Christy Finn
Education 6310-010
Curriculum and Methodology Trends
Dr. Eisenwine
July 24, 2004
3rd Grade TAKS Math Resources
I teach a 3rd grade self-contained class at a 1A school district. When the State of Texas implemented a higher standard assessment tests for students, that would replace the TAAS tests, it raised alarm among the educational field.
Our elementary faculty delved into the process of aligning our curriculum vertically from grade level to grade level by adopting some new materials that would help meet our student’s needs in each academic area; including the new challenges that our students would be tested on by the state.. We adopted Excel Math as our core math program in grades K-6th. We found that this was an effective program for our student’s because of the repeated skills that would be reinforced from each daily lesson. I noticed gaps in the following objective areas: geometry, measurement, and story problems in my grade level content. We decided to find some supplemental curricula. We added to our present math program two bulletin board math concepts to narrow the gaps of instruction. First, we purchased the TAKS Target Practice which is designed to review TEKS-Based Assessment objectives of each grade level. We found this program highly effective after some teacher modeling. Another effective bulletin board set is called Targeting the Question. This program focuses on teaching students how to use effective problem-solving strategies to solve multi-step problems.
Since we adopted the above programs for our math curriculum, our math scores have continued to soar.
Some other effective sites to visit that have been beneficial to my classroom are mentioned below.
Study Island
The Study Island Database is packed with material covering all of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) that are tested on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in grades 3 through 8. For each subject (math, reading, writing, science, and social studies), the students must take a pre-test, complete all content groups covering all the TEKS, and pass a post-test in order to complete the program. Teachers have access to a private page where they can view usage statistics and results for each student, a group of students, and the school as a whole. In addition, teachers can compare their students’ performance against other students in Texas.
AAA Math
This site has many lessons that can be used as a resource for schools, parents, and students to help with areas in addition, algebra, fractions, geometry, measurement, money, patterns, etc.
Brainchild Online Assessment
Choose a state, then assess by grade level and by subject with diagnostics tied to state tests. Use this site to find strengths and weaknesses, and then go into an interactive learning mode directed towards the weaker areas. You may print scored assessments with feedback for correct and incorrect answers.
The Texas Center for Academic Excellence (TxCAE)
http://unx1.shsu.edu/~txcae/abouttxcae.html
This site will assist students who perform below average on the TAKS- Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test. They do online tutorials that are based on the TAKS strategies. The emphasis is on, but not limited to bilingual students.
Mathematics Benchmark Performance Assessments
This site allows a teacher to pick a certain TAKS objective that he/she would like the student to practice more on. Each question is aligned to TAKS objective and shows how the student arrived at their answer.
Kidport
Kidport provides a unique, multi-step program to teach K-8 students thinking and learning skills. Also, this site includes math, science, social studies, and language arts interactive education modules.
At Math
This website was developed to help students improve their math skills interactively. A student could visit the gameroom and play exciting games like Matho and Hidden Picture… Test your math skills with the Flashcards game; even print your own set of cards to study. Also, it has a Homework Helper.
Target the Question
http://www.lonestarlearning.com
Target the Question is a bulletin board program used to teach problem solving on a daily basis. It can be used during morning math or whenever the teacher feels it can be worked into his/her schedule. This program should be used in conjunction with a concept development program. Target the Question is correlated to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principal and Standards for School Mathematics. This program is also correlated to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.