1.
Welcome and Feedback
2.
Website of the Month:
3.
Top Tip: Protractors
4.
Competition – kick yourself!
5.
INSET date unexpectedly available in September
6.
PARTY TIME! PUT THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY!
7.
Einstein Says…(a surprising guest speaker this month!)
8.
And Finally – a surprisingly tricky problem
Welcome to the May Newsletter
Dear Maths Friends- welcome! May has been another exciting time,
and here in Brighton we are enjoying the Brighton Festival – they even managed
to get some maths in, as I went to a
fascinating lecture on the subject of “Zero”.
It was a super evening, and I also attended as Part of the festival a
lecture by Marcus Du Sautoy and Sculptor Anish Kapoor all about the
relationship between Science and Art – it was brilliant!
Feedback from last month has been scarce; I am still concerned
that not everyone is getting the newsletter safely. One interesting consequence
is that there was not a single entry to the competition – imagine that – if you
had entered, you would have won! So – we will run it for another month; go on,
have a go!
The elastic activity from last month’s newsletter has been used
to great effect; I have introduced it on a couple of INSET days and everyone
can see its potential. Do try it if you haven’t already done so.
2. Website of the Month: Regifting Robin!
There are many websites similar to this, but one of the
cleverest I have seen for a while is this one, as it actually speaks the name
of the item you are thinking of! Regular subscribers will recognize the
principle as similar to one used in a previous website of the month, but I
think the speech adds a certain something – enjoy! You will need your sound on…
http://www.regiftable.com/regiftingrobinpopup.html
3. Teaching Idea: Top Tip #17 (Taken from 100 Top
Tips for Top Maths Teachers)
“Make your own
protractors. I
devised this simple idea in an emergency (day
before an exam, class protractors went missing), and it really works well.
Here’s how you do it. Put some protractors face down on the glass of a
photocopier. Copy onto photocopiable acetate, and carefully cut them out. You
can laminate them for added strength first if you wish. These protractors are
actually better than those you can buy, as they tend not to chip as much. If
you are worried that you might be in breach of copyright, use a printout of a
copyright-free online protractor, or one supplied with an IWB.”
For 99 more Top Tips click here.
4. Competition Time!
Since there were no entries for April, I have decided to carry
forward the competition so you have another month to enter!
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.
5. INSET Day, 2nd September 2009
Due to a cancellation I unexpectedly have 2nd
September available as an INSET day for staff. I am in North Wales in a
secondary school doing INSET on 1st September, and was booked to be
in Bristol on 2nd, but now that the school has been forced to
postpone the visit I am unexpectedly free. In theory, I could go anywhere, so
if you are interested in filling this slot, let me know a.s.a.p.
6. PARTY TIME!
Put this date in your diary – Saturday 5th September
2009. You’ll need cheering up after having just returned to school after the
long summer, so here’s the solution:
It’s the launch party for
‘Be A Wizard With Numbers’, to be held at a yet-to-be-disclosed (i.e. not yet located)
location, and YOU are invited!
Those of you who have been subscribers for a while will know
that this is the book I spent the second half of last year frantically working
on for Duncan Baird Publishers. To thank you all for being subscribers and
customers over the last two years you are all invited! The official launch date
is 1st September but the party itself must wait until the weekend as
I am working during the week.
More details to follow in the coming months. It will be an
invitation-only event – but YOU are invited!
7. Einstein Says
The much-quoted professor gives way yet again this month to a
spot of unashamed nepotism! I was talking with William, my 8-year old, about
the importance of serving others. He asked if that was what my job was about
with maths and I said “Yes, it’s a really important thing to help people with.”
Rather self-important perhaps, but I was cut down to size sharply by the
following reply:
“Yeah. Maths is nearly as important as Arsenal.”
Ho hum. God bless our children – at least they stop us taking
ourselves too seriously!
8. And Finally
I came across this neat little problem while observing a Year 4
lesson recently as part of a day observing and supporting maths teachers in a
school in London. I found it trickier than I had expected! And I am in Year
42…see if you can get it faster than me (answer next time!)
What is the smallest amount of money which
is impossible to make exactly unless you have MORE than 5 coins?
(current UK coinage only).
See you next month, with the answer, and lots more ideas. 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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