The Math Gym Internet System uses the ideas of modern mathematics to explain mathematics to children in an intuitive way. It has three main areas that are being continually expanded: Short math tutorials for students, coupled with a manual explaining our teaching methods for parents and teachers, and fun games for students to play and practice what they have learned.
This exciting game was originally aimed at intermediate and middle school students to help them make sense and be comfortable with the ideas and notation of pre-algebra. The game targets many areas students find difficult: negative numbers, variables, evaluating expression using the proper order of operations, powers, mental math, and word problems. Because it uses geometric notions that all young children possess, we found that even 5 year olds could play the game using addition. No dice. No spinner. Instead, use number and operation tiles to construct a problem whose answer is your move!
Methods Manual: This work-in-progress presents these simplified, mostly geometric ways of approaching mathematics so that you can understand and use the Mini-Math Talks to teach your children.
Tutorials: These Mini-Math Talks are short PowerPoint presentations that you can use with your children.
STEM Links: Go to selected websites with educational resources for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Tutorials: Learn new math skills by studying short tutorials.
Play Book: Study different types of problems worked in detail.
Weight Room: Here there are sets of problems for each group of ideas
covered in the Tutorials.
Operating System: Any OS --- Our system is browser-based. Nothing but a temporary ID cookie is downloaded to your computer.
Browsers: The system has been tested on Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera. However several of these browsers are still under development and occasionally a change is made that requires we make changes in our code.
Games: At this time there is one browser based game MathGym-1D.
Number of Players: Up to Four Humans or Robots. Using different browsers several players can play against one another by using different browsers.
Number of Robots: Five Levels: really easy to really tough.
Grade Level: Kindergarten to Algebra I.
Difficulty Controls
6 Decks of Workout Cards
• Kindergarten (Pre-White Belt)
• Grades 1-2 (White Belt)
• Grades 3-4 (Yellow Belt)
• Grades 5-6 (Orange Belt)
• Grades 7-8 (Green Belt)
• Grade 9 (Algebra I) (Blue Belt)
7 Tile Levels (Powers are non-Negative Whole Numbers)
• Kindergarten (Addition Only)
• Grades K-1 (+ Subtraction)
• Grades 1-2 (+ Multiplication)
• Grades 3-4 (+ Easy Powers)
• Grades 5-6 (+ Powers with Negative Bases)
• Grades 7-9 (+ Variables raised to Variable Powers)
Tutorials (Mini-Math Talks)
Table of Contents
• Symbols, Numbers and Variables: Parts I & II
• Order of Operations: Parts I,II & III
• Exponents (Powers): Parts I & II
• Mental math: Parts I, II & III
• Algorithms for Integer Arithmetic: Parts I & II
• Equations & Inequalities: Parts I & II
• Solving Equations: Parts I, II, III & IV
Methods Manual
Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Do Numbers Exist?
• Symbols as Shorthand
• Grammar and Math
• Numbers as Operators
• Algorithms for Integer Arithmetic
• Exponents (Powers)
• Proper Punctuation & Order of Operations
• Mental Math
• Equations and Inequalities
• Solving Factored Polynomial Equations and Inequalities
• Solving Factored Rational Equations and Inequalities
• Steps as Vectors (coming soon)
• Vector Geometry (coming soon)
• Appendix. A Brief History of Math Symbols