Feature Topic: Math

iLearn Technology is dedicated to giving teachers practical tips for integrating technology into the classroom. All of the resources are free to use and simple to implement. This column is a weekly Friday feature, don’t miss it!

Max’s Math Adventures

What it is:

Max’s Math Adventures teaches students math skills (kindergarten-second grade) through fun adventures. Skills include shapes, counting to 30, comparing and ordering, linear measurement, whole number addition, sorting and classifying, patterns, addition, subtraction, equal parts (fractions), counting to 100, size comparison, estimation up to 100, time, money, adding 2-digit numbers, simple graphing, number patterns, and concrete multiplication.

How to integrate Max’s Math Adventures into your math curriculum:

Set up a math adventure as a center during math time. Use a projector and use a math adventure as an opening to a math unit. Work through the adventure as a class before the new skill is taught.

Tips:

Be sure to check out the teachers guide for some great tips on using the site in your classroom!

Go to Max’s Math Adventures now

I Know That Math

What it is:

I Know That Math is a site that teaches and encourages math practice through fun games and activities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Activities include math stories where students get familiar with word problems, money workshop, speed building games, an arithmetic workshop where students learn about place value, fraction workshop, real world geometry practice, Leon’s Math Movies where students construct their own knowledge about math concepts, math practice with counters, and more.

How to integrate I Know That Math into your math curriculum:

Introduce a new math concept with Leon’s Math Movies. Let students explore with Leon before your teaching. Students can get great fact practice on this site. Use it as a center during math time or as an extended activity.

Tips:

I Know That has some advertisements on its site, these can be removed by purchasing a subscription. I use the sites advertisements to teach my students about how to spot ads on a website and to teach why some sites have ads. Check out the teachers guide for each game and activity for some great ideas.

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Knowledge Box

What it is:

Knowledge Box has math, science, language arts, and social studies games and videos for primary elementary students. These games are interactive and very impressive. The math section includes a video about finding numerals, a cute “ballet” and song about patterns, a shape game called Space Shapes, and a subtraction game called Math Maze. The language arts section includes a great little video called When Two Vowels Go Walking, a folk tale called The Wise Old Women, a picture pick game based on the short “a”, and a folktale. The science section includes a video about the basics of electricity, a health video about organs (catchy songs), a physical science game about force and motion, and a young scientist virtual experiment on growing plants. The social studies section includes a video about the balance of nature, a video about storms, a game about different viewpoints, and a game to teach map and globe vocabulary.

How to integrate Knowledge Box into the classroom:

Use Knowledge box as an introduction to an activity or unit. Students can use some of the interactive science games with the scientific method. Have students experiment in the online environment and record their hypothesis, test and results of their experiments. Use the videos to support your curriculum. Students can watch the videos in a center setting or all at once with the projector. These are content rich games and videos and will support any curriculum well!

Tips:

Knowledge Box is a media rich website and will require a fairly quick Internet connection. Make sure that your connection speed is adequate before assigning games on Knowledge Box.

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Hands on Banking

What it is:

Hands on Banking is a free, fun financial education program that presents the basics of smart money management in an easy to use format game. Topics include budgeting, the importance of saving, bank accounts and services, borrowing money, establishing credit, investing, and more. The curriculum is appropriate for 4th through 12th grades.

How to integrate Hands on Banking into your curriculum:

Use the Hands on Banking site as an extended learning activity for the economics or math classroom. Activities can be customized for each age group. The site works best in a computer lab setting because it takes time to get through the entire game. Use this activity at the end of an economics or money unit as a culminating activity.

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Curious George

What it is:

PBS Kids Curious George website features several games featuring the popular Curious George character for kindergarten students. All games encourage growth in math and science. Students will use counting skills, observation skills, listening skills, logic skills, basic engineering skills, measuring skills, basic addition and subtraction, color creation, mouse manipulation skills, categorizing skills, and recording skills.

How to integrate Curious George into your classroom:

Use the Curious George website during math and science time as a center. Students can stop by the center individually if you have a classroom with several computers, or in small groups in the one to two computer classroom. The site has 13 wonderful games that can be used as extended learning activities in math and science class.

Tips:

Visit the Teacher section for Extended learning activities, lesson plans, and related video clips. Be sure to bookmark this page for easy access. Because there are so many games, this may be a site you use often to reinforce skills learned in the classroom.

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Inspired Learning

What it is:

Inspired learning is a collection of lesson plans and ideas for using visual software such as Inspiration, and Kidspiration in the classroom.

How to integrate Inspired Learning into your curriculum:

Use Inspired Learning for ideas and lessons to integrate visual software into the classroom. If you don’t already have visual, mind mapping software, you can download Free Mind open source (free) software to use with the lessons and ideas.

Tips:

Click on the Educators Resource page on Inspired Learning for a free trial version of Inspiration and Kidspiration.

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Doodle Bops

What it is:

The Doodle Bops website is fun learning for pre-kindergarten through first grade students. Students can write a letter, play virtual hide and go seek, paint pictures, play games that encourage following oral directions, virtual dot to dots for counting practice, and other games to help build computer mouse skills.

How to integrate Doodle Bops into your classroom:

Allow kids to interact with the Doodle Bops site during center time. The site is easy to navigate and very kid friendly. Use the site to build computer skills before introducing more complex sites.

Tips:

Visit the Printables page at the bottom of the site for coloring sheets that coordinate with the Website. These would be nice to have on hand for indoor recess days.

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