Homeschool Math Blog

Recently I was updating the list of measuring-related online games & resources at my site. I found these resources (new to me) and thought you might enjoy them a: The Ruler Game Choose between whole inches, half-inches, quarters, eighths, or sixteenth parts of an inch to measure. Click on the given measurement on a ruler. Timed or not timed versions available. www.rickyspears.com/rulergame Sal's Sub Shop Customers order subs, and you need to cut them to the given measurements - sometimes in metric units, sometimes in inches. www.mrnussbaum.com/sal.htm Reading Scales You can illustrate a variety of measuring devices, such as scales, measuring cup, thermometer, and speedometer, and how to read them. Generate examples using different scales on different devices at the press of a button. www.teacherled.com/2008/01/28/reading-scales Measures An online activity about metric measuring units and how to read scales, measuring cup, and a ruler. Uses British spel...

Image courtesy of welshmackem I found this article via Math Teachers at Play carnival... it talks about a new method of scheduling buses , which uses mathematics, namely Markov Chains. I'm not personally familiar with Markov chains, but whenever mathematics solves a problem in real life, I find it fascinating! The mathematical method "evens out" the headway (the spacing between buses) by holding each bus at the start of the route a specified amount of time. That avoids "bus bunching", and it also makes it where the bus drivers don't need to adhere to any schedule--reducing their stress. The researcher John Bartholdi says The trick is to hold the bus for an adjustable amount of time at one stop. We simply control how long they wait at the end of the route, and then we tell them, ‘drive comfortable with the traffic to the other end. Don’t worry about where you are. Just flow with the traffic.’ Read more: Markov Chains avoid buses arriving...

Here's a little sample of what is keeping me so busy right now - third grade math, aligning things to the Common Core standards. This is a complete lesson (4 pages) about area for grade 3 math. It's not the initial lesson - it assumes the student already knows how to find the area of a rectangle. (Sorry - there is no answer key at this time; it hasn't been made yet!) The lesson (worksheets) is specifically about these two standards: 3.MD 7.c. Use tiling to show in a concrete case that the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths a and b + c is the sum of a × b and a × c. Use area models to represent the distributive property in mathematical reasoning.  d. Recognize area as additive. Find areas of rectilinear figures by decomposing them into non-overlapping rectangles and adding the areas of the non-overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems.

I realize these ideas are not new to us homeschoolers... but someone has put together a nice looking infographic about how much better homeschoolers fare than their public school counterparts. So, maybe you will enjoy it. Created by: CollegeAtHome.com

Someone recently was wondering if perhaps aligning Math Mammoth curriculum to Common Core standards wasn't a good idea, or at least wasn't going to help them any, because they have found value in curricula outside of American ones. So why am I doing that? I have known of Common Core standards for a few years, but in December 2011 I noticed that nearly all states were or are going to implement them. So, they are in essence providing a framework for a national curriculum in mathematics. So, I decided to consider them, and to take a closer look at the standards. And I realized that Common Core standards aren't that "bad." They are NOT like most state standards have been, "inch deep and mile wide," with tons of topics per grade. These are "core" standards, meaning there aren't a huge amount of them per grade. So it's a BIG improvement over many of the states' standards. I also noticed that some of the "core" sta...

A traditional sale for the end of the school year... From May 20, 2012, till June 3, get 20% off of all Math Mammoth downloads and CDs at Kagi store. Use the coupon code MAYSALE. You can go to MathMammoth.com first, then find the links to Kagi's order pages. OR, use these direct links: Light Blue series (complete curriculum) Blue series Golden and Green Series Make It Real Learning workbooks Bundles (CDs or downloads) Enjoy! Maria Miller --

Have you ever used this neat way of teaching math word problems to elementary grade students? Let them be like stories, and let the child create some too! Denise explores this idea in her recent post: Tell Me a (Math) Story Worth checking out!