Other Resources

These resources can help students and teachers with math and science studies.

Math

Math.com - Math.com has games, tools, and more. It offers homework help, calculators and other tools, online practice quizzes, games, and other interactive explorations of math for all levels. In addition, you'll find assessment, on-demand modular courses that target key math concepts, 24/7 live online tutoring, and expert answers to math questions.

Cyberchase  - A daily animated adventure TV series and multimedia project for children ages 8-11. To save the day, our heroes have to use math and brain power. Check your local PBS station for schedules.

Cramster.com  - On this site, students can find textbook specific homework solutions for some of the most popular math, science, and engineering textbooks and a board to post questions. Some materials are available free. Most are available with paid registration.

Curriculum Focal Points - The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) identifies three important mathematical topics at each level, prekindergarten through grade 8. The publication 'Focal Points' seeks to spur discussion of mathematics curricula. It is intended to bring more coherence to the diverse mathematics curricula currently in use. It provides a framework for states and districts to design more focused curricular expectations and assessments for pre-K-grade 8 mathematics curriculum development.

Figure This! Mathematics Challenges for Families Web site - This site for middle schoolers is offered by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and supported by NEA. It provides interesting math challenges that middle school students can do at home with their families. Glenda Lappen, Michigan State University professor and former NCTM president, says that middle school is when "students have time to experiment, to ponder, to play with mathematical ideas, to seek relationships among ideas and concepts, and to experience the power of mathematics to tackle problem situations that can be mathematized or modeled."

Math Forum - One of the leaders in mathematics and mathematics education on the Web. Have a question about a homework problem? Ask Dr. Math. Need a lesson on data and statistics for your second graders or high schoolers? Do a search by topic and level. The search engine on this site is particularly useful for parents, teachers and students.

PBS.org Teachers provides a database of mathematics lessons, searchable by grade level and topic.

PBS's Mathline - Online professional development opportunities for educators.  and other products available for use with students.

MegaMath - lets teachers and elementary students explore important mathematical ideas, such as the Four-Color Theorem and graphs. In addition to student activities and detailed explanations of math concepts, the site examines math's connection to industry and business. A project of the Computer Research and Applications Group at Los Alamos National LaboratoryStandards-based Math and Science Resources.

Illuminations - This math Web site, produced in cooperation with the MarcoPolo Education Foundation, supports teachers in their implementation of standards-based math. The site offers online multimedia investigations, lesson plans keyed to standards, and links to reviewed Web sites.

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives from Utah State University presents online manipulatives (base ten blocks, algebra tiles, pattern blocks, etc.). Manipulatives are indexed by math topic and grade level.

Science

The Water Cycle - The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources, has a comprehensive Web site that includes a diagram explaining the water cycle in 57 languages.

Cool Cosmos - The site provides classroom activities, experiments, lessons, ask-an-astronomer videos, an infrared astronomy timeline, and more.

Online Science-athon - This site helps students discover the science in their daily lives. It is organized around four events: "How Tall Am I?" for grades 2-3, and the "Marble Roll," "Catching Sunshine," and the "Chocolate Melt" for grades 4-8. The site makes it easy for teachers to incorporate the events into instruction, align learning with academic standards, and get students investigating their world in ways that are fun and instructive. Each event produces class data and includes questions for exploring student-generated data.

Visible Earth - NASA's searchable directory of images, visualizations, and animations of earth. Topics include soils, clouds, storms, hurricanes, droughts, precipitation, vegetation, oceans, sea ice, human population, land use, erosion, fires, rocks, minerals, regions and countries. 

Science Netlinks - This site, produced in cooperation with the MarcoPolo Education Foundation, supports K-12 teachers in their implementation of standards-based science. The site offers online multimedia investigations, lesson plans keyed to standards, and links to reviewed Web sites.

Try Science - This site offers a wealth of resources to help teachers integrate TryScience and science center resources into classroom activities, connect with parents and students, and more.

Science Center - This site from Education World has an abundance of support materials for pre-K-12 educators. Teachers can search the science database by grade level as well as topic. In addition, teachers can submit their favorite lesson plan and browse through other teachers' favorites.

NASA projects There are literally hundreds of sites dedicated to   that have education components.

Space Science Education Resource Directory - This site can help teachers find Web-based resources to support space science curricula. Teachers can set up an account and log in (though this is not required) and save their searches for later use.

Updated June 2008

CYBERCHASE Can Help Ease Kids Back into School

Back to School with CYBERCHASE is a PBS TV/Web promotion featuring three weeks of key math shows to get kids fired up for a new school year. Designed to help kids get their math skills in gear, Back to School includes core math topics -- such as fractions, decimals, division, measurement, geometry, and financial literacy -- with which kids often struggle.

The online Web version of Back to School with CYBERCHASE will start on Aug. 27 and continue through Sept. 28 on the PBS CYBERCHASE Web site. Web activities and tips for kids, parents, and teachers are offered. Please note that the site requires a simple, and free, registration process to establish an "account" in order to participate in its activities.

Back to School with CYBERCHASE kicks off on-air with the premiere of the all new show, "A Fraction of a Chance," on Labor Day, Mon. Sept. 3. Subsequent programs will include:

• 2 weeks of "core" math shows featuring concepts such as fractions, decimals, division, measurement, and geometry;
• 1 week of financial literacy "Know Your Dough" episodes on saving, spending, and budgeting, giving kids math tools they can use to make smart money choices.

3 Weeks of Key Math Shows

Week of Sept. 3-7

• Mon., 9/3 -- A Fraction of a Chance (Fractions 101)
• Tues. 9/4 -- Harriet Hippo & The Mean Green (Fractions-Equivalence)
• Wed., 9/5 -- Mother's Day (Decimals)
• Thurs., 9/6 -- Less Than Zero (Negative Numbers)
• Fri., 9/7 -- Raising the Bar (Bar Graphs)

Week of Sept. 10-14

• Mon., 9/10 -- Fortress of Attitude (Linear Measurement)
• Tues. 9/11 -- Eureeka (2D & 3D Geometry)
• Wed., 9/12 -- Sensible Flats (Area)
• Thurs., 9/13 -- Problem Solving in Shangri-La (Problem-Solving)
• Fri., 9/14 -- A Broom of One's Own (Time/Distance/Speed)

Week of Sept. 17-21

• Mon., 9/17 -- Trading Places (Monetary Systems)
• Tues. 9/18 -- The Snelfu Snafu - Part 1 (Saving Money)
• Wed., 9/19 -- The Snelfu Snafu - Part 2 (Spending Money)
• Thurs., 9/20 -- Balancing Act (Budgeting Money)
• Fri., 9/21 -- Past Perfect Prediction (Predicting from Data)

The fun continues online at: http://pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase.

For more information and promotional materials on going Back to School with CYBERCHASE, visit the CYBERCHASE News page at the PBS channel Thirteen/WNET Web site http://www.thirteen.org/cyberchasenews/.

CYBERCHASE is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana Limited. Major funding for CYBERCHASE is provided by the National Science Foundation, Ernst & Young LLP, Northrop Grumman Corporation, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by The Volckhausen Family. CYBERCHASE (c) 2007 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

'Focal Points' Seeks to Spur
Broad Discussion of Mathematics Curricula

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) offers Curriculum Focal Points, which identifies three important mathematical topics at each level, prekindergarten through grade 8.

The publication is intended to bring more coherence to the very diverse mathematics curricula currently in use. It provides a framework for states and districts to design more focused curricular expectations and assessments for pre-K-grade 8 mathematics curriculum development.

"The Curriculum Focal Points are designed to promote a discussion on the refinement of mathematics curricula and address the impression that various state and district curricula are 'a mile wide and an inch deep,'" said NCTM President Francis (Skip) Fennell.

"The Curriculum Focal Points present a vision for the design of the next generation of state curriculum standards and state tests, and they present a way to bring needed focus to what is taught in mathematics."

State standards often describe specific learning expectations by grade. In some cases there are close to 100 expectations per grade, with different expectations from state to state.

The focal points are intended as a first step toward a national discussion on how to bring consistency and coherence to the mathematics curricula used in the United States. At each grade level, prekindergarten through grade 8, the Curriculum Focal Points identify three topics, described as "cohesive clusters of related knowledge, skills, and concepts," which form the necessary foundation for understanding concepts in higher-level mathematics.

September 2006

NEA Resources

These NEA resources can help students and teachers with math and science studies.

Math

Every Child Mathematically Proficient: An Action Plan of the Learning First Alliance - Along with fellow members of the Learning First Alliance, NEA supported the writing of this 1998 document, which outlines a strategy to bring American students to world-class levels in mathematics.

Works4Me Math Tips - NEA's popular Works4Me weekly tips program offers practical classroom ideas and solutions written by educators, ranging from shortcuts for mastering multiplication tables to practicing measurements in the bathtub.

Science

Works4Me Science Tips - NEA's popular Works4Me weekly tips program offers practical classroom ideas and solutions written by educators, including simulations, experiments, and thoughts on classroom pets.

What the Research Says

Math Scores Rise when Teachers Are Certified

Students learn more math when their teachers are certified, according to three new studies. The studies examined math scores on standardized tests and found that, when other factors are accounted for, students whose teachers are certified do better than students whose teachers have temporary or emergency credentials.

• Kristie Rowley of Vanderbilt University looked at data from a federal initiative that tests kindergarteners in the fall and spring. She found that by spring students of certified teachers had higher math scores.

• The American Institutes of Research (AIR) found that eighth graders whose teachers were certified scored an average of 9 points higher on the math portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

• The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory and University of Texas at Austin examined 578,000 Texas middle schoolers' math scores on the state standardized test and found that students taught by certified teachers showed greater improvement.

Read more about the studies in Education Week (registration required), or download the AIR study, "Prepared to Teach" ( PDF, 23 pages ). April 2004

How U.S. Students Rank in Math and Science

The Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), formerly known as the Third International Math and Science Study, is the most rigorous and comprehensive study of math and science teaching and learning in the United States and approximately 70 other countries. The TIMSS Web site features highlights and trends from the latest study, including rankings by country of students' math and science achievement. The United States will next collect data in Spring 2007.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a new system of international assessments that focus on 15-year-olds' capabilities in reading, math and scientific literacy. The assessment is administered every three years and covers 32 countries. The assessment was administered in 2000, 2003,  and 2006.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called "The Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of American students' progress. NAEP tests students in reading and mathematics every two years in grades 4 and 8, and administered its latest nationwide science assessment in 2005.  In the past, states' participation in NAEP has been voluntary, but the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also called "No Child Left Behind") mandates that every state must test a sample of their fourth and eighth grade students every other year in reading and math. NAEP will serve as an independent benchmark to ensure that state standards and tests are challenging enough.

Inside the Classroom provides a snapshot of how math and science are taught across the U.S., from Horizon Research with support from the National Science Foundation.

Math Reform that Works

The ARC Tri-State Student Achievement Study examined the performance of students who use the three elementary programs supported by the ARC Center and the National Science Foundation — Math Trailblazers; Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; and Everyday Mathematics — on state-mandated standardized tests administered in spring 2000. Students taught with these three math reform curricula consistently outperformed their peers on achievement tests. According to the ARC study, these curricula improve student performance in elementary math — both in basic skills and higher-level processes.

Science Teaching and Learning

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded several long-term science education initiatives where teachers, administrators and parents work together to improve student learning. Read the results of the 2006 LSC Capstone Report: Lessons from a Decade of Mathematics and Science Reform. These are from a comprehensive study of the content-focused teacher professional development. Results are based upon ten years of data, including questionnaires, observations, and interviews with teachers of science, mathematics, and/or technology engaged in the National Science Foundation-supported Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement Initiative.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has released reports on the status of science teaching at various grade levels: The Status of Elementary Science Teaching, The Status of Secondary Earth Science Teaching, and Improving Science Teaching Through Research and Development.