Event: National Math Festival - Sat. May 4, 2019

In case you are the type that likes to plan ahead, here is an event you might consider. It is the National Math Festival in Washington DC. I have not had the pleasure of attending this event, but I follow it online and it looks like there is a lot of amazing activities. So if you find yourself in DC around May 4, 2019; you should check it out. 

If not, there are a lot of cool resources for those curious about math.

Article: Handy way to learn math

 It is my belief that we are all math people and the dichotomy between math and non-math people is a false one. This article is a nice way to see how math can be more integrated into other areas of learning. What do you think?

Kraftwork: There is a handy way for "non-math people" to learn math

Snapshot: 7B Popcorn Container Challenge

Last Thursday, 7B took their class to the garden for a design challenge. They were given a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper and challenged to construct a rectangular prisms popcorn container with the largest volume. They had access to scissors and tape. Their container was then filled with popcorn. 

There were lots of interesting ideas at the beginning:
-"All the volumes will be the same because we all have the same size piece of paper."
-"A taller container will hold more."
-"A container with the largest surface area on the bottom will be the biggest."

They went to work and as the containers were constructed and volumes calculated and recorded, they were able to refine their hypotheses. We will follow up on class this week with further analysis of their findings. 

6C: Ratio and Froot Loops

Sixth grade is moving into an exciting part of the year where we move from computation to more conceptual work. We are reviewing the concept of ratios with a hands-on activity with a box of Froot Loops. 

Students were asked to estimate the total number of Froot Loops in the 12.2 oz box of Froot Loops. The box was divided up amongst the students and they had to catalog and count each color. The students made adjustments to their estimates for the full box and made estimates for the total number of each color in the box.  We briefly discussed this as a way to do sampling to estimate the total box of Froot Loops. 

I took this opportunity to show the class the power of spreadsheets.  We used Google Sheets to collect our class data. Then we used formulas for sum to find totals of each color and for each student. We applied our knowledge of fractions and percents to turn the totals into percents. They also saw the power of the spreadsheet to generate a bar graph of our data.  The class was curious to compare their data to previous years data sets and made interesting observations. Students reflected upon their experience and saw how using ratios was helpful in refining their estimating.  They were happy because they enjoyed ingesting their data set after we were done!

8A: Barbie Bungee Jump - Explore More

As introduced in the post, Snapshot: 8A Barbie Bungee Jump, the eighth grade applied their knowledge of linear functions to a Barbie bungee jump challenge. The intent of the project was to provide a real world application of linear functions to ground student understanding.  Students were divided into groups of two or three to do some introductory experimentation with a Barbie, up to three rubber bands, and a meter stick.  Here are all the bungee jump groups with their test Barbie and company name.

Groups plotted their data two ways: by hand and using the an online regression tool. Using their math skills they drew a line of best fit and did their best to estimate the slope of the line. Once they had their calculations figured out, they plotted their data on regression tool and it gave them a linear equation. They had to figure out what the slope and y-intercepts represented in this scenario and use these data points to decide how many rubber bands to add to their bungee rope.

We had to wait patiently for a dry day to perform our bungee jumps. Jump day was thrilling. They students made their initial jumps and then modified their numbers one last time.  Here are some photos from jump day.

We experimented with filming and photography of the event.  There were a couple of GoPros and lots of iPhone footage. Our favorites were the slow-motion jumps taken from the ground.For our final jump, we had all Barbies jump simultaneously.  It was a great way to make a direct comparison of all the bungee cords.

 Student reflection and feedback gave me insights into how to improve upon this activity. Fun was had by all and we made math come to life! 

Thank you to all the people who shared their Barbies for us to use and to B. Hansen for the great video clips. 

Event: Love Math! A Math Festival For Girls

The Proof School in San Francisco is holding a Math Festival for Girls called" Love Math!" It should be a great event. Here is the description from their website.

A math festival especially for girls builds community.

Come experience hands-on, collaborative activities that inspire a love for math, all for girls in grades 4 through 8 and their families.
Our math festival for girls aims to create a community by encouraging cooperative problem-solving. With mathematical art to make, fun-filled logic puzzles to solve, and ice cream combinatorics to discover, this event will be unlike most (or any!) math you've ever seen.
You'll also be able to bring home the fun. We'll have some of our favorite books, puzzles, and more for you to take home.

Special thanks to Art of Problem Solving and Beast Academy for their support!   

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Love Math! 

A FESTIVAL FOR GIRLS

Saturday, December 3  |  10am-12pm

555 Post Street, San Francisco 94102

To sign up, go to:

Love Math! A Math Festival For Girls

Video: 9.999...reasons 0.9999...=1 by ViHart

As we explore the world of fractions, decimals, and percents, the sixth graders have stumbled into the annual debate about whether 0.9999...repeating is equal to one. I enjoy hearing their reasons for both sides and how passionate they get about their point of view.  To wrap up the debate, I share this definitive video about why 0.999.... is equal to one. It is the work of one of my favorite YouTube stars, ViHart.  If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing ViHart, enjoy. I recommend just letting the experience wash over you first, then go back for a closer look on the second time round. Or third....

Does she convince you? 

Snapshot: 6 Math Challenge - MBA

This week the sixth graders took on their second math challenge, Modern Basketball Association. There was significant progress made in finding a variety of ways to show their thinking. Above is a sampling of the many ways 6B was able to document their thinking and illustrate their reasoning. We began evaluating which strategies were clarifying and what made them so successful. 

Event: Evening with Dr. Jo Boaler, Standford Professor

The Mindset Revolution: How to Help Children Learn and Love Math

In this presentation Dr. Boaler will share the latest brain science that sheds important new light on the best ways to learn math. She will also engage the audience through videos of students learning math in different ways and share a wealth of resources to help students on their mathematics journeys.

December 7th, 2016 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Jordan Middle School, Palo Alto
750 N California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Free child care is available.

PLEASE RSVP: http://goo.gl/forms/kb00AQ44fD