Recent Changes

Part 1:
Possible Lessons: Math
with doing.
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2) 30-60-90/45-45-90 Triangles respective triangle.
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3) Practical Optimization school career.
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4) Adding to my site.
LINKS to Math Sites that I use on a regular basis
1. INTERACTIVES - GEOMETRY 3D SHAPES
http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/
This site provides a good introduction to 3-dimensional shapes and how they are related to real-world situations. It shows all different types of polyhedron (3D shapes) and the parts that make up each shape. It also explores surface area and volume of some more common polyhedron, as well as the platonic solids, using an interactive method which allows the students to explore for themselves.
2. MATH OPEN REFERENCE
http://www.mathopenref.com/index.html
This is one of my most favorite sites. I use this site during the first half of the year when we are discussing basic 2-dimensional geometry. Each separate link within this website takes the students to a place that gives definitions, formulas, examples, and most importantly an interactive portion that allows the students to see what happens when a figure changes its size or shape. I add at least one of these to every one of my lessons.
3. MATH WAREHOUSE
http://www.mathwarehouse.com/
This site can be used for many different types of math, ranging from geometry to algebra to trigonometry. It is also an interactive site that allows the students to explore all types of concepts by clicking on an item from the homepage. Once an item is selected, many more topics on that specific item appear which gives definitions, examples, and interactive portions that give the students more in-depth details about the topic that they selected.
4. MATHS NET - THREE DIMENSIONS
http://www.mathsnet.net/geometry/solid/index.html
This site allows students to manipulate solid objects in ways they never could in "real life". These pages on solid 3D geometry collect together interative resources on the Platonic solids, pyramids, prisms, polyhedra, impossible objects, constructing 3-dimensional shapes, isometric views and much more. These applets are very useful when discussing surface area and volume of polyhedron.
5. STATISTICS APPLETS
http://www.bbn-school.org/us/math/ap_stats/applets/applets.html
I use this site for my AP Statistics class. It has applets that allow students to explore different types of distributions, confidence intervals, and significance tests which are extremely important in the understanding of statistical inference. Within the main page are links which can take the student to even more information relating to a specific concept. I find this site extremely useful when talking about statistical inference since this is such a vital part in helping students to prepare for the AP Final Exam at the end of the year.
6. TUTOR - USA FREE MATH EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
http://tutor-usa.com/worksheets/geometry
This site provides countless worksheets for pre-algebra, algebra and geometry. I always have trouble finding more examples, so I usually attach at least one of the worksheets to each lesson that we cover. The students are to print it out from my website so that we can go over these in class. I even use some of these examples on tests and quizzes that I make up.
7. MR. FORD'S MATH WEBSITE
http://teachers.redclay.k12.de.us/craig.ford/
This is the website that I created for my classes. I teach using a SmartBoard, so every lesson that we do in class in put on my site. I take each lesson or homework from the SmartBoard and turn it into a pdf file so that it can be read on my site. It is the responsibility of the student to print out the notes ahead of time so that all they have to do is fill in the missing parts in the notes while I am teaching the lesson in class. Also, my site can be used if students are absent and they did not get the notes or homework for that day.

I am a high school math teacher at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Red Clay Consolidated School District. I have been teaching at the school since its inception 17 years ago. I have been married for 6 years and have 3 children under 5 years old. I am NOT a diehard Pittsburgh fan, Philly RULES!!!
I would like to be become a bit more savy with technology and how I can integrate it into my classroom.
Craig Ford
TIP Lesson
MED7710
Michael Kunz
TIP Lesson
Part 1:
Possible Lessons: Math
1) Statistics/Data Analysis – Students select a question from a list, or they can use one of their own, to gather quantitative data from at least 50 people. They must then present there data using various graphical forms and display this data using either a poster board or a PowerPoint. For the conclusion, the students must write a 2 to 4 paragraph summary about their data. When it comes to analyzing the data, this is the part that the students have a difficult time with doing.
2) 30-60-90/45-45-90 Triangles – Students learn where these two types of triangles come from and the properties they possess. Many examples are given using both my SmartBoard and manipulatives. However, the students are still lacking how the ratios for each triangle are used in determining side lengths of each respective triangle.
3) Practical Optimization – In Calculus, students learn the importance of a derivative and how it can be used to help solve many crucial concepts. One of those concepts is practical optimization which is basically word problems that involve maximizing or minimizing a quantity of something that will produce the most efficient result. Students have a very difficult time understanding how to solve these types of problems because word problems have always been a sort of an enigma throughout their school career.
4) Adding to my Webpage – I have created a personal webpage that allows the students and parents access to everything we do in class. I teach using a SmartBoard, so once I am finished with teaching a lesson or going over homework, I turn it into a PDF file and upload it to my site. What I would like to do on my website is to create a link that would take the student or parent to a blog or a WIKI space so that there could be another way to answer or assist with any questions that they may have. This is definitely in the beginning stages, but something I am seriously considering adding to my site.

My name is Craig M Ford II
My email address is craig.ford@redclay.k12.de.us
My Wiki Space is http://craigford108.wikispaces.com
I am a high school math teacher at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Red Clay Consolidated School District. I have been teaching at the school since its inception 17 years ago. I have been married for 6 years and have 3 children under 5 years old. I am NOT a diehard Pittsburgh fan, Philly RULES!!!
I would like to be become a bit more savy with technology and how I can integrate it into my classroom.