One Reason to Understand Math...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jkri0AeZWQ

Math Games

7th Grade:

Solving 1 step equations involving addition & subtraction.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr5/19.html

Solving 1 step equations involving multiplication and division.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr6/12.html

Using a model to solve 2 step equations.
http://www.mathplayground.com/AlgebraEquations.html

Keeping the balance
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=CalcBalancev5

Solving Equations
http://www.mathplayground.com/shuttle_mission_math/shuttle_mission_math_game.html

8th Grade:

Solving 1 step equations involving addition & subtraction.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr5/19.html

Solving 1 step equations involving multiplication and division.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr6/12.html

Solving Equations
http://www.mathplayground.com/shuttle_mission_math/shuttle_mission_math_game.html

Learning about linear equations.
http://www.mathplayground.com/SaveTheZogs/SaveTheZogs.html

Caine's Arcade: Shoebox Version

For our first project of the year, we will be creating shoebox versions of arcade games.  Our goal for this project is to create scale models of the arcade games so that we have prototypes (first versions) that are easily tested and shared.  Also a shoebox is more portable than the constructs we will be making for the Global Day of Play.

Thus, everyone should watch at least the first video of Caine's Arcade in order to know what we're talking about.  When you're done, come back here for the list of things needed.

Original Arcade Game Dimensions:  You need to specify a height, a width, and a length.  They need to be in inches, so you need to convert yards and feet to inches.  If the game has different geometry in places, divide the game into simpler geometry.  So if I was miniaturizing a skee-ball game, I would have the track as one shape, and then the scoring area as another.

Once I have the basic shapes, I would need to do some research (asking google is a good place to start) about the dimensions of the game.  If you use the word "dimensions" you should get clearer options.

Once you've done that, you also need Original Shoebox Dimensions, again in inches.  This will give you an idea of if your dimensions match, or if you need to make the shoebox arcade game dimensions smaller than the shoebox.  Trying to make your shoebox fit the arcade is a bad idea and will probably lead to a lot of extra work.  That said, I won't penalize anyone who does this, provided their scale factor is correct.

Finally, you need to prove that all your dimensions have the same scale factor.  If you don't know what that math term is, don't worry, I'll be explaining it before you have to turn this project in.

So to list it out, the things I'm expecting are:

Shoebox Arcade Game
A piece of paper with the following written on it:
Your heading, Shoebox Arcade Game as the title,
Name of Arcade Game picked,
Original Dimensions of the Arcade Game you picked,
Original Dimensions of the Shoebox,
Dimensions of the Game that fit on/in the shoebox,
Scale factor between the original and small game,
Additional materials used listed.

If you want to create a totally new game, see me and we'll discuss similar arcade games to use as dimensions.

Product Review: Kuta Software: Infinite Pre-Algebra

Mr. V. here.  I purchased a product called Kuta Software's Infinite Pre-Algebra to help me generate content during summer school.  After using it all through the past few weeks, I thought I would give it a review for their information if they ever stumble over my blog, and for any fellow teachers out there.

The options on Kuta's website are Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Calculus.  All of these options would load in the same program if ordered together.  As a teacher of middle school math, I limited my purchase to Pre-Algebra.  Any Elementary teachers should do the same, as the content will quickly become more and more limited to the specific subject, and Pre-Algebra had the broadest set of concepts.

Kuta is strong at reinforcing the mechanics of calculation, as you have near complete control over difficulty of problems through slider bars and can "regenerate" them as needed (the software will swap out one problem for another).  You could also use it to try to build teaching worksheets, that move from easier problems and concepts to more difficult ones or ones that use the previous information.  I found this style to be a bit more successful, as it reminded students of what they needed to keep track of when they were doing more complicated questions.

Where I found Kuta falling down a bit, and this may be just the package that I bought, was in measurement of shapes and solids.  It seemed like the program's idea of difficulty was to include decimals in measurement.  Basically this challenges students who's foundation of multiplying decimals is weak, and that's it.  There were no Integers only check boxes for measurement, and the number slider did not seem to adjust the shapes in the same way it did other problems like fractions and order of operations.

Another area that I wasn't quite pleased with was Kuta's attempt at creating word problems.  While some seemed interesting to the students, they seemed to lack that STAAR craziness quality that the students hate.  It was usually very clear what the student was supposed to do.  This is a strange complaint, I know, but one of my goals is STAAR readiness, and these word problems do not come as close as I'd like.  While there is a way to write custom questions, this somewhat defeats the purpose of buying this software as an aid.

Overall, I would give Kuta's Pre-Algebra package an 8 of 10 and would recommend it to late elementary school teachers onward.