TenMarks Math Summer Program

Summer is coming! Are you ready for cookouts, vacations, no school and enough time to forget all of those important math concepts we will be testing next year. Research shows students lose two to three months of grade level math equivalency over the summer. How do you help your students with retention over the summer?

TenMarks Math Summer Program

I recently wrote about TenMarks Math and its benefits; however, why not try out the FREE TenMarks Math summer program? It is a program designed to help students from grades 1 to Algebra 2 / Geometry. A personalized curriculum provides the scaffolds and supports to meet the individual needs. For example, if students get stuck on a problem, TenMarks provides embedded hints and video lessons to help them solve the problem.

Last summer, 69% of students who participated (over 8 weeks and 1 hour per week) showed an average 11% increase in scores from grade level assessments conducted at the beginning of the TenMarks Summer Math Program. Why was it so effective? It's engaging, relevant, and students actually want to use it! Why not hear it from the student's themselves?

Learn More!

Visit the TenMarks Math summer program to access materials and resources to share with classes and families. The information and materials provided is helpful information for families considering participation in the program. The TenMarks Summer Math Program begins May 19, 2015.

Want to learn more about TenMarks? Click here to check out more about the program! 

I Need Your Help! 
My video on using LiveBinders to Help All Students Learn is currently nominated for CAST's  #Looking4UDL  contest. Please "like" my video below to help me get to the next round! 

1. Click on the hyperlinked title below to go directly to YouTube
2. Click on "Like" 

Check out this link for other videos that are currently being nominated: http://ow.ly/LAyXW 

TenMarks Math is an Amazing Resource

If you are like me, you need a little extra help when it comes to solving math problems. Just the other day, my daughter had asked me for help with her homework and well....I have to admit that I turned to Googling for help. Many of us turn to Khan Academy, which is a good resource; however, another excellent resource could be TenMarks Math.

This is a free resource provided by Amazon for teachers and students. The best part is that it can be accessed from the web or tablet.

Teachers

If you are a teacher, sign up for a free account and create your first class. TenMarks Math asks for the subject area or grade level that you teach. You choose the grade level of students in your classes, so that TenMarks can provide pre-made questions and curriculum. You choose the standards you would like to address and TenMarks Math does the rest! At this point, this tool is designed for students in grades 3 through Algebra 2/Geometry. 

What do students get? 

Students are provided with customized instruction, which is perfect for 1:1 environments that adapts to their needs. As students solve each problem, they are provided with multiples scaffolds and supports to help them solve the problem. If they need help, they are given hints and even have access to a video tutor. Each real-life math problem is engaging and designed to help students see math in a real-world perspective.

Want to see this from a student perspective? Check out this brief video:

I Need Your Help! 

My video on using LiveBinders to Help All Students Learn is currently nominated for CAST's  #Looking4UDL  contest. Please "like" my video below to help me get to the next round! 

1. Click on the hyperlinked title below to go directly to YouTube
2. Click on "Like" 

Check out this link for other videos that are currently being nominated: http://ow.ly/LAyXW 

Learning Geography Through Geospy

As our world becomes more global, geography is becoming an important skill for our students to master. How can we help our students become masters of location? Why not engage them differently with a game called Geospy?

You take the role of a special agent, working against the clock as you try to locate various parts of the globe. As you play, you are given three different tasks (or games) to complete:

1. Continents Game
2. Countries Game 
3. States and Provinces Game

When you are playing the game, you will be asked to locate a certain item. If you guessed wrong, Geospy will provide you with the right answer before asking your for another location. This game is a perfect tool for the elementary, middle, and even high school classroom. 

Engage students differently with Geospy. 

Reality TV + YouTube + STEM = Operation Mathlete

Operation Mathlete (2015)

The popularity of reality-based television shows has changed our culture. Why not use this approach to engage students in the math (and even STEM) classroom?

Operation Mathlete is an interactive reality TV-style competition on YouTube, which features three middle school students, each struggling in math. Each short episode features students competing (against themselves and each other) in a series of fun and stimulating math challenges. Each student trains with a math expert and is given two weeks to master a concept.  

This is the perfect math or STEM classroom resource. Why? 

1) It is Realistic

Math is often viewed as a challenging subject by many of our students. It is often difficult for them to admit that they are struggling because this is a sign of weakness; however, this series provides students with examples of other students who are struggling too.  Students may not have their own personal math guru, but this series helps open up important conversations on ways to help students. It also provides examples of students who determined to overcome their challenges. 

2) It provides students with different ways to learn math

We know that all students learn differently and we need to find creative ways to represent concepts and engage students differently. This is a great resource to provide students with different ways to understand math concepts.

3) Teachers can use it too! 

Many math teachers are already using Khan Academy and screencasts in their classroom to add another dimension to their classroom; however, each Operation Mathlete episode provides teachers with actual techniques and challenges, that can be implemented in any classroom immediately. 

Conclusion:

With many schools starting to focus on infusing STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) into the curriculum, this makes the perfect resource for a variety of subject areas and grade levels. Want to check it out? Visit the Operation Mathlete YouTube channel, website, or watch the intro video below:

Apps for #Self-Regulation: Breathing Zone App

In the world of educational technology, we often focus our attention on websites and apps that focus on creativity and  assessment; however, what about technologies that can help students with self-regulating their behavior?

Self Regulation: 

When we think of the term self-regulation, we often think that students with learning disabilities or emotional difficulties; however, self-regulation refers to the strategies and tools that we can provide students to manage their behavior, set goals, and even self-reflect.

Yoga in School? 

Several years ago, I was introduced to the story of an elementary school in Chicago, who had a significant number of discipline problems - especially after lunch. The principal began to have her students practice Yoga breathing techniques in the morning and after lunch. Ironically, discipline problems were reduced significantly.

This example made me think about the power of teaching students breathing and relaxation techniques as a coping mechanism; however, we often do not have the time to do so.

Breathing Zone App:

Although there are many different apps that teach breathing, I have come to like the Breathing Zone App on the iTunes and Google Play stores. It provides you with a simplistic interface makes it easy to utilize. This App combines customized voice commands (or vibration) with graphics, to help you focus on simple breathing techniques. Anyone can learn how to use it from elementary school to high school to even adults.

There are also tools embedded into the App, which customize the amount of time you spend practicing and track your breathing goals. This is the perfect tool for helping students cope with stress, manage their behavior, and even help with test anxiety.

Normally I do not promote paid Apps, but this is a good one! If you are tight on funds, there are many free alternatives on the iTunes store too.

Helpful Literacy Tools for Students: Newsela

The Common Core State Standards has emphasized that our students need to read more non-fictional texts; however, finding appropriate articles to meet the needs of our students can be difficult. Just this past weekend, I was introduced to Newsela by a friend of mine, who has used this in his elementary classroom; however, this tool could be used in any middle school or high school classroom too!

What is Newsela? 

Newsela is a free (and paid) current event resource with articles that adapt to the needs of the students. There are dozens of articles related to science, money, law, health, and sports. Teachers have the ability to customize each article to fit the needs of your students. There are five different versions of the same article that are divided by reading lexile level, which provides the appropriate amount of challenge to meet the needs of our students (Multiple Means of Representation). There are also several interactive components, where you can embed quizzes and writing tasks within the article for students (Multiple Means of Action / Expression). 

How Does it Work? 

After creating your free teacher account at www.newsela.com , you will be asked to create a "class." Students will be able to sign up for this class by creating a free account and entering an enrollment code. Creating a class will allow you to share articles, create assignments, etc.; however, you do have to have the paid version of the website to view student progress. 

I totally understand that companies have to make money; however, I was disappointed that had to have the Pro (paid version) of Newsela to access many of the advanced features. You are given a free trial period; however, 30 days is certainly not enough time to experiment with your classes. 

How Can I Use the Free Version for My Students? 

Even though many of the great features (like viewing student progress) Newsela are only available if you pay, there are still many useful ways of using the free version with your class. 

• You can have students read the article and choose their own lexile level. Not great, but still very useful. 

• Choose your lexile level and use the Print feature of the article to generate a PDF version of the article, which can be printed or saved as a PDF. 

Instapaper: Save and Access Anywhere on Any Device!

There are literally dozens of different ways to bookmark your favorite articles and websites like Diigo, Delicious, Draggo, and Symbaloo; however, accessing them across multiple devices can be challenging. 

With Instapaper, you can save your favorite articles, videos, and even emails, then read them online, an iPad, iPhone, Android device, or Kindle.  With a clean look and an easy-to-use interface, saving your favorite web-content is easy.

Options for Saving?

• You can use the Chrome Extension to save directly from Chrome. 

• You can add content directly to your Instapaper account by forwarding to your personal Instapaper email address.

• You share links from your mobile device by sending them to Instapaper.

Premium Version to Help Students with Learning Disabilities

There is an affordable paid version of Instapaper, which provides highlighting options, text-to-speech tools, and a full text search of articles.

Conclusion:

I am currently using the free version of Instapaper and have found it to be a great tool for both students and staff. It can help students with the supports they need to locate and access resources.