Geometer Sketchpad

Geometer Sketchpad is a computer program that is very useful for drawing figures to exact tolerances in order to study their geometry. Whether the student needs to study angles, circles, triangles, any other shape or how they all relate to each other, Geometer Sketchpad can provide a way to produce accurate figures that have exact angles, lengths, and can even keep proportions correct when changing the figures.

Geometer Sketchpad does not require in depth knowledge of the program in order to use the basic functions. It is very simple to produce basic shapes, and could probably be used by students as young as first grade. Yet it also can be complex enough to be used at the college level when studying angle relationships and the way to produce perfect figures with many sides such as nonagons and the like.

Here is an excellent lesson plan involving Geometer Sketchpad.

Here is a tutorial that covers the basics of the program and provides links for further study.


I hope you now have a better understanding of what Geometer Sketchpad is and how it can enhance a math class.

Scavenger Hunt

Lesson Plans: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/6-8.html#

This site contains lesson plans that would engage the students, allow them to have fun, but still provide a solid lesson that will make sure they understand the material. There are plans for a wide variety of subjects taught in middle school math courses at this site, and they seem fairly easy to implement.

Assessment: http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=6336

While short, this list contains a good deal of useful information on rubrics, grading strategies, and assessment of skills. The strategies they mention are a great way to save time without lowering quality of assessment.

Professional Organization: http://www.nctm.org/about/default.aspx?id=166

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a nation-wide organization dedicated to helping math teachers by "providing vision, leadership and professional development". This is a large organization that could benefit anyone who joins it.

Teaching related videos: http://teachertube.com/videoList.php?pg=videonew&tags=math&cid=27

Here is a large source of videos on teaching. This particular link leads to the search results for "math" in the middle school channel. There is no shortage on videos, although finding some of very high quality might take some searching.

Technology tutorials: http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonsList.aspx?grade=3&standard=1&standard=2&standard=3&standard=4&standard=5

The list provided by this link contains different online lessons pertaining to several middle school math subjects, in addition to about a hundred relevant topics. The tutorials are mostly games or other simulations. In addition, this site is run by the NCTM (see "Professional Organization")