Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

DIY Chart ("Do it yourself") is a simple online tool used to create interactive charts and graphs from any data. This tool is useful to teach the graphing of complex concepts online. though not as simple as other chart creators, the detailed and sophisticated charts are able to be embedded or printed for presentations and projects.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171)

Use Educreations' simple web-based whiteboard for the iPad app to record lessons and share with your students. Create your course(s) and control privacy settings from the beginning. Make the content public, private to your students, or private to all within the school. Create a lesson by using the online whiteboard and your microphone. Easily upload images from your computer and switch between whiteboard screens. Click on the Students tab to provide a link for students to be able to find your course. Students can self-register using the unique classroom code. Each lesson has a unique URL you can share, as well. Students can access your lessons via the web or an iPad. You can remove students from registration lists in this section.
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tag(s): blended learning (37), homework (29), remote learning (54), Teacher Utilities (198), video (266)

This site provides resources for educators interested in improving students mathematics learning and development. The site includes video examples of innovative teaching methods and tools for immediate use in classrooms. Each grade level offers links to Core Ideas and most offer MARS Tasks, Rubrics, and Analysis. The MARS Task is where lesson ideas are found. These lessons are available in portions (task, rubric, questions, etc.), or as a large downloadable file containing all portions of the lesson. Be sure to click on the Common Core Resources to find tasks and materials, by grade level or standard, you can use immediately. Many other resources are available such as a school-wide problem of the month, professional development resources, and administrative leadership resources. Be sure to take the video tour of the site as an overview of all that is available.

tag(s): commoncore (73), number sense (69), place value (34), probability (99), problem solving (233), rubrics (37), statistics (121), teaching strategies (50), video (266)

Enter the world of math at Platonic Realms. Find high quality mathematical content for secondary school and college students that is free. A math encyclopedia, math quotes, mini texts, and a free link library compose this site.
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tag(s): logic (161), mental math (19), problem solving (233)

Use Calculator.com to access a variety of calculators to use in a classroom or as a reference tool. Choose from standard, fraction, scientific, percent, mortgage, area, units converter, as well as other calculators. Note: This site has many ads as calculators are chosen.
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tag(s): calculators (36)

Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace prizewinners, speeches, ceremonies, interviews, banquets, lectures, announcements, award ceremonies, and documentaries fill the gamut of all of the prizewinners. The Nobel prizes awards are in literature, chemistry, medicine, peace, economics, and physics. Under the Education tab at the top find arieties of educational games/activities and lesson plans help explain many of the Nobel Award winners' work. This site clearly explains and illustrates the purpose of the awards, the award winners, and their ideas. Videos give an insider look at each of the winners.

tag(s): creativity (86), literature (221), medicine (57)

This site provides a wonderful chronology of mathematical information starting about 3000 BC on up to the 21st Century. Information can be accessed in several ways. Upon entering the site there is a timeline across the top and all information included is in list form on the main page, simply scroll through to view all items. Searches can be narrowed to defined time periods by mousing over that area on the timeline or typing dates into the blank box at the right of the timeline. There is also a link to a chronology index which leads to time periods already broken into smaller portions. Also available is a biographical index which can be used by time period, or choose female mathematicians or use the alphabetical index as an option.

tag(s): biographies (94), cross cultural understanding (173), timelines (56)

The goal of this site is to demonstrate the beauty of mathematics. The creator also wants to show the wonder and intellectual playfulness of math. Included on the site are many videos and essays exploring higher level mathematics. Titles include "How to Think Like a School Math Genius", "A Cute Finger Trick for Trigonometry", and "What is Zero to the Zeroth Power?". Most video titles are approximately 10 minutes in length. Also available on the site are two free PDF downloads: Guide to Everything Quadratic and Guide to Fractions. Be aware: parts of this site require some navigation (a few clicks) to get to your destination. But the "clicks" are well worth the time. At the time of this review, the link to "Curriculum Tidbits" was not active, but the Think Curriculum tab works. Although the author's books are available for sale on the site, there is plenty of free material available making the site worth exploring.
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tag(s): critical thinking (127), fractions (160), gifted (66), prime numbers (26), probability (99), puzzles (149), video (266)

Math Video Tutorials offers 5,000 free math videos organized by course and topic. And the offerings are constantly growing. Videos are hosted on YouTube and SchoolTube and are all 10 minutes or less in length. Content includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, business calculus, and calculus. Each main topic includes links to the videos organized by more specific topics - for example, algebra videos are sorted by an introduction to algebra, rational expressions, equations and functions, equations and percentages, exponential and logarithmic functions, graphing, linear equations, and more. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): area (53), business (52), charts and graphs (171), equations (119), factoring (25), functions (52), integers (21), measurement (122), operations (72), order of operations (29), percent (59), place value (34), prime numbers (26), ratios (47), test prep (69), tutorials (52), volume (33)

This site offers help for students in Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, and Statistics. Help is available in several forms - there are video tutorials, collections of lessons from textbooks, live online chat, and a message board for posting questions. Textbook lessons, divided into subjects, also have specific components of the lesson and include a written explanation with examples and images. The videos are portions of DVD's that aren't free, however, the video links are free and assessable to all. Caution: The online chat or message board needs monitoring when students post questions.
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tag(s): OER (43), statistics (121), test prep (69), tutorials (52), video (266)

The main idea of the site is that one needs to understand math; it is not just learned or memorized, and the explanations form the basis of understanding. Topics include Mental Math shortcuts, discovering pi, different bases, and much more. The founder of this site stated: "I want to share hard-won "a ha!" moments in clear and simple language. Even Math shortcuts are fun, I promise." Many of the explanations aren't quite as "clear and simple" as students may like; however, there are a great number of topics explored on the site and they are worth the time to break apart and discuss as a class. Not finding your topic? I know, this is a long list of links. Use the search bar; for example, type in pi and find well over two dozen links for pi.

tag(s): exponents (35), mental math (19), number sense (69), pi (29), problem solving (233), pythagorean theorem (19), square roots (15), statistics (121), vectors (16)

TuLyn Video Clips on YouTube provides over 2000 math video tutorial clips for grades 1 through 12. Available items can be viewed by searching by topic, grade level, or school level. After choosing a topic there is a short explanation, definitions, and links to available resources by format. Choices include video tutorials, worksheets, word problems, discussions, and books. All worksheets are in PDF format for easy saving and printing. Be aware, this site has many advertisements. You may want to peruse the site and get the video (or other activity) prepared ahead of time, to avoid the advertisements.
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tag(s): problem solving (233), tutorials (52), video (266), worksheets (69)

Studyladder offers a sequential learning program with videos, interactive activities, worksheets and assessments for reporting to teachers and to parents. Activities are highly engaging and motivating. You can create classes, have unlimited access to all features on the site, and students can access homework features from home. Topics included on the site are Math, Literacy, Numeracy, Spelling Bee, and Interactive Whiteboard activities. Each section provides many activities categorized in several ways such as topic, type of activity, grade levels, and extras. Registration also allows access to progress reports on school and homework results, 2000 printable worksheets, and student rewards such as certificates, special avatars, and access to reward rooms. The site is free for teachers and for limited homework use with one student after registration. However, there is also a paid portion of the site if desired.
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tag(s): factoring (25), fractions (160), homework (29), iwb (31), literacy (122), negative numbers (13), number sense (69), numbers (120), prime numbers (26)

This site contains more than 4,800 (at the time of this review) math problems for students pre-kindergarten to high school. There are activities/math problems learning to count, write numbers, understand place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, prime numbers, composite numbers, least common multiples, greatest common factors, factoring whole numbers, fractions and lots more. The site is divided into topics such as word problems, geometry, telling time, and others. Each portion contains a section on tips and tricks section that explains the concept including vocabulary and illustrations. Be sure to also check out the resources section for printable graph paper, number lines, and an assignment measure graph for keeping track of student progress. This site has some interactive activities and many printable pages.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), data (151), division (98), factoring (25), fractions (160), multiplication (122), operations (72), prime numbers (26), problem solving (233), time (91), worksheets (69)

Mr. P offers a site loaded with Math humor, facts, problems, songs, videos, quotes, puzzles, games, poems, and lesson plans. Especially helpful are the math videos (which require QuickTime). The Math Poems and Songs are great for your more auditory learners. The problem of the month is offered with the solution provided at the end of the month; however, previous problems, with their solutions, are archived and available to use.

tag(s): equations (119), humor (15), polynomials (20), puzzles (149)

Mathebook.net has Online Tutorials as well as Downloadable pdf tutorials which you can save on a computer and use later. It can be used by teachers for home work purpose. The pdf is editable and students can e-mail the homework tutorials by e-mail back to teachers. To begin using the site, you simple choose from kindergarten, elementary, middle school, or high school levels. Within each of those sections is a list of topics, and then a choice of virtual or ebook. Virtual activities are those done on the computer and cannot be saved. These are items such as fact practice where feedback will be given as to the correctness of answers. eWorkbook items are PDF documents that can be printed and used as worksheets. You can either print and use them, or the answers can be inputted online, saved, then emailed to the instructor. The site also includes a math dictionary, video tutorials, and downloadable worksheets.
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tag(s): addition (129), decimals (85), division (98), factors (29), fractions (160), measurement (122), multiplication (122), number sense (69), subtraction (110), time (91), video (266), worksheets (69)

This site offers practice in secondary mathematics topics using fun activities such as games, and Math With the Movies, and a cool activity called "MathCaching." "MathCaching" uses the internet to find hidden boxes to reveal clues to the games. Your success at "MathCaching" is dependent upon your skills at solving mathematical problems. Answers to caching activities can only be retrieved through email - teachers must email the site administrator from an educational email address, parents need to register on the site then email the administrators. Explanations for all activities are available onsite. Junior Math Resources has a section with free samples for teacher use. The printables and multimedia materials covers sixth grade math through Pre Algebra with the intent of to energize students' mathematical experiences. And, there is much more to explore!

tag(s): logic (161), problem solving (233), puzzles (149)

This website aims to be the online hub for everything related to Pi, and to promote fun with math! Although a portion of the site contains links to shopping for Pi-related items, there are many valuable resources within the site to use in the classroom. Beginners can learn about Pi through the short explanation at the Learn About Pi link. Under the Celebrate Pi tab, be sure to look at Ways to Celebrate Pi Day for ten classroom ideas - suggestions include eating pie, contests for memorizing the most digits, Pi research ideas, and more.
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tag(s): flips (6), pi (29), puzzles (149), vocabulary (238)

This site offers several different resources and materials for learning Algebra and Pre-Calculus. There is an Arithmetic, Algebra, and Pre-Calculus dictionary which contains in-depth explanation for terms found in these courses. Most explanations include images and written definitions of concepts. The link to lessons contains many Geometry and Algebra lessons including warm-ups, vocabulary, and assignments. The link to "Good Stuff" includes interactives, graph paper, and masters of activities. The site is a little difficult to navigate, especially within the lessons section; however, the material is useful and would complement any resources already being used in the classroom and are worth exploring.

tag(s): charts and graphs (171), dictionaries (47), vocabulary (238)

This site offers many puzzles and math logic activities in an easy to use format. Puzzles are sorted by difficulty level and topic such as logic, geometry, or math. New puzzles are indicated on the home page and is updated often. There is also a quiz of the day and that solution can be accessed without registration. Puzzles can be accessed without registering to the site; however, to receive solutions, you must register then solutions will be sent via email. You may want to consider setting up a separate email account (gmail) specifically for the site so that each student doesn't have to register individually.
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tag(s): logic (161), puzzles (149)