Math Links for Week Ending Mar 29th, 2013

Here is a super fun activity that puts a gaming spin on drawing circles. Its an
app that asks you to draw as good a circle as you can (with your mouse) and it will then judge how good you are (based on the comparison of perimeter and area). And just to make it even funner, you get a picture of a cat (angry or happy) depending on how well you do.
http://mdbigg.me.uk/maths/circledrawing.html
Curriculum Tags: Gr8, MPM1D, MPM2D, MFM1P

I just can't get enough of the Desmos online graphing calculator. Just found out that they have a great youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/desmosinc) and a nice Pinterest Page (http://pinterest.com/desmos/). Lots of good stuff here
Curriculum Tags: All







Dan Meyer has a really interesting problem that he asks about regular polygons.

Sure you may be able to draw a regular polygon with 7 sides or 12 sides but what about 3.5 sides? Its a really neat exercise for some deep discussion about geometric principles. It is also pretty cool how his readers came to his aid to produce a variety of dynamic options to look at all the possibilities (even one that uses Desmos)
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=16747
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MPM1D

Here is a tough trig assignment that would be good assessing basic trig functions
http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2012/03/12/trigonometry-pile-up/
Curriculum Tags: MPM2D, MCF3M, MCR3U








I really like this Trig identities activity where students seem to graph different functions but upon actually graphing them they are all the same. Nicely done. Worksheets included.
http://samjshah.com/2013/03/22/dan-meyer-says-jump-and-i-shout-how-high/
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U, MHF4U

Here is an activity about ratios, scale diagrams and proportions that uses a lot of real pictures (and maybe some contrived contexts but they are fun). Worksheets included.
http://mrmillermath.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/investigator-training/
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MPM1D, MFM1P





Here is a cool activity about area of irregular shapes. Students actually measure their
own areas.
http://authenticinquirymaths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/what-is-my-area.html
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, MFM1P







Interesting article about the math used when running a marathon. Could be used for simple number sense calculations and possibly rates. I know when I am running I am constantly using rates to calculate splits.
http://www.mpnnow.com/blogs/readers_on_the_run_blog/x694781091/Pythagoras-Never-Ran-a-Marathon
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8

Sometimes math can be wielded incorrectly under the guise of expert testimony. That is the premise of a book called Math on Trial. Here are some stories of how math was used incorrectly to convict innocent people. Especially where probability is concerned.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/opinion/when-judges-cant-do-math-justice-suffers.html?_r=0
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MDM4U

Some funny images:
http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/gallery-images/2011/12/010212_Unknown.png_full.jpg

Math Links for Week Ending Feb 15th, 2013

On this day after Valentine's day, what better way to celebrate than calculating how likely it would be to find love (and life on other planets). Could be used for percents or probability
Curriculum Tags: Grade 7, Grade 8, MDM4U, MCF3M
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/02/12/the-math-of-love/

I think that applications like this "Robot" kit is a great way to apply ideas in math classrooms. However I disagree with one of the things the guy says in the video. That "kids these days don't want to learn abstract math". I don't think most kids ever want to learn abstract math. However it is important to try to learn abstract content. Not for the sake of the content but for the sake of the brain exercise needed to master that content. Regardless, this is pretty cool.
http://mashable.com/2013/02/08/robots-drones-classroom/
Curriculum Tags: All

One of the things you can do if you have a YouTube account (and if you have a Gmail account, by default, you have one), is to create playlists of videos. Here a teacher has created two play lists. One to fit in to the Advanced Functions course and one for the grade 11 University course. And what she has done is linked the videos to the textbooks she is using by labeling the videos by textbook section. So the Advanced functions is linked to the McGraw Hill Textbook and the Grade 11 U videos are linked to the Nelson book.
MCR3U: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL267D675176AFDA06
MHF4U: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB593B541513EA001
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U, MHF4U

Here is a nice simple introduction to inverse functions. Worksheet included
http://drawingonmath.blogspot.ca/2013/02/inverse-functions.html
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U

Here is a nice little activity about creating quadrilaterals based on being given one side.
http://donsteward.blogspot.ca/2013/01/complete-quadrilateral.html
Curriculum Tags: Grade 7






Here are three versions of Dan Meyer's Stacking Cups task. Its a great task for linear relationships and could be used for grade 9&10 applied & academic depending on whether you just use the idea of stacking a single cup or find two different types of cups and ask when will they have the same height.
Dan Meyer: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=692
Andrew Stadel: http://mr-stadel.blogspot.ca/2013/01/styrofoam-cups.html
Fawn Nguyen: http://fawnnguyen.com/2013/02/05/20130204.aspx
Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P, MPM2D, MFM2P

Although this teacher is talking about doing this for grade 8 curriculum, here in Ontario that fits the grade 10 academic curriculum. Teaching about perpendicular lines with geoboards but it could be done just as well with graph paper.
http://untilnextstop.blogspot.ca/2013/01/perpendicular-slopes-and-geoboards.html
Curriculum Tags: MPM2D

Even the cleaning person could be doing math
https://twitter.com/scottywrotem/status/199069633960087553/photo/1
Curriculum Tags: Grade 7, Grade 8, MFM1P, MPM1D

Yup we got yer bad math
http://apple.copydesk.org/2013/02/07/heres-one-for-the-pie-chart-hall-of-fame/
Curriculum Tags: Grade 7