National Math Trail Participant,
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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.
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. 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:
Some interesting 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
Gil Bandel
National Math Trail
Outreach Coordinator
FASE Productions
4801 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 215
Los Angeles, CA 90010
323.937.9911
323.937.7440 fax
gil@fasenet.org
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