Podcast Update

In the podcast Math dude, I listened to the podcast "What is Pi?"  This was a great podcast because of its relevance to the time of the year.  The episode was updated in the middle of march because the first three numbers of pi are 3, 1, and 4.  So, March 14th is pi day.  It is great to tie lessons into everyday life so students can make connections.  It is also used as a hook to engage and keep the students entertained and excited to learn.

The podcast talked about how to figure out the circumference using a string to go around the outside of a circle and measuring the length to get the diameter.  He gave the formula to figure out the circumference of a circle in a fun and easy to understand way.  It is pi (3.14) times the diameter.  He also told us that pi is a constant ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter.  My favorite part of this podcast were the cheesy jokes he made.
The Math Dude is a trustworthy and informative podcast to listen to.  His facts are accurate and podcasts are interesting to listen to.
Another podcast that is very informative at teaching math to young grades is Discovering the Basics.  I listened to a podcast about adding and subtracting simple numbers.  The first example it used was to numbers 1-9 plus one.  The podcast gave tips to teachers on how to introduce the topic of adding and number sentences.

Here a few tips from the podcast:

• Teacher should say the number sentence and students should repeat it
• Have the students point to the first number, to the second number, the equals sign, and the plus sign
• Teacher should say that the plus and equals sign are symbols
• Teacher should say that the + symbol means to put the value of the numbers together and that the = symbol means that is where you write down the new number that you get

This podcast is a great resource for teachers looking for ways to reach out and get the students to concretely understand what is needed to be learned.  I think that teachers should use this podcast to get tips and advice on how to introduce lessons, especially for the younger grades.  Even though this podcast can be a little boring, it is informative and accurate.