Program Overview Introduction This guide provides a tour of digits on Pearson Realize. It explains digits MATHdashboard the online teacher s portal where you can log in to your Pearson Realize and Dash accounts and view up-to-date information about digits. The guide introduces the digits interactive Learning Cycle and shows how the digits hosts motivate students and increase student engagement. Finally, it discusses how the program features help you support your students in building their conceptual understanding of mathematics and developing their problem-solving skills. Before you begin, check that you have registered for a Pearson Realize teacher account. Pearson Realize If you have not already registered, you will need a school code provided by your school or district to do so. 1
Go to www.mathdashboard.com/digitsrealize, and click SIGN UP under New User?. This takes you to the registration page for your course. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account, add your digits course, and create and manage your classes. Use Pearson Realize to create assignments, review lesson planning materials, view Teacher Guide resources, and present your lessons. If you are not familiar with the Pearson Realize platform, watch the Getting Started tutorials on this Web site. Dash Once you have registered, use the same log-in information to access Dash. From www.mathdashboard.com/digitsrealize, click LOG IN TO Dash. Use this mobile Web application to review Teacher Guide materials in e-text. If you are not familiar with Dash, review the support materials on this Web site. Technoloy After you set up your digits class, you will have full access to flexible Implementation implementation options to deliver the course content. digits will help you leverage your existing classroom technology, whether you have a projector, an interactive whiteboard, or devices that support one-toone computing. Access and present lessons to students online, or present lessons using the Teacher Resources DVD included in the Teacher Package. All you need is a computer and a projector to start using digits in your classroom. So, what does a digits lesson look like? 2
interactive Learning digits lessons are interactive and flexible, so you can incorporate your own personal style and best practices. Each digits grade-level course consists of six units that are subdivided into topics. Each topic includes a Readiness Lesson, approximately five to eight on-level lessons, a Topic Review, and a Topic Test. digits uses the interactive Learning Cycle to differentiate instruction and customize learning for students. interactive Learning is a data-driven approach that assures all students are prepared to master the on-level lessons. Readiness Begin each Topic by administering the Readiness Assessment. This assessment screens every student on his or her understanding of the unit s prerequisite content and suggests the student s Learner Level for the unit. Using students Learner Levels, deliver the Readiness Lesson. Start with whole-class exchanges; then transition students to independent, paired, or one-on-one instruction. For students who demonstrate little or no deficiencies in the prerequisites, consider the Enrichment Project. On-Level Lessons Next, deliver an on-level lesson. Each lesson is composed of the Launch, Examples, and Close and Check. To support instruction, refer to the teacher materials via Dash on a mobile device or use the print In-Class Teacher Notes. Start each lesson with a Launch problem to engage students with the lesson s mathematical concepts. 3
The Launch uses Problem-Based Interactive Learning that enables them to build on prior knowledge and construct new knowledge. After students complete the Launch problem, a digits host asks them a Focus Question. digits hosts are successful young adults that middle grade students can look up to. The digits hosts guide students through the lesson by providing context and reasons why learning the concept is important. Next, walk through the Examples to explore the lesson s concept. The examples build on one another to ensure students understanding. Animations and visual learning draw students attention to the important details of the concept. Note that every Example concludes with a Got It? question to check for understanding. Use students performance on the Got It? question to make immediate instructional decisions, such as modifying the pace or reviewing a concept to prevent the development of deeper misconceptions. Review the Key Concept to summarize the content of the lesson and further support student understanding. Bring students back to the Focus Question with the Close and Check. Ask students to complete Do You Know How? practice problems and Do You Understand? questions that require higher-order thinking. Homework and Assessments After the classroom lesson, have students work individually on homework assignments. Online homework and assessments are powered by MathXL for School, which delivers personalized learning with immediate feedback. Maximize the power of digits by having students complete their work online whenever possible. 4
Topic Review End each Topic with the Topic Review. Have students review Topic vocabulary and complete Pull It All Together, a rich performance task that provides an authentic problem-solving experience. Also, revisit the Essential Question for the topic. This activity is a summary point of backward design principles students answer the larger questions of when, how, and why to use the skills and concepts they have learned in the topic. digits Support Features Note some of the instructional support features found in digits. Read on-screen text out loud to students with the Audio Support button. Access a Spanish translation of the on-screen text with the Spanish Translation icon. Click the Vocabulary and Key Concepts button to open a new window with the vocabulary and key concepts of a specific lesson pre-sorted in a list. To see a list of available tools, click the Math Tools icon. A new window will open with a list of the Math Tools. Math Tools are virtual manipulatives that enable users to interact with, develop, and model math concepts in real time. 5
Student Materials Support students as they use their digits materials. For students without easy access to technology, provide the print Student Companion so they can take notes and review key parts of the lesson. Offer the print Homework Helper to give students access to worked-out solution screens for Examples and Key Concepts and a homework assignment for each lesson. Direct students with access to technology to their digits Web site at MyMathUniverse.com/digitsRealize. This Web site contains additional content that provokes their interest, engages them in math, and provides additional preparation for their assignments. This is also where they can log into their Pearson Realize and Dash accounts. Have students visit Pearson Realize to complete assignments and assessments or review key parts of the lesson. Direct students to Dash to access their Student Companion and Homework Helper with the ACTIVe-book. Show students how to interact with the lesson s mathematics using the Math Tools, write directly on the interactive work surface, or take notes with the pop-up textbox tool. 6
Review This guide introduced digits on Pearson Realize. It explored MATHdashboard, the interactive Learning Cycle, and various program features. 7