Final Portfolio
Final Portfolio
Fall 2015
Cover page
_______/1 pt
2.
Portfolio rubric
_______/1 pt
3.
Table of contents
_______/2 pts
4.
Math Autobiography
_______/5 pts
5.
Teaching Statement
_______/10 pts
6.
Introductory Letter
_______/10 pts
7.
Resume
_______/5 pts
8.
9.
_______/10 pts
b. Assessment
_______/3 pts
c. Reflection
_______/5 pts
_______/10 pts
b. Assessment
_______/3 pts
10.
_______/10 pts
11.
_______/15 pts
12.
_______/10 pts
Total
_______/100 pts
Table of Contents
Math Autobiography
4-5
Teaching Statement
6-7
Introductory Letter
8 - 10
Resume
11
12 - 18
19 - 21
22 - 24
25 - 44
45 - 47
Math Autobiography
My love of math started during 4th and 5th grade when I would win around the
world multiplication games. I loved competition when I was kid and multiplication
games were something that I could easily visualize in my head. I always struggled in
reading and writing, so math always helped my self-esteem and gave me confidence
during my elementary years. I was enrolled in SIGHTS for math, which was a special
program for gifted and talented students in a certain subject. During elementary years, I
had the same teacher for all subjects until 4th and 5th grade where I would have one
teacher for math and science and one for language arts and writing. I always looked
forward to my math class.
In middle school years, I continued to do well in math and was able to take
algebra my 8th grade year vs. taking pre-algebra. I had a wonderful 8th grade math teacher
who not only made learning math fun but also dedicated her time and energy to tutoring
students outside classroom hours. I always liked going to math tutoring even though I
wasnt necessarily struggling, but it would solidify my math foundation. I again always
looked forward to math class because not only did I do well but I also enjoyed putting in
extra effort to really excel.
As high school started, math became more and more of a struggle for me. I wasnt
connecting with my teachers as well and I could not make sense of classes like statistics
and geometry as I could with algebra and elementary math. I didnt find my love of math
again until I was in a freshman year undergraduate class, pre-calculus for business majors.
I had a great teacher who used certain teaching methods that would re-enforce her
teachings and make sure we understood the concepts. Just like in my 8th grade algebra
class, I was able to go above and beyond because I could connect and it made me feel
good about myself.
In my adult life, I have used math to solve everyday problems. Anywhere from
calculating the tip at a restaurant in my head to sales taxes to retail sales. I find myself
using math almost everyday. In the business world, I learned to incorporate formulas and
computer skills in a program called Microsoft excel which I definitely find similar to a
mathematical equation. Having the skills to exceed in a computer program used heavily
in the business industry, I feel is a direct reflection on how I understand math. I hope to
take my own experience throughout my life in math and become a middle school math
teacher who empowers her students to not only exceed but to go beyond in order to find
their own self confidence, foundation, and excellence in a subject that is crucial to
everyday life.
Teaching Statement
I believe that it is my duty as an educator to treat every student kindly,
respectfully, and be responsive to all their individual needs and differences. Instead of
pushing my students to fit into a certain mold, as Michel Foucaults concept of
normalized power would say, where one answer is the only right answer, I believe in
individuality and will facilitate the process of learning for each individual. I want to
educate my students on diversity so that everyones differences are seen as valuable and
therefore create a deeper understanding of cultures, languages, and identities. William
Newmans idea of true integration is when all individual differences create a whole new
culture which is what I want my classroom to incorporate. To celebrate our
individualities, we will learn about each others heritages with an international food
festival and virtually visit other countries around the world through creative lesson plans.
This spread of cultural knowledge will help my students come together for true
integration, so that they will be smarter, wiser, and kinder to one another.
As an educator, I believe all children should receive a quality education and
will encourage my students to achieve and succeed. By Jean Anyons definition of a
quality education, only the executive elite have the opportunity to receive a quality
education. No matter what socio-economic background my students have been born into,
I will strive to foster their intellectual ability to improve themselves as well as develop
their ability to work together. Lev Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development states that
the experience of working with others will only make students achieve more through
learning with their peers. Organized group activities will be incorporated into lesson
plans so my students can enhance their concrete operative skills by planning, executing,
and transforming ideas as individuals and as a group. This idea of learning by doing is
what I will incorporate into my curriculum so that my students will have the freedom to
express their selves, work together, and that this type of self actualization will lead to a
real education.
I want my classroom to represent my belief that students are the most important
assets to our future. My education philosophy is a combination of progressivism with
hopes to evolve into social reconstructionism. It is not enough to just educate our youth
on a subject matter but we need to also empower our students during the process. John
Deweys belief in hands on, interdisciplinary, real-world learning is something I want to
incorporate into any curriculum I teach. I truly agree that the educational process is as
important if not more important than just a basic foundation of scholarly knowledge. My
students will learn how to apply and maximize their skill sets in order to engage in social
reconstructionism. An example of this type of education could be a lesson on Earth Day
and I would incorporate recycling, environmental sustainability, and our ecological
welfare to add real value to my students lives on what Earth Day could mean for our
future. My students will want to ask questions that raises difficult issues in hopes for
social justice for all. If we as educators do not empower our students to think for their
selves, than we are creating an injustice for their future, survival, and the overall well
being of mankind.
Introductory Letter
My name is Rachel Ryman and I started my journey to become a teacher at an
early age. I grew up always wanting to become a teacher, played school during my
childhood, and enjoyed school throughout my adolescence. When I went into high school,
I started working for my familys retail business and decided to change my course toward
business. Throughout college, I continued to fluctuate between business and education,
but graduated with a retail management degree. After working over five years in the
business industry, I am more than certain that my real destiny is to become a teacher. I
am grateful for the struggle Ive had to get to where I am today because now I am fully
committed to becoming a teacher. Ive learned that a real childhood dream is allowing
yourself to follow your heart, and my heart has always been full of love, compassion, and
understanding for children.
After completing the MAT program, my goal is to obtain a mathematics
certificate of eligibility that will enable me to teach math up until 8th grade. Math 596
taught me, that in my opinion, the most essential part of teaching math is getting the
students to understand conceptuality behind math operations. At first, the class made me
nervous because what if I did poorly? If I didnt understand the concepts of math, how
was I ever going to teach it to my students? I always loved math because numbers come
easier to me than words but what if I cant connect the dots for others? Math 596
combined activities, lessons, and resources in order to effectively teach, understand and
compute elementary to middle school math. An activity such as battleship was a great
game to play for students to practice on their understanding of place values. The lesson
on modeling subtraction uses three different forms, Think Addition, Down over 10, and
Take from the 10 to help students understand the idea behind subtraction. Resources
such as place-value mats (with ten-frames), double ten frames, and hundreds chart are
great tools for students to use manipulatives to model computation and reasoning
strategies behind addition and multiplication. There are a lot more examples of the
different activities, lessons, and resources that Math 596 has taught me throughout this
portfolio. For someone who has been out of school for a while, it was very intimidating to
take two tests going over all the concepts we learned throughout the semester. However,
all the strategies really stuck with me and helped me do well on our two tests.
During this class, I student taught part-time at Grant Elementary in Trenton. I
only had the opportunity to teach two math lessons to my 5th grade class but did learn a
valuable lesson. Differentiation, small groups, and individual assessments will be
necessary when teaching in a K-5th grade classroom. Students were at varying levels and
some were struggling with basic math skills that enabled them to learn new concepts. I
conducted two different math study group with two students in each group. The first two
students had scored the lowest on their math assessment. I worked with the two students
on developing their number sense with addition using base ten blocks and a place value
chart. It was challenging to get them engaged at first because I think they were
intimidated to do math practice with me. As we went through the lesson and they saw it
was more about a concept rather than finding the actual answer seemed to help them
relax and be more responsive. Saniya, who usually does not engage at all was really
involved and wanted to solve the equation right away. Vilbert was a little more distracted.
I think he was happy to be working in a math study group but was still intimidated since
Saniya was taking such an initiative with responses. After working with these two
students for two days, 30 minutes each time for two consecutive days, I realized that
small group work is vital for mathematics. In this classroom, more time is devoted to
ELA than math, science, and social studies but I think that is a district practice.
I pulled a different math study group who were also having a hard time
understanding concepts. I started off the group like I did with the first, going over
addition in base ten block strategy. This study group study did extremely well and they
really seemed to understand why you have to carry over tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.
Esmeralda was able to come up with my bonus of question of making a number using 31
pieces of base ten blocks. I was really pleased with the result of this study group!
For my class lessons, I only had enough time to teach two math lessons. These
topic lessons included writing numerical expressions and understanding measurements of
volume. Math is such a building subject that I would have liked to been able to teach at
least three consecutive lesson plans which, in my opinion would have been more
powerful than teaching two different lessons. Due to time constraints, my focus was more
on ELA lesson plans. However, I think consistency and reinforcement are two very
important elements of teaching math. I look forward to full-time student teaching when I
will have more opportunities to teach math!
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Rachel'E.'Ryman'
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December'2016#
Certification#in#Elementary#Education#@#Current#GPA#3.8/4.0#
The'Art'Institute'of'Houston'''
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Houston,#TX'
Bachelor'of'Science'in'Retail'Management'>'GPA#3.5/4.0''
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2007>2010#
Study#abroad#in#Paris,#France#and#attended#Design#Management#Program#at#The#New#School#in#New#York,#NY#
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Teaching'Experience''
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September''November'2015'
Developed#and#taught#multiple#ELA#and#Math#lesson#plans,#Social#Studies#unit#(Early#Civilizations#in#Americas)#
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Responsible#for#afternoon#and#summer#care#of#K@2,#planned#activities#according#to#Montessori#core#values#'
Professional'Experience'
Ballet'Jewels' '
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Assist#Sr.#Account#Manager#and#VP#of#Sales#on#private#label#account#with#an#annual#goal#of#$14#million'
Manage#order#flow#process#from#presentation#to#purchase#order#by#working#with#all#teams#to#ensure#accurate#
communication,'pull#weekly#sales#from#Retail#Link#(external#sales#database)#to#implement#business#strategies#'
Maidenform' '
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Sales>'Mass'Sales'Analyst'
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Partner#with#planning#&#souring#to#monitor#direct#ships,#inventory#levels,#and#replenishment#items#
Receive/distribute#purchase#orders,#sku#breakdowns#and#carton#assortments#from#buyer#level,#prepare#and#
recap#weekly#sales#report#and#distribute#to#all#levels#of#management#internally#
Oscar'de'la'Renta,'LLC'
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New#York,#NY'
Sales>'Wholesale'RTW'Assistant''
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Compile#and#analyze#reports,#prep#for#seasonal#market#shows;#liaison#between#sales#and#merchandising,#
distribute#selling#tools,#update#team#and#clients#on#outstanding#information#in#order#to#meet#order#deadlines#
Provide#customer#service#through#excellent#follow#up#as#Sales#department#main#point#of#contact#'
The'H.'Company,'LLC'dba'Halston' '
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New#York,#NY'
Operations'>'Customer'Service'Representative'' '
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August'2010''July'2011'
Liaison#between#Operations,#Accounts#Receivable,#Logistics,#and#Sales#Department#
Reduced#past@due#balances#from#over#$11.8#million#to#just#under#$360K,#created#internal#system#to#track#client@
specific#past#and#current#payments,#and#created#a#process#to#ensure#accuracy#and#timely#delivery#going#forward#
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Honors'&'Achievements:'Recognized#as#an#entrepreneur#in#Lucky#Magazine,#Papercity,#and#Tribeza#Magazine;#Published#
articles#on#Shop#Girl#(Houston#Chronicle#Blog),#Houstontidbits.com,#and#in#Houston#Studybreaks#Magazine;##
Software:'Advanced#user#of#Microsoft#Office#(Excel,#PowerPoint,#Word),#Smartboard,#IPAD,#and#Internet#Explorer#
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References'Available'Upon'Request#
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Assign two people from each table to collect materials. One person to grab
markers, one person to grab white boards.
Explain to the students they will write out the examples on the video on their
white board. I will pause the video for 10 secs after the statement and ask students
to raise their board.
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Closure
Key Points numerical expressions can be written for both real-life
expressions as well as mathematical expressions , it is important to pay
attention to key words to understand what operation to use. What were some
of the keywords they used? See exit ticket below. B, C, D are ALL
CORRECT
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Formative Assessment Who was able to answer the video questions on their
white board vs. who needs more practice?
Summative Assessment
o Quantitative Were the students able to complete the exit ticket? If
there is time left over, students can complete additional practice
worksheet.
o Qualitative Were students able to participate in who wants to be a
millionaire game?
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an opportunity to incorporate games and math! Mrs. Stewart suggested we put the game
in their Google classroom so the students can access it whenever they want.
What would you change to improve the lesson?
There a number of things I could do to improve the lesson based on the
suggestions from Professor Inverso as well as my own observations of the lesson and
after checking their homework. I completely agree that I should have started off the
lesson with the exact definition of a numerical expression. When grading their homework
I think about half of the students understood the concept of what an expression is.
Granted, all students did the math homework whether they received the lesson or not. I
divided their homework into who understood the concept and just made a few mistakes (I
will briefly call the students over for one on one instructions) vs. who I need to reteach
the lesson to in a small group. I think that my DO NOW was too complicated for the
students since it really should have been based off of Mrs. DeGrazis previous lesson of
PEMAS (order of operations). I would have incorporated her lesson into my DO NOW
problem so that students could see the transition of order of operations into writing
numerical expressions. I also think the suggestion that I do the problems with the students
so that they can see the correct thought process on how to write an equation would be
beneficial. While the video, in my opinion, was a nice resource, I think if I could have
worked through the problem with the students they would have understood it even better.
What would you change to improve student growth if you had to teach the same
lesson with a different group?
I will have to teach the lesson again with the students who missed the lesson the
first time. I think what I will do is start with the definition of a numerical expression and
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walk them through a problem together so that I can model it for them. I will give them
brief exercises, which will include going over their homework they already did.
How might these changes improve the lesson?
I think this will greatly improve the lesson because I will be explaining to the
students what we are actually doing rather than just assigning a do now problem and
using it as an assessment. I think it is more beneficial to use the DO NOW as a tool to
activate prior knowledge like Professor Inverso suggested.
Even if your lesson went perfectly, how might you achieve the same success using
different strategies?
I think modeling strategy is definitely needed when introducing a new
mathematics concept. Having the students work out the problem with me verbally,
visually, and at their desk incorporates all different learning strategies.
How might you rearrange groups in future lessons?
The class was organized by tables, which I think was adequate but I could have
done a better job organizing them during the interactive game. I think they should have
taken turns when answering the question instead of electing one leader from each group.
It became confusing and time consuming on which answer was correct.
Identify positive (not punitive) classroom management techniques you could
incorporate in both the lesson and the routine of the class to achieve self-discipline
among the students.
I worked on knowing the students names so that I could call on them rather than
having them shout out the answers. However, when students were finished with their
white boards they would kind of wave them in my face, which was distracting. I could
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have walked around the room more rather than standing right next to the computer. It was
also difficult in the beginning to have the students begin the lesson since half of the class
was walking in and out of the lesson. I did start off with a brain break, which helped the
kids I think settle down into their chairs and transition into math. We also switched the
order of the day so that I was able to teach math in the morning vs. regularly scheduled
math in the afternoon, which might have confused the students a bit.
What other thoughts occurred to you during the lesson or after the lesson that might
enhance the lesson or further engage the students?
I think I have a hard time communicating in the beginning what we are doing
which is probably confusing to the students. I think that I need to right away identify
what I am going to teach them so that students know what to expect. It might be helpful
to write an agenda on the board so that the students know the flow of the lesson. I also
think I need to scale back on the activity portion since the lesson content is taking longer
than expected. Again, maybe if I clarify to the students what we are doing with exact
definitions, and model the DO NOW problem with them (which should be activating
prior knowledge), I wont have to spend so much time on the content.
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1:01 1:20
Great! Now that we have a refresher of how to solve volume, lets discuss the
meaning of cubic?
What does Cubic mean slide
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12/7/15&
Do&now!&
What&does&Cubic&mean?&
1&cubic&cen<meter&=&1&cen<meter&x&1&
cen<meter&x&1&cen<meter&
Same&as&1&cen<meter^3&
&
Which&unit&is&best&to&use&to&nd&the&
volume&of&a&soccer&ball?&
&
a.&cubic&meters&
Standard&System&
Inch(
=(1(sugar(cube(
Foot(
=(Similar(to(your(foot(
b.&cubic&kilometers&
c.&cubic&millimeters&
d.&cubic&cen<meters&
Yard(
=(used(in(football(eld((
Know&your&METRIC&measurements!&
Mile(
=(distance(from(one(city(to(another(
Know&your&Standard&measurements!&
Metric&System&
Millimeter(
=(1(drop(of(milk(in(a(tsp(
Cen4meter(
=(1(small(grape(
Meter(
=(Length(of(a(guitar(
Kilometer(((1(=(1,000(meters)(
=(traveling(one(city(to(another(
Which&unit&is&best&to&use&when&
nding&the&volume&of&water&in&an&
OlympicNsized&swimming&pool?&&
a.&cubic&millimeters&
b.&cubic&meters&
c.&cubic&inches&
d.&cubic&miles&
Exit&Ticket&
&&
Amir&purchased&a&pair&of&mens&shoes&and&wanted&to&gure&out&the&
amount&of&space&inside&the&shoebox.&Which&is&the&best&es<mate&of&the&
amount&of&space&inside&the&shoe&box?&
aN&&&&cubic&millimeters&
bN&&&&cubic&cen<meters&
cN&&&&cubic&inches&
dN& &cubic&feet&
&&
Which&best&represents&an&appropriate&measurement&of&the&amount&of&
space&inside&a&car?&
aN&&&cubic&inches&
bN&&&cubic&feet&
cN&&&cubic&yards&
dN&&&cubic&miles&
1&
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worksheet. Students will be able to practice their money counting skills by doing coin
rubbings and filling in the cents below.
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3. Snap a spoon Students will develop the understanding of the equivalent relationships
between fractions, percentages, and decimals. Students will be able to play a game where
they make three of a kind using all three forms. They students will pass around flash
cards until they can make three of a kind and grab the first spoon. The flash cards will
have percentages, fractions, and decimals. As soon as one person grabs the spoon, the
other team members will try to grab the remaining spoons. Prior to the game, students
will have reviewd that percent means per/100. The fraction 37/100 is equivalent to 0.37
in decimal form and 37% in percentage form.
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5. Area Leaf Activity Students will develop the understanding of calculating the area
and perimeter. Students will be able to find the area and perimeter of a leaf using
marshmallows as the counters. In order to get students thinking about how to calculate
the area and perimeter of a shape, it is important to get students familiar with the concept
prior to teaching them formulas. Students will be given a worksheet with a leaf on it.
They will have to fill in the leaf with marshmallows in order to find the area and fill out
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6. Estimation 180 website Students will develop the understanding of a number sense
and problem solving skills. Students will be able to visit the Estimation 180 website daily
and guess the estimation challenge. Everyday students will have the opportunity to
develop their number sense of seeing real life images such as a soda can, a vase, a glass
and trying to guess the actual measurement. They will have a worksheet that they can fill
out everyday and explain their reasoning. This website helps build measurement
benchmarks so that students can conceptualize their understanding. Here is an example
below:
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Estimation 180
Name:
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8. Pouring Water into Transparent GeoSolids Students will develop the understanding
that volume of a pyramid is 1/3 volume of a prism. Students will develop the
understanding the volume of a cone is 1/3 volume of a cylinder. Students will be able to
pour water from a pyramid into a prism to see that it will fill up the prism 3 times.
Students will be able to pour water from a cone into a cylinder to see that it will fill up
the cylinder 3 times. This activity helps students understand the concept of volume and
the relationship between the different shapes. Prior to this activity, students have explored
the volume formula of a prism = L X W X H or Bh. Students will be introduced to the
volume formula of a pyramid = 1/3Bh. Prior to this activity, students have explored the
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volume formula of a cylinder = pie x r2. Students will be introduced to the volume
formula of a cone = 1/3pie x r2.
9. Gathering Students Data Students will develop the understanding the there are
graphs to represent categorical data and continuous data. Students will be able to
represent common categorical data gathered in the classroom in a bar graph and circle
graph. Students will be able to represent continuous data from weather predictions in
histogram, steam/leaf graph, box and whisker plot, and line graphs. We will gather data
on how many siblings all the students have. The students will then represent their
findings by drawing a bar graph and a graph. They can come up with probability and/or
fraction observations using the circle graph as a pie form.
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Students will take a two week weather forecast report and display their findings in a
histogram, stem/leaf graph, box and whisker plot, and line graph.
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Next they will be introduced to Fun with Subitizing and asked to recognize a pattern.
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An out of class assignment will be for the students to find an example of a subitizing
picture to share with their classmates.
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3. Cyberchase http://pbskids.org/cyberchase
- Cyperchase is a very popular television series targeting important mathematics. The site
offers videos that model fractions with real-world connections. Also offered are activities
such as Make a Match in which students examine the concept of equivalent fractions
and match a fraction with a graphic representation of that fraction. Another activity Is
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Half in which students explore the fractions of
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geometric shapes-in particular, the thirteen ways half of an eight-piece square can be
arranged. This will help students develop graction concepts.
4. Circle 3 http://nlvm.usu.edu
- This game challenges students to use logic as they combine decimals to add to 3. Not
as easy as it sounds as the practice their concepts of decimals and percents.
5. Fish Simulation Applet I http://mathforum.org/escotpow/puzzles/fish/applet.html
- A collection of two colors of fish is to be place into three ponds to create specified
ratios within each pond. Students should find out whether there is more than one solution
and then make similar problems for their classmates to practice proportional reasoning.
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- Developing concepts of data analysis this site provides tools for creating five different
graphical displays.
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