Creator: Kalid Azad | visit site
Grade Range: 8 - 11
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.
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Choose the appropriate topic, explore the explanation as a class, and then ask students to provide an explanation in their own words. Transform learning by challenging students to create their own multimedia presentation of one of the topics presented on the site using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools <a href="/content/edge.cfm?c=18">reviewed here</a>. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): <a href="/single.cfm?id=18378">Adobe Spark for Education</a>, <a href="/single.cfm?id=11150">Kizoa</a>, and <a href="/single.cfm?id=18458">Synth</a>.
At Home
Choose a topic your student is studying in math, ask them to explore an explanation on this site, and then put it in their own words.
Tags
problem solving, mental math, pi, statistics, exponents, pythagorean theorem, vectors, square roots, number sense,