Keys of Problem Solving - Resources: Websites
Websites
RHL School http://www.rhlschool.com/math.htm, is a website that features original mathematics problem solving worksheets for teachers and parents to copy for their kids. Teachers can use them for teaching, reinforcement, and review. They are most appropriate for grades four and five, but many are designed to be challenging and informative to older and more advanced students as well.
Curriculum and School Reform http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/math/archives/2005/06/problem_solving.php, offers a collection of favorite problems originally created by the members of the TEAM project. There are many commercial resources available to challenge students to become better problem solvers. This website, includes a deck of problem cards for grades 1-8, student sheets, and solutions. Many of these problems are best solved with calculators. All of these problems lend themselves to students telling and writing about their thinking.
The purpose of Math Stars Newsletters, http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/math/archives/2005/06/math_stars_news.php, is to challenge students beyond the classroom setting. Math Stars are in sets for Grades 1-8 and include commentaries for teachers. All Math Stars Newsletters are ready for classroom use and available for downloading as PDF files.
Thinking Blocks, http://www.thinkingblocks.com/Index.html, is an engaging, interactive math tool developed by classroom teachers to help students learn how to solve multistep word problems. Using brightly colored blocks, students model the relationships among the components of each word problem. With the help of a virtual teacher, students walk through a simple problem solving process and arrive at a solution. When building the models, students must identify information that is given as well as information that is unknown.
The goal of Math Stories, http://www.mathstories.com/, is to help elementary school (Grade 1st through 6th) children boost their math problem solving and critical-thinking skills. MathStories.com has over 15,000 online and printable NCTM compliant math word problems for children to enjoy! Word problems are available in both English and Spanish. MathStories.com is the website for busy teachers, eager students, and involved parents. MathStories.com is comprehensive and easy to navigate. Click on Word Problem Solving Strategies to see specific strategies for solving word problems.
The About.com website, http://math.about.com/od/wordproblem1/Worksheets_for_Word_Problems_Various_grades.htm, provides examples of word problems on worksheets for various grade levels. These worksheets are great for students to independently practice the problem solving skills they are learning.
The Access Center website www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/MathProblemSolving.asp, provides information on how to effectively teach problem solving to middle school students with disabilities. It includes explicit information as well as examples of word problems to use with exceptional education students.
Math Playground, http://www.mathplayground.com/mathtv.html, offers math problems from Math TV, a project whose goal is to help middle school students learn how to solve challenging word problems. Each math problems comes with step by step video solution, follow up problems, an online calculator, and sketch pad.
This website, http://www.uen.org/Rubric/rubric.cgi?rubric_id=13, provides a Math Problem Solving Rubric to evaluate your student’s understandings and skills in solving word problems.
'Round the Rug Math: Adventures in Problem Solving, http://www2.bc.edu/~caseyb/oview.html is a series of six books intended to supplement and enhance mathematics instruction in early childhood classrooms. Students are invited to actively participate in mathematics as they accompany the story characters on their adventures, solving problems through the use of manipulative materials and hands-on activities. Puppets, posters, and manipulative materials can be bought to accompany each book or teachers can make their own manipulatives using black-line masters at the back of each book.
