1.
Welcome and Feedback
2.
Website of the Month: BEAM site and AJ on TV
3.
Two Great Maths Teaching Ideas: Elastic and MacDonalds
4.
Competition – prizes!
5.
Maths at Mealtimes
6.
Book Review: How Many Books Make a Pair?
7.
Einstein Says…(a new guest speaker this month!)
Welcome to the April Newsletter
Dear Maths Friends- welcome! My April started with a trip to the
famous Magic Circle in London. But this was not for a magic show – it was an
event for secondary teachers hosted by OCR to literally ‘Talk Maths’. I was the
third speaker, having to follow Jenny Piggott (of NRICH fame) and Rob Eastaway,
so a bit nerve-wracking but it all seemed to go well, helped by the fact that
many of the teachers had already broken up which gave the day something of a
happy feel!
I continue to be plagued by distribution problems with the
newsletter. We are working on it but please bear with me. In the meantime, do
remind people that they can always access any newsletters by going to the
newsletter page of the website.
We currently have well over 2500 subscribers; it is my goal to
get to 3000 by the end of this year, so please don’t hesitate to recommend the
ideas to others, and point them to the website where they can
subscribe for free!
2. Website of the Month:
It must be the new, re-launched BEAM website, full of resources,
ideas, and more. BEAM continues to be highly regarded as a provider of quality
INSET Training, and even though I do some consultancy work for them, I am happily
paying to attend their conference in London in June, which looks to have a fascinating
programme, so I am happy to give it a mention. Click here for the main BEAM site, or here for details of the
conference. The conference is also running in Bristol and Manchester.
Finally, click here
to watch the Teachers TV programme I took part in
which has just gone live this month.
3. Teaching Idea: Elastic and MacDonalds
This idea arose from a question on an online forum. It was from
a Year 1 teacher (but the idea could be extended well into KS3) who wanted to
know how to spice up her lessons on shape and get them outdoors if possible. Several
people have told me they have bought some elastic as a result!
So what’s the idea? This is a lesson idea which can reinforce
properties of 2-D shape, and is great for those who learn visually or kinaesthetically. Not to mention the great photos you could
get from it as well…
You need to get several lengths of strong elastic. Make them
into loops of between 1 and 3 metres depending on the number of children in
your desired group size. Get the children to stand inside a loop of elastic
around their waists, and then move around to form various shapes. For example,
if you shout triangle, they must move apart stretching the elastic into the
shape of a triangle. They can make different triangles,
or different quadrilaterals (a chance to show them that squares are special
types of rectangles) or ask them to make as many different types of
quadrilaterals, triangles, etc as they can. The extension is obvious; how many
different shapes can they make? Can two groups of three children make a star of David by having a low and a high triangle
overlapping? Can two groups make rectangles that make a square when put next to
each other? And so on.
The opportunities are limitless, and a helper who is taking
pictures from an upstairs window could produce an amazing photo for display! I
bought several metres of elastic from eBay that very day to try out a few ideas
– give it a go! Importantly, this helps to give children a mental picture of
shapes and their properties. There is probably a 3-d version of this idea
waiting to be discovered; I’ll give it some thought!
The second idea relies on the fact that it is
always a good idea to reference popular culture in mathematics, and like them
or loathe them, Macdonalds are ingrained in
the nation’s psyche. Their annual Monopoly game, running all this month, is a
great example of how you can get some great mathematics for children of all
ages.
First, you need some basic information. MacDonalds
have a Monopoly game running in their restaurants. You get a free game board,
and are given stickers representing the various spaces on the board. If you
manage to cover a set of any given colour, you win a
prize. Where does the mathematics come i?
Several places. Firstly, it is important to observe that this brings out the
worst in many people. Look on eBay and you will find many people offering to
sell the sticker that will give you the star prize (Mayfair). Read the small
print and they will admit that they are only selling a photo of it! Or last
year’s stickers!
Of course the game seems to be a very easy one to win, as you
only need 3 (or in some times 2) stickers to win a prize. What they don’t tell
you (at least not until you press them) is that each set contains one
super-rare sticker, of which very few copies are printed, thus making it
extremely unlikely that you would ever win! In the case of Mayfair last year,
there was only one, whereas the Park Lane stickers are deliberately abundant to
raise your sense of anticipation that you might actually win!
So, why not have a game board on your wall? Not to encourage you
class to eat junk, obviously, but just in case they do ask them to bring in any
stickers they accumulate, or any duplicates if they are playing the game for
themselves.
Ask them which prizes they are most likely to win. They will
need more information. And here it is! A complete list of the number of
stickers actually printed of each type. Now ask them to work out which prizes
they are most likely to win! You can even visit your local MacDonalds
(I tried it) and they will actually give you enough free game boards to give to
a whole class. Also, they should have displayed the rules, which includes the
exact number of cards printed for each set, so you can work out the exact
chances of winning, and test their preposterous claim that ‘1 in 3 wins!’
4. Competition Time!
As I announced last month, I have entered into a sponsorship
deal with HP Calculators and am able to give one away each month as competition
prizes, as well as to people who attend my training courses. I have been
wracking my brains trying to come up with good ideas for competitions that
people would enjoy entering, and suddenly the following idea popped into my
head.
The first lucky winner of a HP
calculator will be the person who sends me the best single idea or list of
ideas for what questions or challenges would make a great future
competitions! Simple as that! So, if you have a good idea, please email
it to me. (Note that I now use Spamarrest software as
I have been getting as many as 200 spam
emails a day, so you may be asked to verify your email is genuine, but only the
first time). Please include your
name and postal address so I can get the calculator sent to you.
Next month’s competition will be to do with forthcoming
publications – more details in May’s newsletter.
5. Maths at Mealtimes
Those of you who live in the South East of England and who have
or work with small children may be aware of ABC magazine, a free mag filled with ideas and resources for things to do with
the under 8’s. Aimed at parents and carers, it is
filled with information about child-friendly restaurants, pubs, parks,
activities, play schemes, etc. It is published quarterly and this issue, I have
written an article for parents about the importance of seizing spontaneous
moments at mealtimes for the Sussex edition (but I believe it may have been
used in other counties. Feel free to share it with parents – it is all about
true stories of things that occurred while eating out with my 4-year old son
who is very pleased to see his name in print! For example, he now knows that 2
7’s are 14 because he went to count the salads down either side of
the salad bar at a Harvester! Make it fun – that’s the key!
6. Book Review: How Many Socks Make a Pair?
This month it is the turn of Rob Eastaway, speaker, maths populariser and founder of
Maths Inspiration. His latest book is a departure from his normal fare, as it
is designed to appeal to a wider age range (specifically younger) audience than
his previous books, but it is still hugely enjoyable for adults. Among the many
highlights for me were how to make a tetrahedron from a crisp packet, the magic
square that could be turned upside down, the ants on a ruler and thoughts on
infinity. How Many Socks Make a Pair?’ is very readable, and clearly
illustrated. Rob is one of those people who knows how
to make maths engaging and interesting, and I can
heartily recommend this book.
ISBN: 978-1-906217-59-4
Publisher: JR Books
7. Einstein Says
The professor gives way this month to Anatole
France, a Nobel Prize-winning French novelist of the 20th Century. He stated that:
“Nine Tenths of Education is Encouragement.”
A fascinating and curiously encouraging assertion. It made
me wonder: what is the other 10%? Any offers?!
See you next month, with more top tips and details of a party
that all 2700 of you are invited to! Thanks for being a subscriber, and
remember, if you enjoy the newsletter, please
encourage other to sign up at http://andrewjeffrey.co.uk/newsletter.asp
AJx
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