More Fraction Fun!

Hi Ellie,

I just have one link for you tonight but there are 13 different Fishy Fraction Games you can play here.

Work your way down the left-hand column of games and then down the right-hand column of games -- they get harder as you go along. But that's OK, you're also getting better at math as we go along!!

Click on a game then click on [Begin Game], you'll be asked to register -- don't do that, just click on the button that says [Maybe Later].

Let me know how you're doing in the comments to this post, email me or call me. ;-)

And Have fun!!

Love ya!

Fractions Are Our Friends ;-)

I always say that in my classes. ;-) My students don't always believe me at first, but it's true. Working with fractions is heaps a lot easier than working with decimals. ;-)

Anyway, let's see what's on the menu for today:

• Fresh Baked Fractions; play the easy game and see how you do. If you feel good about it try the medium game. It would be a real good idea to have "Ellie's Math Dictionary" open next to you as you work through this game. The divisability rules you wrote down will help you reduce the fractions and solve the problems.



• Play the Multiples and Factors Game against, mom, dad or the computer. It works like Jeopardy -- have fun! (You remember what prime factors are right? ;-)



• Tic-Tac-Toe; play all the medium level games except for the "cubes" game.



• Math Car Racing; you're going to play the hard level; you're ready for it! This game is a little tricky -- I lost the first time I played it -- read the instructions very carefully. Play until you win!

We'll do some more work on fractions next time. If you get that bad feeling in the pit of your stomach while doing any of these games -- STOP PLAYING; try again later. You can also email me, call me or leave me a message on the blog -- I like hearing from you! And don't worry, before this school year ends you'll be at the top of your class in math! ;-)

Love ya!

Let's Play

Hi Ellie,

You're right! Doing the same thing over and over again can get tired real fast. ;-) Let's try some new games where we can practice some of the same skills and some new ones. Here we go ...

• Play MultipliACTION ; a game where you practice multiplying 4 digit numbers by two digit numbers. Don't forget to carry! (you might want to have a piece of paper next to you for scratch work as you do this one.)



• Play the Grid Game; start with level 1 and work your way up to level 3. If you have trouble or don't understand something first try clicking on [Tips]. If you need more help click on [Key Ideas]. This one is a lot of fun!



• Play Stop That Creature; stop the little green meannies by figuring out mathematical relationships and save Poddleville. Click on the ? ? to pick the rule.



• And finally try this FunBrain Order of Operations game. No time limit. Play until you've answered enough questions that you feel you're getting most of them right.

If you come across a word you don't know look it up in one of the dictionary links in the sidebar on the right. -->

Let me know if any of these are too hard, too easy or too confusing. ;-)

Love ya!

Primes and Divisability Rules

Hi Ellie,

That was great news! I'm glad to hear this blog is helping you in your math class. You asked for some stuff about prime numbers and I've got it for you. Before we get to that could you let me know how you're doing with the things I've already posted here for you. In particular I'd like to know how many of the addition and subtraction and multiplication practice you're getting right in one minute. If you don't want to post it here that's OK, you can email me. It will be really helpful to me to know this so I can give you exactly the kind of help you need. ;-) Here is another multiplication game. If you get 20 right in 60 seconds or less you get a prize!

The last link I left you in the first post below had this link which is a really good lesson on prime numbers. If you haven't worked through it yet now would be a good time to do so. ;-)

One of the reasons we need to know about primes is to find the prime factors of a number. Over there --> in the links list on the sidebar you'll find a couple of links to math dictionaries. Look for the definition of:

• factor


• prime number


• composite number


• prime factor

Copy them and email them to me. It might be a good idea to get a notebook to use for our work together. Let's keep track of all the definitions we learn (like the four above) in that notebook OK? We'll call it "Ellie's Math Dictionary."

Your teacher has also probably talked to you about Divisability Rules. These are little "tricks" we can use to test which numbers divide another number evenly. Read this list of divisability rules and copy them into your math dictionary. The ones for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are really important to memorize. We'll put the others (7, 11, 12 and 13) in our dictionary too just in case you ever need to look them up. ;-)

If you come across any words you don't understand, look them up in the dictionary links and copy the new words into "Ellie's Math Dictionary" -- please let me know about any new words you add to your dictionary.

When you're done with your dictionary (keep it open next to you) go here and scroll down the page to the examples. Read through them all carefully and then you'll find a five question quiz to see how well you understand what you've learned -- let me know how you did.

If you haven't already you're probably getting ready to learn about the G.C.F. (Greatest Common Factor) and the L.C.M. (Least Common Multiple). Don't worry if you don't know what those things are just yet -- we'll get there. ;-) Play with a factor tree game at this site. Scroll down the page until you see the Factor Tree link and click it.

Again, please email me and let me know how you're doing with the stuff I talked about way back in that first paragraph up there ^.