math alive!

Feb 11, 2013

I decided to teach a semester of everyone’s favorite math class, Math Alive!, because there are quite a few children that weren’t able to take it when I taught it in 2010 – 2011 and they will be too old to take it when I teach it for Fisher in 2014 – 2015. I hemmed and hawed because it is a GOB of work, but finally I decided I had to do it so Jacob and Rachel and the other twelve year olds who missed out the first time would be able to have the chance to discover math in a whole new way.

We have met two times so far and I am in love with these kids! The first week we talked about what math is, introduced them to my super-fun Challenges of The Week, and read The King’s Chessboard which is all about the risks one takes when one doesn’t understand math.

At the beginning of each class we have a ten minute math activity where we build things, solve puzzles, play math games, or create something…a get-your-brain-on-fire activity. The first week I took my magic blocks and the kids had a blast. The second week we made designs on Geoboards. At the 9 1/2 minute mark, the race begins and all the students work as fast as they can to put their supplies away and get ready to learn about our mathematician of the day.

Here are the awesome blocks.

 

Last week we learned about Thales and built pyramids out of golf balls. It is always a huge hit and super challenging to solve the puzzles. Drat it all, I forgot my camera! This week we will continue to learn about Thales and will figure out how he measured the Egyptian pyramids.