The other day, I discovered the PBS Learning Media site filled with so many cool things you can use in your math class. This site has videos, interactive lessons, interactive, lesson plans, documents, and all sorts of other things. This site has a search engine to find lessons on a specific topic or grade. Most of the material has information on the grades each activity is meant for. I searched mostly for high school material since that is what I teach but there is material for all grades from prek and up.
I looked at the video section and found a nice video on using probability in search and rescue operations. Search and rescue is something quite real out in the bush of Alaska because sudden storms blow in causing people to get lost, or it warms up and the ice thins so people fall into the cold water and die. This is a relevant topic for us.
The unit includes the video complete with teaching tips so the instructor knows the best way to teach this. In addition, there is a page listing all standards associated with the material. The teaching tips include questions for students to answer as they watch the video so they have to focus on the material rather than enjoyment. Furthermore, it is possible to download the unit as a zip file.
Next I checked out their interactive lessons and found two that immediately attracted my attention. One was on Math in Fashion which included Project Runway, and Math in Special Effects. The Math in Special Effects is geared for grades 7 to 10 and includes a teachers guide, transcript, and says it is a student directed lesson. Students sign into the site to do their work and have it saved. The lesson also has a page listing common core standards this unit meets.
The site also has several activities that are interactive such as the one where students get to engineer a jetliner. The activity has the student how to adjust the wings and location of the engine for the best performance for four different situations. In addition to the usual teaching tips, there is material to provide both background and further reading, and the answer key. Of course, the activity does include the necessary common core standards to make life easier.
The lesson plans are focused on specific mathematical topics. Some of the lessons are targeted to teach a topic such as ratios, or a general lesson on dance. I checked out the everyday algebra targeted lesson which begins by giving a summary, estimated time to complete, and the learning objectives. The next page divides the lesson up into three sections, the introductory activity, the learning activity, and the culminating activity, each section has a video with information on what the teacher should focus on. It includes further information and lists the standards.
The documents section has several interesting topics including Math's hidden women, and one on the risk of flying. I looked at the document on the risk of flying and found it quite interesting because it had both graphics and written words. The author even took time to explain how the risk is calculated, in two different ways, per mile, per flight, or average risk for a person. The explanations are quite clear and easy to follow.
Last there are galleries which focus on one topic. I looked at the one on living wage vs minimum wage. The gallery has five videos, a lesson plan with information on each clip and questions to go with each clip. One activity has students find the cost for several items in their community so they can calculate the living wage for their location. I like this because it is everything costs more in the villages of Alaska so having figures based on local prices makes the exercise more realistic.
If you need more material for your class, check this site out. It is well organized, has great support materials, and topics that are interesting. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment