N O V E M B E R

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Monthly Math
Volume 1, Issue 3
Supporting Student Learning with
Technology: Introducing Kahn Academy
and Geometers Sketchpad
Content Review:
As we approach winter, lets
put on our skis and start to
think about SLOPE! This
month in Algebra 1, we will
be focusing on reasoning with
equations and inequalities. By
Thanksgiving break, students
will be able to:
Represent equations &
inequalities graphically.
Use terms such as
slope, x-intercept, & yintercept appropriately.
Investigate how
changing slope, the xintercept, & the yintercept affect a
graph/equation.
Reason about more
complex systems of
equations &
inequalities by solving
algebraically.

Within the next couple of weeks, students will familiarize

themselves with the online resource, Kahn Academy. Kahn
Academy is an educational website, dedicated to helping students
learn mathematics as well as other school subjects. It is a great
resource because it breaks up each Algebra 1 topic into subtopics,
allowing students to focus in on the specific concepts that might
be troubling to them. When entering on the website, students
simply need to click on Algebra 1 and then View Full List of
Algebra 1 Content towards the top-right corner. Students will be
given the opportunity to see the entire Algebra 1 curriculum
broken up into sections. For example, if a student were to click
Introduction to Systems of Linear Equations, he/she would see
a plethora of video options, where each lesson is taught in a
straightforward, organized, and logical manner. Though some of
the videos may overlap with what was taught in class, it would
only benefit students to supplement their understanding with this
resource. Therefore, I will be assigning students to watch videos as
part of their homework. Kahn Academy also provides many
examples, both in the videos and in practice problems. Unlike
their daily homework assignments, when students use Kahn
Academy, they can check their answers immediately! With
Kahn Academy, students will see algebraic concepts represented
in multiple different ways; and while some problems are simple
and straightforward, others require a higher level of investigation,
creating a great mix of problems. And for these higher level of
investigation problems, students can click Id like a hint for a
clue on how to approach the problem. If you would like to see a
typical set up of Kahn Academy, please reference p. 3!

Also in November,
students will be introduced to
the computer program,
Geometers Sketchpad.
Students will encounter slopes,
intercepts, and other graphic
features in new, and exciting
ways. On Thursdays, each
student will be given an iPad
from the St. Anthonys library
and time will be set aside to
explore Sketchpad. Since this
software is already installed on
each iPad, students will simply
have to log on with the school
code and explore what the
software has to offer.
This week, students will
use Sketchpads Straightedge
Tool to create lines on a
coordinate plane; they will also
use the Measuring Tool, which
will give students the slope of
the line. As students
experiment and tilt the lines,
Measuring Tool will adjust the
slope calculation accordingly!
Students will also learn to
express slope in terms of
coordinate distance. Sketchpad
has a coordinate distance
command that measures
distance in coordinate units,
rather than physical units like
inches or centimeters.

Finally, students will be plotting dynagraphs

on Sketchpad. Dynagraphs will help students
understand the relationship between the dependent
and independent variables. It shows the x- and yaxis in parallel, so that moving x along the x-axis
shows a direct change in f(x) along the y-axis. (This
is shown in the picture above). I am confident that
Geometers Sketchpad will help students grapple
with the way in which equations/inequalities
work, and will help them recognize patterns. Soon,
they will be asking questions like, How will this
manipulation of x change f(x)?

A Kahn Ac adem y Screen shot :

Please contact me with questions, comments, or concerns at:

Ms. Messina

St. Anthonys High School

(516) 946-1692

Huntington Station, NY 11746

messincl@bc.edu

275 Wolf Hill Road

(631) 271-2020
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