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MT218i :: MT218i Jul 10 • Contents
Grid Algebra in practice - Dave Hewitt
Surely, Grid algebra is to early algebra what the iPad is to the latest must have in terms of innovation and cutting edge thinking. Watch, with awe and wonder, as Dave Hewitt uses this unique piece of software with a group of year 5 pupils, and...quite simply...be amazed!
Maths Busking - Sarah Santos
From handcuffs, to reversible waistcoats, to a handy pentagon – it’s all here in action. Would you have ‘the bottle’ to give it a try in your classroom?
Juggling - theory and practice - Colin Wright
Juggling will never be the same again. Colin Wright is a ‘class act’ in every sense. Experience the notation of juggling and even get to ‘write it down’. How do you react to the concept of a juggling ball going back in time. If you only have the time to watch one clip in this issue of MTi, then make it Juggling Part1.
Looking Forward: Maths from stories - Cherri Moseley
In these two video clips Cherri Moseley shares her enthusiasm for an unusual approach to developing mathematics in her classroom.
Root 2 and irrational numbers - Leo Rogers
Have you ever struggled to explain the idea of an irrational number to your students? Leo Rogers seeks inspiration in the past, and makes things look ‘easy’. Show this clip to your students and watch the ‘lights go on’.
Children overheard: mathematical resilience - Sue Johnston-Wilder
A powerful way to organise learning in the mathematics classroom. Can such an approach become the ‘norm’ as a result of challenging some old orthodoxies?
Geared Up: Exploring Curves with Autograph - Robert Ward-Penny and Douglas Butler
Robert Ward-Penny and Douglas Butler describe using the software package Autograph with a group of mathematics PGCE students at the University of Warwick.
Spiral patterns - John Ingram
John Ingram shares some of his creative ideas on investigating spiral patterns. Much of what John offers here has been created with ‘freeware’, and he demonstrates the potential for generating images that will both interest and motivate learners in the mathematics classroom.
Symmetry in three dimensions: part 1
The more I explore geometry, the more I become convinced that symmetry is crucial - and the more surprised I am, some 25 years or so into teaching, that I still have a lot to learn.
The Molly books - Tom O'Brien
A new primary e-book, by Tom O’Brien, is to be launched shortly. It will be featured with classroom video clips and a review in the next MTi - January 2011. Here we offer a ‘taster’ as to what will be included.
Ogdens...found in a classroom in Penrith - Geoff Faux
Caleb Gattegno was first to use the term ‘Ogdens’. Here, Geoff Faux shares a video clip as a useful exemplar of how Ogdens can support the learning of number. Just read the notes, Geoff provides, before watching the video clip, and try to keep up with the dynamic conversations generated by the learners.
A fresh look at iProbes - Tom O'Brien
Often the children were far ahead of adults in the speed and complexity of their conclusions and rarely, if ever, did they ask a weak or a wasted question.
Maths from archaeology - Lucy Sayce
This is a must if you have never heard of the ‘neolithic yard’. Lucy Sayce explains how a length of rope, a stone circle, and a group of children can develop their own mathematics.
Brilliant starters - tried and tested - Lynne McClure, Pete Griffin
Lynne McClure (Director of NRICH) and Pete Griffin (South West Regional Coordinator for the National Centre for Excellence on the Teaching of Mathematics) share their brilliant starters with other teachers and show how they can lead to some very rewarding mathematical talk and discovery.
Maths and dance - Mike Askew
Watch as the ideas become reality. Experience Mike Askew working with a group of teachers/educators to show what his ideas might look like in the classroom/workspace. Dance can be a context for topics from pattern spotting to notation, and the soundtrack is well worth a listen. You won’t need an i-Pod to make this happen, but you might have to let yourself go...
Book reviews - Mary Wimbury
‘Maths doesn’t suck’ is due to travel over the Atlantic soon. Mary Wimbury reviews it for us here.
Measuring the speed of sound - Ian Galloway
Ian Galloway talks us through a simple way to measure the speed of sound through air, through wood, through anything really.
Looking Forward: Notquitohedra - Paul Stephenson
Have you ever used a classroom resource and, in all innocence, constructed a shape that cannot exist? Think before you answer...it is easily done - as Paul Stephenson shows here.
MTi goes hexagonal
Some to think on, some to work on and some to comment on: Symmetry Gates; Ferrero Rocher; Flip Camera; TI-Nspire; UK Maths Trust; World Cup Football.
