National Geographic has some wonderful things that can be used in Math classes. I did a general search for materials that are science based but can be used in math and the search provided me with 59 different possibilities.
The majority of items that came up are actually articles which discuss topics that use math such as engineering. In addition, there are some historical articles, and reports on people.
I clicked on an article about Foreign Finances written by someone from Visa Credit Card Company. In the article, the author who discusses things students should think about if they go overseas for a semester or year of schooling. He reminds students they have to arrange to have bills paid while gone or it could effect their credit scores. He also recommends mail be forwarded to parents rather than having an acquaintance pick it up.
Furthermore, he discusses what documents should be photocopied, which things should be left home and even takes time to discuss credit cards themselves in terms of foreign exchange rates and use fees. He tells people to remind the credit card companies you are going overseas so they do not refuse certain charges.
I discovered this happened when I ordered a rail pass that I never got. I found I need to talk to the company before ordering the rail pass so they would have accepted the charge. He spends the rest of the article continuing his discussion on everything connected with traveling overseas. The article even comes with a vocabulary list so students can check vocabulary if they do not understand it. In addition, there is a link to Khan Academy for math related to the topic.
Some of the articles are very short such as telling you when Sesame Street began or the Electoral college. Some come with questions but the questions may be more Social Studies focused however, its not that hard to create mathematically based questions so students can analyze information.
The main plus I see on the articles is that students practice reading real world writings to synthesize or pull out information in order to answer questions. This requires they practice their "reading for information" skills which shows them cross curricular applications.
Many of the articles expose students to job possibilities by spotlighting a person and discussing their jobs in details. I read one on a woman who helps provide natural disaster preparedness plans for various cities such as one for a place in Indonesia. She uses GIS to create a plan in case of tsunami.
I admit, some are not directly focused on math but the job does require it as part of doing the job. The article on this woman could be used to introduce students to GIS, how it works, and perhaps even arrange a few exercises using it so they can see the role math plays in the overall picture. I see this site as a way of showing the role math plays in the real world.
Check the site out, let me know what you think. I would love to hear. Have a great day.
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