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Andrew
Jeffrey's September 2007 Newsletter | |||||
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Welcome
to the September edition of the Maths Newsletter and. What a strange and
varied month it has been! I hope you find something here to enjoy.
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1. Subscribers on the
increase! |
5. Algebra v.
Cockroaches | ||||
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2. World
Tour of |
6. 100
Top Tips: Comments Wanted! | ||||
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3. TES Education Show,
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7. TES
Magazine |
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4. Another Free Magic Maths
Trick |
8.
Maths Jokes |
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1.
Dear Maths Friends, Congratulations!
You discerning bunch have now topped the 600 mark; at the last count there
were 652 subscribers. THANK
YOU for being one of them. I am genuinely grateful to each of you. Please
don't feel you must stay on however- each time there are one or two who unsubscribe and that's fine! Anyway,
I hope the new school year is everything you hoped, and not as bad as you feared! I am now a month into my new life and so far things have been
hectic but fun. My thanks to those of you who responded to the last issue. It is always gratifying to make contact, so do
keep getting in touch. I promise to reply! By the way, do check out the
many blog entries on the website since the last newsletter. You can read
an eclectic range of postings. Recent entries include what I discovered
from running against the wind, as well as my trips to those
two great centres of culture, |
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2.
World Tour of |
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3.
TES Education Show, |
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4. Another Free Magic Maths
Trick. This
is an exclusive
for newsletter subscribers. My original plan was to market this trick on
the website as something people could buy together with the necessary
props. I still might do that, but I wanted to say 'thanks' for being a
member of this list, so here goes: Before you meet your audience, make a
line of about 15 to 20 dominos which conform to the usual rule, i.e., that
touching ends should have the same number. Continue until you have the
same number at both ends of your line as well. Now hide any single domino
from the line in your pocket. Let's say for the sake of argument that the
hidden domino has two spots at one end and six at the other.
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Mix
up all the other dominos in the line and you are now ready to meet your
audience. Explain that you had a dream about a game of dominos and you
have a clear mental picture about what will happen. Ask them to lay the
dominos in a long line according to the rules of the game (i.e. ends
matching). Before they do so, write down a prediction but do not show it.
You write "The numbers on the ends will be 2 and 6." (Matching the
numbers hidden in your pocket). When they have finished laying out
their line, reveal your prediction which turns out to be
correct! |
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For
a real kicker ending, as you are clearing up the dominos, casually add the
hidden one to the pile and remove a different one. Write down a new
prediction and play the game again. The reaction will be stronger this
time, as anyone who suspected that the outcome would always give the same
result will now be baffled! |
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6.
When I first published 100 Top Tips, my
great friend Michael Ede, former IAPS Maths Coordinator and current SATIPS
Maths broadsheet editor, suggested that I should produce it in a hard copy
format, as people might be more willing to buy a 'real' book. I always
listen when Michael advises anything, but on this occasion I held off
initially for two reasons. Firstly, keeping the book in an electronic
format
dramatically reduced my overheads, allowing me to sell it
for a very low price (4.5 pence per tip!) Secondly, I wanted to
test how well it would sell as a download and whether teachers would be
prepared to buy things in this format. It has now been proving popular and
doing really well for several months now, but to test the water I have
decided to take Michael's advice (and others) and offer a hard copy as
well, starting next month. Of course as subscribers, you will be the
first to hear when the printed version is ready. Now, this does throw up
an opportunity for those of you who already have a copy: I NEED TO KNOW
WHAT YOU THINK! |
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So,
your comments are now wanted!
Initially, as you will know if you have the book, I made up some
light-hearted comments to put on the back. Now that so many people have
bought it, I thought that it would be much better to have genuine
comments. So, if you have bought '100 Top Tips' and enjoyed it, please
could you find a few moments to send me a comment that I might use on the
back cover? As an incentive, when it is published, I
will send a
free
hard copy of the book to anyone whose comments I
choose.
As ever, by the way, remember my guarantee: if you buy anything from me
and are not satisfied you will get a 100% refund. That's a firm promise,
though nobody yet has needed to take me up on the offer, I'm pleased to
say! |
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7.
TES Magazine Photos: I
was contacted over the summer by the TES magazine. They sent a very good
photographer down, and he very kindly let me put some of his pictures on
my website for free. I haven't had a chance to talk to Stu the Web Genius
yet, but am hoping to get this done in the next week or two, so check back
soon. Once they are up and running, take a look at
http://andrewjeffrey.co.uk/media.asp and see what you
think! |
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8.
Maths Jokes. Over
the years I have heard and forgotten a vast number of maths jokes. Some
are funny, some are not. A while ago my friend Jennie asked me for a
suitable joke to share with a group of teachers to whom she was due to
speak. This led me to wrack my brains in an attempt to dredge up the
funniest I could remember. So - do you have any goodies? Email me
and I will share the best with the list next time. Until then, I will kick
off with the old but reliable and inoffensive: Q: What
did the Zero say to the Eight?
A: Hey,
nice belt!
Not the best joke ever, but a start. Your turn... |
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Until
Next Time,
Andrew |
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P.S.
I am told by friends in similar businesses that December and January are
traditionally quiet months, so as an experiment I am offering list members
a £50 discount on any day booked for school visits during those two
months. But this offer is ONLY to you as newsletter
subscribers! |
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You
are receiving this newsletter free of charge because you signed up for
membership of Andrew's exclusive newsletter group on his website, or
downloaded one of his free e-books. You may unsubscribe at any time by
hitting 'reply' and using the word 'unsubscribe'.
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