Teacher to Teacher Press

Meet Mr. L

By Bill Lombard on 17 June, 2009

Bill Lombard currently teaches at Foothill High School, ten miles east of Redding. He has taught at the high school level for twenty years, at the middle school level for six years, two years at Shasta Community College, and three years at the adult/teacher level as the Manager of the Teacher Education and Computer Center [...]

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Fourteen Factors of a Successful Algebra Program – by Brad Fulton

Fourteen Factors of a Successful Algebra Program – by Brad Fulton

By Bill Lombard on 4 January, 2009

NOTE: This post is written by Brad Fulton, Mr. L’s coauthor and partner from Teacher to Teacher Press. Many factors go into creating a successful program for preparing students for 8th grade algebra. Here are ones we feel have contributed to the success of our program. While you may decide that some of these strategies [...]

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Algebra Man, and His Trek Through the Hundreds Chart, by Brad Fulton, guest blogger

By Bill Lombard on 22 April, 2008

[N.B. - This post is written by my coauthor from Teacher to Teacher Press, Brad Fulton, with some slight tweaking from me. The activity will work well for students from grades 6 - Algebra 2. This is an extension of the activity Hundreds Magic, which can be found at the end of this activity under [...]

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Hundreds Magic – a Simple Diagram Produces Patterns, Number Sense, and Algebra Proofs

By Bill Lombard on 16 February, 2008

Students will be so amazed at the patterns they find in the hundreds chart they will think you are a “mathemagician“. Once hooked, they will use algebra to understand the magic. A favorite activity of my partner, Brad Fulton, and mine whenever asked to do a workshop for teachers, this chart can be found in [...]

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Menu Math – a Surefire Way to Introduce Algebra to Any Student

By Bill Lombard on 13 February, 2008

This activity is so easy to teach you might feel guilty for taking a paycheck! Students will quickly pick up on the meaning and use of variables and will be able to substitute values into formulas to solve them. As a bonus, students can learn the Distributive, Associative, and Commutative properties as well! My writing [...]

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Four In a Row – A Number Sense Game with a Chess-Like Strategy

By Bill Lombard on 9 February, 2008

Practicing multiplication of integers, variables, and binomials becomes a game in this highly motivational activity. As students use strategy to find four products in a row, they will solve and resolve numerous problems. Chess-like strategy characterizes this highly engaging game that helps students practice multiplication. Activity masters include game boards for integers, algebra, and a [...]

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Neighbors – a Math Game that Develops Number Sense and Strengthens Order of Operations

By Bill Lombard on 2 February, 2008

Students will enjoy competing against the teacher in this activity that richly develops number sense and operations. They will learn to apply order of operations and put square roots, exponents, and factorials to use. Once they learn the game, they will enjoy playing it in pairs or teams. To play the game, use the digits [...]

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Backwards Math – An Activity for All Operations and All Levels of Students

By Bill Lombard on 29 January, 2008

If you’re looking for an activity that can replace some boring sections in your math book, here’s a great one! Students will not only work intently for long periods of time, they will want to learn even more advanced operations such as exponents, roots, and factorials. Classes and groups of students will be challenged to [...]

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The Tax Collector – Number Sense and Problem Solving in a Game Format

By Bill Lombard on 28 January, 2008

This is a fun activity that reinforces factor concepts as it pits the student taxpayers against you, the tax collector! A game lasts about ten minutes. It can be used as a beginning or end-of-class filler. Be forewarned that if you begin your class with it, the taxpayers may revolt and demand that you keep [...]

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Tangrams – A Way to Visualize Fractions, Geometry, and Algebra

By Bill Lombard on 24 January, 2008

How would you like an activity that can be used at a wide variety of grade/ability levels, and covers fractions, decimals, percents, geometry, algebra, and language? Well, if this floats your mathematical boat, then read on. Many tangram activities ask kids to make different shapes from the seven tans, but don’t really ask them to [...]

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