Slice of the Pi
April Edition
Sometimes we can only find our true direction
when we let the wind of change carry us.
mimi novic
Springing Ahead
With report cards and conferences done, and more hours of sunshine in our afternoons, I hope everyone has a little spring in their step! Thank you for including me in your thought circles as you navigated new assessments, made considerations for report cards, and shared out progress with families. It is such a pleasure to learn alongside you!
One of my favorite writing assignments in the classroom was creating our own "Important Thing" book in the style of Margaret Wise Brown. I thought you might enjoy creating your own related to a current math topic. Here is a sample I set up for fractions that could easily be adapted to any topic. You could also create a new page each time you finished a unit to solidify understanding and create a running "portfolio" of math for the year. Having to articulate the MOST important attributes about a rhombus, base ten system, fact family, numerator, algorithm, etc. is going to demonstrate a higher Depth of Knowledge than recall and basic reasoning- and it's fun!
Based on how many of you loved the Valentine themed math activities in February- here are more the MLC created for spring! There is something for everyone below- and each of the following activities includes the Share Your Work feature. You can send students a link to access the activity right through Classroom or the chat in Meet- you can even send over Remind to share with families as a hw or conversation starter!
Same & Different Geoboard Flowers
Let’s Get Hopping!
Jillian’s Bugs
Frog Races
Which Butterfly Frame Doesn’t Belong?
Growing, Growing, Growing!
Ladybugs!
Poetry and Math- A Beautiful Intersection
Mathematics and poetry, Growney says, are both “formats that can convey multiple meanings.” In mathematics, a single object or idea might take different forms. A quadratic equation, for example, can be understood in terms of its algebraic expression, perhaps y=x2+3x-7, or in terms of its graph, a parabola. Henri Poincaré, a French polymath who laid the foundations of two different fields of mathematics in the early 1900s, described mathematics as the art of giving the same name to different things. Likewise, poets create layers of meaning by utilizing words and images that have multiple interpretations and associations. Both mathematicians and poets strive for economy and precision, selecting exactly the words they need to convey their meaning.
If you or your students like having fun with language and math, write a math limerick and send it to limerick@momath.org - your poem may be selected to be included on the MoMath webpage in honor of National Limerick Day!
At a party when you were eight years old,
you spoke up to solve a hard math puzzle.
Fearless, you set yourself apart.
I followed you and saw you choose
between mathematics and other romance.
For women only, this exclusive standard.
I heard fathers say, "Dance with Emmy--
just once, early in the evening. Old Max
is my friend; his daughter likes to dance."
If a woman's dance is mathematics,
she dances alone.
My Dance Is Mathematics
by JoAnne Growney
Accountable Talk
Dear Family,
How can I help my child with math at home? Ever heard that question? Here is an article to share with families about the best math questions to ask a child. It could make a nice follow up from conferences!
Miss a previous issue?
March 20-21: Slice of the Pi
February 20-21: Slice of the Pi
January 20-21: Slice of the Pi
December 20-21: Slice of the Pi
November 20-21: Slice of the Pi
October 20-21: Slice of the Pi
September 20-21: Slice of the Pi
Questions? Comments? Curiosities?
Email: asmith@region15.org
Phone: 203-947-3446
Twitter: @anniesmith821