The National Math Trail

Are you looking for ways to integrate technology into your mathematics curriculum? Get students motivated? Improve their skills?

How about a staff development program that helps teachers accomplish all of the above--in the same activity!

Then here's an answer: The National Math Trail.

On the National Math Trail, students first do "math trails" in their own communities, creating and solving math problems that relate to what they find.

The National Math Trail Resource kit contains everything that teachers need to do all of this successfully--and everything that staff developers need to plan and deliver exciting training programs based on math trails.

Watch a clip of The National Math Trail:

Good Morning Miss Toliver - A celebration of the teaching profession, and the power of a teacher's conviction that all students can learn. This profile of East Harlem Tech/PS 72's Kay Toliver has become one of the most-widely used staff development resources in the country.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Hands-On Math - Ms. Toliver describes and demonstrates a "hands-on" approach to mathematics instruction, and strategies to get students actively involved in their classwork. Interviews with Ms. Toliver and her students offer insights into subjects ranging from teamwork and planning to the need for rules in the classroom.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Mathematics and Communication - Ms. Toliver discusses and demonstrates the uses of speaking and writing as tools to develop-and assess-student understanding of math concepts. Other topics addressed include approaches to clarifying basic concepts and terms, and ways to create an atmosphere in which students can communicate freely.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Oobleck - "Oobleck" (from the Dr. Seuss book "Bartholomew and the Oobleck") is the focal point of a lesson that combines literature, science and imagination. Ms. Toliver and her students demonstrate how motivation to learn math concepts can result from strategies that encourage creativity and curiosity.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Math Trail - The "math trail" awakens students to the mathematics that abounds in every day life. Using concepts from their math curriculum, students create books of problems based on objects and events in their environment. At the end of the trail, students understand more about their curriculum and their community.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The National Math Trail CD-ROM - Staff Development and lesson resources guide on the CD-ROM. This guide provides educators with all the necessary tools to develop and implement this exciting resource in their curriculum, including sample problems that have been successful in other classrooms. It also includes complete guidelines on planning and delivering your own Math Trail training session!