Category Archives: Math

Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts

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legoEdmonton teacher, Leslie Friesen, passed on this interesting article from Scholastic. The author makes a good case for using the different pieces of the popular Lego sets to illustrate fractions in different ways. There are some printables to help students use the manipulatives. I thought it was good advice given to pre-pack the pieces you need in a bag rather than give the set out.
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The URL: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/12/using-lego-build-math-concepts

Nix The [Math] Tricks

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nixthetrixBack in January, I recommended a site that talked about shortcuts and thinking about a few math concepts in a different way. My thanks goes out to Edmonton teacher, Stephanie Gower, who offered me some conversation and a look at another resource that addresses why math shortcuts out of context can be troublesome. Nix the Tricks is a no-cost download pdf book that looks at common math tricks and remedies for teaching them in class. At first glance, the site uses phrases like ‘buy the book’ but know that the download is a Creative Commons licenced, no-cost one.
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The URL: http://nixthetricks.com/

7 Math Tips You Wish They’d Taught in School

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mathtipsThe math purists will probably bristle at me for this one but I loved this site that long time List member, Sharon Affeld sent along. It demonstrates 7 different ways to think about math concepts using fingers, lines and illustrations. I know — it doesn’t replace ‘real’ math skills but thinking about numbers in different ways may be fun for those who are strong at math and perhaps one or two tricks might help some struggling with a concept.
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The URL: http://www.ba-bamail.com/Content.aspx?emailid=13722&memberid=929934

Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land

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mathmagiclandWhen I was a student teacher in the 80’s, I used this video in a math unit. This week, I’m preparing a lesson in SketchUp about the Golden Section and wondered if I could find it online since my old VHS of it is long gone. I only need about 5 minutes from the 7:00 mark to cover this particular subject but the whole 27 minute video is well worth a look.
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The URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZHsk0-eF0