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Andrew
Jeffrey's October 2007 Newsletter | |||||
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Welcome
to the October edition of the Maths Newsletter. You continue to amaze me
with your supportive and friendly emails and calls - I have a few new
things in store for you this month. Read on… |
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1. Feedback from September's
Issue |
5. 100 Top Tips update and
thanks | ||||
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2. Maths Websites of the
Month |
6. Self-esteem
Show |
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3. Topical Teaching
Tip |
7. TES Magazine
Photos |
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4. How many pentagons on a
football? |
8. Maths Jokes - the
verdict! | ||||
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1.
Feedback: Dear Maths Friends, Thank
you once again for being one of over what is now 785 subscribers to this
free newsletter. I often say that people only value what they pay for, but
judging from the reaction to last month's issue I may have to rethink that
theory! The response to the joke request was huge; unfortunately nearly
all of you sent the same two jokes! See section 6 for details. I also have
added a new routine to my shows this month - it is called the Mathematical
Lie Detector. It's a trick I have used for a while, but my thanks to my
friend Rob Eastaway for the idea of using Jumbo Sized Cards - this makes a
world of difference. Also in this issue is another ingenious idea I saw
Rob demonstrate when he visited |
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2.
Maths Website of the Month! I
was pleased with the feedback re. last month's offering, so here is
another you might like. It's called Footee, and is a great way to engage
football nutters. A chap came onto the TES Forum specifically to plug this
site, but despite this it is really excellent and free. You can play
games, get points, and buy players to make a squad. The more games, the
better your squad, but the games are really educational. A lot of money
has gone into keeping this free, I am told, so do take a look. It can be
found at http://thefa.com/footee |
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Also,
my own site has been updated to include an RSS feed on the
blog.
I only half understand what this is myself, but Stu (largely because he
can, I suspect) has made this page which automatically informs you of
any updates. That means that in the unlikely event that I ever say
anything sensible you can find out automatically. And of course, just like
this newsletter, it's completely free! |
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3.
Topical Teaching Tip.
Always strive to make maths relevant if you wish to motivate your under
confident pupils. For example, during one World Cup, I gave out a
percentages homework based on the teams in
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Of
course, you don't need to use sport at all - not all children are into
sport, of course. One of the subscribers to this newsletter is a very
creative Year 6 teacher whose theme for this term is Dr Who. She asked me
for a series of worded questions, which she then adapted to fit her theme.
You have to admit that "If
Dr Who kills 23 Daleks a day, how many dead Daleks will there be after two
weeks?"
is a lot more interesting than "What
is 23 x 14?" ! As usual, be sensitive to those
children who struggle with their reading...they might need simpler
wording, but the principle still applies. Let's get creative! Here's
another example: was Katie Melua correct about the number of bicycles in
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5.
100 Top Tips Update: My
thanks to you for the kind words about 100 Top Tips, in response to my
request last month. I still need more, however, and there is still time to
send in your comments. I have been in touch with my printers, and the news
is that the hard copy version should be available in December. The ideal
Christmas gift for great aunt Maud, of course, or a useful resource for a
colleague who is struggling for inspiration…but seriously, this will cost
only £6 with no charge for postage, as I am going to put it into A5 format
to keep the whole thing manageable. Watch this space. As promised, I will
email you FIRST as soon as it becomes available. And don't forget to claim
your FREE copy by sending in your comments... |
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6.
Self-Esteem Show:
I have been working on this for some time, but have not yet performed the
full hour-long show in a school. I would be interested to hear your
thoughts, while I realise this is not necessarily your area of expertise.
I feel strongly that there is a link between mathematical achievement and
self-esteem. For example, I tutor a limited number of private pupils, and
I estimate that I probably spend about 20-40% of the time convincing them
that they deserve to pass their exams and are smart enough to do so, and
the rest of the time teaching them maths content. I want to know what you
think; how much of your time do you spend teaching people to look at
things differently? Do you think that Self-Esteem is relevant? This might
seem an odd thing of me to ask, as I know that I am better known for my
work in the purely mathematical field, but I keep coming back in my mind
to how important this is. I would welcome your thoughts. |
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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 (well, Stu obviously!)
put some of his pictures on my website. Take a look at
http://andrewjeffrey.co.uk/media.asp and see what you think! One of them
is at the top of this newsletter. |
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8.
Your Maths Jokes. OK,
it's your turn to suffer. Thanks to all of you who responded to my request
for Maths jokes. As I suspected, we are truly a sad bunch - about 10 of
you sent in the same 2 jokes ( namely variants on the theme of
'Why
was 6 afraid of 7; because 7 ate 9, and the
'Weapons
of Maths Instruction'
gag but with extra George Bush bits which help to make it a bit funnier.
The prize though has to go to Eoin Gill, my Irish host for much of last
week, who was the first of only a couple to offer this little gem: Q:
How can you spot an extraverted mathematician? A: When he talks to
you he looks at YOUR shoes. |
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Until
Next Time,
Andrew |
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P.S.
As I mentioned in my September newsletter, 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 whole day
booked for school visits during those two months. But this offer is ONLY
to you as newsletter subscribers! Since making that offer I have been
taken up on it by a few schools already, so if you want a date, do get in
now. | |||||
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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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