Math Links for Week Ending Nov. 28th, 2014

More of the same "Why is the common core good" stuff. We don't have the Common Core here in Ontario but we have expectations that have a lot of the similar properties. So this video tries to address some of the reasons that learning for meaning is good. I like the bit here about parents saying that because these methods are so foreign to them that they can't help their kids as proof that algorithms don't actually teach math.
Curriculum Tags: All
http://vimeo.com/110807219

I love getting out there and doing stuff with kids. One of my favourite things to do with grade 10 students is to use a clinometer to measure the height of tall things (flagpoles, buildings etc). But often you don't have clinometers in your schools. But this post shows how you can easily use a smart phone as a clinometer (with the right app). The only thing I might add is putting a straw along the top edge to help with siting. Thanks to Lisa Coughlin and Borden Hasiuk for this one
Curriculum Tags: MPM2D, MFM2P
http://gabrielhemery.com/2011/05/15/how-to-calculate-tree-height-using-a-smartphone/

I like this post about how data can help you write a better screenplay. Although the individual data sets are things that could probably be used in grade 7 or 8, I really think that this is more appropriate for grade 12 Data Management since it is really about bringing different sets of data together to do things better. That being said there
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-data-can-help-you-write-a-better-screenplay/

I have continued to add to my collection of videos on using algebra tiles. I didn't put these in the Student link section because I really intend them for teacher. Honestly to try to convince them that a conceptual understanding of algebra is better for students (at least in the beginning). I am not suggesting that the tiles are good for everything (or should be used for everything) but for the first parts of any concept I think they are good for everyone. That is why in the videos I keep the examples to simple ones as I think that once the questions become too complex then the rules for using algebra tiles get in the way of the understanding. And yes, takes a bit longer to use algebra tiles to, say, subtract a bracket but when we just tell students "change the sign of everything inside the brackets" its faster but its also no wonder that kids forget it. There is no connection for them. That being said here are three more that I made. The first is on adding and subtracting monomials

Curriculum Tags: MPM1D, MFM1P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz-9mKKY3qg

The second is on simplifying polynomials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gooJGkc2OP8

and the third is on subtracting polynomials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6uR2onxgwc

Now the narrator isn't so dynamic here but this series of videos is all about the math that is needed for construction. There is area, volume, unit conversions and more.

Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MFM1P, MPM1D, MPM2P, MBF3C, MAP4C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiB2w_X23Rc&list=PL030CA42B814DE8B9

I think you could do something interesting in grade 12 Data Management with this visualization of chess piece survival rates.
Curriculum Tags: MDM4U
http://priorprobability.com/2014/10/22/chess-piece-survival-rates/

Another one for data management. This time a nice interactive visualization of all of the known satellites that are deployed.
Curriculum Tags: MDM4U
http://qz.com/296941/interactive-graphic-every-active-satellite-orbiting-earth/

Need a bar graph? Why not this one on the most popular names in the US? I am sure that the data is pretty similar for Canada. But beyond the first name, check out the other sets of data on names, there is some cool stuff.

Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/whats-the-most-common-name-in-america/

More Data from 538 and, again, I know that this is US data but it still is a nice data set to really get to the idea of a multiple bar graph (stacked in this case)

Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/what-percentage-of-state-lottery-money-goes-to-the-state/

Math Links for Week Ending July 4th, 2014

I love this new video from George Hart. I had the pleasure of meeting George at OAME this year. He presented three speakers ahead of me when we did our Ignite sessions. In this new video he presents seven slide together constructions made from various polygon shapes. I didn't see a link anywhere for the templates so I made my own from screenshots that you can download here.
Curriculum Tags: All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq0La4rEarc

I really like this new Jo Boaler video where she tries to give justification on why common core is necessary. The thing I like about it the most is the emphasis on rich open tasks and why those are important for kids to do. Even more so I love the qualification of the different ways the given quadratic growing pattern can physically grow. I think the volcano is my favourite analogy.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MPM2D, MFM2P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOOW0hQgVPQ

If you are doing any work with open questions (see Marian Small for what that is) then this is a nice resource that could give you some insight on how to create them.
Curriculum Tags: All
http://nrich.maths.org/2471

In a recent MaCleans magazine on Canada they had a nice article with a lot of good graphs that could be easily used in any data management class. Check it out
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MBF3C, MDM4U, MAP4C
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/putting-canada-on-the-map/

This came across my Facebook feed this week. Jokes are fun but when you can connect them to curriculum then that's even better. For example this one "An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first orders a beer, the second orders half a beer, the third orders a quarter of a beer, and so on. … After the seventh order, the bartender pours two beers and says, “You fellas ought to know your limits.”" could be used for Calculus and there is a nice one that could be used when talking about loans in grade 11
Curriculum Tags: MCR3U, MBF3C, MCF3M, MCV4U
http://www.tickld.com/x/20-intelligent-jokes-most-people-wont-get-straight-away-16-is-gold

Imagine that a school built especially for kids who love math
Curriculum Tags: All

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/a-school-built-entirely-around-the-love-of-math/

I add this here not because I agree with it but because I do like to show both sides of the story. I do think that drill is needed but the issue here is that you need both a balance of drill and problem solving. But what isn't mentioned is that if you are testing kids on things that you practice by drilling then of course they will do better than kids who were taught more holistically. So I am not sure how valid the study is (despite how much care went into the production of the study)
Curriculum Tags: All
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/jun/27/want-kids-do-better-math-put-away-group-games-get-/

I think this would be a great challenge. Use your knowledge of quadratic relations to prove this video can't be true. Thanks to Geoffrey Bezaire for this one
Curriculum Tags: MPM2D, MFM2P, MCR3U, MCF3M, MBF3C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyekCd0g8B8

Another one that came through my Facebook feed. I like this because you could use it in any grade that talks about patterning but especially in grade 10 where you first discover quadratic relations. This is such a simple pattern when you figure it out algebraically and having kids do it manually could be a good catalyst when talking about quadratic relations.
Curriculum Tags: Gr7, Gr8, MFM2P, MPM2D