Technology

I think technology is very important when teaching children math. There are so many programs out there that will graph lines and measure angles so the students can see similarities quickly without having to graph them all by hand. I just finished working out two of the lessons in Geometer's Sketchpad that I think will benifit many of my students. These lessons allowed students to manipulate lines and look at (and compare) slopes. I am not sure if Geometer's Sketchpad is downloaded on the computers at Wes-Del or not, I am hoping they are. This is the first time I have worked with the program and am so far pleased with what I have seen. Currently I am using a program called "Green Globs" that allows student to graph lines but not move them around or compare slopes.

As far as the other program we are using in MATHS 641, Logo Works, I have not been as impressed. I am not sure how this program will help students understand Geometry. I am hoping that by the end of the semester it will be clear and I will want to use the program more.

Amy

Vocabulary in Geoemetry

Vocabulary in Geometry is very important. When kids are little is is very easy to call everything that is round a circle, or with four sides a square (or diamond). As adults, especially as educations, we should use the correct terms (parallelogram, trapazoid, rhombus, ect) even if the words are lost on kids then it will help them as they get older. I am amazed how many High School students still do not know what a trapezoid is or why a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square.  

Using the correct vocabulary is not just important in Geometry but in other math subjects as well. I try very hard to use the defition of words every time we do something. For example, when we are graphing Linear Equations in Slope-intercept form I am very careful to not only go over the equation (y = mx + b) each time, but also what each letter stands for. Not only do we discuss that a Linear Equation means the graph will be a line, but also that m is for Slope (rise over run) and b is the y-intercept (where the line crosses the y-axis).

Amy