How Can Teachers Use It?
Teachers can use the FlexMath lessons to help explain math concepts to the whole class or in small groups. In a flipped classroom environment, students could preview the lessons at home and work on learning the key vocabulary associated with each lesson. Practice exercises could likely be done at home or at school.
In the classroom, working on the exercises in pairs could help enhance math conversations. Teachers can use data from the website to check for students' understanding and plan next steps for instruction. FlexMath would also be a useful extension for students that are aspiring to explore more advanced math concepts.
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What's It Like?
FlexMath's free lesson plans and activities are designed to support middle and high school students' algebraic thinking. The site is currently adding new material -- at the time of review it has 84 algebra lessons, 5 geometry lessons, and a comprehensive set of mental math activities.
Students can browse and access the content on their own, or teachers can set up groups and assign content from the calendar page. Lessons are sorted by subject area -- however, there isn't any mention of Common Core State Standards, or any other standards, on the site.
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Is It Good For Learning?
FlexMath's best uses come with its solid approach to teaching algebra and mental math. Each lesson is divided into several parts including: presentation, exercises, practice, conclusion. The introductions for each lesson are a great way to set the stage for new learning concepts. However, while the site's blended-learning approach is nice, it isn't always clear which activities are intended for online completion, and which ones are paper-based. It would also be a bonus if content could be more accessible to English learners, and those with differing learning styles.
Setting up a class is fairly straightforward, but there are a few unnecessary obstacles. Teachers can't add students directly to their FlexMath groups. Instead, students must add themselves, providing an email address to FlexMath for account setup. Also, an easier way for teachers to assign and assess students' work would be nice. Teachers might find it helpful if they could mix and match lesson from all three subject areas on one calendar.
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Teachers add specific lessons to calendars for students to complete.
Lessons have seven parts that can be used whole class or assigned directly to students.
Students complete exercises with various levels of difficulty to practice a skill.
FlexMath includes mental math lessons with a variety of operations.
Student and teachers have access to progress reports.
