Text Set

Table of Contents

Applets

1. Interactive Simulations for Physics
2. Mathematics Applets
3. Mathematics Education Applets
4. Physics Games and Activities
5. Physics Applets
6. Scale of the Universe

Children’s Books

7. A Grain of Rice
8. How Much is a Million
9. If you Made a Million
10. Mathematicians are People, too; Stories from the Lives of Great...
11. Millions to Measure
12. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland
13. Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
14. Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone
15. The Dot and The Line
16. The King’s Chessboard
17. What’s Your Angle Pythagoras

Classroom Reference Books

18. Historical Topics for the Mathematics Classroom
19. Math Equals; Biographies of Women Mathematicians+Related Activities

Cartoons

20. Hilarity
21. Various Cartoons

Podcasts

22. A Brief History of Mathematics
23. Ask an Astronomer
24. Physics in Action
25. Simple Science

Programs

26. Geogebra
27. Software and Websites

Trade Books

28. Selecting Trade Books-A guide for teachers
29. Trade Books for Middle School

Videos

30. Dr. Sprotts Magic Shows
31. Mathemagic
32. NOVA Mathematics
33. Origami and Mathematics
34. Professor Walter Lewin
35. The 10th Dimension

Websites

36. Random Numbers
37. Statistics and all the Fixings
38. Wolframalpha

Please note that most of these source links take you to a place where there are a myriad of related subjects  in that particular form of text.

Applets

Interactive Simulations for Physics

Interactive simulations; university of colorado at boulder. University of Colorado, 2011. Web. 1 Apr 2012. <http://phet.colorado.edu/>.

Yet another way for students to witness physics in action (in a plethora of languages). You can adjust variables to see what would happen in extreme situations to further understand the science behind the world we live in today. It doesn’t replace physically working with science but it is a good substitute for the occasionally dull worksheet. Also, these applets are a lot nicer to look at than other ones I’ve seen.

Mathematics Applets

Larry Cannon, James Dorward, Robert Heal, Leo Edwards, et al. National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. 2010. Applets. Usu.edu, Logan, UT. Web. 3 Apr 2012. <http://nlvm.usu.edu/>.

This site offers a wide variety of mathematics applets that allow students to investigate mathematics personally. It is an inexpensive and easy way to bring manipulatives into the classroom and help students who need kinesthetic learning to grasp ideas. There are activities for every grade level and you can change the language to Spanish, French, or Chinese accommodate for ELL.

Mathematics Education Applets

"Mathematics Education Applets." Hope College Department of Mathematics. Hope College, n.d. Web. 21 Mar 2012.

These applets cover all of the major areas of mathematics. This is a fun way for students to experiment and discover the mathematical relationships using a computer. I would possibly make a use for some of these to either drive a point home or front load a class discussion.

Physics Games and Activities

"Shockwave Physics Studio." The Physics Classroom. Glenbrook South High School , 2012. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/shwave/>.

This text is more of a game for students to play to either test their understanding of physics or discover physics concepts. These would be ideal on a big screen since the print is so small on some of them but I think that unless accommodations need to be made, this could be used in a computer lab for a lab day. All of the simulations also come with task sheets to instruct and guide students.

Physics Applets

Fendt, Walter. Java Applets on Physics. 2010. Applets. n.p. Web. 25 Mar 2012. <http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/>.

This site has a ton of applets for almost everything you could want to teach in an entry level physics course. It is available in almost every language as well and is a great way to be able to “play” with the physics without having to spend all of your budget on little toys.

Scale of the Universe

Huang, Cary and Huang, Michael. "The Scale of the Universe." htwins. N.p., 2010. Web. 15 Mar 2012. <http://htwins.net/scale/index.html>.

Talk about perspective! As you scroll through the universe arranged by size it shows how small or how large some things really are. I would love to use this when teaching about the metric system in a middle school. It would also be great in any other science class where you want to really give students a look at the size of an object.

Children’s Books

A Grain of Rice

Pittman, Helena. A Grain Of Rice. Random House Publishing Group, 1992. Print.

Overview:  

A clever, cheerful, hard-working farmer's son wins the hand of a Chinese princess by outwitting her father the Emperor, who treasures his daughter more than all the rice in China.

How Much is a Million

Schwartz, David, and Steven Kellogg. How Much is a Million?. HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. Print.

Overview  

This book reveals how big a bowl would be needed to hold a million goldfish, or how many years it would take to count to a million.

Text and pictures try to make possible the conceptualization of a million, a billion, and a trillion.

If you Made a Million

Schwartz, David, and Steven Kellogg. If You Made a Million. HarperCollins Publishers, 1994. Print.

Overview  

If You Made a Million

Have you ever wanted to make a million dollars? Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician is ready, willing, and able to explain the nuts and bolts — as well as the mystery and wonder — of earning money, investing it, accruing dividends and interest, and watching savings grow. Hey, you never know!

An ALA Notable Book A Horn Book Fanfare Selection A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Teachers' Choices Selection

Describes the various forms which money can take, including coins, paper money, and personal checks, and how it can be used to make purchases, pay off loans, or build interest in the bank.

Mathematicians are People, too; Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians (2 volumes)

Reimer, L., and W. Reimer. Mathematicians are people, too: Stories from the lives of great mathematicians, vol. 2. 2. Lebanon, IN: DALE SEYMOUR PUBLICATIONS, 1995. Print.

Overview:

Volume Two dramatizes the lives of Omar Khayyam, Albert Einstein, Ada Lovelace, and others. Stories in Volume One focus on moments of mathematical discovery experienced by Thales, Pythagoras, Hypatia, Galileo, Pascal, Germain, and still others. 15 illustrated vignettes per book introduce students to great mathematicians from various cultures.

Millions to Measure

Schwartz, David, and Steven Kellogg. Millions to Measure. HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. Print.

Overview:

Your favorite wizard is back -- and ready to explore the invention of length, weight, and volume measurements. How tall is Moonbeam, the unicorn? How long are the whiskers of Jello, the cat? And just how heavy is that darling hog? Tons and teaspoons and ounces and feet and yards and miles ... what a headache! With millions of things to measure, wouldn't one standard system be simpler?

With another wave of the wand, Marvelosissimo introduces you to the world of metrics and makes it easy to understand the basic pattern of meters, liters, and grams. And with Steven Kellogg's playful and delightfully detailed illustrations, measuring has never been such a blast!

Marvelosissimo the Magician explains the development of standard units of measure, and shows the simplicity of calculating length, height, weight, and volume using the metric system.

Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland

Neuschwander, C. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland, A Math Adventure. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Pub Inc, 2001. Print.

Overview:

Gr 1-4-Radius, the son of Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter, ventures on a heroic quest to earn his knighthood. He first proves his ability to make a "knightly right angle," as Sir D'Grees has trained him, and then doubles the right angle to make a straight angle. So he is sent off with the family medallion, in the shape of a circle (cardboard medallion included), to rescue the missing King Lell. Falling bridges, a cryptic riddle, a crocodile-infested moat, and a winding labyrinth all must be mastered before finding the king and his twin dragons, known as "Pair of Lells." Sir Cumference has something to offer a wide range of readers. Some will be too young to understand the math and the word puns but will enjoy the story of a knight rescuing a king. Others will puzzle over the math and how to use the protractor (medallion) to solve the riddle. This group will be helped by the somewhat primitively painted pictures, which give clues to these angled decisions and enhance the story of a brave knight on his quest. Still other children will note the story, groan at the puns, and wish for more sophisticated illustrations. This book has a stronger story line than that found in most math books. It should be useful to creative teachers and fun for the right child.-Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Sir Cumference and the First Round Table

Neuschwander, C., and W. Geehan. Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, A Math Adventure. Watertown: Charlesbridge Pub Inc, 1997. Print.

Overview:

King Arthur and his knights have a royal tangle of problems. Their rectangular table is too long and their triangular table is too pointy, but they somehow must sit down and discuss the shape of the future. Join a knight named Sir Cumference, his wife, Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius as they use different strategies to solve this quandary. Full-color illustrations.

Assisted by his knight, Sir Cumference, and using ideas offered by his wife and son, King Arthur finds the perfect shape for his table.

Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone

Neuschwander, C. Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone. Charlesbridge Pub Inc, 2003. Print.

Overview:

Subtitled "A Math Adventure," this picture book is more accurately a math-oriented mystery. The story is set in a medieval castle-none other than King Arthur's-and employs a cast of arithmetically-minded royals: Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, son Radius, and Radius' best friend, Vertex. The two young knights are quickly embroiled in a puzzling challenge set forth by King Arthur in order to choose an heir. Five knights are competing for the honor, and Vertex is one of them. Soon Radius and he are working through the puzzle of how to locate where the king has hidden his sword, Edgecalibur, using only the clues given on a mysteriously-coded parchment. Much questing and questioning ensues, along with a few geometry lessons, until Edgecalibur and a new heir to the throne is discovered. Geehan's lively full-color paintings evoke the spirit and style of medieval life well; even geometrical principles are explained in diagrams that reflect the art of the Middle Ages. Although sometimes the 'math problem' aspect of the book overshadows the storyline, teachers, parents and readers will enjoy the witty puns sprinkled throughout...and find that learning math can be fun after all.

The Dot and The Line

Juster, Norton. The Dot and the Line: A Romance on Lower Mathematics. Random House Publishing Group, 1977. Print.

Overview:

Once upon a time there was a sensible straight line who was hopelessly in love with a beautiful dot. But the dot, though perfect in every way, only had eyes for a wild and unkempt squiggle. All of the line's romantic dreams were in vain, until he discovered . . . angles! Now, with newfound self-expression, he can be anything he wants to be—a square, a triangle, a parallelogram. . . . And that's just the beginning!First published in 1963 and made into an Academy Award-winning animated short film, here is a supremely witty love story with a twist that reveals profound truths about relationships—both human and mathematical—sure to tickle lovers of all ages. A straight line falls in love with a dot and develops his talents to form all kinds of geometric shapes in order to win her affections.

The King’s Chessboard

Birch, David, and Devis Grebu. The King's Chessboard. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, Print.

Overview:

Here is a tale full of exotic, old-world flavor which takes place at a palace in ancient India. Detailed drawings show a fortress made of tall minarets and spires, heralds astride decorated elephants, servants bearing shields, and a turbaned ruler bedecked in rich jewels. The story itself is a parable about a powerful king and a wise man whose simple requesta grain of rice doubled for each square of the king's chessboardproves to be an impossible challenge for the royal granary. A amusing scenario unfolds as the amount of rice multiplies daily, causing great curiosity among the villagers and embarrassment to the prideful king, who learns a valuable lesson.

What’s Your Angle Pythagoras

Ellis, J. What's Your Angle Pythagoras?, A Math Adventure. Charlesbridge: Charlesbridge Pub Inc, 2004. Print.
Overview:

An addition to the Math Adventure series, What's Your Angle, Pythagoras? by Julie Ellis, illus. by Phyllis Hornung, tells a fictional tale of the future Greek philosopher and mathematician. Ellis characterizes Pythagoras as a boy always underfoot, trying to help solve problems for his family and neighbors. A trip to Egypt and a chance encounter with a builder inspire him to think about right angles in new ways and he devises the theory that bears his name today.

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Each of these books provides something a little different. What they all have in common though is that they allow for students with different learning levels to get a good idea of the same material. I would use these books as an introduction to a topic to help students learn vocabulary and give them an idea of why we need to know some of the content we will be talking about.

Classroom Reference Books

Historical Topics for the Mathematics Classroom

Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of. Historical Topics For The Mathematics Classroom. Natl Council of Teachers of, 1989. Print.

This is a teacher reference book written for the purpose of helping math teachers incorporate the history of mathematics into the curriculum. It discusses what to include and how it might be included. What I appreciate is that it also talks about why we should be talking about the history along with the traditional content.

Math Equals; Biographies of Women Mathematicians+Related Activities

Perl, Teri. Math equals: biographies of women mathematicians related activities. Addison-Wesley Pub, 1978. Print.

This book illustrates how women have been active in the discovery of mathematics. It discusses the life of nine women and how they contributed to the knowledge that we have today. Some of the mathematics that these women did may touch on topics that are above the grade level of high school (and certainly above middle school) students but I think it would be a good reference to highlight the different perspectives and their importance on the world as we know it.

Cartoons

Hilarity

Larson, Gary

Various Cartoons

Glansbergen, Randy. "Math Cartoons." Today's Cartoon. N.p., 06 Feb 2011. Web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.glasbergen.com/tag/high-school-math-cartoons/>.

There are a host of various cartoons on this page make explicitly for high school mathematics and science. I would use them as an opening to a class or just to hang on the wall.

Podcasts

A Brief History of Mathematics

Sautoy, Marcus du, auth. A Brief History of Mathematics. BBC Radio, 2010. web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/maths>

Marcus has a great voice that grabs the listener and makes them interested in what he is talking about. The history that he discusses is accurate and entertaining. I look forward to playing clips of these episodes for my classes to show the historical perspective of the mathematics we will be learning.

Ask an Astronomer

Ask an Astronomer. NASA, 2009. web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Science/Astronomy/Ask-an-Astronomer-Video-Podcast/19736>

These interesting video podcasts are all about questions that many people wonder about daily and have often been misinformed about. For example, there is an episode that is based on the question “Why is the sky blue?”. If you ask any person on the street that question you are bound to get a lot of different and frequently incorrect responses. The clips are short and have solid explanations for the physics that students see all around them.

Physics in Action

Mr. F, , dir. Physics in Action. Silly Beagle Productions, 2011. web. 30 Mar 2012. <http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/physics-in-action/id348148553>.

This high school student produced podcast explores many applications of physics in the things  students can relate to. For example, there is an episode explaining why Star Wars is not possible in the physical world that we know and live in. Mostly I like the idea of showing this as an example to my classes with the assignment for them to create their own podcast about something that they observe. A longer term inquiry project if you will. This podcast is well done but done by students their own age so I feel that it would give my students a good idea of what they should be working towards.

Simple Science

The Naked Scientist. Cambridge University, 2012. web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/>.

This podcast jumps from topic to topic explaining everything science in straight, real dialog. These experts conduct lectures, do research, and take calls from people with science questions. I think it would be neat to have my class come up with a question they want the answer to and then contact them for the answer through a future podcast episode. These podcasts are long so I wouldn’t play the whole thing at once but I think they would be great in small clips. More suited for high school students since the vocabulary might be a bit much for middle school students.

Programs

Geogebra

Hohenwarter, Markus. GeoGebra. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar 2012. <http://www.geogebra.org/cms/en>.

In the world of geometry, it is tedious, time consuming, and annoying to try to draw everything out using a straightedge and ruler. Luckily technology has advanced and wonderful people came out with this free way to play with geometry using computers. You can do anything from proving theorems to creating your own applets using this relative simple program. It also has its uses for physics. Plus it’s free and who can argue with free.

Software and Websites

"Math Freeware and Websites." Educational Freeware. Marianne Wartoft AB, 2011. Web. 1 Apr 2012. <http://www.educational-freeware.com/category-Mathematics.asp&xgt;.

Here we have it all. There are tons of models and software manipulatives for students to gain more access to science and mathematics. There are a variety of grade levels as well as a variety of available languages. Most of these are well done and would be fun to incorporate into a lesson.

Trade Books

Selecting Trade Books-A guide for teachers

Fries-Gaither, Jessica. "MSP:MiddleSchoolPortal/Teaching With Trade Books." MSP2. Ohio State University, May 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2012. <http://msp.ehe.osu.edu/wiki/index.php/MSP:MiddleSchoolPortal/Teaching_With_Trade_Books>.

First of all, this is not for the students. This is a wonderful “how to” guide (of sorts) that guides teachers through the process of selecting trade books. Since I personally have not read very many trade books, this is a wonderful place for me to start. I am mostly including this in my text set for my own personal use when the occasion arises. This whole website is full of helpful resources for teachers!

Trade Books for Middle School

Lightle, Kimberly. "Teaching With Trade Books – Math." MSP2. N.p., 20 May 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://msms.ehe.osu.edu/2010/05/20/teaching-with-trade-books-math/>.

This middle school teacher explains the reasons for including trade books in teaching as well as gives some good titles to look up. I appreciate that these referrals are coming from a teacher and not someone trying to sell me their book.

Videos

Dr. Sprotts Magic Shows

Sprott, Clint, perf. The Wonders of Physics. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Film. <http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/wop.htm>.

This entertaining physicist puts on a “magic show” but there is nothing magic about it; he is simply demonstrating physics. It’s a good hook for the students who don’t seem to be interested.

Note: There are also some short clips of the same nature on iTunes.

Mathemagic

Benjamin, Arthur. Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic". 2005. Ted.com Web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic.html>.

Not only does this man have incredible math skills but at the end he goes through a think aloud on a ridiculous looking calculation. Not only will students be entertained but it will allow most of them to realize that mathematics is not something that just happens but a process that people go through to come to a conclusion.

NOVA Mathematics

NOVAteachers. NOVA ScienceNOW-Math. PBS, 2007. Web. 3 Apr 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/video/nsn-math.html>.

These short videos get a real perspective of mathematics and how it is used in modern times. Another vantage point to present mathematics from so students can connect it to their personal lives and thoughts.

Origami and Mathematics

Lang, Robert. Robert Lang folds way-new origami. TED, 2008. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami.html>.

This video shows how mathematics can solve seemingly non mathematical problems, such as in origami. It then goes on to show how art mathematics and a lot of other things are interconnected and need each other to advance. This is a good way to draw in interest from those who don’t see mathematics as useful.

Professor Walter Lewin

Lewin, Walter. Physics I: Classical Mechanics. MIT OpenCourseWare, 1999. Web. 22 Mar 2012. <http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01-physics-i-classical-mechanics-fall-1999/>.

This man is insane!! He teaches courses at MIT and puts all of his physics lectures online. While I would not make my classes watch entire lectures (they would be more advanced than I want) but he has some stellar demonstrations. The physics is the same so the demonstrations would be just as applicable to my students. He is very entertaining and captures the interest of all who watch.

The 10th Dimension

Bryanton, Rob. Imagining the Tenth Dimension. 2008. Tenth Dimension Web. 9 Apr 2012. <www.tenthdimension.com/medialinks.php/>.

This gives students a way to visualize higher dimensions than just 3-D. It would be incredibly useful if working with anything in modern physics where we go beyond the view we can physically witness.

Websites

Random Numbers

Haahr, Mads. "Random Integer Generator." Random.org. N.p., 2012. Web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.random.org/integers/>.

Random number generators are incredibly useful in statistics and probability. This helps students test their ideas without the bias of picking numbers themselves.

Statistics and all the Fixings

Smart, Joyce. "AP Statistics." Mrs. Smart's AP Statistics Page. Logan High School, 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

This teacher made website has a ton of resources for teaching statistics using an inquiry approach. There are links to applets, interactive games, interesting books, history, etc.

Wolframalpha

"WolframAlpha." . WolframAlpha LLC, n.d. Web. 25 Mar 2012. <http://www.wolframalpha.com/>.

I have been using this website for years as an answer to everything! It acts as a graphing calculator that does some cool tricks. It converts, shows how it thinks, gives definitions, and displays mathematics principles. I would love to introduce this website to my students as a way of allowing them to explore more mathematics without necessarily having to know the algorithms behind it.