A staff development series that is both a companion to The Eddie Files, and a unique visual library of compelling hands-on lessons showing teachers step-by-step how to deliver lessons on elementary mathematics topics which excite student interest, engage their problem-solving and communication skills and develop computational and reasoning skills.
Watch a clip of The Kay Toliver FilesThe Kay Toliver Files Box 2 Episodes:Distance, Time and Speed - Class starts with a discussion of the meaning of speed and the way that the speed of an object is determined. Then comes the main event: the "Tinkertoy Derby", wherein teams of students construct and race their own vehicles, and then use the formula for speed to determine the winner.
Decimals - After warming up her students with a discussion of the characteristics of the currencies of other countries, Ms. Toliver reviews the basics of the decimal place value system. The class then gets a challenging decimals workout as they convert foreign money to U.S. currency values, in order to go "shopping".
Circles - How many of Kay Toliver's students does it take to lift 75 pounds? The answer surprises just about everyone when Ms. Toliver presents a fascinating lesson on circles and simple machines. Students experiment to find the best type of circle to use in their own "antigravity" machines.
Statistics - "Statistics" means more than a collection of numbers. It also includes interpretation and evaluation of information, as students learn when they have to decide how to determine the winner of the popcorn game that Ms. Toliver has invented.
