Deb's Mathematics Blog

New this week are 10 worksheets in PDF on identifying the pairs on the grids, an early algebra concept. Once you're done, try plotting some of your own pairs on your own blank graphs.

See also: Pre-Algebra Worksheets

I'm often asked what the strategies are to improve math scores or SAT scores. Like anything else, improving performance in math requires a few simple strategie:

• Attend class! Skipping class will most definitely lead to 'swiss cheeze', gaps in learning!
• Position yourself in class where you won't be distracted. Don't be afraid of the front row. I've often wondered what the research would indicateement regarding overall achiev about those students who sit in the front row versus those in the back. My own experience tells me that my best learners were always in the front rows.
• Review, practice and when you don't understand a specific concept, get immediate help! Like anything else, math requires doing and practicing, rarely do you get better without review and practicing.
• Select your circle of friends wisely. Friends that are dedicated to their studies.

That pretty much sums it up, no rocket science here.

For additional help, see the worksheets and the tutoring section.

Check out the length of your ring and index fingers! In a study (Brit­ish Jour­nal of Psy­chol­o­gy), re­search­ers com­pared the fin­ger lengths of 75 seven-year-old chil­dren with stand­ard­ized test scores. They discovered a link be­tween math and lit­er­a­cy per­for­mance and the rel­a­tive lengths of their in­dex and ring fin­gers. However, Dr Brosnan states that they're not suggesting that finger length measurements could replace SAT tests!

So is your ring finger longer than your index finger or vice versa? Read more and pass your own judgement on this one!

Learners regardless of age don't learn merely by lecture or by watching. Instead, learners need to be engaged in a hands on fashion. That's just common sense. Young learners, to fully understand early math concepts will enjoy the hands on activities ad 'Math Cats' The activities found at Math Cats include: Village of Shapes, Number City, Polygon Empire, Toothpick Empire State Building, Tree of Hexagons and much, much more. Whether you're a homeschooler or a K-6 teacher, you will no doubt find helpful activities that provide hands on experience, motivate and teach some of the early math concepts.

If you're a math teacher or have responsibilities for teaching math this year, start collecting fun and unusual math problems now. Have a problem of the week or problem of the day ready and let the students work on it for bell work or when they've finished their work early. Engage your students by keeping them thinking and on their toes all year. Here are a few stumpers to get you started.

See also, word problem worksheets for the 1st to 8th grades.

Apparently our innate sense of numbers is logarithmic as opposed to linear according to Scientific American Mind. I always though that my own mind worked much more like a number line so I found this tidbit somewhat interesting and I certainly wouldn't mind learning about the methods and analysis used for this research study.

Whether you're a homeschooler, parent or educator, ordinal numbers should be taught during the learning of counting concepts. Ordinal numbers refer to a specific position and children should be able to identify the positional place by its ordinal name. Lineups tend to teach young learners a lot about first and last, but everything in between had an ordinal name as well. These free worksheets focus on the ordinal names from first to last using car races and ice cream scoops to teach the concept.

If you're taking the SATs this October 4th '08, the deadline to register is September 9th (and August 26th if you're an international student). 2008 dates are, October 4th, November 1 and December 6th. Be sure to check out the registration information if you plan on taking the plunge. Remember, most colleges in the US accept the SATs as a part of its admissions process which is why more than two million students take the SAT every year.

Spice your lesson up with a movie or two! Math and the Movies from Mathbits.com provides you with a list of movies containing a math concept or two. You'll find teaching ideas, links to the movie clips and a powerpoint overview that provides you with the lowdown on using the clips as lessons. The materials were designed to help you enhance content across the high school mathematics curricula.

For parents and students stocking up on back-to-school gear, Texas Instruments latest graphing calculator is one purchase that is a must for the math student.

"The TI-Nspire graphing calculator has proven its value in my classes," said Eric Butterbaugh, algebra and geometry teacher at Bread & Roses Integrated Arts High School in Harlem, New York. "What used to take days to teach, now takes moments because students can explore and test math relationships on their own. My students now have a deeper understanding of what I teach in the classroom and can apply it in different ways later."

Remember, this calculator is also permitted on the SATs. For more information and how to purchase.