I am a big fan of things that feature math and are a bit light. And this TED talk is one of those things. it's in Spanish (with subtitles) but its filled with humour and the notion that if you want to give someone something forever, then forget diamonds, give them a theorem.
Curriculum Tags: All http://www.ted.com/talks/eduardo_saenz_de_cabezon_math_is_forever
Last week the Internet was all a buzz about Cheryl's Birthday. This week, not so much, but that doesn't mean we can't keep asking interesting questions. I like this one as it really shows the connection of two and three dimensional geometry. The premise is that you have a string wrapped around a cylinder and you are given the dimensions of the cylinder to determine the length of the string. There is no solution posted but I think the answer is interesting because of how you could use paper wrapped around a can to reveal the solution (that's all the hints I will give).
Curriculum Tags: Gr8, MPM1D, MFM1P http://io9.com/ready-this-simple-puzzle-once-stumped-96-of-americas-1698814691
Some lessons to engage students with math and mindset are going to be available in May from Joe Boaler's YouCubed site. Follow the link below to register and get the grade 5-9 lessons for free starting in May.
Curriculum Tags: All https://www.youcubed.org/week-of-inspirational-math/
It's funny that I was just introduced to this algebra tiles app by someone and Jon Orr has a post about it. In fact, there is a whole suite of manipulative apps from the same developer, They are not free but they are very good. Although, I would rather have kids work with the physical things, sometimes using the app is better for some. Here Jon, not only shows how to use the app but I like the idea of worksheets with answers available via QR codes.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P http://mrorr-isageek.com/?p=3864
This is a nice idea and a nice little sorting activity. When we have multiple sets of the same activity (for groups) we copy each set on a different colour (like this set of Tarsia cards) so that it's easy to re-sort them if they get mixed up. Here is a post about doing the same thing but it uses a sorting activity for exponential functions as a download.
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U, MCF3M, MBF3C, MHF4U, MCT4C, MAP4C http://drawingonmath.blogspot.ca/2015/04/color-coding.html
I like this one from Kyle at Tap Into Teen Minds. It's a nice lesson that does a great job in conceptualizing multiplying monomials by monomials and binomials. There are a lot of good things about this lesson and even if you just like the idea of the consolidation video (below) then that's pretty good on it's own. It's sometimes hard to contextualize those questions that put the side lengths of rectangles as polynomials and I think this does a good job of it. See the whole lesson at the link below.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P https://tapintoteenminds.com/2015/03/24/interleaving-number-sense-algebra-concepts/
Need to introduce the idea of correlation or linear relations? How about the Hot-Crazy index?
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P, MDM4U, MAP4C http://cheezburger.com/5277742080
In Ontario, we are luck to have a team that puts together virtual manipulatives in the form of the CLIPS package. More recently, however, they have started to delve into the app stage. First with their Rekenrek app and now with two new ones. The first is one to help students represent money using images taken from the Canadian mint. The second one is more of a drawing pad that uses either isometric dot paper or a grid. Both of these are available from the App and the Google Play stores. And don't forget to also check out all the offerings on the Mathies.ca site on their Tools page.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MAT1L, MAT2L http://mathfest.blogspot.ca/2015/04/two-new-learning-tools-available.html
We added another Tarsia Puzzle to our Engaging Math Blog. The puzzles are a nice quick way to practice skills. Check out the link for the full description. This one is on converting between factions, decimals and percents.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MPM1D, MFM1P http://engaging-math.blogspot.ca/2015/04/tarsia-puzzle-fractionsdecimals-and.html
A few weeks ago I let you know about a new site called WODB (Which On Doesn't Belong. The idea is that you show students a set of four pictures and they have to determine which one doesn't belong. And one of the nice things is that there is a way that each of the four pictures might not belong. So now Mary at the Making Math Meaningful has a tweak. Show them only three (or two images) and have them figure out what that fourth image could be. Nicely done.
Curriculum Tags: All http://marybourassa.blogspot.ca/2015/04/wodb-incomplete-sets.html
Dear Data is a project where two women who live in other parts of the world document their lives through data about themselves via postcards. The thing I like about this is all the cool representations of data. I think that you could replicate this in a class where students create data postcards about themselves. Give it a try.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U, MAP4C http://www.dear-data.com/
I am not sure how we came up with this but me and a colleague of mine thought of what if you could have something to help you out when you were having difficulty with a math problem. And that lead to Mathtercard. Thanks to my son for doing the Photoshop work. https://twitter.com/davidpetro314/status/587429508929740800/photo/1
It's always neat to find some interesting representation of data. In this case, it's no so much the representation but the comparison. When ever we deal with big numbers, it's important to have context. This could also be used when teaching the idea of exponents or scientific notation. Make sure you look at the Google+ link for more info.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/B16McQB6Vn2
I am always looking for interesting ways to co-opt technology to do things it wasn't intended to do. @joe_sisco has done just that with Google Drawings. Some of you may have word walls in your math classrooms and Joe has, for many years, developed more enhanced word walls that usually incorporate images related to that particular topic. Now he has converted those word walls to Google Drawings and is using an interesting feature that allows you to place things outside of the drawing but still visible.
So if you look at the image below, the centre part represents the actual word wall and if you were to print it out, that is what you would see. But the interactive part comes from students who drag the numbered circles from the right onto the wall to indicate where those items are (the numbers correspond to the words). A finished student example is seen on the right. So if students open this in Google Drawings they see the interactive image below and then if they print it out they would see the image to the right.
The entire collection (there are over 20 so far) is shared at the link below, you can open any one and print out the word wall portion (or save it as a PDF) or you can copy any one to your own Google Drive and start the interaction. Also if you are into it, there is a template to create your own. And you might want to start with the "How to Use this Folder" file for a more detailed view of the instructions.
Curriculum Tags: All http://bit.ly/INTERACTIVE_WORD_WALLS
We have two new activities on our Engaging Math blog. The first is a simple matching activity with cards. Students are put in groups and given a set of cards (there are four different sets) and then they have to match the word sentence with the expression. This is not meant to be an activity that takes very long but simply eases students into a comfort level with algebra.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MPM1D, MFM1P http://engaging-math.blogspot.ca/2015/04/connecting-words-and-algebraic.html
The second activity is a Geometer's Sketchpad file that is for students to investigate properties of parallel lines. It is optimized for the iPad. Take a look at the video below to see how it works then follow the link to download the file
Curriculum Tags: Gr8, MPM1D, MFM1P http://engaging-math.blogspot.ca/2015/04/geometers-sketchpad-investigate.html
I like this activity by Kyle at Tap Into Teen Minds. It adds to the rash of great activities that use a series of Desmos graphs to walk through a concept. In this case it's the idea of the connection between graphs and tables of values with linear functions. It starts with this graph with equations and then moves through several others. One thing I really like is the idea of trying to fill in values in a table and then seeing right away that the points are linear. Take a look a the full description at the link below.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P, MFM2P https://tapintoteenminds.com/2015/03/26/desmos-math-journey-linear-relations/
I like this as an introduction to logarithms. That is, it is a way to solve exponential equations (at least simple ones) by first getting students comfortable with the idea of what the solution means. And doing this with a puzzle type atmosphere.
Curriculum Tags: MHF4U, MAP4C, MCT4C http://squarerootof......oneteachmath.blogspot.ca/2015/03/
In grade 12 data management it seems reasonable to talk about random controlled trials and why they are so important for research (especially medical research). With that being said, this recent Freakonomics Radio podcast is about that very thing. Certainly worth a listen, if only to gain insight we can pass on to our students. Personally, it's the kind of thing I would have students listen to and then have the discussion afterwards.
Curriculum Tags: MDM4U http://freakonomics.com/2015/04/02/how-do-we-know-what-really-works-in-healthcare-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
I stumbled upon this "fan" site for the Roll up the Rim to Win contest. There is a lot of controversy about the distribution of prizes amongst provinces as well as whether it is more advantageous to purchase larger sized cups (because they win more often). So this site allows you to enter your own data and so far they have collected over 14,000 data entries. Then they give you all sorts of graphical analysis of the data. At the very least you could use it to have a discussion on why this data might be biased.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U http://rollupthestats.com/
This week we published two similar Easter related activities. The first was a review activity for grade 9 applied math (though it could be used for academic as well). The idea is that students are in groups, they choose plastic eggs that have questions in them and collect points
Curriculum Tags: MFM1P, MPM1D http://engaging-math.blogspot.ca/2015/04/easter-proportional-reasoning-review.html
The second one uses the same template but the topic is a review for analytic geometry in grade 9 academic (though it could also be used in grade 10 applied). Both of these also have versions that have a halloween theme. They have the same questions but you would use them in the fall rather than the spring.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM2P http://engaging-math.blogspot.ca/2015/04/easter-analytic-geometry-review-activity.html
To help students problem solve it is always helpful to give them some strategies to get there. From the Math=Love blog comes some examples of a strategy called SOAR (Show, Organize, Act, Reflect). These are done in the form of posters and prompts shown around the class for reminders. Take a look at all of them here.
Curriculum Tags: All http://mathequalslove.blogspot.ca/2015/03/helping-students-soar.html
I love it when teachers see a math problem in something they do and then take then take the time to collect the data to make it happen. In this case, Michael Fenton took a screen shot of his phone every four minutes for over 2 hours until it was fully charge. And in doing so created a linear data set about phone charging and put it all in the form of a 3Act Task. Well done.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P, MFM2P http://reasonandwonder.com/charge/
I have always liked Geometer's Sketchpad and I love their blog where they turn sketches into web based interactives. This one is a symbolic representation of a system of equations. They are meant to be solvable by trial and error rather than some more algebraic methods. In fact, the post is trying to show that kids in elementary school can do these types of problems. This would be a great activity for introducing the idea of systems of equations. Make sure you scroll through the pages in the sketch for the ability to make your own problems and for a three term system.
Curriculum Tags: MPM2P, MFM2D http://blog.keycurriculum.com/solving-simultaneous-equations-with-common-sense/
You might find some things that might be a fun ice breaker on this YouTube channel. Lot's of Math Raps (and some science raps too). Integers, Pi, Calculus and more. Thanks to Free Technology for Teachers for this one.
Curriculum Tags: All
Last week the Internet was all a buzz about Cheryl's Birthday. This week, not so much, but that doesn't mean we can't keep asking interesting questions. I like this one as it really shows the connection of two and three dimensional geometry. The premise is that you have a string wrapped around a cylinder and you are given the dimensions of the cylinder to determine the length of the string. There is no solution posted but I think the answer is interesting because of how you could use paper wrapped around a can to reveal the solution (that's all the hints I will give).
Some lessons to engage students with math and mindset are going to be available in May from Joe Boaler's YouCubed site. Follow the link below to register and get the grade 5-9 lessons for free starting in May.
It's funny that I was just introduced to this algebra tiles app by someone and Jon Orr has a post about it. In fact, there is a whole suite of manipulative apps from the same developer, They are not free but they are very good. Although, I would rather have kids work with the physical things, sometimes using the app is better for some. Here Jon, not only shows how to use the app but I like the idea of worksheets with answers available via QR codes.
This is a nice idea and a nice little sorting activity. When we have multiple sets of the same activity (for groups) we copy each set on a different colour (like this set of Tarsia cards) so that it's easy to re-sort them if they get mixed up. Here is a post about doing the same thing but it uses a sorting activity for exponential functions as a download.
