Look out it's....TIMEZ ATTACKS!

If you happen to be looking, you will know how hard it is to find a really good simulation game that is educational for younger kids. There are obviously the Sims games (SimAnt, SimEarth, SimFarm) and the like, but they are so multifaceted they require a lot of time investment for teachers and students. We know these games are engaging, but our inner critic is not crazy about letting kids spend a lot of time on them unless we know there will be a definite academic benefit too.

I think I have found a good one - Timez Attacks. Timez Attacks is a simulation developed by Big Brain Software. It is usually available for purchase, however, they are offering free downloads to teachers for multiplication facts 2 to 12. Teachers get one free download per email address (so I have actually gotten 3).

In Timez Attacks you (the player) are this little mutant-ish creature who is in some castle-type thing. The object is for you to always be trying to get out of the chamber you are in. To do this, you must master some multiplication facts. The cool thing about Timez Attacks is that it is not merely fact memorization - your character is presented with a troll or something bearing the symbolic representation of the problem, say 2 x 2. It then releases 2 snails. Your player must catch each snail. When you catch the first snail you will see a "2", and when you catch the second snail you will see an "4". Your player can then throw the snails and when you do, 2 items will splat on the cave wall. Each will be a box containing 2 dots - you are now conceptualizing the multiplication problem as "2 two times". You may then post the answer "4" on the troll's chest or the dungeon wall or whatever.

It's actually quite simple - and fun! Kids love this and it goes beyond just memorization of facts. As you learn more facts and break through more chambers, you are constantly challenged on the facts you have already learned.

For teachers who have students learning multiplication facts (anywhere between 2nd grade to middle school kids who still need practice), Timez Attacks is great - they will BEG you to let them practice their math facts! I have a few third graders who are already getting addicted!

The free download only takes a couple of minutes and then that little green creature head on your desktop will always be there - ready to play!

No Really - How much is a trillion???

We all know that a trillion of anything is quite a lot - and I for one just love when someone comes up with a good analogy, metaphor, or visualization that really brings those kinds of numbers home. I used to have a professor in college who always had one of those in his back pocket - about how many times a million dollars would circle the earth, or go to the moon and back.

A few years back, Paul Harvey had a good one that explained the difference between a million and a billion, but I haven't heard or seen anything new or interesting since - until now.

I happened upon this little gem called "What does one TRILLION dollars look like?"


In these times of a tumultous economy and the words "billion" and "trillion" being thrown around so often - it is difficult for adults to really get our minds around this concept - let alone our students. Pop this slide show up on the overhead or the SmartBoard and have a good discussion!

Good math fun

Ghostblasters is one of those super simple math game sites that is great because of its simplicity. It only practices one skill - identifying multiples. You can set the multiple to whatever you want on the ghost that pops up on the screen - then click start and up pop the ghosts! You have to be fast to click on the multiples of whatever you selected (a mouse is probably better for this than a mouse pad).

It's one of those quick and easy things you can use for a reward, or individual practice that the kids just can't get into trouble with. They find it pretty exciting once they get the hang of it.

No ads, no sign in, no registration, no side menus that can lead them astray to other games or sites - just Ghostblasters.

A helpful math tool for all k-12 students

A Maths Dictionary for Kids is an excellent reference for any student to have handy. From simple concepts like addition to fractions, to more complex math vocabulary concepts like Fibonacci numbers or frustrums (I did not know that one), it would be difficult to find a term, theorum, or concept that was not listed in the Maths Dictionary for Kids.

Don't let the simple layout fool you and make you think it's only for the younger students - it is unbelievably simple to navigate but contains high level terms and descriptions that high school students will appreciate. I went to the A's and clicked on "area" to get this nice visual aide and description.

Besides the nice visual and graphic representations that are easy to read and interpret - almost all have some way by which you can take the concept for a test run - either on the main description page, or the following. For example on the "area" page, I clicked the button on the bottom for "area calculators" and got this handy tool;

Whatever grade you teach, show the Maths Dictionary to your students! Help younger students learn how to easily navigate this tool so that they can help themselves with their math work, and can keep referring back to it whenever they need to.

Math and Google Earth is the Real Deal!

Wow! That is all I can say about this mash-up resource, so I'll say it again - WOW! Real World Math is a truly awesome website for math teachers grades 5-12 who want to push their math teaching beyond the text. Google Earth is the tool used to accomplish this.

Real World Math's collection of concept lessons uses Google Earth to present math topics like rates or scientific notation in unique ways. The collection of project based learning activities has lessons that requires students to work collaboratively in pairs or groups. The measurement lessons have students using the measurement tool in Google Earth to complete problem solving activities. There are also exploratory lessons which include non-traditional math topics like fractals, topography, or modern geometry.

Real World Math uses Google Earth which is interactive and 3-D. Students can add placemarks, annotations, photos and models, as well as measure distances and draw paths.

This growing collection of lessons (you can contribute lessons too) encourages higher level thinking skills, creativity, technology, and social learning.

Real World Math is very accessible for teachers and students - no registration required.

e-Tutor Graphing Calculator - no more expensive graphing calculators!

These online graphing calculators have been popping up for awhile, but I am seeing e-Tutor's version get consistently high ratings by teachers in ed. publications. No registration or sign-in, extremely simple to use.

Enter functions of x using a standard mathematical format. You can enter more than one function by separating functions with a semicolon.

I entered sin(x) and got this result:
You can play around with it by changing exponents, constants, etc. Really cool feature - roll (don't click) the mouse over the line and see the x and y coordinates.