Most students who said “I can’t do maths’ when I was teaching, didn’t do maths. They talked, penned a tattoo on their arm. Or scribbled in the text book. Today they read texts or play games on their phones under table or fall asleep.
………………………………………………………………………….
The Solution:
There is no point arguing. Students must ‘see’ they can do maths.
Do something that grabs their attention, something counterintuitive. Here is one of the BEST revision projects ever for middle school maths students. Remember, the best way to learn something is to teach it.
Students doing repetitive text book exercises without using maths to solve REAL WORLD problems.
The Solution:
You are going to use this maths NOW…………………..
……………………………………………………………………………….
How much blood can YOU lose and survive?
………….METRIC UNITS
Remember the best calculator to use is the WEB 2.0 Calculator as it shows the worked equation as you go.
CAREERS: It’s not only health workers who need to understand these calculations, but also creatives running health campaigns online, on TV, radio and in magazines.
TOPICS: Decimals, %, algebra, vol, weight units (METRIC)
Students doing repetitive text book exercises without using maths to solve REAL WORLD problems.
The Solution:
You are going to use this maths NOW…………………..
……………………………………………………………………………….
How much blood can YOU lose and survive?
………….USA Units
Remember the best calculator to use is the WEB 2.0 Calculator as it shows the worked equation as you go.
CAREERS: It’s not only health workers who need to understand these calculations, but also creatives running health campaigns online, on TV, radio and in magazines.
TOPICS: Decimals, %, algebra, vol, weight units (USA UNITS)
But my favouritest ,developed by Patrick Len, is using m&ms to demonstrate half life in radioactive substances and therefore write an exponential equation.
m+m ACTIVITY:
Throw a fixed no. m&ms on a table. Mathspig chose 128 m&ms for a very good reason. Eat the ones with the m showing. Count remainder. Throw again. Eat the ones with the m showing. Count remained. Keep doing this. You will end up with results like the following. (Not identical as chance is involved)
Wow! m&m’s and exponential equations. How yummy is that!!!!!!
Are you looking for a new and exciting way to calculate the volume of, well, things maths teachers ask you to calculate the volume of? Like what? You know, cubes or cylinders or cones or stuff. Well, today mathspiggies, we have the perfect solution for you. Yes!
We will calculate volume by counting m&ms!!!! Do I hear any complaints???? Anyone!!! Right!
WARNING: You may need a ship load of m&ms!!! Just saying.
Mathspig salutes CWanamaker for doing maths over and above the call of duty by actually measuring how many m&ms fit in various containers. He has provided us with the RPR (RAndom Packing Ratio) for m&ms(below) and you will find his experiments here.
Two things you may need to know:
1 fl ounce (US) = 29.6 ml
1cm3 = 1 ml
If you are like me, mathspiggies, you will be amaaaazed how many m&ms it takes to fill, say, a coffee mug. Nevertheless, you can calculate the volume from the no. of m&ms and you will find the answers here:m&m maths answers
Of course, mathspiggies, we can do the reverse maths and cheat … and use our superior maths skills to calculate the no. of m&ms in a cookie jar and then you WIN the cookie jar full of m&ms at the school fair.
