ML Interest Tag: mathematics

How Bingo Can Help Teach Kids Math during Quarantine

By Ana-Maria Sanders

Photo: Pinterest

For more than a century, the game of bingo has been used as a teaching device. In Germany, during the 19th Century, bingo was used as a means to teach children the alphabet, how to recognize animals and multiplication tables. Today’s educators are still using bingo as a way to teach students mathematics at every level from basic vocabulary concepts to full problems. 

Kids are much more apt to retain math concepts if they are made fun of them. Games are a great motivator to get kids to participate in class. Students will often wholeheartedly dive into a math problem if it is put in the form of a game that they can play along with their classmates. 

Such games have become so popular as a teaching aid that some teachers try to incorporate bingo math games as a part of their regular lesson plans.

Here’s an example of how to set up a math bingo game. 

  • Create a bingo card for each student player. Having approximately 20 cards is a good place to start. You can create these ahead of time with answers to equations you come up with on your own, or you can find them online on various educational websites like the ones at the end of this article. If you are creating your own cards, try to keep the cards sufficiently random in order to ensure fairness among the students.  

  • Give each student a bingo card and approximately twenty bingo tokens to cover up the correct answers that appear on their cards. 

  • Write out the math problems for the bingo caller to give to students. The correct answer to the equations will be on the cards. If a player does not have the correct answer on their card for that problem, they don’t place a token on their card. 

  • The game continues until someone gets five answers on their cards in a line that either goes vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The first person who gets a bingo is the winner. Answers should be checked to make sure that the marked answers correspond with what was called out previously. 

  • You can have multiple winners for games if you keep going even after the first bingo is called. In the case of blackout bingo, the first person with all of the squares on their card covered by tokens is the winner. 

The difficulties of the problems can be adjusted for various grade levels and math aptitudes. Whether students are studying addition and subtraction, multiplication tables, division, or even algebra, bingo is a great teaching tool. One variation is to pair students who are struggling in math with classmates who are better at the subject. Provide calculators, scratch paper and pencils for each team and allow sufficient amounts of time for kids to work out the answers. 

Both parents and teachers have seen how well students respond to learning when it’s made fun for them.

Ana-Maria Sanders is a content writer at LoanStart.com. In her current role, she is responsible for managing the finance and operations of securities. Expect from all these, she loves writing blogs on various topics to give insights for managing finances.

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Doctors May Have a Way to Predict a Woman’s Risk for Gestational Diabetes, According to a New Study

by Erica Loop

Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science may have a way to predict a mother-to-be’s risk for gestational diabetes—and it’s all thanks to some serious math!

The study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, analyzed data on almost 600,000 pregnancies from Israel’s Clalit Health Services. Using a computer algorithm, the researchers were able to find nine parameters that could predict the risk for gestational diabetes.

photo: Nappy via Pexels

So what does this mean for you and other pregnant mamas? It’s possible with nine questions (the nine parameters) medical providers could accurately pinpoint risk for the disease well before the expectant mother shows signs of gestational diabetes.

Of the research, senior author Prof. Eran Segal of the Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and the Molecular Cell Biology Departments, said, “Our ultimate goal has been to help the health system take measures so as to prevent diabetes from occurring in pregnancy.”

—Erica Loop

 

RELATED STORIES

New Study Finds the Brains of Babies & Adults Sync Up During Play-Time

Girls & Boys Can Develop Math Skills Equally, According to New Research

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How to Make Long Car Trips Fun for Kids

By Shanise Williams

Although they know you’re traveling toward an exciting vacation, children typically don’t love long road trips. Ensure your time on the road goes as smoothly as possible by gathering an assortment of activities that will help pass the hours with ease. With a variety of games, surprises, and snacks, your family may discover that the journey is almost as entertaining and memorable as the actual destination. 

1. Plan Stops. To make driving long distances a breeze, it will be easier on the children—and you—o build several pit stops into your route. Consider finding parks, kid-friendly historical sites or favorite chain restaurants where you can stop to recharge. Any location that will enable everyone to rest, get a snack, head to the restroom and step out of the car for a little while will take your mind off of the monotony of the road. You can also hold challenges for the children at each stop to see who can sprint across the parking lot the fastest or do the most jumping jacks in two minutes. These “competitions” may tire them out so they’ll nap on the next leg of the drive.

2. Listen Together. Before you leave home, load your tablet or phone up with a few audiobooks for children that you will also enjoy listening to as you drive. To ensure the speaking voice doesn’t simply lull everyone to sleep, pause the audio every so often to discuss what you’ve heard so far. To encourage the children to listen intently, ask questions such as what they would have done in one of the character’s positions or what they believe will happen next. If you don’t think they’ll be interested in a new book, you can also find fun podcasts that will keep them engaged.

3. Play Observation Games. When considering road trip games that children will enjoy, choose interactive ones that will allow everyone in the car to participate. Searching to see who can find the entire alphabet on the license plates of passing cars, billboards or road signs, for example, will keep everyone awake and alert on the drive. In addition, play a story-building game that begins with “Once upon a time…” and requires each person to add the next piece of the story featuring something he’s noticed on the drive such as a man on a motorcycle, a dog on a billboard or a red house visible from the road.

4. Educational Apps. If your children become easily engrossed in their tablets, download several educational applications that they can play while you drive. Children’s television stations such as PBS or Disney, for instance, offer free games that feature characters from their most popular shows to teach lessons on grammar, mathematics, colors, shapes and problem-solving. You can also add apps that will allow the kids to complete jigsaw puzzles, color pictures and draw without making a mess in the car.

5. Offer Treasures. Encourage your child’s best behavior on the road with the promise of choosing a wrapped gift from a treasure chest at various points along the drive. Fill a colorful box with small treats such as toy cars, crayons, and an activity tablet, magnetic games, board books or plastic puzzles or snack-sized packages of candy or trail mix, for instance. The idea of receiving a gift for behaving may keep the kids quiet as you drive, and they will also be occupied with their presents afterward to earn you some additional time in peace and quiet.

Whether you’re taking a road trip toward a vacation or a family function in another state, spending several hours with restless children in a car might not sound like an ideal situation. Dress comfortably, give yourself plenty of time, anticipating the grumpy and impatient moments and prepare activities to keep kids engaged, you’ll find yourselves bonding and arriving at your destination sooner than you think.

 

 

I am a mom of three children and I love to write in my free time. I have loved to write about my trials and success of being a mom as well as the different tips, tricks and hacks I've learned for raising kids.

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Girls & Boys Can Develop Math Skills Equally, According to New Research

by Erica Loop

Does gender play a role in how children develop math abilities? According to recent research from Carnegie Mellon University, the answer is no.

The study, published in the journal Science of Learning, used functional MRIs of 104 children ages 3 to 10 years to better understand the brain-math skill development connection.

photo: Skitterphoto via Pexels 

Researchers gave the children educational videos focusing on early math concepts, such as counting and addition, to watch. They then compared the brain scans from the girls and the boys in the group.

Along with the functional MRI data, the researchers also compared the children’s brain scans to those of adult men and women who also watched the same educational videos and looked at results of the Test of Early Mathematics Ability from 97 children. The data analysis revealed no differences between the genders.

Postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Psychology, University of Chicago and first author on the paper, Alyssa Kersey, said in a press release, “It’s not just that boys and girls are using the math network in the same ways but that similarities were evident across the entire brain.” Kersey continued, “This is an important reminder that humans are more similar to each other than we are different.”

—Erica Loop

 

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Summer Learning Loss Is Real. Here’s How to Deal with It

By Eiko Nakazawa

Students’ loss of academic ground over the summer is widely referred to as “Summer Slide,” or “Summer Learning Loss.” While a luxurious three-month summer break does provide time for families to vacation and teachers to plan, the impact of this time away from school has been resoundingly negative for students, particularly with respect to their math computation skills. A lengthy summer break does not optimize for student learning and the duration of time U.S. students have between school years is longer than the majority of other national school systems.

The summer slide phenomenon has been documented since 1906, and more recently a narrative and meta-analytic review of 39 studies indicated student achievement declines over the summer, with the largest losses in children’s spelling and computational mathematics. Indeed, Dr. Megan Kuhfeld, a Research Scientist at the Northwest Evaluation Research Association (NWEA), finds that “in the summer following third grade, students lose nearly 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math. By the summer after seventh grade, students lose on average 36 percent of their school-year gains in reading and a whopping 50 percent of their school-year gains in math.”

NWEA’s findings illustrate not only that summer slide has a more deleterious effect on math than on reading, but that the amount of learning lost over the summer increases as a student progresses through school. 

But there are ways to prevent children’s summer learning loss! We’ve compiled our five most effective summer slide deterrents below.

1. Be intentional about setting time aside for learning.

  • It can be easy to forget all about academics when rushing from summer camp to ballet to the pool.  Intentionally scheduling time every day for literacy, numeracy, science, or writing may help to prevent valuable learning time from being replaced by other summer activities.

2. Talk to your child’s teachers.

  • They may be happy to recommend extension activities, or relevant workbooks, for your child to complete over the summer to give them a leg up in the fall.  

3. Read in the Evening

  • Taking time out of your busy schedule to spend 30 minutes reading with your child is invaluable.  Not only is there power in your child being able to see you read (just like them!), but it can be a wonderful way to ritualize reading, rather than computer games, before bed

4. Don’t neglect math and spelling.

  • Children’s largest academic losses over the summer are in spelling and computational mathematics. Make a list of age-appropriate spelling words and challenge your child to spell them in chalk outside or using lettered tiles from games around the house. Print out some math worksheets for your child to complete while on their way to summer camp or when waiting on the trains. Incorporate numeracy into everyday activities, talk about all the ways you can use math in the real world, or balance your checkbook with your child!

5. Hone in on challenges.

  • The summer represents a wonderful, stress-free opportunity to bolster a child’s skills. If your child was struggling with a particular subject or standard during the school year, taking just 20 minutes a day to work with them over the summer can produce remarkable results. Similarly, many summer programs offer targeted support in specific subjects and may your child to see and understand the material in a new way!
This post originally appeared on Dearest Blog.

I'm an NYC mom who is passionate about early education. I created Dearest to solve the quality issues of child care in the city, by connecting families with a community of educators who can take excellent care of the children while inspiring and teaching them.

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4 Ways Coding Is Beneficial for Your Child

By Eiko Nakazawa

The ubiquity of technology in recent years has turned coding into a requirement for basic literacy. Knowing how to use a smartphone or a tablet is not enough anymore. Schools in the UK, Singapore, and even some in the US, have already introduced coding in the curriculum. You may think coding is just for the future software engineers and computer programmers, but it’s actually a skill that can be beneficial to anyone, even at a young age.

So, how does teaching coding help your little one?

1. Your child will think about the world in a new way Steve Jobs once said, “Everyone should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” Not every job will require technical skills, but the logic-based thought one learns through programming is an important intellectual skill. Your child will start looking at the bigger picture while also learning how to break down big challenges into smaller, more manageable tasks

2. Coding will be beneficial in school Learning how to code helps your little one with problem-solving. Your child will learn how to plan actions in a step-by-step manner and structure answers in an organized way. Coding and mathematics are closely linked, each offering beneficial insight into the other. Children with programming knowledge can apply their concrete coding skills in understanding abstract mathematical concepts.

3. Your child will become a storyteller  Coding is sequential. A program has a beginning, progression, and ending. When programming, one must first figure out why one thing logically leads to another in a particular order and then think about how to express that sequence coherently. Thinking in abstract sequences is an important skill, extending far past programming. Many daily activities, from planning a walking route to school to recounting experiences of the day, require an ability to organize ideas and concepts sequentially.

4. Coding helps develops creativity Much like arts and crafts, coding is a form of expressing one’s creativity. Any problem has almost limitless paths to a solution. Part of the creativity of programming is finding out which path is the right one to take. According to Karen Brennan, one of the developers of Scratch (a free online computer programming language where you can create stories, games, and animations), “Kids were used to being told how to think, how to memorize. This allows them to be in control. It takes some time, but once kids have a little taste of being creative, many of them don’t want to look back.”

You don’t need to be an expert to teach your children how to code. There are simple and fun activities that you can do in your own home to teach your child the concept of coding.

This post originally appeared on Dearest Blog.

I'm an NYC mom who is passionate about early education. I created Dearest to solve the quality issues of child care in the city, by connecting families with a community of educators who can take excellent care of the children while inspiring and teaching them.

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Pi Day: A Never-Ending Celebration for a Never-Ending Number

by rtlisasnart

Pi — there’s no way around it. This famous irrational number is encountered every day in all things circular, from the pipes bringing water to your house to the soccer ball being kicked around the field. No need to stress about the mathematics involved, with the ratio of a circle’s circumference to diameter, but use it as an excuse to celebrate on March 14! Make the party planning easy by checking out these fun ideas that range from eating pie to running in the name of pi.

photo: Bennison’s Bakery Pi

Eat a pi(e). It’s a celebration, so why settle for just a slice of pie? Bennison’s Bakery in Evanston and Swedish Bakery in Andersonville are offering mini-pies for just $3.14. Choose your favorite flavor and dig right in!

Mar. 14; 6 a.m.-7 p.m.
Bennison’s Bakery
1000 Davis St.
Evanston
847-328-9434
Online: bennisonscakes.com

 

photo: Illinois Science Council Pi Day Pi K

Go for a Stroll. Work off that pi(e) by signing up for the Pi Day Pi K Fun Run/Walk. On the evening of March 14, get the family moving for 3.14 miles at one of the 4 locations (Old Town, South Loop, Lincoln Park and Elmhurst) and then celebrate your exercise with a party at the finish! There is a $10 registration discount for students under 17 and you’ll be supporting the Illinois Science Council while having fun.

Mar. 14; 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
Pi Day Pi K Fun Run
Fleet Feet Sports in Old Town, Lincoln Square & Oak Park
Online: PiDayRun.org

Eat a pizza pi(e). Simplify meal time by dialing up your local Lou Malnati’s for a some of that buttery, deep-dish goodness.

Online: loumalnatis.com

Lucky for you we have a list of America’s best pizza by state, just in case you’re on the road 3.14.

 

photo: Museum of Science and Industry

Test Your Engineering Skills. LEGOS may not be round, but the whole family will be amazed by the creations of all shapes and sizes on display in the Brick by Brick exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Admire the round shapes of the Hoover Dam and Roman Coliseum recreations. Kids can use their engineering knowledge to build structures to withstand earthquakes or get creative in the open build area.

Mar. 14; 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Museum of Science and Industry
5700 S. Lake Shore Drive
Hyde Park
773-684-1414
Online: msichicago.org

Play a Game. If you prefer to keep the celebration at home, pick up the Pie Face game for the whole family to enjoy. Siblings will wait in anticipation to see who will end up covered in cream and you might even have fun getting in on the action. Visit Building Blocks Toys or Cat & Mouse Games to pick up the game and get ready for a night of family fun! If you’re short on time, call ahead and the store will have your order waiting.

Mar. 14; 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Cat & Mouse Games
2212 W. Armitage
Bucktown
773-384-4454
&
1112 W. Madison St.
West Loop
312-465-2178
Online: Cat-n-mouse.com

Mar. 14; 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Building Blocks Toys
3306 N. Lincoln Ave.
Lakeview
773-525-6200
&
2130 W. Division St.
Wicker Park
773-235-1888
Online: buildingblockstoys.com

Do you have any fun Pi Day plans? Throw them at us in the Comments below!

—Maria Chambers & Lisa Snart

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Promoting Healthy Habits for the New Year

by jryan
Partner Content

This post originally appeared on Seng Nickerson’s blog, Sengerson.com

One of the hardest things for busy parents is putting together healthy and convenient options for dinner and snacks that adults and kids would actually want to eat AFTER the sugar-filled holidays. Some resolutions are way too ambitious and others fail because families get way too busy.

However, the start of a new year is the best time to reboot a health routine. While making kids eat broccoli and Brussels sprouts doesn’t normally get them excited about healthy eating, there are a few ways that you can motivate kids to start and continue maintaining these simple habits over time (and throughout their life). And for adults, let’s be honest, convenience is the number one reason why some health routines fail.

Planning Menus As a Family. One of my friends actually told me that their six-year-old is in charge of their menu for one night of the week. Crazy right? She told me that on Wednesdays, their five-year-old is given the parameters of their meal planning: it has to be healthy, they are in charge of making sure all ingredients are available, and planning side dishes (canned obviously). This is crazy, yet genius!

Colorful Game Plates. My mother-in-law got these fun game plates for our Sunday dinners one year, and it has become a favorite with the kids. You can hide the dessert at the end of the game plate until they finish their meal. I often add delicious Jif® Power Ups™ as their reward for finishing up their dinner at meal time! It’s a great way to mix up what your kids eat and encourages them to eat what’s being served for dinner and eventually reward them with a healthy snack option at the end. It makes dinner time pleasant and avoids the “how many more bites do I have to eat?!”

Keep Them Learning While Cooking. With such a busy schedule with four littles, I try to combine things when I can. This includes reinforcing school mathematics with dinnertime. I love having them count out ingredients, add ingredients and talk through the number of ingredients I would need if I had to double the recipe.

Healthy and Filling Snacks. When you are hungry (like me during the end of a long work day), it can be super difficult to avoid temptations such as cookies, muffins from the office cafeteria, or that chocolate bowl in the middle of the aisle. Nuts, seeds, beans and Jif® Power Ups™ are great snacking staples that provide flavorful and versatile options when you are trying to stick to your New Year’s resolutions while trying to stay energized after work or school. Having sensible swaps using Jif® Power Ups™ will keep you, and the kids, satiated!

These are just a few ideas that most families can manage to include in their weekly routines. These small changes can make a big difference in setting the entire family on a healthier and more energized path for the new year.

The best part about these tips is that you are doing it together as a family – built-in accountability partners.

 

This post was sponsored by Jif® Power Ups™. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 


Seng is a modern, working mom sharing her love for her family, home renovations, product reviews, home management/organizational tips, fun DIY craft projects, and digital scrapbooking.  By sharing her life experiences through her blog, she is able to inspire others to also balance parenthood, goal setting in their careers, and pursuing their hobbies. Read more about Seng on her blog, Sengerson.com.

 

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Win a $300 Gift Certificate for Summer Camp at the Youth Technology Center

by writerredtri

There’s no better way to fight the summer blahs than with a fun educational opportunity that will challenge the mind and engage any kid’s curiosity. We’re big fans of summer camps that combine knowledge and entertainment, learning with fun ‘n games. Now, one lucky winner of the Red Tricycle Big Peach Giveaway will get a $300 gift certificate to use toward summer camp at The Youth Technology Learning Center.

What’s the scoop on the YTLC? 

The Youth Technology Learning Center (YTLC) teaches children ages 3 to 16 the value of STEM education, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts taught through problem-solving, discovery, exploratory learning and critical thinking. YTLC programs offer hands-on learning opportunities that encourage scientific inquiry, investigation and experimentation. Their inquiry-based lessons challenge students as they build, investigate, problem solve, discuss, and evaluate scientific and design principles in action. Their classes include Elementary Engineering, Lego Robotics, Video Game Creation, Movie Making, Character Creation, and Drawing classes as well as Winter, Spring, and Summer Camps.

How to enter:

Enter now by going to the Red Tricycle Atlanta; if you haven’t already, “Like” us and a really short entry form will magically appear! Simply fill it out and you will be entered to win one (1) gift certificate for summer camp at YTLC, valued at $300. Delivery is included in the prizing (continental US only).

Want to double, triple, and even quadruple your chances to win?

1. Invite friends! For each friend that enters and mentions your name, you will get an extra entry.
2. Tweet this post by simply clicking on the tweet button above.
3. “Like” the YTLC Facebook page and leave a comment on this page by using the comment box below.

The YTLC gift certificate winner will be picked on June 1, 2013 at 9:00 am PT.

Read itty bitty contest rules here

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