Andrew Jeffrey's February 2008 Newsletter
1. Welcome and feedback!
2. Maths Website of the Month
3. Mathemapedia
4. Competition time; everyone wins!
5. Half Day training course offer
6. Try this in your classroom!
7. A Magical Card trick to show your pupils!
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1. Welcome!
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Dear Maths Friends,
Happy February! I am always
glad once January is out of the way. I once worked for a wonderful old rogue of
a headmaster, called Jack Bucknall. He was the owner
of an independent school in Haywards Heath (which is
now a charitable trust) and the sort of man who used to ask for a discount in a
pub if he paid by cash! Jack once told me that he disliked February intensely,
as he got fewer days of work out of his teachers than any other month, but
still had to pay them the same amount! He was only joking, as I know that if
anyone was ever struggling financially, Jack would quietly throw off his pseudo-miserly
façade and help them out. I miss characters like Jack; they are a dying breed
in education these days! Jack loved children, and they adored him in return.
Feedback from January’s
newsletter was very pleasing. Lots of orders for 20 Great Maths Displays, (I
have sold out of hard copies and will have to have more printed) and some
nice compliments about it as well. The response to 50 Great Websites has been
huge; over 1000 downloads for this free book alone!
One person asked if I was
really serious about only offering 12 INSET days in 2008, or whether I was just
trying to drum up business using a ‘scarcity’ tactic. I assured them that it was
not the latter; that’s not my style, and it really is just a case of the sheer
amount of time it takes to put such days together. I try hard to give schools a
day that is tailored precisely to their own environment, and this takes a
considerable length of time. I hope that makes things clear.
I have some new things to
tell you about this month, and news of a couple of new projects, including an
opportunity for a few experienced folk, plus of course some classroom tips.
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2. Maths Website of the Month.
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My personal recommendation
this month is http://www.ncetm.org.uk .
It is a vast repository of knowledge and of immense value, whether or not we are
specialists there is something here for you. See item 3, Mathemapedia,
for one example. There are videos of great ideas, forums to discuss thoughts,
grants available (yes real money!) for class or school maths projects,
consultants on-hand to give advice – and, best of all, because it is government
funded it is all completely free to use, though you will want to register to
get the best from the site. I have recommended this site before, but seeing my
friend Steve Humble on Tyneside earlier this month
reminded me that I really should give it another mention.(Steve
is a regional coordinator for the NCETM and he was telling a conference of
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3. Mathemapedia.
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I spent a very interesting
and stimulating day in
Check out the mathemapedia on this month’s featured website at www.ncetm.org.uk
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4. COMPETITION
– IF YOU’RE IN, YOU’LL WIN!
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It’s prize time! And if you
enter, you are guaranteed to win! There are now so many subscribers that
I thought it about time to have a competition. Here’s how it works: if you read
the TES, you will know that they have a ‘my best lesson’ section. Many of them
are really great, but I suspect that most of us have a lesson that is at least
as good, though we always hesitate to mention it, either through modesty or lack
of confidence.
I am currently working on a
lecture full of simple, unusual but effective ideas for supporting learning in
your maths lessons. Given that there are now over 1600 subscribers to this
list, it stands to reason that there must be loads of great maths lessons in
your arsenal. Send me an email containing one of them, with subject “My Best
Maths Lesson Competition”. The best ones will make it into the lecture and full
credit will be given to the senders of any that are used. It’s a win-win…
Now – prizes.
Absolutely everyone who enters will receive a copy of the lecture and
accompanying PowerPoint presentation for free, once it is complete. Those who
make it into the lecture itself will receive a free copy of ANY BOOK ON MY
WEBSITE!
The overall winner, in my
opinion, (and possibly that of Mrs J. if I get
stuck!) will receive A COPY OF EVERY SINGLE BOOK FOR SALE ON MY WEBSITE!
This is a genuine offer.
The closing date is 10th
March; entries received after that date may be considered for the lecture, but
cannot be eligible for prizes.
Footnote: Sorry – ‘Maths
Day in a Box’ is not a book, so is not included in the prize.
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5. Half Day Training Course in Sutton
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I am very excited about
this. I have spoken with Richard Heath, owner of the fabulous Heath Books in
Sutton, about running a training course in his wonderful venue for half a day.
Here’s the clever bit - some people find it easier to get out of school for a
morning, others for an afternoon. Therefore we are going to run the same course
twice on the same day; once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Lunch is
included, so you can choose to come for the morning and then stay for lunch, or
come for lunch and then attend the course in the afternoon. It will be on
Tuesday xxth July – more details to follow next
month. The price will probably be around the £50 mark, but this will include
both a fabulous lunch and a £5 voucher, which must be spent on the day. For those of you
who are unfamiliar with Heath Books, it is the biggest educational bookshop in
the country, and well worth a visit (even if you don’t
come on my course!)
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6. Try this
in your classroom!
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I am indebted to Mark
Richards for this simple idea that works for any age group to keep them engaged
and involved.
Whenever you ask a question
that is a little bit harder than just, for example, a tables fact, put children
into small groups of 2,3 or 4, and give them a short
time limit in which to come up with a solution. BUT, warn them that when you
ask the group, they must have only ONE answer that they are all prepared to
agree to. This is a very simple but good way of ensuring that children learn to
listen to each other; the art of persuading others is a great skill to develop,
and having to find a consensus really focuses the mind. Thanks Mark; a top tip
indeed.
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7. A Magical
Card Trick to teach thinking skills
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I know from your feedback
that magic tricks are among the most popular items in the newsletter, so here
is one with an idea to develop the work that children do when trying to figure
it out.
You ask a child to fetch a
pack of cards from your resources cupboard. They bring one. You deal 10 cards
from the top into a pile and put the rest of the pack aside. You hold them face
down.
Now, you spell A-C-E,
putting a card from top to bottom as you say each letter. As you spell the
letter ‘E’, you turn over the card in your hand; it is an Ace! You leave it on
the table, and now spell T-W-O. Turning over the card in your hand they are
amazed to see that it is a Two! You repeat this with 3,4,5
and so on all the way up to 10. Amazingly, it works every time. They throw
flowers, money and chocolate at you. They make a mental note to buy you a huge
Easter Egg. You smile enigmatically, and ask how it
was done. Some bright spark will inform you that the cards were set in a
particular order. “Oh really?” you respond, defensively.
“Yes, it’s obvious Miss!”
“OK – what was the order?”
Silence reigns. You fill it
by handing out several sets of cards, ace to ten, and put a set near each pair
or group of children. “You have 20 minutes to work out what order the cards
must have been in; one clue – the Ace must be third from the top, yes?”
Frantic scurrying about
ensues as they try to figure out what order to put the cards in. The most able
groups will put the cards face up in a line or a circle, then count and turn
over each card dealt. But not necessarily at first! You circumnavigate your
classroom, grinning benignly at the little dears as they ‘do maths’ without
ever realizing it.
To differentiate, use fewer
or more cards. For the most able, perform “Not The Joker again!” for them from Magic
for Kids, and ask them to work out the order this time. I did this recently
with great success as a workshop with a big group of about 60 Year 6 children,
but with fewer cards you could do it with far younger children. And children in
KS3 or KS4 could discuss the probability of each card falling at the right
time. Perhaps the more able could work out the total number of ways the cards
could be arranged (10x9x8 etc).
Finally, I suppose I should
confess that the night before you should of course set up the top of each pack
in your room in the correct order, so that whichever pack the child brings the
cards you take will already be set in order. Be nothing if not thoroughly sneaky!
Sorry - did I not mention
what the order was? Oops – ah well, you wouldn’t want me to deprive you of the
joy of working it out for yourself, now would you?!
Until Next Time, Andrew x
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