Hash Tag: Maths Movies and PGCEtips

I wouldn't admit to being an extensive Tweeter, but I do follow lots of inspirational and resourceful teachers, educators and those associated with my chosen career. However, if I wanted a reminder of how powerful Twitter can be, it came this week from two contrasting experiments.

Looking for an activity to do for 5 minutes at the end of an end of term maths lesson, I reverted to an old game we used to play - substituting a word in a movie for a maths term. The students really enjoyed it - think "Square Wars" - but I thought it would be fun to have a go on Twitter.

So I started #mathsmovies on Twitter with the gem:



And then nothing happened...

For about a week.

But then it went ballistic, and there are now hundreds of maths movie titles. Some of my favourites:

@ricklecoat 2 x 10^4 Leagues Under The Sea

@BeckyBoooo I know what Euclid last summer

@chris_1974 Nanny McPhi

@mitdasein Dude, Where's Descartes?

@JunkDuster Hexagon in 60 Seconds

Unfortunately, the Americans have now hijacked it, and renamed it #mathmovies...

Slightly more serious, and a whole lot more useful, is Tom Handley's PGCEtips e-book, which can be downloaded here.

By using the hashtag #pgcetips, Tom collected a vast collection of tips, hints, ideas and strategies to help those starting out on their teaching career. He was featured in this week's TES too.

A similarly brilliant project is #movemeon by Doug Belshaw; the e-book can be downloaded here.

So, my new (academic) year's resolution is to get more out of Twitter, whilst putting a lot more in!

Maths Jokes

One thing I really enjoy is having a laugh in my classroom - but I try to make my jokes mathematically based. I've enjoyed following #mathjokes on Twitter, and have contributed a couple of my own, but I thought it would be nice to record them here too. I'm not claiming complete originality, but I did think these up on my own. Enjoy, and use with care...

What do you call a man trapped in a Toblerone?
A Prism-er

What did the Italian say when the witch removed her six-sided curse?
Hex-a-gon (said in very Italian accent!)

I've tried thinking up some great jokes about Mean, Median and Mode, but they were all about average...

Ben and Daisy were going to a maths conference in Bristol by coach. The got on the coach, but arrived in Brighton. Daisy turned to Ben and said, "I think we got the Rhom-bus"...

Sir, please can I have a ruler...
Ok, how about Henry VIII?

Why was George Lucas not very good at algebra?
Because he put r2d2, not d2r2...

For a full list, have a look at these gems!

Mondrian Art and Maths

On thing I have been very interested in recently is linking Maths to other subjects. I have organised a trip to Bletchley Park with the History department, and liased with a number of other subjects on how they are using Maths in their classes.

However, the one that I have enjoyed the most is two recent projects with the Art department.

With year 5, we started looking at equivalent fractions and percentages, and then I asked them to explore ways of filling in 1/3 of a 3 by 3 grid, using only primary colours.



This then led to a discussion about Mondrian's paintings - how much of each primary colour he used - they reckoned about 70% of his paintings used colour. They then set about using black strips to do the outline, before filling in with accurately drawn and cut rectangles. At various points, they sttod back to suggest improvements to the art work, before carrying on. The finished art work is now prominently displayed in school, and looks great!

Maths LinkUp

LinkUp is a great resource from Triptico which I've used a few times in Maths. I want to start building a library of resources for it, so I've created a Google Word Doc to store my activities for later use, and to share with the department. Anyone can edit this, so please feel free to add your own. (I do have a backup!)

When you load up the program, either input your own categories and options, or skip to the next page and copy and paste into the input box. Then click next for the activity. I've used it as a timed activity, or for small groups to work on - it works great on the SmartBoard.

I like the way it doesn't show right or wrong, but gives a total number correct. This has prompted some vigorous debate about which "branch" needs to be moved.

The Unanswerable Question... Ooops

School exams have just taken place - delayed due to a bout of illness at the end of last term. In my year 5 exam, as a filler for those who finished early, I set the question:

Using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in order and the signs + and -, can you make 10?

To be fair to them, they had a good go, but no one managed to get the answer. It was only when we went through it that I realised it is superficially an impossible question. Using odds and evens, can you see why?

It is only when you combine two digits into one value that it is possible to make 10. One possible solution is:

12 + 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 + 8 + 9

"But why would you ask us a question that had no answer?" was the cry...

I smiled smugly in response!

This is a variation on a similar problem to make 100 using all digits in order.

Back from the "Blink"

2010 offically starts now for me. I have been unable to do pretty much anything for 2 weeks due to acute conjunctivitis. Looking at a computer screen was a definite no-no. However, my eye sight is returning, and I can start to fulfil one of my new year's resolutions; blog more!

For my first lesson back, made the most of the snow by getting year out on the football pitches to explore radius, diameter and circumference by pacing out circles in the snow. We will calculate our approximations for Pi on Friday, although, initially, they look quite accurate. Interestingly, they thought the smaller circles would be more accurate - can year 8s deal with percentage error? Probably!

Prezi

***UPDATE: Prezi have changed the way you can embed a slide show.***

There is an awesome, (and free), alternative to Powerpoint available called Prezi. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with Christmas.

Using Prezi, one can create a dynamic slide show which moves about a canvas, zooms in and out, or even spins around. It is quite simple and intuitive to use, and is very effective - and best of all, different!

The people behind Prezi have obviously been hard at work. They now have tutorials and a comprehensive manual. However, the best new feature is being able to embed a presentation into a blog or Moodle course.