Reviewing for the CPT

Swimming in Algebra. Dancing through sentence skills. Celebrating reading skills. A joyful attitude goes miles when studying the same material for what seems like weeks. Why all the test prep?

We've been practicing away for the CPT (Computerized Placement Test), the college placement exam our high school student will take this week. The test results will determine which classes can be taken.

Colleges across the nation use adaptive tests which are computer generated, choosing subsequent questions based on the student's answer to the previous question. Students answer the multiple choice questions as they are given. These tests are untimed (a great option for students who do not perform well on timed tests). Subjects include mathematics, reading, language, and writing.

For more information on Accuplacer and the adaptive testing, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/how-works.html

Specific information regarding subject matter and test format is posted at
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/accuplacer-tests.html

Test taking tips can be found at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/accuplacer-tips.html

Practice tests and sample questions are available at the following sites
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/preparation-sample.html
http://www.pbcc.edu/documents/Prep_Math_LW/0020_Comprehensive_Review.pdf
http://www.seminolestate.edu/testing/cpt/cpt_practice.php
http://www.chipola.edu/instruct/testing/cptguide.pdf
http://www.valenciacc.edu/assessments/cpt/cptprep.cfm

Now you know why we're swimming, dancing, and celebrating with a joy-filled attitude. We're trying to enjoy the process of preparing for a test. We'll let you know how it all turns out.

AWEsome Story Site

A friend passed along this story site. What an amazing resource! Enjoy!

http://www.short-story-time.com/index.html

Warning: You'll be there all day.

Tis' the Season for...Dual Enrollment

Eager to earn high school and college credits simultaneously this fall? Now is the time to research dual enrollment requirements and turn in applications. Many colleges are gearing up for fall registration.

What you need to do:
1. Research requirements for the colleges and community colleges in your area. Most of this information is online.
2. Find out what college entrance exams are required. Some schools look at SATs and ACTs while others accept CPT results.
3. Find out where and when the CPT is offered.
4. Know what CPT scores are needed to take courses of interest. Students must obtain minimum scores for certain classes, including math and English courses.
5. Call the dual enrollment office and ask about high school transcripts, testing deadlines, CPT refresher courses or online practice materials, course selection, registration, and online accounts (most colleges now require students to have an online account).
6. Talk to students (or their parents) who have attended the college. Ask for professor and course recommendations.

Central Florida Colleges and Universities offering Dual Enrollment

Brevard Community College

http://www.brevardcc.edu/index.cfm?mainframe=/admissions/content/highschoolinfopage.htm&subnavframe=/admissions/content/sub_nav.html

Broward College

http://www.broward.edu/locations/dtc/aa/accel/dualenrole.jsp

Daytona State College

http://www.dbcc.cc.fl.us/admissions/dualenroll.html

Edison State College

http://www.edison.edu/admissions/dualenrollment/

Hillsborough Community College

https://www.hccfl.edu/ssem/hs-articulation/dual-enrollment.aspx

Florida State College

http://floridastatecollegecatalog.fscj.edu/content.php?catoid=11&navoid=651#high_school

Lake-Sumter Community College

http://www.lscc.edu/admissions/dualenrollment.aspx

Palm Beach Community College

http://www.pbcc.edu/x1267.xml

Pensacola Junior College

http://www.pjc.edu/students/gstart/students_GSDualEnrollText.asp

Polk State College

http://www.polk.edu/futurestudents/admission/Pages/DualEnrollmentearlyAdmission.aspx

Seminole State College

http://www.seminolestate.edu/futurestudents/admissions/dualenrollment.htm

Santa Fe Community College

http://dept.sfcollege.edu/hsde/

Tallahassee Community College

http://www.tcc.fl.edu/about_tcc/student_affairs/departments/enrollment_services_and_testing/i_am_a/dual_enrolled_high_school_student/home_school_dual_enrollment_program

Valencia Community College

http://www.valenciacc.edu/dual/

Taking Math on the Road

I am ecstatic about my newest resource, Taking Math on the Road! It is the first, of what I hope will be many, activity folders in my new Do, Learn, & Remember series. As children create an activity folder, they pull math off flat paper and apply concepts—numeration, graphing, measurement, computation, money, estimation, and more— to life experiences.

This series was conceived as I answered questions from parents: "How do you teach math?" or "Do you have a template for that activity?" The Taking Math on the Road CD contains instructions and templates for the games we play in our home to learn math. The CD can be purchased at my website and inserted in the CD drive of your computer. Print the pages you need and begin a thematic math adventure.

Want to know more? I am posting the introduction to Taking Math on the Road here so you can become more acquainted with the ideas behind the Do, Learn, & Remember series.

"The contents of this activity folder are intentionally written to help you teach your child math concepts. Working through this seven day study, your child will create a folder packed with high-interest activities. Unlike worksheets which teach math on a one-dimensional surface, Do, Learn, & Remember actively involves your child. The games are intended to provide stand-alone math instruction but can be easily adapted or incorporated into existing home studies.

Do, Learn, & Remember encourages mastery through repetition, an essential element for teaching math concepts. The completed folder’s compact, pocket-design keeps supplies and pieces safely inside and invites your child to carry learning through the day, playing and practicing again and again. This study is not a once-and-done-creation.

Do, Learn, & Remember activities offer flexibility. The unit was written for varied developmental stages and educational philosophies. Simply choose appropriate activities from the selections provided. Feel free to shorten, lengthen, substitute, or omit activities to accommodate your child’s learning needs. Web resources (marked with a computer symbol) and book suggestions are included for extended study. It is even possible to use the games and resources without constructing the activity folder.

Each lesson includes practical application experiences and related book titles (a library visit enhances study, but is not required) in an effort to make learning relevant to life. Additional supplemental activities and templates are available on this CD. Create, teach, and learn by the means which best encourage learning in your home.

Taking Math on the Road was tested in our home. If it didn’t work, I didn’t include it. In fact, only activities which earned a “Dad, look what we did!” made their way into this unit. Most of the activities were completed at multiple levels (ages 4-8) and some were selected as review activities for children who needed extra practice. Generally, we all played together. Our activity folder and the memories we made creating it, are treasured. We hope yours will be, too!"

Math concepts taught and reinforced in Taking Math on the Road:

• Shape and color recognition
• Counting to 100 by twos, fives, and tens
• Greater than and less than to 100
• Ordering numbers 1-100
• Ordering numbers 100-1000
• Graphing and tallying
• Comparison
• Addition facts and their corresponding subtraction facts (addends 0-6, sums less than 12)
• Foundational fraction concepts

Content area skills integrated and applied to life skills:

• Roman roads
• Road construction
• Shapes, colors, and meanings of common road signs
• History and significance of traffic signals
• Inventors who contributed to automotive history
• Car manufacturing
• Auto mechanics
• Buses
• Drawing vehicles

Bonus! activities and templates for Place Value Pasta, Add the Wheels, Traffic Sign Criss-Cross, and Roman Road Dessert.

Great Find: Math Blog

Been busy writing the contents of my new math-based activity folder (some people call these lapbooks), Taking Math on the Road. I call my creations activity folders because they are packed with high-interest math activities (revolving around a thematic unit study) safe and sound in a compact, pocket-designed folder. These are not a once-and-done creation wonders, but tools to be used over and over to reinforce math, in the home or on the go.

More about Taking Math on the Road later...

For those who love to keep math full of hands-on fun, check out this blog. You'll love the ideas! http://blog.aussiepumpkinpatch.com/search/label/living%20math

Moon Gazing

It is 7:30 pm, Tuesday, night number two of our moon study. We date our three-inch square and run to the cool outdoors, eager to see if there are any changes in the moon's shape since last night. We look. We look. No moon. "Maybe there is no moon tonight", a disappointed voice whispers. "Oh, there's a moon. God ALWAYS makes a moon. It is just hiding."

Cloud cover hides the moon on this night, but no worries, four excited precious ones plop on the driveway and draw the clouds. Tonight we are cloud gazing...and practicing our night time sketching.

Helpful links for more moon gazing fun:

http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/moon/mphases.htm (Moon phases crafts)

http://blog.jannahsteps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/oreo-moon-phases-photo.jpg (Edible moon phases-YUM!)

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/space_days/activities/moon/documents/Moon_Oreo_Phases.pdf (Oreo cookie moon phases)

http://www.can-do.com/science/moonphases/moonphase-worksheet.html (Enchanted Learning moon phases)

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_worksheet/moon_worksheet.html (Calendar for moon observation)

Books about the moon:

The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley

When God Provides Three Pounds of Apples....

When God provides three pounds of apples for $1.00, make...applesauce, and apple pie. That's just what we did!

This weekend, Saturday to be exact, I happened upon an amazing sale: a three pound bag of apples for $1.00. I purchased several, tossed them in the backseat and drove home, proud as a peacock. My husband was somewhat astonished.

Bright and early this morning (no the internal clocks of my children did not automatically reset) my oldest daughter asked to make pie. That request led to applesauce. And so, by mid-morning the house smells of sweet scents of fall. I'm convinced if I look out the window, hues of brown, orange, yellow and red will paint the countryside. Though some of you may have that delight, we in the sunny south are blessed with palm trees and evergreens. Nonetheless, my house smells of fall.

Baking the apple pie reminded me of the several recipes and activities from Flip Three Pancakes With One Spatula. Out came the books and poof, we spent the morning with apples instead of starting the moon study I had intended. Oh well, that was my plan, not THE PLAN.

Here are some ideas (in case you find an apple bargain):

• Use an apple slicer to slice an apple into eight equal parts. Discuss how many slices make up half an apple and a quarter of the apple. Divide the slices evenly among the people at the table. Add peanut butter for a yummy snack.
• Cut an apple in half length-wise and width-wise. Discuss the differences. Talk about symmetry. Count the seeds.
• Purchase three or four types of apples. How do they taste? Do some taste differently? Some sweet? some sour? Make a graph of the family favorites.
• Arrange whole apples (preferably different types) on the table and draw an apple still life. Discuss shading and light source.
• Visit an apple orchard and pick apples.
• Make an apple pie.
• Make applesauce.

Read some good books:

• Apples! by Ken Robbins
• The Apple Orchard by Patricia J. Murphy
• Apples! Apples! by Gail Gibbons
• From Apples to Applesauce by Kristen Thoennes Keller
• How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro
• Apple Fractions by Jerry Pallotta