It’s Monday, and time for Homeschool Resources: Math. I would like to ask you to check out these Recommended Website: If you’ve used these resources in the past what did you think of them and why?
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) At this archived website you will find interesting corn-themed activities and lessons in math (and more!) that are geared for about 4th grade and up. However, there is material that younger children will enjoy as well.
When you get to the site you will see quick facts about corn math, corn products, and corn geography. But that’s not all! There is a menu at the top of the page with lessons and web-based activities designed for classroom use (that can be tweaked for home use) that include:
- History Detective – A remarkable exploration of the history of corn including Native American folk tales about corn.
- Scavenger Hunt – Take the challenge and find the answers to the questions about corn by following Internet links to information resources. Then take the “Corny Quiz.”
- Newsroom – Develop a video segment about corn production for KORN-TV by following the lesson plan and using web-based research.
- Mystery Photo – An exploration of the microscopic world of corn.
- Amazing Mazes: Find out about the history of corn mazes. Then create your own computer-generated maze!
Then on the side bar, check out:
- Teachers – The teacher section offers an outline of the lessons contained at this site, along with information on curriculum standards addressed by the lessons. It provides background and resources that will help with lesson presentation. Remember, this was designed with the classroom teacher in mind – so some of this may not be as helpful to the home educator.
- Resources – Contains many links to other websites about corn.
Note: Many of the links on this site are good, but we did find a few dead links since this is an archived site. Regardless, there is so much information here that the dead links are more of a nuisance than a deterrent to learning.
Recommended Website: SMILE: Mathematics
Age Range: 6-18 (Grades 1-12, with parental supervision) This website archives lessons from the Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE) program that trained teachers and educators in effective classroom and lesson presentations.
Participants contributed tried-and-true lesson plans in Mathematics (as well as Biology, Chemistry and Physics) for elementary and high school grades that you can print out and use for free.
When you get to the website you’ll see a brief introduction and an icon menu. Click on the RED circle with the word “Mathematics” underneath it. A new page will open containing a menu of math lessons divided into the following categories:
- Geometry and Measurement
- Patterns and Logic
- Probability and Statistics
- Recreational and Creative Math
- Practical and Applied Math
- Arithmetic
- Graphs and Visuals
- Algebra and Trigonometry
- Miscellaneous
Click on any lesson and a new page opens with the objectives, a list of materials required, and instructions or strategies on how to present the lesson or activity.
The lessons and activities are not obviously sorted by grade range – so you’ll need to read through the titles to determine which ones will be better suited for your particular child/student.
There are no bells and whistles here, and no multi-media enticements. This archived site just offers classroom-tested lessons and activities that you can print out and tweak for use offline at home.
Just FYI: We opened quite a few lessons and found an occasional “rogue” incomplete lesson. Don’t let that deter you from using this resource.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
