Learning Jump Strategy from a Young Mathematician

Mathpig just learnt this from a young Mathematician age 9.

It is a great way to do maths because you are thinking ‘Mmmm! How can I work these numbers.’

Getting maths students to think about what they are doing is so much better than just having them guess ‘ Arrrr!  Whatever. Click B.’

More jump strategy information here.

This will be very useful later when it comes to a similar method used to simplify long division:

Maths Doesn’t Have to be the UGLY DUCKLING?

Even small children can think maths is hard work.

But it can be just as much fun as any other subject

if we use our imagination.

Maths does not have to be the UGLY DUCKLING

of school work.

A Maths Fairy Tale for Grade 2

Once upon a time, Grade 2 students did very boring work in maths. And they had to do lots of tests too.

Sometimes evil witches wrote the test questions. These Year 2 (Grade 2) questions were very, very scary. Here is one of those very scary questions. It was so scary lots of people turned into angry birds when they saw this question. The angry birds tweeted that this question is ” too hard’. Tweet! Tweet! (The Telegraph , UK, 9 May, 2016)

A very wise old Mathspig worked out the answer.

X -19 +17 = 63

                X = 65

Mmmmm, this is a scary question for Grade 2. 

Many Grade 2 teachers are Wonderful Maths Wizards. They make maths magical and fun everyday. Students must sharpen their pencils and put on their wizards thinking hats to practise their maths. But maths can be magical and fun too. So here is:

A MATHS FAIRY STORY

by Mathspig

A Wonderful Maths Wizard teacher can read the story out loud and the little Grade 2 Maths Wizards can write down their answers.

 

Printable Version below.

How Oops! Try again Maths is killing us …………………………………………………………………………… MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig ….…. with Kerry Cue

The New Age of Guess-amatics!

Hellooooo Sweeties,………………………………………………………………………

Some frightening maths this week. When researching DANGEROUS MATHS, Mathspig found one branch of maths is the most dangerous maths of all. Let’s call it GUESS-AMATICS. Today, maths is often taught via computer program packages. Some of these computer packages turn maths into a guessing game.

This exact and rather frightening scenario was described to me by the mother of a 5 year old. The mother decided it was time to turn the game off. When students play mathematical computer games too often they don’t have to think, they just guess the answer and try again. But be warned this ‘Oops! Try again’ maths can kill you’! Some maths you cannot ‘try again’. You HAVE to get it right the first time. Medication is one area where ‘Oops! Try again maths kills”

Do the Maths and Do NO HARM.

You need sufficient maths to understand medication doses or you might do yourself harm.…………………………………………………………………………………..

And here is just one very frightening statistic:……………………………………..

According to FDA data 1.3 million people in the USA are injured each year from medication errors.

Meanwhile, we need nurses, caregivers, doctors, paramedics, First Aide volunteers, parents, grandparents, babysitters, teachers and all health care professionals to have sufficient maths to be able to calculate simple medication doses. Or we need them to simply READ the dose and make sure it is correct. Unfortunately, many of those who should be able to work out medication doses are either incapable or not paying attention. And your life could be in their hands:

UK

In the UK 1 in 20 hospital deaths is due to medical error. Nearly 12,000 patients die needlessly in hospital every year due to blunders by staff, researchers warn. Drugs or fluid mismanagement  was identified as a problem in 21% of preventable deaths (NHS   2012) or, doing the maths, 21% of 12,000 is approx 2,500 deaths due to bad maths!

USA

According to a new study just out from the prestigious Journal of Patient Safety, four times as many people die from preventable medical errors than we thought, as many as 440,000 a year.

Canada

Reports show between 9,000 and 24,000 hospital deaths due to medical error.

Australia

Official Australian government reports reveal that preventable medical error in hospitals is responsible for 11% of all deaths in Australia or 1 in 9 deaths.

………………………………………………………….

Other DANGEROUS MATHS include:

Dangerous Maths 1:Young drunk dead

Dangerous Maths 2: Death by Snake, Spider, Quad bike, Kangaroo, Raccoon and Vomit

Dangerous Maths 3: Shark Attack

Take care and do the maths……………………………………………………

Hoo Roo………………………………………………………………………………

Mathspig

8. How Much of Your Life will Your Spend @ School?

You can work it out mathspigs:

Days @ school per year X hours per day = ?????

Remember the average stay in prison for murder in Australia is between 10 and 12 years. Are you feeling lucky, punk?

9. Canteen Maths or Survival of the Smartest

You are on your own here mathspig. But when it comes to canteens you have to be smart, really smart, to survive.

Look at the maths!!!

Avoid that fattening water!!!

Ohh no, not ass pudding again!!!!!

Friday Maths Madness

  Introducing FRIDAY MATHS MADNESS for Maths Piglets (Prep – Grade 2)

  It is Friday, the weather is improving, it’s time to take maths outside. You mathspigs know about Gardner and Multiple Intelligences. This week’s exercise involves kinesthetic learning.

 

     Thanks to mathspigs Sophie and Ivy, both 7, for the Pig Art. Now to maths business.

Evey kid in the class should have a shirt with a number. Most schools have a set of  soccer, Aussie rules, basketball shirts or singlets. Or you can to choose one number each between 1 and, say, 25 or the size of the class. Students can draw the number on an A4 sheet and tape it to their chest.  You can make two teams and score the game or just have some random fun. If you score a game appoint an official scorer. It’s good for their maths.

 

   You can do +, – , X, / .

  Friday Maths Madness 1:  Put two kids from one team in the middle of both teams. Say 7 , 8. Then yell ADD. The answer has to run out to the middle. Or yell take away. Again the answer must run to the centre for the team to score. Make up the sums as you go along. Note: Madness increases when answers aren’t available. (1 Point for correct ‘running’ answer. )

 

Friday Maths Madness 2: This time the answer is in the middle of the two teams. Again call out add … the first two numbers to run out get a point each. Repeat. You can also yell take away etc. (1 Point for each correct answer)

 

Friday Maths Madness 3: Now everyone in a team has to form an even number with another student. This should work like musical chairs. There may be one odd student. Then they have to form odd numbers with a pair. ( 1 point  for each pair.)

 

Friday Maths Madness 4: This is about times tables. Line up the teams. Call out for all… 3 times tables numbers to go in the middle. Repeat for 2, 4, 5 etc. ( 1 point for each team with correct answers in numerical order)

Friday Maths Madness 5: This is a time trial. Ask teams to form a line from the lowest to the highest number. Then yell ready set go. You can do this for evens only, odds only.  (5 points for correct numerical lines.)

Friday Maths Madness 6: Ask each team to send out the numbers that they think add up to your age!!!! That should be entertaining. Tell them you are going to take away lots of points if they make you too old or too young. Ham it up!!!!!!

Announcing: Maths Piglets

      Due to popular demand …….. someone asked mathspig for some fun maths for kids in the early childhood years.

 

      So we begin:

 

 

TEST the TEACHER  …………. Here is a Maths Test below written by a Grade 1 student of very high principles for her teacher. A Grade 1 student does want to know if her teacher can or cannot do maths.  So Grade 1 teachers ask your students to write you a test and  correct it too. Kids like to do this. Power to the maths piglets!!!!!!!