News
January 22, 2002
National Math Trail News
1) New Awards Offered for Submissions
2) Kay Toliver's Math Trail Assessment Rubric
4) Sampling of New Math Trail Submissions
5) National Math Trail Training Institute Trails
The National Math Trail is now in its third year, thanks to support from the Department of Education's Star Schools initiative through SERC (the Satellite Education Resources Consortium) and NEC Foundation of America. There are almost 800 community-based math problems from classrooms in 26 states and two foreign countries on the National Math Trail map (www.nationalmathtrail.org). You can share with your students even more of the richness and variety of math in communities across the U.S. and in other countries as well.
During year two the National Math Trail tripled the number of registered users, much of which is due to intensive outreach done by project staff resulting in links to the project from more than 750 schools and educational web sites.
Two New Awards Offered for Winning Submissions
Include an interview with a professional in your community in your math trail and win a Kay Toliver video.
The first five submissions received in 2002 with video included will receive the acclaimed one-hour PBS special, "Math, Who Needs It?!" with Jaime Escalante and a host of celebrities.
Coming soon: Contest for most creative use of the National Math Trail. Winner will be chosen by vote from NMT teachers and will receive a digital camera.
We've
had lots of requests for using the National Math Trail as an assessment tool.
Kay Toliver has created an assessment rubric.
Check it out at:
www.nationalmathtrail.org/assessing_math_trail_projects.html.
Many teachers are preparing math trail submissions using Microsoft Word. Here's a simple way to create your own web page:
Open a new Word document and create your math problems. You can insert photos or images that you have saved to your hard drive by using the "insert" and the "picture" commands at the top toolbar. When you save the document, click on "save as web page". Use the submission forms at the National Math Trail site and make sure to attach your web page and also the other files that go with it. You will see two different types of files saved with the same name - send them all. That way, your pictures will arrive along with your web page.
The "Magic City Math Trail" by Susan Clopton and her middle school students in Birmingham, Alabama.
"The Neon Delinquents" is one of several intriguing math trails sent in by Jean Ervin's Upward Bound "Math in Real Life" students in Kalispell, Montana.
Laura Marcott's kindergarteners from South Hamilton Community Schools in Jewell, Iowa, compared prices in stores in four separate communities.
Elisabeth Freiere's eighth and ninth grade students at Our Lady of Mercy American School, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tackled the daunting problem of figuring out how to cover the statue of "Christ the Redeemer" during its restoration process. The statue is considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World.
Margy Price's students at Cline Elementary in Friendswood, Texas, covered everything from counting Space Shuttle launches to comparing the size of their two playgrounds.
Christina Walton's seventh grade algebra students at the Merritt Academy in Fairfax, VA spent a day on the National Mall in Washington D.C. conducting a survey regarding the W.W.II monument and other possible honorees of future monuments.
Math trails that capture the uniqueness of seven cities with problems created by Dave Hendry, Chief Curriculum Officer for The Futures Channel, are now posted at the site. The cities include: Fresno, California; San Diego, California; DeKalb County, Georgia; Prince George's County, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.
For information on training institutes contact Dave Hendry.
If you can't attend a National Math Trail Training Institute, check out the National Math Trail kits. Each kit contains:
Two
award-winning video programs-Good Morning Miss Toliver and the
"Math Trail" episode of Teacher Talk-featuring master and
award-winning teacher Kay Toliver and her students doing the Math Trail
activities.
Tutorial
CD-ROM, with instructions and templates for creating an Internet
submission to the National Math Trail.
This CD-ROM also includes an orientation to the Math Trail activity,
correlating curriculum standards, and examples of real world mathematics,
which will motivate and stimulate teacher and student creativity.
Staff Development and lesson resources print guide. This guide provides educators with all the necessary tools to develop and implement this exciting resource in their curriculum, including sample problems that have been successful in other classrooms. It also includes complete guidelines on planning and delivering your own Math Trail training session!
For information on the National Math Trail kits, log on to http://www.fasenet.org/store/nmtkits/index.htm.
We're looking forward to posting your math trails. As always, we're here to help. If you need assistance, advice, ideas, please contact me.
Best regards,
Racquel
Skolnik
National Math Trail Project Producer
FASE Productions
4801 Wilshire Blvd. #215
Los Angeles, CA 90010
323-937-9911
Fax: 323-937-7440
racquel@fasenet.org
www.nationalmathtrail.org
March 29, 2001
NATIONAL
MATH TRAIL NEWS
Awards
and Recognition
Figure
This!, a web site of math challenges for families is featuring the National Math
Trail. (www.figurethis.org/awards.htm).
The
National Math Trail has been selected as a featured site on Lightspan's StudyWeb
as one of the best educational resources on the Web. Go to www.studyweb.com
and then to Professional Development: Curriculum Resources: Collaborative
Activities: Mathematics: General Resources. New Math Trail Submission
From
zoos to shoes, Leslie Murray, technology coordinator at North Brookfield
Elementary School in Central Massachusetts, worked with the math teachers in her
school to create 11 terrific Math Trails. Go to www.nationalmathtrail.org
and click on "Submissions" and then MA on the map to check them out.
National
Math Trail Institutes Filling Up Fast
Two-day
staff development workshops hosted by master teacher Kay Toliver and facilitated
by noted Canadian math trail expert Ron Lancaster are scheduled for New Orleans,
LA (May 1-2); Philadelphia, PA (July 20-21); San Diego, CA (August 14-15).
Check
out the online brochure and information at www.thefutureschannel.com/nmtti_registration.
Other locations are also being planned. Call Jason Dean (toll free) at
877-937-7515, Ext. 238 for more information.
Come See Us at NCTM
Want
to meet the National Math Trail-blazers? We'll be at NCTM, along with Kay
Toliver, who is delivering the keynote speech this year. Come to booth 1927 and
pick up some posters. You can also check out The Futures Channel and teaching
resources from FASE (The Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education)
while you're there -
Math
Trail Question of the Week
"I
have never created a web page before in my life. Can I still send math problems
to the National Math Trail?"
Web
sites of Interest
http://204.165.132.2:90/Adventure/
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/
http://wneo.org/gasp/
3.09.01
The
National Math Trail has been chosen the “EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SITE OF THE
WEEK” by e-School News "The #1 weekly newsletter for K-12 technology
decision makers" Over 150,000 readers! Visit them at http://www.eschoolnews.org.
Take a look at two new Math Trail submissions: Elkander, Iowa and Spring Lake,
New Jersey. To do so follow this link http://www.nationalmathtrail.org
then click on "submissions" then click on NJ then click on H.W. Mountz
Elementary 2001. For the Elkader, Iowa submission go back to the map,
click on IA then Elkader, IA.
Math Trail Question of the Week
Question:
It's difficult to take my students out of the classroom due to administrative
prohibitions, and it's just plain hard to find the time to go on an actual math
trail. I'd like to participate. Any suggestions?
Solution: You can create a classroom Math Trail. Have students find
photographs in your local newspaper and create math problems related to what
they find. Post them at various "stations" around your classroom
and have students "walk the trail" and find answers to the math
problems at each station, or even better yet, have them make up their own math
problems and then have students pass around their questions for others to solve.
Another
idea is to create a School Campus Trail. Since math exists all around you,
there is no limit to the math you can find right where you are. You can
assign a Math Trail as a homework assignment. Ask students to find
examples of math on the Trail from their home to school, or in their own homes
(with their parents). Have them do it as a project over a weekend – let
them team up with other students. See what they come back with.
Marci McGowan’s first grade class at HW Mountz Elementary was unable to get
out of their classroom as a result of some nasty weather. That did not
stop this creative teacher from taking her little ones on a super fun Math
Trail. She writes:
"It's been a cold, snowy winter in Spring Lake, New Jersey! We
certainly missed the opportunity to find a math problem during our outside
recess time. However we did find an interesting problem right in our own
'classroom community'.
"First graders are often amazed to find out that other places might have
the same name. Washington, DC and the state of Washington are on opposite sides
of the country. Right here in New Jersey, there's more than one town of
Washington. With this in mind, we decided to extend our usual study of weather
and record weather conditions in other "Spring Lake" communities as
well as our own. Using the Internet, we found four other "Spring
Lakes": in North Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota, and Michigan.
"The students had previously been introduced to reading a thermometer and
were able to locate the temperature readings on the weather website. They
wondered how math could be used to learn more about weather. Elizabeth suggested
that '...you use math to tell how fast a storm is coming.' Other students
thought that knowing the temperature helps to decide what to wear or do.
"We had a great time looking for the math in weather study. When the
local weather improves, we can 'hit
the trail' and be on the lookout for even more math!"
Click below to see Marci McGowan's new National Math Trail submission
http://www.nationalmathtrail.org
then click on "submissions" then click on NJ then click on H.W. Mountz
Elementary 2001.
Websites of interest:
Real-world math activities related to investing, music and taking trips. http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4116/
Real-world Connections Message Board on the popular Mrs. Glosser's Math
Goodies site.
http://mathgoodies.iqthost.com/cgi-bin/real_world.cgi
Math activities related to things like manufacturing Nabisco cookies, making a
profit on athletic shoes and distribution of LL Bean catalogue products. http://www.mie.eng.wayne.edu/faculty/chelst/informs/introduction/project.htm
2.27.01
Additionally, each week we will be letting you
know about links to Websites that contain resources you might find helpful when working on your Math Trails.Question: Why do you generally have students
working in teams on the Math Trail?Answer: You could have students do the math
trail individually if you wish, but when they work in teams you will find that they will tend to communicate to each other about what they are doing, and when they are explaining things to each other they are also improving their own grasp of the concepts involved. You will find that when three or four students work in small groups, they are more likely to up with creative and interesting problems than they would working alone.Make sure your speakers are turned on! Listen to
Kay Toliver talking about the value of students working in group activities. (From the Decimals episode of the series, "The Kay Toliver Files".)Websites of interest:
Click on bonus.com, and you'll go to "Real
World Math for kids" and ways to use math in everyday things.For anyone doing math problems related to Native
Americans, here's the geometry site for you: www.earthmeasure.com.For lots of interactive graphing models, this
site allows you to create graphs and copy them to a document or web page. www.exploremath.com/activities/index.cfm
2.16.01
We are pleased to announce a new award for all teachers who make a National
Math Trail Submission: You can choose one from a selection of videos from
the award-winning archives of FASE Productions.
---------------------------------
Are you planning to create a Math Trail yet have some concerns? Here is a
problem that one teacher expressed to us:
Problem: I would like to create a Math Trail, but I don’t have time to take
my students out into my community.
Solution: If time is an issue, you don’t really need to send your students
into the neighborhood. You can create a Classroom Math Trail or even a School
Campus Math Trail. Since math exists all around you, there is no limit to
the math you can find right where you are. Students can also work on a math
trail as a homework assignment. Let them find the math that exists on a
“Trail” from their home to school, or even in their own homes—perhaps with
their parents. Have them do it as a home project over a weekend. It’s a good
opportunity to have them team up with their classmates. See what they come
back with.
Below is a letter from Roxanna Kerns, a 4th grade teacher, who addresses this
problem:
“Our area has cold, snowy, winters, which make going out on a math trail in the
winter rather hard. I will give these problems to my students to work in class.
This will help us with Missouri history while integrating mathematics. Then in
May we will walk to a nearby park to create our own Math Trail booklets using
the math they find on the trip to and at the park.
“I have taken students on a Math Trail for the last four years
(ever since I saw
the Kay Toliver video). It always amazes me to see the excitement in my students
as they discover the math around them. After the excursion they then tell me about
math problems the find at recess, at lunch, on field trips, etc. for weeks.
“I also have done Math Trail workshops and it is just as exciting to see teachers
who have just been introduced to this concept get as excited as the students.
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful and exciting way to teach math.
Math is everywhere; it just takes a trail to find the child’s thrill in
learning!”
Sincerely,
Roxanna Kearns
1.19.01
NEWS ITEMS FROM THE NATIONAL MATH TRAIL
We asked people where they heard about the National Math Trail and were amazed at the variety of responses we got back...
I heard about the site from our Education to Careers coordinator in Iroquois Kankakee County
...Happy Trails!
Racquel Skolnik
Producer
National Math Trail
FASE Productions
4801 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 215
Los Angeles, CA 90010
323.937.9911
323.937.7440 fax
2.16.01
We are pleased to announce a new award for all teachers who make a National
Math Trail Submission: You can choose one from a selection of videos from
the award-winning archives of FASE Productions.
---------------------------------
Are you planning to create a Math Trail yet have some concerns? Here is a
problem that one teacher expressed to us:
Problem: I would like to create a Math Trail, but I don’t have time to take
my students out into my community.
Solution: If time is an issue, you don’t really need to send your students
into the neighborhood. You can create a Classroom Math Trail or even a School
Campus Math Trail. Since math exists all around you, there is no limit to
the math you can find right where you are. Students can also work on a math
trail as a homework assignment. Let them find the math that exists on a
“Trail” from their home to school, or even in their own homes—perhaps with
their parents. Have them do it as a home project over a weekend. It’s a good
opportunity to have them team up with their classmates. See what they come
back with.
Below is a letter from Roxanna Kerns, a 4th grade teacher, who addresses this
problem:
“Our area has cold, snowy, winters, which make going out on a math trail in the
winter rather hard. I will give these problems to my students to work in class.
This will help us with Missouri history while integrating mathematics. Then in
May we will walk to a nearby park to create our own Math Trail booklets using
the math they find on the trip to and at the park.
“I have taken students on a Math Trail for the last four years
(ever since I saw
the Kay Toliver video). It always amazes me to see the excitement in my students
as they discover the math around them. After the excursion they then tell me about
math problems the find at recess, at lunch, on field trips, etc. for weeks.
“I also have done Math Trail workshops and it is just as exciting to see teachers
who have just been introduced to this concept get as excited as the students.
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful and exciting way to teach math.
Math is everywhere; it just takes a trail to find the child’s thrill in
learning!”
Sincerely,
Roxanna Kearns
1.19.01
NEWS ITEMS FROM THE NATIONAL MATH TRAIL
We asked people where they heard about the National Math Trail and were amazed at the variety of responses we got back...
I heard about the site from our Education to Careers coordinator in Iroquois Kankakee County
...Happy Trails!
Racquel Skolnik
Producer
National Math Trail
FASE Productions
4801 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 215
Los Angeles, CA 90010
323.937.9911
323.937.7440 fax