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What suggestion can you offer for enhancing a specific lesson of a Glencoe mathematics text? Ideas may include using concrete objects to illustrate concepts, working with cooperative groups, incorporating ongoing assessment, or any other strategy that you have used successfully in your classroom.

Example: This activity was written by a teacher using the 2001 edition of Glencoe Mathematics: Applications and Connections, Course 2, Lesson 6-1, page 228. The lesson is entitled "Solving Addition and Subtraction Equations."

"To reinforce the Addition and Subtraction Properties of Equality, I use the example of a teeter-totter. You and a friend are perfectly balanced on a teeter-tooter. What happens if your friend jumps off? Or what happens if someone else jumps on with your friend?"




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Lesson 1-4: Mary J., Teacher
Columbus, OH

"You may want to use bingo chips as counters instead of using paper models. I also use golf tees instead of cups. Both manipulatives are inexpensive, more durable, easy to store, and take less set-up time."

Lesson 2-3: Mark F., Teacher
Mulica Hill, NJ

"When adding and subtracting integers or decimals, we include an activity that deals with making a budget or running a company. Students practice their mathematical skills and experience the idea of what accounting is all about."

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Lesson 2-10: Sandy H., Teacher
Griffin, GA

"I allow my students to play Battleship. Each player graphs 3 battleships, 3 destroyers, and 3 PT boats. Each pair of players takes turns calling out coordinates to sink the ships."

Lesson 4-1: Mary Jo D., Math Instructor
St. Francis, MN

"I like to have my students create a survey to measure the characteristics of the average 8th grader. We mail them out to other schools and then use spreadsheet software to analyze the results and make graphs."

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Lesson 4-7: Robert A., Teacher
Phoenix, AZ

"I generate class surveys using a spreadsheet format. Students answer questions regarding their height, number of pets, siblings, shoe size, wingspan, and so on. We then learn to use a graphing calculator to enter the data and create histograms, scatter plots, and box-and-whisker plots to explore the data and examine relationships."

Lesson 5-2: Clare P., Teacher
Lamberton, MN

"If a computer is available, students can use software like The Geometric Supposer: Triangles or LOGO for more practice in classifying triangles. Working in pairs, one students creates a triangle while the other classifies it and justifies their answer. Then they switch roles."

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Lesson 5-4: Suetta G., Teacher
Milford, VA

"If students have difficulty tracing (paper too thick to see through), they can use small mirrors to establish the location of each line of symmetry."

Lesson 6-1: Susan S., Teacher
Belle Plaine, MN

"I really like to have students use the Sieve of Eratosthenes to find prime numbers and discover divisibility patterns in numbers. I have students use different colors and shapes to denote divisibility patterns."

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Lesson 6-2: Janine L., Teacher
Broomfield, CO

"To introduce prime and composite numbers, I use color tiles arranged in rectangles. If they can be arranged in more than one way to form a rectangle, then they are composite. Remind students that squares are also rectangles. You can also use grid paper to do this activity if color tiles are not available."

Lesson 8-7: Cindy H., Teacher
Cumming, GA

"I have students create a unique shape using pattern blocks. They draw a scale figure of the shape on an index card and include step-by-step instructions on how to make the shape on the back of the card. Students exchange cards and try to build the figure from the instructions."

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Lesson 8-8: Lorraine J., Teacher
Columbus, OH

"Lay a mirror on the ground between the school and a student so he or she can see the top of the school in the mirror. Have others measure the distances from the mirror to the school and to the student, and from the student's eyes to his or her feet. Have them set up a proportion to find the school's height."

Lesson 11-2: Steve W., Teacher
Glencoe, MD

"I have my students use straws and trash bag ties to create three-dimensional geometric figures. They also use magazine pictures to create a pictorial geometry handbook that gives real-world examples of the geometry terms."

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