March 2006

Featured Topic: Spring -- a Time to Grow

Spring's warm weather brings thoughts of gardens and planting.   It also signals the beginning of "spring cleaning" season at home.   Consider combining these spring rituals by taking time to clean out old, tired classroom practices or activities and try some different strategies that involve students more actively in creating meaning.   Then check out the Technology Links below for some good math webquest activities that require students to use the internet and higher-order thinking skills to investigate real-world math applications and present their findings to the class for evaluation.

• See Instructional Strategies for some suggested ideas that promote active participation by each student. There are also links to good information on classroom management, cooperative learning, and differentiation to augment any teacher's "bag of tricks."
• See Active Participation" Using Templates for a discussion of how teachers are using templates in sheet protectors to support student learning of important skills and concepts.   You will also find links to many generic templates you can download for use in your own classroom.
• See Math Enrichment Activities for a collection of math enrichment activities and projects that are available on the internet.   After testing, many teachers find time to have students complete individual or small group math projects in the fourth marking period.

Featured Technology Links: Mathematical Webquests

Many teachers use webquests in different content areas.   The sites below are examples of how mathematical topics may be investigated using the internet.

• Searching for Solutions: a web-based problem solving unit created by Judy Campf.   This site provides practice in each of the different strategies before students complete the evaluation section where they must choose appropriate strategies to solve 3 problems from a menu of choices.   A scoring rubric is provided to evaluate student responses.
• Step Right Up! Create a Classroom Carnival: is a Math Webquest for 4th Graders that requires students to investigate carnival games on the web and choose a game that will make money for the school carnival.
• Chocolate Chip Cookies: to Eat or Not to Eat is a Webquest for Grades 3-5 that integrates science, math and language arts by asking students to investigate whether or not our favorite chocolate chip cookies are, in fact, not good for us.
• Would You Recommend It? a webquest on evaluating math games online.
• Local Student Chased Up a Tree!!!: a math webquest that requires students to use math skills to figure out whether or not the student was rescued since the bottom of the news article is missing.
• Fun with Patterns: a Kindergarten Webquest
• The Shape of Our World webquest for primary students.
• Quilting Our Way Through Geometry
• Miss K's Geometry Scavenger Hunt

Create Your Own Mathematical Webquests

Now that you have experience with Webquests created by others, it's time to create your own original webquests to provide real-life applications of curricular topics you teach.

• See The Webquest Page for links and helps in creating a webquest
• Download Webquest Templates for both Mac and PC platforms.
• See Template to Assist Teachers as they design webquests.
• Read The Webquest Design Process for a flowchart approach to design as well as links to develop each step.
• See Readings and Training Materials for more information and links to help teachers design webquests.
• Work with a team of teachers to peruse A Webquest About Webquests and examine the good and bad points of webquest examples on the web then integrate the best ideas into your own original webquest design.