Math Links for Week Ending Nov. 2nd, 2018

Hey, I am helping out with a Twitter chat on Tuesday night at 9pm EST as part of the #esc11math monthly chat. I am going to try to do a combination Twitter chat and live @Desmos activity on some simple geometry problems. So come out and try a bit of dynamic geometry using @Desmos. How do you participate in a Twitter chat, you ask? To be honest, despite being on Twitter for 9 years, I've never participated. My thinking is that the best way is to follow their hashtag and see the conversation streaming. Then if you want to participate, make sure you include the chat hashtag in your Tweet.
Curriculum Tags: All
https://twitter.com/hashtag/esc11math?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash

And yet another Ontario teacher has published a book. This time it's @matthewoldridge with "Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving". I like the idea that it looks at problem solving by showing that mathematics can be playful and engaging. Check it out while quantities last.
Curriculum Tags: All
https://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-Mathematics-through-Problem-Solving-Classrooms/dp/147584333X





This week I saw the culmination of an activity I created with @tomsich83 to have students use TI CBRs and Lego EV3 robots to recreate distance time graphs as part of their grade 9 STEM class. Students create an EV3 robot that will carry the CBR and then have to program it to match various distance time graphs. Get the handout at the link below.
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NIa-W5zcW_MihuO8N_0kGYxol3L4gCLsHb6sbCFPPVA/edit

If you have ever used the site Open Middle, you know how good these questions are for going deeper on simple knowledge based questions. Here @AliceKeeler has a Google Slides template to use when working with this particular open middle problem dealing with equivalent fractions.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8
https://alicekeeler.com/2018/10/21/open-middle-equivalent-fractions-activity/

It's always good to find resources on probability that connect to real things that people experience. In this case it's the Monopoly game at McDonalds here in Canada. Specifically, it starts with a piece about some of the fraud associated with the game and ends with a statistician describing the real odds of winning. Thanks to Lorna Baltrusuinas for this one.
Curriculum Tags: MDM4U
https://theconversation.com/mcdonalds-monopoly-a-statistician-explains-the-real-odds-of-winning-106051

In this post @MrOrr_Geek tackles the myth of planning lessons in isolation. I don't think that he is suggesting that teachers don't plan in isolation but instead that some of the best lessons aren't. Collaboration is the key and that collaboration seems to be much easier now than ever before with tools like Twitter, blogs and email. You no longer need to physically be in the same room (or the same city) to collaborate. Check out his evidence (from himself and other Ontario educators) and tips at his post below.
Curriculum Tags: All
https://mrorr-isageek.com/how-we-can-avoid-a-major-lesson-planning-misconception/

Another video from @MathIsVisual on visualizing mean. This time with larger numbers. Click on the link, below, for the full play by play on how to use it.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8
http://mathisvisual.com/mean-part2/

There are a lot of these videos online (and I love every one). None the less here's another plan landing in a crosswind. Perfect for talking about addition of vectors.
Curriculum Tags: MCV4U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ePtRpyyks

Here's a costume idea that you can "steal" for next year.
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U, MHF4U
https://twitter.com/LukeSelfwalker/status/1056271693419823104

Be on the look out for this identity thief. You better hide your trig. #mathoween pic.twitter.com/XGCXOotiYT

— Luke Walsh (@LukeSelfwalker) October 27, 2018

It's not exactly hard data but it could be real
Curriculum Tags: MDM4U
https://twitter.com/bobloch/status/1053026824299646978

The optimal date for purchasing Halloween candy is coming soon. #statschat pic.twitter.com/IddwbzELN9

— Bob Lochel (@bobloch) October 18, 2018

Halloween may be over but you might want to put this activity for converting between fractions and decimals in your back pocket for next year.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8
https://twitter.com/MrNiksMathClass/status/1057223395044134914

Teachers, here is an activity where students work on changing fractions into decimal numbers. Have students work in pairs matching and connecting fractions to their decimal equivalents. It is not a race. Happy Halloween Everyone! #tvdsbmath #iteachmath pic.twitter.com/8l9A4lLEvv

— Math with P. Nik (@MrNiksMathClass) October 30, 2018

This kind of dynamic tiling is pretty cool
Curriculum Tags: Gr7
https://twitter.com/christianp/status/1055846712714125312

Inspired by an article in @chalkdustmag, I wrote code to generate Truchet tiles for any even number of sides. Then I looked up which tilings of even-sided polygons exist, and here we are: https://t.co/QuhIHk7nUI pic.twitter.com/s80y2zYBWn

— Christian Lawson-Perfect (@christianp) October 26, 2018