Math Is The New πnk!

More origami! Thanks to Sarita’s recommendation, I picked up the movie “Between the Folds” which was on PBS a few years back and showed it to the students after we made cubes using unit origami. It’s a fantastic documentary about the mathematics of paper folding and applications to many aspects of life. One student in 6th grade recognized her neighbor in the film and we are hoping he may want to come teach us more about this aspect of origami.

A few 8th graders made a triambic icosahedron (30 unit origami pieces!!!) Check out these great photos!

Click here for a youtube with step by step directions for this figure. It used the same unit folding that we learned in class!

Wikipedia has a decent overview of origami: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami

Eric Demaine’s website is pretty exciting. http://erikdemaine.org/

A link to the instructions for the hyperbolic paraboloid: https://www.math.lsu.edu/~verrill/origami/parabola/ You can also find this on youtube.

I hope that some of you continue to learn more about paper folding. Let me know about your discoveries!

Another TED talk…Robert Lang blends origami with math and science. I’m just starting to learn about him. Really cool!

There are so many connections between math and art. Here are a few websites of my favorites. If you come across any other cool sites, let me know!

Hyperbolic Crochet http://theiff.org/oexhibits/05b.html

TED talk by hyperbolic crochet coral reef creator: http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_wertheim_crochets_the_coral_reef.html

Math Doodles: http://vihart.com/

Parents (and sometimes students) often ask about teachers providing extra work or enrichment in mathematics. If a student is motivated to “do” more math beyond math class at school, I like to suggest that they start reading books about math and mathematicians. The publication of the genre of books pertaining to mathematics (not textbooks) has exploded since the 1990′s. These books include ideas, stories, history, puzzles, etc. that are written to enrich students of all disciplines. For example, in the early 1990′s, Fermat’s Last Theorem enjoyed a rebirth in when a British mathematician published a proof. Fermat was in the papers, documentaries,  news and became the subject of a number of books.

If you or your child would like “more math”, I suggest a trip to the mathematics section of the book store (or to amazon.com) to pick out a book that looks interesting and appropriate. Our local Berkeley used book stores have really great mathematics sections. Here are a few titles from my math library:

Books about mathematicians:

In Code by Sarah Flannery

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers by Paul Hoffman

Fermat’s Enigma by Simon Singh

Euler The Master of Us All by William Dunham

Books with puzzles or stories including puzzles:

The Man Who Counted by Malba Tahan

Any books by Martin Gardner and Raymond Smullyan

Books about math:

Anything by Theoni Pappas, John Allan Paulos, Ian Stewart

From Zero to Infinity by Constance Reid

From One to Zero by Georges Ifrah (or any of his other books)

An Imaginary Tale The Story of the square root of -1 by Paul Nahin

The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Books about math from Dover Publications (doverpublications.com):

An Adventurer’s Guide to Number Theory by Richard Friedberg

Recreations in the Theory of Numbers by Albert H. Beiler

Short-Cut Math by Gerard W. Kelly

Amusements in Mathematics by Henry E. Dudeney

Currently, much educational dialogue centers around curriculum frameworks and grade level standards (benchmarks) for subject areas. Independent schools are not required, by law, to adhere to particular subject area standards or frameworks, but familiarity with these informs and strengthens our programming. We value a freedom to move among and beyond standards but are attuned to the importance of having grade-level benchmarks. It is important to know that many private companies have cashed in on the “standards” bandwagon creating “national”, “global”, or “universal” standards. That said, it can only make educators stronger and more informed to be familiar with the varied ideas about standards.

I, personally, find myself guided by the California State standards and the standards outlined by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (I have been a member of NCTM for many years and subscribe to the middle and high School teachers’ journals. Each month they are filled with great ideas for lessons and the website has many additional resources.) Below are links to the CA standards and NCTM websites.

California State Standards

NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.  ~Steve Jobs

In an effort to provide incentive to reflect on mistakes when a test is returned, I allow the students to complete test corrections for some extra points. Corrections do not allow a students to earn a 100% on a test but they do add points to the grade. Test corrections are only offered for chapter tests, not for quizzes. (I will post the point rubric later.)

Test Correction Requirements:

1. Use the test correction form.  In the box on the left, copy the missed problem and solve it correctly. In the box on the right, analyze the mistake (tell what you did wrong). Click here to download the form: Test Correction Form

2. Staple the form to the test, which has been signed by a parent. (To receive credit, the test must be signed by a parent, not the correction form.) Hand in by stated due date.

You’ve probably heard about Khan Academy. Salman Khan started the idea of posting short, instructional videos after tutoring a relative in math in 2004. Since then he has posted concise videos covering an amazing variety of subjects, including mathematics, science, economics, test prep, and more. Check out this great article from Wired Magazine on how many teachers are using the lessons as an integral (no pun intended) part of classwork. Also, have a look at Dr. Khan’s TED talk here.

Regularly using these videos is a great supplement to the concepts we study in class.

Welcome back everyone! I’m excited to be teaching both 6th and 8th grade math this year. At the top of this page you can find links to the various pages on this site. Each grade has a class information page with a syllabus. Each class also has a page where I will post homework assignments each afternoon. Rather than labeling it “Homework”, I am calling it “Daily Practice”. I believe that the 40 minutes that we have together in class is not enough time to master a lesson or topic. Just as an athlete practices between games, so must a mathlete practice to reinforce the concepts presented in class. All students would benefit from daily home practice, whether or not there is a formal assignment.

I’m anticipating an exciting, math-filled year! Please contact me with any questions or thoughts!