Great Stuff

This part of the webpage will highlight "best practices" in math education.

Advanced  Placement (AP)

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/

AP Central is the official online home for anyone interested in or involved with the Pre-AP or AP Programs.

Math Spark Notes

Site describes content and test strategies for taking ACT content tests.

Assessment

http://www.act.org/standard/infoserv.html

Linking Assessment to Instruction

MEAP Released Items

High school released items.

Lesson Plans

http://edsitement.neh.gov/

Uses Marco Polo to search lesson plans.

Graphic Organizers

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm

Excellent site for templates.

Probem Solving Strategy

This school developed problem solving formula highlighted by NCA in Elm Dale School in Greenfield, Wisconsin has produced dramatic increases in math scores.

Identifying a need is only the first step in raising achievement. Through discussions at faculty meetings as well as small committee meetings, the staff decided that a school wide step-by-step formula that the students could follow would be a useful tool. One of the staff members created and presented a formula that had been successfully used in fifth grade classes. After considering the needs of the students, as well as their strengths and weaknesses relating to problem solving, consensus was reached on the formula that would be used. The staff felt that it was imperative that a common language be established to ensure continuity in instruction and practice throughout the grades. The formula was then modified for the younger students.

Problem Solving Formula

1. Read the problem.
2. What do I know?
* Is there any information I don't need?
* Are there units of measure? Do they need to be converted?

3. What do I need to find out?
4. Solve it.
* Decide on an operation.
* Why did I choose this operation?
* Computation. (Work out the problem)
* State the answer in a sentence.

5. Does this answer make sense? Why?

Vocabulary

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

The Visual Thesaurus is a 3D interactive reference tool, powered by Thinkmap, that gets students of all ages excited about words.

Curriculum Committee Meeting Dates

High School meetings begin at 2:45 p.m., Middle School meetings at 3:30 p.m. and Elementary School meetings begin at 4:15 p.m.  Next meeting is on May 21, 2008 at Ten Eyck/ASC.

MDE Information/GLCE's

This heading will give the most recent updates on changes in the state GLCE's.

Teaching & Learning Opportunities

This section will feature upcoming professional development opportunities.

Michigan Learnport - this free teacher resource has three great resource opportunities.

1. ASSIST courses provide professional development online through the Michigan Department of Education.  Most are free and many offer SB-CEU's.  A list of courses can be downloaded in a pdf file from the website.
2. Answers.com - this search engine allows you do find encyclopedic definiitions for any term as well as additional links.
3. Net Trekker DI - this search engine is color coded as to grade level (Elementary=orange, Middle School=purple, High School=light blue) to find content area links for lesson research or for background information.  All links are reviewed and additional features include biographies, timelines, English learner sites, etc..

District Curriculum Benchmarks & GLCES

The following are documents that detail the CMP and GLCE alignment for middle school math.

Sixth Grade

Seventh

Eighth

NCTM & MCTM News

This section list the next state and national meetings and current headline news.  You may also go directly to their websites using the links to the left.

NCTM E-Workshops

NCTM E-Workshops

Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics

59th Annual Conference

Holt High School, Holt, Michigan

August 5-8, 2008

MCTM conference registration

District PD Information

District Wide PD will resume in August, 2008.

Parent Resources

The following weblinks provide practice worksheets, tutorials, and remedial help.

Pre-algebra interactive tutorial

This site features a free online interactive tutorial for pre-algebra
students that is rich in games, puzzles, and other visual media
content.  It is an excellent resource for parents and educators of
students at the middle-school level.  Access to the tutorial requires no fee or registration.

math_resources_3 (Homeschool math site w/lots of practice opportunities)

index (Site w/formulas galore and reference to other helpful sites)

A Family's Guide: Fostering Your Child's Success in School Mathematics (NCTM award winning guide for parents)