Funny: Who says we don't need algebraic thinking?

iPad Apps for the Classroom

Here is a list of iPad applications for the classroom.  Virtual Manipulatives and Math Squared are my favorites for the primary grades.  Enjoy, and "Keep Calm and Do the Math!"
iPad Links for the Classroom 

Uh Oh...She's Drinking the Kool-Aid Too!

Shout out to Ms. Tiffany Jackson!  She is a 2nd grade teacher at my school.  I caught her drinking the "Math Kool-Aid" in big gulps!  Her students are studying Native Americans in their social studies unit.  So, she decided to integrate what they were learning about the Creek and Cherokee into her math centers.  She created some great problems for students to solve.

Notice how she listed names of actual crops planted and utilized by these Georgia Natives?  So actually, these problems are actually similar to real-life scenarios these people would have had many years ago.  This is really rich instruction.  With her permission, I am sharing them below.  Thanks, Tiffany for giving our students quality learning experiences!  

The Celebration

A Native American family of  16 need to plan for a celebration.  They need enough corn, potatoes, and melon to feed everyone.  There should be one ear of corn for each person, 1 potato for each person, and 3 people can share a melon.  How much food should be prepared?

On the Hunt!

Cherokee Native Americans hunt and fish to get many of the things they need.  They trade some of the things from their hunt to get other things they need.  During one week, 5 hunting mates traded 65 deer, 8 elk, and 137 salmon and trout.  What information do you not need to solve this problem?  How many non-fish items did they trade?  How many items did they trade in all?  

*Challenge:  If each hunting mate had the same number of things to trade from this list, what could each person have individually to trade?   

Instructional Tip:  To help students to really make sense of the math, provide manipulatives for them to use as they reach a solution.  Encourage them to solve using pictures, numbers, and words.  

Here's a picture of Mrs. Jackson's Mathematicians!