Grade 1 Math

In the Grade 1 Math Curriculum there is a unit on Adding. I found a great website for students to learn about Math and addition of whole numbers. In this unit you are to teach students about addition of whole numbers and about how to add when reading it in a sentence. So an example may be, For lunch, Mr. J's class ordered 13 hot dogs and Mrs. B's class ordered 7 hot dogs. How many hot dogs need to be made? I found a great site that allows the students to practice their math skills. The site is called Knowledge Box Math, it is a part of FactMonster. This site will allow students to learn about Math in a fun and interactive way. The site also will give the children lots of praise when they get a answer right and even if they get one wrong they still give them praise, which is good for children at that age. To play this game the students would go to the site and choose the grade that they are in. Then the game begins and students are shown several different groups of animals and the students have to add them up and put down the correct answer out of three choices.

To use this website in the classroom, I would teach the students their lesson on addition of whole numbers and instead assigning work out of the book, I would give them an assignment on the website. I would have them keep track on paper which ones they got right and which they got wrong and after we would go over the answers. Also if the students get all the answers right I would allow the students to move ahead to the next grade level and see how good they do with the next grade level math. I would also tell the students to use this site at home and practice their math with their parents. Using this site in the classroom allows for change in the students day. It changes things up, from their regular routine and it gives the a break from always doing math in their textbooks. Also the students we love doing math becuase it is a game and the students won't look at it like they are doing actual work and they will be learning without even knowing it.

I used this site in my EPS 200 field placement while teaching the children about Math and the students loved how they were allowed to do the work on the computer instead of at their desks and in their notebooks. It made the students try harder with their math, cause they didn't want to get an answer wrong and lose the game, as they were having some much fun with the game. Also the children in the class liked it so much that a lot of them started playing the game and practicing their math at home. I think that finding ways to change things up in your classroom will keep the students inerested in their learning. The students lose interest when it is the same thing over and over. That is why sites like this one allow the students to have fun while still doing their work and still learning about math. Incorporapting technology into the classroom and into all subjects makes learning fun and interactive for the students.