abilities,
anonymously, if preferred.
At home, students can play other children from around the country.
Arcademic Skill Builders. (2010). Retrieved September 9, 2010, from
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
Jennifer Bassett
Sheppard Software: Math
Address: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
Description of Contents:
Sheppard Software has created a very organized site that helps teachers find the
best games for their students to practice basic skills. Across the top of the screen, in
orange, is a list of categories for the available games. These categories are: Early math
K-2, basic operations, mixed operations, fractions, pre-algebra, dollars & cents, and
place value. After clicking on the preferred category, a list of games will be available
with a category definition to clarify what the category includes.
For example, “Subtraction Harvest” is a K-2 game that teaches the basics of
subtraction using an apple tree. For instance, there will be 4 apples on the tree and 3 are
wiggling. The question states, there are 4 apples on the tree, but 3 fall off the tree. How
many are left? The 1 non-wiggling apple gives the student a clue of the correct response.
If the student chooses an incorrect answer, an X shows up on that answer. The student
continues guessing until the correct answer is chosen. After the student chooses the
answer, the game will confirm the reason for the answer in three different methods. This
particular game has minimal movement to distract the student, but the games do vary the
variety of potential distractions.
How you can use this source:
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This is an excellent website for easy to use games with less of an arcade style than
many of the other math game sites. The Sheppard Software games would be
helpful for struggling learners, because the games are easy to operate.
Since it is accessible to the public, it will be a great source to recommend to
parents for homework or summer practice as well.
Sheppard Software: Math. (2010). Retrieved September 9, 2010, from
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm