1512-Week 6

Measuring Up.
       How do you measure up in Geometry? I think Geometry is scary when you get to finding the area and volume of objects. There are so many formulas you have to remember. Working out these problems with just pen and paper can be time consuming. Finding the Volume of objects such as a cone or a hemisphere almost requires the use of a calculator.
       After some googling, I found a really great site with almost every kind of calculator. It is called Calculator Soup. This site is very helpful with finding those tough answers. Although it may start with the calculator to find your answer, it also has the formulas needed to work the problem out on your own. It is a very simple site. You can even add them on Facebook.
       The following is an example of the Cylinder Calculator. It gives you options to change what measurements you have for the object to find the one you are looking for. It also shows the image of the object with labels of the measures you have. After you plug in your data, it gives you your answers below. It is a very useful tool.

Circular Cylinder Calculator

Choose a Calculation:                                            Calculate V, L, A | Given r, h                                           Calculate h, L, A | Given r, V                                           Calculate h, V, A | Given r, L                                           Calculate r, V, A | Given h, L                                           Calculate r, L, A | Given h, V                                          r = h = Units*:                                            meters                                           centimeters                                           feet                                           inches                                          V = L = T = B = A = Circular Cylinder Shape r = radius h = height V = volume L = lateral surface area T = top surface area B = base surface area A = total surface area π = pi = 3.14159 √ = square root

1510-Week 6

Addicted to Mathematics!
        After researching the benefits of math to the brain, I found a neat article about Brain Waves on the BrainWavesBlog. I learned that each time you solve a tough math problem, logic puzzle, or read a book, your Beta Brain Waves kick in. Beta Brain Waves are considered to be among the fastest brainwave frequencies. Participation in these activities increase your logical thinking. Beta Brain Waves have been associated as being a natural antidepressant, and like many other things, too much can cause stress and anxiety.
        Studies have shown that doing brain teasers, math and logic puzzles, etc. actually helps to slow mental decline. The Washington Post published an article called Short Mental Workouts May Slow Decline of Aging Minds, Study Finds. The article states that exercising the brain can carry the mind in the same way physical exercise protects and strengthens the body. It also says that older adults who did the basic exercises were three times as fast as those that only did basic living activities, such as reacting to road signs and checking medicine ingredients--abilities that can spell the difference between living independently and needing help.

       Every newspaper has some kind of brain teaser; word puzzles, Sudoku, etc. Don't take advantage of your brain. Tease it daily. :)


Try some:

• FreeFunPrintables.com
• PrintableBrainTeaser.com
• Squigly's Brain Teasers
• Puzzles & Stuff

1512-Week 5

 Outdated Materials:

        Students are flying by teachers with their ease of use of technology. As teachers we need to keep up with our students, not by playing video games all day of course, but by learning how to use tools such as SmartBoards to better educate our students. There are many new technologies out there now that would greatly benefit our students.

Math Humor:

        Humor is a good way to hook anyones interest in something. Young students love to laugh and love jokes. Starting math class with a math joke can lighten the mood, make math more interesting, and make the subject less intimidating. 

   Example 1:

Question: What is the area of a circle? 

Answer: pi R^2? 

Response: Pie are not square. Pie are round. Cornbread are square. 

   Example 2:  

Question: What does the little mermaid wear? 

Answer: An Algebra.

        I recently read an article called Why Laughter Makes Classroom Management More Effective. This is a very insightful article. It talks about how adding humor to a lesson can make you a more likable teacher, which can give you more power to influence their behavior. Laughter can break down those social-emitional walls to bring together diverse groups of students in one happy classroom. The article also points out that it takes little planning to bring laughter into the classroom.

What you know about Math?

1510-Week 5

Penguin Math

        Making math “fun” and connecting it to the “real world” can be a little tough. The Let’s Play Math Blog post, Penguin Math, was a very easy read and explains a very simple technique to use in the classroom to help with word problems. Although it is fictional characters you are using for the word problem examples it still relates to a real world problem and students like to see where they can apply these new skills they are learning.
        There are many ways you can connect math to student's lives. It is the job of the teacher to find out what students are interested in and how they can incorporate that into a math lesson. It is in this way that you hook the students interest in math. The site, Word Problems for Kids, gives a few examples of ways to relate to students (it is now outdated for current students as it was written in 1999). The site Plane Math.com also has an activities page for students to explore and do independent learning.
        Another good site for older students to do some math independently is What Good is Math? This site offers a few different real world problems students can explore and solve on their own. This site also links to another page called Mathletics, which one math application to each sport it list. This would be great for those students that have more interests in sports over math to get them more interested in math.


Other Math Hook Examples: 
    Videos- 

    Games- Elementary Math Games
                Cool Math Sites


    Comics-

1512-Week 4

Common Core State Standards

        Common Core State Standard Initiative is a wonderful initiative working toward more specific standards not fewer standards. They want to make sure that the standards are clear for not only teachers but the students and parents as well. They also focus on a consistent framework. They are designed to be relevant to the real world to help in their success in the future. 

        Minnesota sadly has not yet adopted the Common Core State Standards. Although it is a relatively new initiative, MN is only one of eight states that have not yet joined the initiative. I think it would be a great thing to have for the students of MN. It would be nice to see all 50 states united in this initiative.

Rockin' the Standards=Awesome!
        Tim Bedley is amazing. What will he think of next?? I think this is great way to not only get kids interested in math but to have fun learning it at the same time. My favorite song is the Quadrilateral Dance and The Angles song is pretty catchy as well. If you haven't noticed kids love to sing! I have heard many students singing such songs as "Pray for You" by Jaron and The Long Road to Love and "Rain is a Good Thing"by Luke Bryan, among many other pop songs. If you have heard the lyrics to these songs and others on the radio, I would much rather hear students sing to RTS than some of these pop songs. I definitely think this CD is a great investment for any teacher or parent.

1510-Week 4

Math and Art :)

Circle Limit III by M.C. Escher (1959)

        Math and Art have a long history together going as far back as the great pyramid. When we think of great artists of the past many incorporated math into their work. The great Leonardo Da Vinci incorporated many mathematical concepts into his artwork. M.C Esher was known for his mathematically inspired work, for example his tessellation work (right).
        The video, Cool Multiplication Technique for Large Numbers (below), is a great Math Art video. It is a Stop-motion animation. The artist that created it did a great job connecting art and math. This clip makes math fun with its irony.
        For those students who are interested in art, and not so much in math, doing interdisciplinary lessons that connect Math with art is a great way to get those kids interested in Math. Connecting the lesson to another subject that they show interest in is a great hook to reel them in. Without mathematics we wouldn't have our family favorite animated movies, for example, (my favorites) Toy Story, Lion King, Wall-E, etc. The DreamBox Learning Blog post, Helping Young Animation Lovers Appreciate Math, is a great resource to use for connecting math with animation. It links to many other great articles and resources that make learning math and animation fun.

1512-Week 3

What are the odds? 
        Have you ever heard the phrase "what are the odds of that happening?" The odds may seem greatly outweighed but it could happen, like the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year (reported deaths + injuries) is 1 in a million. The odds you will be affected by someone that has been struck by lightning are far less. Probability is everywhere in our daily lives. The NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) states that the curriculum for pre-k to 8th grade should include the study of probability so that students can understand and apply the basic concepts of probability.
        In the textbook, Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers, on page 529 refers to a game on Odds and Fairness. It explains a game called Multiplication Toss. This game is for 2 players, one being “odd” and one “even.” They are give two number cubes (die) to roll for their turn and are to find the product of the numbers rolled. If the product is odd the odd player gets a point if it is even the even person gets a point. Students are to play the game up to 10 rolls and then switch roles. They would then be asked: Is it a fair game? Why/why not? If we look at the odds, we find that "finding the product" is an unfair game as the odds of the product being “odd” is ¼. If you change the game to the sum being “prime” or “not prime, we find the sum being “prime or not” unfair as well, as we find the sum being prime 42% of the time. If you changed the game to finding the "sum of the numbers" rather than the product, we would find the sum of the cubes with the odds of rolling “odd” or “even” is 50/50, a fair game.

Why is studying about the topic of fairness of games an important school topic? 

        It is important to teach fairness of games in school because we don’t want students to feel they are at a disadvantage, but we have to teach them that life is not always fair. We can’t always change the rules in life like in a math game, but we can choose to be fair. Fairness goes along with student’s character development in teaching them right from wrong. Fairness means playing by the rules, taking turns, sharing, and listening. Fair people do not take advantage of others. The topic of fairness promotes better decisions made by students when interacting with others at school.
         Usually children learn about fairness at a young age. Having siblings and when out with friends, if one child gets a treat everyone wants a treat. Parents say you must share your treat to be fair, so everyone gets some. Once they enter school for the first time, they are not used to being with so many children their same age. Sharing becomes a big issue. Who wants to share their snack with 20 other kids!? 
         Teaching fairness greatly connects to teaching being a responsible citizen. We as teachers need to teach students that you shouldn't leave anyone out in certain situations. Along with Math, there are many other ways we can teach fairness. A great resource for teaching fairness is AtoZTeacher Stuff.com: Teaching Fairness. It lists a variety of useful books and lessons/mottos teachers use. Another great publication comes from the West Virginia University Extension Service. It is called Family Times Newsletter and is for adults with children ages 5-8. This particular issue is on developing Fairness. This newsletter is a great resource for those needing help in the teaching of fairness.