Preventing Summer Learning Loss 2016

 The idea for this post was originally going to be a Mid-week Morsel.  However, once I started gathering resources and putting it all together, I quickly realized that this was not a morsel.  It's a whole meal!

If you are concerned that your children will forget last school year's lessons over the summer, you're not alone.  It is estimated that students start the next school year 2-3 months behind where they ended the year before.  As a result, teachers spend much of the first month or so trying to get back that lost knowledge.

Preventing summer learning loss doesn't have to be time consuming, boring, or even expensive.  I've compiled a short list of websites that offer summer programs specifically designed to help prevent summer learning loss.  There is something for everyone in the list.  Some are free, some are paid.  Some focus on a specific subject, others combine subjects.  Some are straight forward practice pages, some are game and adventure based.  Check out each one to see what will work best for you.

Did I leave out a website you think should have made the list?  Share it in the comments below!

Karissa


Free Resources:

The Quantile Framework - Math, Reading

          The Summer Math Challenge - The Quantile Summer Math Challenge is a free math skills maintenance program targeted to students who have just completed grade 1 through 7 and is designed to help children retain math skills learned during the previous school year.

          Find a Book - The Lexile “Find a Book” tool is a fun and easy way to select books based on a child’s Lexile measure and interests. You can use this free search tool to build custom lists for readers of all ability levels and then locate your selections at the local public library. 

Khan Academy - Math, Science, Computer Programming, History, Art History, Economics, and more

          Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. Our math missions guide learners from kindergarten to calculus using state-of-the-art, adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps. We've also partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.

Ten Marks - Math

          Assignments contain a wide variety of question types across all depths of knowledge to ensure your students understand the core concepts in a variety of ways. Immediate feedback promotes learning and retention. Hints and video lessons are embedded in every question. Scaffolded hints help students remember core concepts. Video lessons refresh foundational skills. 

Book Adventure - Reading

           Book Adventure is a fun, free way to motivate your child to read! Kids in grades K-8 can search for books, read them offline, come back to quiz on what they’ve read, and earn prizes for their reading success.

Brain Flex - Math, Science

           Get active and happy this summer. Build your math and science skills with daily practice.  Pick the subjects you want to practice.  Practice something every day.  Anytime and anywhere.  We will help you stay on track and monitor your progress.  Invite students to get a head start or review concepts they missed.  Track your student's progress over the 8-week challenge.


Paid Resources:

Brain Chase -  multi-subject - $79/6 week adventure

          The Summer 2016 adventure starts at 9 a.m. EST on Monday, June 20, 2016. Students in grades 2 through 8 will log in to the Student Dashboard watch the first animated webisode and meet Mae Merriweather as she and her team of adventurers search for the Mask of Tomoe Gozen. Also, check the mail for a mysterious object that you’ll need during the 6-week adventure.  Each week you have four tasks: earn 10,000 energy points on Khan Academy, write a journal entry, do one bonus challenge, and complete either reading or language assignments. We provide seamless access to all of our online curriculum partners for you, and all tasks are adaptable to the student's level.  This isn’t just fiction—there’s a real treasure buried somewhere on Earth. The first adventurer to decipher the clues and discover the treasure's location will receive a trip to dig it up and a $10,000 scholarship.

LeapAhead! -  Math - $24.95/8 week session

          LeapAhead! offers 4 assignments a week for a total of 8 weeks. Its daily assignments motivate children to log in everyday to find what challenges await them. Children love the interactive nature of online worksheets, and they can find out their mistakes and scores right away!  All worksheets are fully aligned with the Common Core State Standards.  Assignments will be automatically graded upon submission. An online report keeps track of each child's scores and progress. Every child will receive an online printable certificate upon completion of the program.

 Summer Splash - Math - $29.99/8 week program

          Halt the summer slide (students lose 2-3 months of math skills during the summer break if they do not practice regularly).  Review Skills from the current grade and practice key skills from the grade student is entering this fall.  Program is available for students from Kindergarten through Grade 5.  Diagnostics and practice assignments aligned to Common Core Standards.  Individualized report which summarizes the child’s progress and aptitude on both previous and next year’s math skills.  A Certificate of completion at the end of the program.

K5 Learning - Math, Reading - $14.95/month

           K5 Learning is an online after-school study program for kids in kindergarten to grade 5.  We build reading, math and study skills.  K5 kids learn to focus and work independently.  K5 allows kids to progress, unrestrained and un-pressured.  K5 organizes, instructs, and quizzes your child and provides reports to you.  We use simple interfaces, spoken instructions and bite sized lessons.  No ads, no chat, & no external links.  100% online. No downloads and nothing to install.

IXL - Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies - $9.95/month

          Embark on a virtual treasure hunt as you tackle math challenges and reveal colorful prizes. The more you practice, the more you win!  With IXL, it's easy to meet your learning objectives! All of IXL's skills are fully aligned to Florida standards. Get unprecedented insight into student performance with IXL Analytics. View real-time data on usage, trouble spots, and more! 

Guest Blogger Bitter Princess' Pennant Craft

Today I have a very special guest blogger here to share a fun craft for the kids.  Bitter Princess is a fashion blogger, and happens to be my daughter.  When she was assigned the task of creating an online tutorial for making a decorative pennant banner for her pre-algebra class, she decided Simply The Good Life was the place to share it.


So, without further ado...The Bitter Princess.


As a fashion blogger, I don't usually do posts about crafts. However, fashion doesn't have to only mean your clothes. You can express your style in the way you decorate your home, or even a party. This pennant banner craft is a perfect opportunity to express yourself in your house!

Right Triangle Pennant Banner

Choose a space for your banner to be placed. Next, measure the distance across that space. I chose a window that is five feet across. Now choose your paper. If you want to color or draw on it, now is the time. Your paper should be square. If it is not square, or not the size you want, cut it to the proper size. I used construction paper that was 8 15/16 x 11 15/16. I folded one corner over to make a square, and cut off the extra bit. This also gives you a diagonal line to cut to make two right triangles.

Once you have your first pair of triangles, you can determine how many triangles you will need. The first step to figuring out how many triangles you need is knowing how long the hypotenuse of your triangle is. Remember, the hypotenuse of a right triangle is the longest side. The quick way to figure this out is to simply measure the hypotenuse. If you are using this craft as a way to get your kids to do some math, now is your chance! 

Pythagorean's Theorem states that a² + b² = c². Since you start with a square, instead of a rectangle, you can use special version of Pythagorean's Theorem; 2a² = c². This is because both legs of the triangle are the same length. As you can see in the picture above, my hypotenuse measured approximately 12 5/8 in. I say approximately because it's actually measured 12 10.24/16 in, but that doesn't make a very nice fraction. If the length of the hypotenuse you measured and the length of the hypotenuse you calculated don't quite match, you may not have cut exactly at the diagonal.

Now that you know the length of your hypotenuses, you can figure out how many triangles you need for the length of your space. Remember that my window if five feet, which is sixty inches. Simply divide the length of your space by the length of your hypotenuse to determine how many triangles will fit in your space. As you can see in the picture above, it will take approximately 4.746 triangles. I can round that up to five triangles because I want my banner to hang down, not straight across. You can choose how you want yours to hang.

Once you have all of your triangles cut out, lay them out end to end and put glue along the edge of each hypotenuse. Take a piece of string a little bigger than all of your triangles, and put it in the glue.

After the glue dries, hang up your banner!

-BitterPrincess









Sadie's Interactive Math Notebook

We've completed our first full unit of math using an interactive math notebook.  So far, my daughter and I are both enjoying math so much more than ever before!  It does take me a little bit of time to decide what kind of printable/foldable I want to use for each lesson and get it prepared, but it is so worth it to me to see her actually enjoying math class.

For those of you who aren't familiar with interactive notebooks, they are a way of taking notes for a subject in a creative way that is both visually appealing and...well...interactive.  I usually try to create some sort of printable that contains some of the information, but leaves a space for her to finish the "notes".  I also try to choose a fun way to present that information such as a foldable, and using fun fonts & colors.  Don't know what a foldable is?  It's easier for me to show you than to tell you, but basically a foldable can be anything that opens or can be manipulated by the student. It can be used to divide information into groups, or to help the information flow from one step to the next.  Graphic organizers and minibooks can also be used to hold information.  Let me show you what I mean...

I printed out a cover and inserted it into an old 3 ring binder.

I printed out title pages for each section of the notebook.  First is the Table of Contents.

Very simply, list either the title of the lesson or the topic, and the page number as you complete each lesson.

Next comes the body of the notebook; the actual lessons.

Place Value

 

Estimating

 

How to add, subtract, multiply, & divide.

 

Properties of Numbers

 

 Order of Operations

 

Place Value of Decimals

Comparing & Ordering Decimals

 

 

Front End Estimation

Operations with Decimals

Powers of Ten

Story Problems: 4 step plan

Story Problems: clue words

That is the end of the first unit.  We will continue on with subsequent units so that her entire year of work will be accessible in this one notebook.

The last section of her notebook is for vocab words.

Here she writes simple definitions or examples of terms she is unfamiliar with.

Wow!  That was a lot of pictures.  I hope I haven't overwhelmed you, or bored you to tears.  Since we have started using an interactive notebook, I'm always looking online to see what other people are putting in theirs.  I decided it would be nice to post pics of what is inside ours so that others can see it.  Do you use an interactive notebook?  How do you use it? What is your favorite foldable or mini book?  

Karissa

April Showers Bring...

April showers bring...stem and leaf plots?  Sure, why not?  Especially when the stem and leaf plots are disguised as May flowers.  My daughter learned about stem and leaf plots in math class this week.  Frankly, I don't remember learning them when I was in school, so we learned them together.  In case you don't remember them either, according to her text book they are "convenient ways to organize data using numerical order and place value.  The digits to the left of the ones digits are called the stems; the ones digits for each stem are called the leaves."  Just for fun, we started drawing flowers, using their stems and leaves for the stem and leaf plots.  It was much more fun than doing them the way her lesson suggested.  She decided I should make them for my store.  (I have mentioned that she's a very smart girl, haven't I?)  So, I sat down after dinner and started working on these Stem and Leaf Plot Manipulatives.  Visit my CurrClick store to download a copy.  The list price is $1.43, however for my blog readers it is free.  You can only get it for free by using the link above.  I do ask, though, that if you download a copy, please take a moment to rate and review it on CurrClick.  It will really help other customers know that I provide quality products.

Karissa

Free Fractions Printable

One of the reasons I love schooling my children at home is because it allows each of them the opportunity to learn in his/her own style.  One of my children is a very kinesthetic learner.  She learns best when I give her a manipulative so she can really experience whatever it is she is learning.  So it was no surprise to me when she learned fractions that the fraction bars provided by her school were just the tool she needed to fully grasp the concept.  They were such an important part of the learning experience that I decided to make my own fraction bars and post them online for free.  Visit my CurrClick store to download your free copy.  Regardless of what type of school your child(ren) attend, having a set of these fraction bars at home can save time and frustration when solving fraction problems.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: A Maths Dictionary for Kids

How do you explain what a reciprocal is?  What does FOIL stand for?  What is a hypotenuse?  How many times have you tried to help your child with his math only to realize that you either don't remember elementary math, or can't explain it in a way he can understand?  Perhaps you need A Maths Dictionary.  A Maths Dictionary is a handy little website I found containing over 600 common math terms, and over 250 printable math charts.  Whether you are helping your traditionally schooled child with homework, or  planning lessons for your homeschooled child, I think you'll find this website very helpful.

Karissa

My 5 Favorite Apps (for Math)

Earlier this week I said that April is Poetry Month.  However, it is also National Math Awareness Month.  I decided this was the perfect time to bring back the My 5 Favorite Apps list.  So many of us are always on the go these days.  Take advantage of the free time your children have while they are riding in the car, or sitting in a waiting room and download these free apps so they can get some math practice.  As before, I have an Android phone, but I've done my best to find the iPhone version of each app.

5.  Math Workout - What I like about Math Workout is that it is 20 fast-paced questions.  It is simple and no frills, which makes it great for sneaking in a quick practice.  Here is Math Workout on iTunes.

4.  Math Attack - A great multiple choice math practice game that can include multiple operands.  Unfortunately, I did not find this game, or a comparable  alternative, on iTunes.

3.  Math Pack - As a mom, this is my favorite math app.  Math Pack goes way beyond simple flash cards.  There are options for division rules, fractions, decimals, and more!  It covers math from kindergarten through 8th grade, which makes it great for older kids too.  I did find Math Pack on iTunes, however it costs $0.99 there.

2.  Math Space - My daughter enjoys this game.  It's kind of like Asteroid meets math practice.  A math problem appears at the top of the screen.  Tap the corresponding enemy fighter to destroy it.  I did not find Math Space on iTunes, however Brain Warp appears to be similar.

1.  Math Race - This is my daughter's favorite math app.  She chose this as number 1.  It's a simple concept; correct answers power your vehicle.  The more questions you get right, and the faster you enter them, the better your race car does.  There is also the option to simply race as a nice brain break from math.  I did not find Math Race on iTunes, however Math Racing looks like a good replacement.





What apps can you recommend for math practice?  Comment below to share.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: The Pi Life

The good life should always include pie, but today we are talking pi...as in ∏, or 3.14159...  This mathematical ratio is celebrated around the world on March 14 (3/14).  The day also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday, which makes it a great reason to take a break from Reading Month for a little math.  

Mid-week Morsels general focus on one resource, however there are so many activities for Pi Day that this week's morsel is a little meaty.  First, I'll start with younger children.  Unless your children are in at least 4th or 5th grade, chances are they don't know about ∏.  Layers of Learning tells how to simply explain pi to children.  If you're feeling crafty, Helping Little Hands has a Pi Day t-shirt how-to (pictured to the right), and a circle collage activity your little ones are sure to love.  For younger children, celebrating Pi Day is more about exposure and making math fun.  They can still celebrate even if they don't understand ∏ or if you don't think it's appropriate to try to explain it.

For upper elementary and older children, there are a wealth of activities.  In my opinion, Education World and The Home School Mom have the best sites for activities and lessons.  More importantly, they both tell you what range of grade levels each activity or lesson is appropriate for.  TeachPi.org,  PiDay.org, and San Francisco's Exploratorium are all stock piled with information including videos, t-shirts, music, lessons, activities, events, and more.  Finally, Pam Burke is a high school math teacher who has posted activities she has done with her students on Mrs. Burke's Math Page.

Other resources I found were a video cartoon explaining Pi for older children, sodoku puzzles, a free unit study on ∏, and a Pi Day web quest.  

There are so many more resources out there for Pi Day.  If you want to do more searching on your own, here are three great Pinterest boards full of places to start:

Edutopia's Math Rules! Pinterest board

Shari Bithell's Pi Day Activities Pinterest board

Amy Gentile-Cantone's Pi Day Pinterest board

Karissa

All About Time

What time is it?  It's time to spring forward for Daylight Saving Time, which makes it the perfect time for some lessons all about time.  For many children, telling time is a milestone on their way to becoming more independent.  There are steps you can take to help even children too young to really tell time get a little closer to that milestone.  One step is to use a clock that chimes on the hour.  Chances are your child will notice a pattern on his own.  This will give you the opportunity to talk about time and introduce the concept that time can be measured.  Another step, which I used regularly with my sons when they were little, is to post a practice clock beside our wall clock.  Set the time on the practice clock to whatever time something important would happen (such as bedtime, time for a friend to come over, etc.).  Instead of asking if it's time yet, they can simply compare the two clocks to see if they match.  Even though they can't actually tell time yet, it gives them a sense of independence (and minimizes their asking, "Is it time yet?"  If you don't have a practice clock, here is a free one I posted last fall.

For children old enough to start learning to tell time, I have found a nice collection of lesson plans.  The general idea is to start with telling time to the hour.  Then practice telling time to the half-hour, quarter-hour, five minutes, and finally to the minute.  Here are links to some ready-made lesson plans from Teachers.net, Teach-nology, and Lesson Corner.

Children are inquisitive creatures, so you are bound to get questions about time.  I can't tell you how many times over the years my children have come up with questions that I just didn't know how to answer.  Keeping that in mind, I tried to anticipate some of the questions you might hear when talking about time.  I found a concise summary of the history of telling time on ThinkQuest.org.  Time for Time offers a more in-depth look at the history of time.  For visual learners, BritishMuseum.org has a video covering the history of telling time.

Once children have learned to tell time, they can move on to other lessons involving time, such as understanding time zones and Daylight Saving Time.  World Time Zone has pages for time zone maps, Daylight Saving Time, a sun clock, and more.  Both Time & Date, and About's Geography site tell the history of how time zones came to be.  If you are looking for information about Daylight Saving Time, visit either WebExhibits.org or DaylightSavingTime.com.  

I know this is a lot of information.  It may take some time to get through it all.  ;-)  And by the way, don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed tonight.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Printable Pattern Puzzles

Patterns are an important part of developing math skills.  Furthermore, understanding patterns help children problem solve, make predictions, and use reasoning skills in all other areas of their life.  This week's Mid-week Morsel highlights a resource found right here at Simply The Good Life.  When I first started the blog, I posted the Pattern Puzzles I created several years ago on my Free Printables page, but did not write a post about them.  Since traffic has been very low to that page, I decided to write a post about it.  There are 10 different pre-made pattern pages (meant to be duplex printed), 2 blank pattern pages for creating your own patterns (again, meant to be 2-sided), and 1 page of numbers to cut apart (print as many of this page as you wish).  I recommend printing them all on card stock, and laminating them if possible (particularly if you want them to last through more than one child).  I've considered creating more pages with more complex patterns such as ones using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  I'd love to have your feedback.  Would you like more Pattern Puzzles?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Christmas Factoring Tree

This week's Mid-week Morsel brings you a Christmas Factoring Tree.  Just in case you're not doing 5th grade math right now, a factoring tree is a diagram showing the prime factorization of a number.  Prime factorization is the process of breaking a composite number down into its prime factors.  My daughter does happen to be doing 5th grade math right now (which means so am I), so I decided to make it a little more fun for us to practice prime factorization.  I created two versions of this free printable; one sized to use at your student's desk, and the other sized to hang on a wall or chalk board.