Monday, May 7, 2012

Mathalicious

In the United States, 61% of middle school students say they’d rather take out the garbage than do their math homework. If you ask students why they dislike math so much they’ll often say, “I don’t know what it means or when I’ll ever use it.” To many, math is just a bunch of random steps to memorize and regurgitate. 
(excerpt from Mathalicious)


Mathalicious is trying to change this perception by tying together real-world, interesting questions with practical math concepts. For example: Why does everyone pay the same amount to buy Nike shoes online? Surely the cost of making a size 2 is much less than a 12. What would happen is Nike charged by weight? The common core standards are listed beside the topic slideshow and downloadable teacher guide/student handout.




Some of the lessons on Mathalicous are free. Others require a paid subscription. The suggested contribution is $20/month. However, they follow a "pay what you can" philosophy that would allow the strapped teacher to join for as little as $5/month. An annual school license is also available.

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