MathsClass

I put up my first image on Dan Meyer’s 101 Questions yesterday, Kitchen Scale. Wander over there.

What’s the first question that comes to your mind?

I recently used the “Locker Problem” in a Year 7 Maths Enrichment class (mixed ability). Here are some resources I used:

Playing with the kids' toys on the weekend, I came across this car and became interested by the relationship between pulling it back and how far it would travel.

Was it a linear relationship or something else?

Jeff of Webmaths points out a new Australian TV show, Letters and Numbers.

Each year for the Term 3 SDD (Staff Development Day), the four schools (three 7-10 and one 11-12) in the collegiate I work in get together for a combined program.

I think this is essential viewing for Mathematics teachers. I’ve been waiting for a meeting with my faculty to show them, which I got to do on Thursday.

Dan Meyer blogs at dy/dan, which you are already reading as a maths teacher… right?

The end of term/year often brings lots of disruptions. So, as much as I like to keep teaching till the end, some days require something a little different. I like hands-on quasi-mathematical activities that allow every student to engage with and complete. And on Thursday, just before having one of those disrupted days, I found this…

This is an amusing video to introduce probability… some of my Year 8s found it hilarious.

Year 8 were recently assessed on solving equations and I was a little perplexed by the results.

An excuse to use chocolate in a maths lesson…

Google Sketchup is one of the applications bundled on the DER netbooks being rolled out into NSW Public High Schools in Term 3. But as it’s free, you can download it now for Windows XP/Vista & Mac OS X.

I was preparing for part of a presentation to the staff at my school tomorrow, highlighting the importance of numeracy being included in all subject areas.

A really easy way to create engagement when introducing a new topic is to explain some of it’s applications outside of the maths classroom. For Trigonometry, I use an explanation of how I used trigonometry in a previous career to find the height of trees.

This blog is about Maths teaching, however this year (as noted in an earlier post), I’m also teaching a computing subject: Information and Software Technology. Occassionally, I’ll post something that is more related to a computing subject than Maths, but hopefully everyone reading this blog will still find it interesting.

The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) recently created a web-site called “You Can Do Maths”.  From the site:

The youcandomaths campaign encourages all young people and their families to appreciate the important role mathematics plays in many careers and everyday life.

Another good video from The Common Craft Show.  This one is on Borrowing Money.

This video from The Common Craft Show is an excellent “introduction to the magic of compound interest and how it helps money grow over time”.  Keep an eye out for more videos in their financial basics series.

Here’s a video about the history of number, in particular the numbers 0 and 1.  Our Year 7 program begins the year looking at ancient number systems, so this video will fit in nicely.