Sign Up Today:
Students and Families Engaged in Math Activites
NEW Math Clubs for 2009-2010!
You asked. We listened.
In response to demands for “even more math”, the EIM team has been industriously researching, developing, piloting, tweaking and (oh yes) fine-tuning new curriculum offerings. Here’s a sneak peak at some exciting new clubs and camps which will be available for the 2009-2010 school year:
Algebra anyone? In the DISCOVERING and EXPLORING ALGEBRA math clubs, students will learn that algebra is an area of math where letters represent numbers and will understand that determining patterns helps solve the value of the letter. Intermediate students actively engage in exploring the patterns that lie within poetry and mathematical tools such as Napier’s Bones and Pascal’s triangle. Activities for primary club members involve discerning patterns in music, composing verses to a common nursery rhyme and investigating patterns in art.
Fractions are de-mystified in the EXPLORING NUMBER SENSE club for third through fifth grade students. Young mathematicians study concepts of number sense such as addition and equivalencies of fractions, employ fractions for measurement, and explore coin values to learn about conversion of fractions to decimals. Finally, they will play with concepts of place value through simple games involving decks of playing cards and rolled dice.
Quick! What is a dodecahedron*? In the DISCOVERING and EXPLORING GEOMETRY club, mathematicians learn shape recognition and the properties of polygons. Primary students become familiar with shapes through activities that relate them to the natural world (such as constellations), and the real world vis-à-vis everyday signage. Further discovery using art and the alphabet is performed to explore the properties of symmetry. Intermediate students explore the properties of circles, triangles, and quadrilaterals through various engaging activities such as constructing flying polygons using nothing but popsicle sticks.
Practice in mathematical foundations is provided for primary students in the DISCOVERING PROBLEM SOLVING club. To help them find the answers to numerous challenges, students will work together using a variety of problem-solving techniques such as working backwards, finding hidden problems and/or creating a picture or graph. Students will also learn how to ask good questions when gathering information, and how to work as a group to solve problems.
“Elementary, my dear Watson.” Primary students in the NATURE DETECTIVES summer camp will pull out a magnifying glass to look for mathematical “clues” provided in the natural world. They will use pattern blocks to learn shape recognition, will measure to determine circumference, and will learn to use measurement tools in analyzing and sorting various shapes. Mathematicians will representing data using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs, and will sort, classify and order objects by size, number, and other properties.
Interested in knowing more? Contact Jennifer Gaer jenniferga@eimath.org or Mary Cropp mcropp@eimath.org to hear details on how you can get these camps and clubs at your school.
*A dodecahedron is any polyhedron with twelve sides.
Mental Math with Dave
WHAT'S MY NUMBER? This game is about students learning to be systematic, methodical and organized in their reasoning. Tell the students you’re thinking of a number between 1-100. Their task is to determine what your number is using no more than 7 “yes or no” questions. As soon as a student asks, “Is it ___?”, the game is over, right or wrong.
It’s always possible to determine the number by asking questions that eliminate half the remaining numbers. So the first question could be “Is the number between 1-50?” Whether yes or no, half the numbers have been eliminated. Another opening question could be, “Is it an odd number?” Again, half the numbers are elminated. (Keep a running record on the board or overhead.) The hardest question is the last one if students have narrowed their choices down to two numbers, but it doesn’t have to be a 50/50 guess. There are questions they can ask to determine the number: If the remaining numbers, for example are 51 and 53 a student could ask, “Can we eliminate 51?” Whether yes or no, they now know the number you selected. Another possible question: “Does you number end in a 1?” Same deal.
Teacher Challenge
Two candles of equal length are lit at the same time. One candle takes six hours to burn and the other three hours to burn. After how much time will the slow-burning candle be exactly twice as long as the fast-burning candle?
Email responses to jenniferga@eimath.org and you may win a game for your classroom.
Congratulations to Concord Elementary 2nd grade teacher, Susan Parker, for winning the March teacher challenge!
Web Resources
Here are some resourceful websites which you may find helpful to you and your students.
- Mrs. Renz has obvisouly done her homework with her 4th Grade classes webiste.There is a comprehensive list of math webisites and resources organized by skill and concept for 3rd grade and higher. From Addition Facts to Worksheet sites, you will find everything you need to challenge your students with innovative math instruction and ideas.
www2.redmond.k12.or.us/mccall/renz/mathsites.htm#pv- PBS Teacher's website provides creative math games and lessons for K-12th by grade level and strand.
www.pbs.org/teachers/math/- The Math Fact Cafe is the ultimate in free printable math worksheets for K-5 teachers and home use. This includes generators for math drills, flashcards, time, and money! A great tool for teachers and parents alike.
www.mathfactcafe.com
