Thursday, March 13, 2014
ScienceandMath.com ~ a TOS review
For the last six weeks Mikayla and I have had the privilege of working through the two DVD set of Mastering 5th Grade Math - Volume 1 - Essentials of Fractions. Written and produced by Jason Gibson who has earned several advanced degrees in Engineering and Physics. He has also worked as a real Rocket Scientist for NASA, how cool is that?! Mr. Gibson has a passion for teaching Math and Science and has been releasing Math and Science DVD’s since 2004. I love the statement he says about mastering Math:
The secret to mastering Math at every level is to never skip any steps when teaching a student any concept - no matter how elementary. ~website
I completely agree with this statement! If you write out each step you are less likely to make a simple addition mistake or forget to drop down that negative sign. I make encourage my older daughters who are in Algebra 2 and Pre-Algebra write out each step and low and behold if they get something incorrect it is most likely because they missed a step. Yes, it does take longer and use more paper, but I would rather them see the progression and get the answer correct the first time then have to go back and redo one or several problems.
So, just what does Mastering 5th Grade Math - Volume 1 - Essentials of Fractions DVD include? Glad you asked :) This two disk DVD set includes everything you need to help your child master 5th grade math. Disk 1 contains 16 thorough, yet quick lessons that last approximately 30 minutes long. Topics included on the disk are:
1. Review of Fraction Concepts
2. Writing Fractions as Words
3. Finding Factors of a Number
4. Finding The Greatest Common Factor (GCF)
5. Finding The GCF of 3 Numbers
6. Prime Factorization
7. Equivalent Fractions
8. Renaming Fractions
9. Simplifying Fractions, Part 1
10. Simplifying Fractions Part 2
11. Review of Improper Fractions
12. Review of Mixed Fractions
13. Converting Mixed Fractions to Improper Fractions
14. Converting Improper Fractions to Mixed Fractions
15. Thinking about Fractions as Division
16. Writing a Whole Number as a Fraction
Within each lesson Mr. Gibson provides numerous opportunity to solve example problems. Each problem shown builds upon the first to ensure that every concept is understood. Along with example problems the program comes with a disk (Disk 2) which is filled with worksheets for each of the lessons covered. Also on disk 2 are answer keys for all the worksheets along with a digital copy of the video lessons.
My older two girls watch their math lectures on the the big TV in the family room so you can just imagine how excited that Mikayla was to be able to do the same. If watching math on the big screen gets anyone excited to do lessons then I am all for it!
She would sit either on the floor or on the couch with her paper and pencil in hand and attentively watch the lesson for the day. I was able to have Mikayla watch 1-2 lessons per week. Sometimes in addition to her regular math lessons and other times as a supplement to her daily lesson. It really just depended on the day and our schedule. With this schedule we have made it to lesson 11 on the Disk, with is Review of Improper Fractions.
Have fractions in Mikayla’s daily math been getting easier? Yes, they have and I owe that all to Mr. Gibson! His techniques and teachings have helped Mikayla to fully understand the ways to solve any type of fraction she runs into so far.
Overall, I give this product 5 stars from our little schoolhouse. If your child is struggling with fractions or any other math concept I am pretty sure Mr. Gibson has a video for it to help clear the confusion. So what about price? Listing price is $21.99 but right now you can get this two disk DVD set for just $15.99. It includes everything you need to help your 4th-6th grader completely understand fractions.
I recommend everyone check this DVD program out and the other grade levels offered too! Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this product and the other products being offered, Amazing Science, Volume 1, Algebra 1: Volume 1 with Fractions Thru Algebra Companion Worksheet CD, by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ ScienceandMath.com
Product ~ Mastering 5th Grade Math - Volume 1 - Essentials of Fractions
Price ~ Regularly priced at $21.99 but on available now for $15.99 physical copy, $14.99 digital download
Ages ~ 4th – 6th graders
Compatible with standard DVD players, PC or Mac computers that have a standard DVD drive. All DVDs are encoded "region free" which means they will play on any DVD player anywhere in the world.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
beauty captured {38/365}
Madison & Mikayla have divided their
school table into the United States of…
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Talking Shapes App ~ a TOS review
Technology is great sometimes, right?! I mean there is a whole plethora of information out there for teaching everything from preschool reading to writing or arithmetic. Tonight I am pleased to share with you a new app from the Talking Fingers, Inc. called Talking Shapes iPad App.
Talking Shapes is a research-proven phonics program created by neuropsychologist Dr. Jeannine Herron and is geared towards the younger kiddos in PreK-K. This app came about from funding as part of a research grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Using pictures as mnemonic devices to help to teach young children that letters are just “talking shapes” that each have there own special speech sounds it introduces all 40 English phonemes. Through 4 steps, listen, draw, play games, and read, this app helps young children develop the correlation between the shape of a letter and sound of the letter makes. All the while leading your child into reading success for years to come.
The app begins by telling a story of how “Two Sisters Invented The Alphabet”. With three choices to pick from your youngster can have the story read to them, practice drawing letters, or play the games within the app.
Within the three choices is the option to choose from Book 1, 2 or 3 which are interactive books. Your child will hear the letter sound story read to them and then they can click on the screen to make the story come to life.
Listen ~ each letter in the picture story helps the children to remember both the shape and the sound the letter makes. There is also a neat option where you can record your child’s voice saying the words.
Draw ~ using the pad of the finger your child traces and draws letters on the screen. Practice includes drawing letters within Talking Shapes pictures or drawing letters to make three letter words.
With the help of visual clues, along with hands on drawing the app helps to see the connection between the shape of the letter and the sound.
The game section has many neat features to help reinforce the letter decoding skills learned. The three games are so much fun that your child will hardly notice that they are learning at the same time.
Play Games ~ through the use of fun games your child will learn to name target pictures and spell words correctly.
The last step is reading! With the help of visual clues your child is able to fill in the blank and read the words in the sentences provided. It starts out with easy words to build confidence.
Read ~ Success comes to your child when they read there first words.
The Talking Shapes iPad App is available from the iTunes App store and is compatible with the iPad. It requires an iOS 6.0 or later to run and costs $5.99 to download.
I was thrilled to use this app with McKenzie who is 4 years old. She is just showing signs of reading readiness and this app is a great springboard for her curiosity. She had access to the app everyday during her “technology” school hours and frequently choose to play this app over other games on the iPad or computer. There is just something about interactive books that she loves for preschool reading :) Her favorite portion of the app was definitely the voice recording feature. She loved hearing herself say the words and listening to it over and over {and over} again :)
Overall, we give this app two thumbs up and definitely recommend you checking it out. It is a quality app that supports learning and having fun at the same time. Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this app by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ Talking Fingers, Inc.
Product ~ Talking Shapes iPad App
Price ~ $5.99 from iTunes store
Ages ~ PreK – K
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