I Don't Want to be a Hater, but..........

What is the thing that you most hated about math or a math class?

For me, the thing that I could never understand was teachers assigning 53 similar problems for homework! I can remember sitting at home from the age of about 11 to the age of 17 thinking that the teachers must be quite thick if they did not realize that if I could do two problems, I could do 53 problems. We also never went over more than two problems in the classroom. So, I am still confused and angry. I mean, I could have played a million more minutes of soccer under the street light!

Peace,

T-Cubed

What Fun is Football Without Math?

How does math improve your life?

Maybe it doesn't, but as I sat and watched the lizards get pummeled by the Tide, I really enjoyed understanding all of the math involved in football. It must really stink not to understand things like, "11 carries for 42 yards" or "allowed two TDs in nine red-zone trips".

Today, as I watch the NASCAR race, thousandths of a second or thousandths of an inch could make all the difference in the world, or Jimmie Johnson could just win like always...

So, I challenge you to answer the question. How does math impact your life daily?

For 2010-2011; What math should your kiddo know?

Perhaps the most important, and also the least understood, information that a parent can have relates to the exact information that a student should be learning in their classroom. This is extremely important this year as Florida has adopted new standards in many subjects. For me the New Generation Math Standards should drive my instruction each day. For students and parents, these standards should provide a guide as well.

Really, every parent should expect a teacher to cover all of the concepts listed in these standards, and they should ask questions if they think something is being overlooked. The really cool thing is that these standards are not top-secret. In fact by logging on to http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/FLStandardSearch.aspx anyone on the planet can find out what should be going on in the classroom. Having said that, this does not mean that all children will master all of these standards. Some kids will fly. Some kids will struggle, and most will do both, but at least the standards make the big picture a bit more transparent (not a pun, but it is great for parents). So, please look at these standards often.

What is a "Normal" Cat?

Please click on the thumbnail images to make them larger.

So, just what is a normal cat? How could a student explain what normal is? Is it easier if you have numbers? Why or why not? What do you do with nonnumerical or categorical data? Can a cat have a mean (average) fur color? If not, how would you describe "normal" fur color. What kinds of charts or graphs would help? Is a sampling of 14 cats enough to represent all of the cats in the world? If not, how many should be sampled?

Is my cat's belly the most disgusting thing that you have ever seen?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Dude, this is like totally circular!

Please click on the thumbnail image to make it larger.

Use your visual glossary and please identify the following:

All of the radiuses (AKA Radii)

All of the diameters

All of the the chords

The centerpoint

Calculate the circumference (the photo shows the length of the radius).

Coordinate Grids Using Negative Numbers

Please click on the thumbnail image to see a larger version :-}

In 5th grade coordinate grids go to four quadrants! Please see if you can locate points C and D so that you could create a square by connecting all of the coordinates.

Some hints:

Always start at the origin

Think (left or right, then up or down...plot a point)

Negative numbers on the X axis ask you to move left

Negative numbers on the Y axis ask you to move down

I reached point B by moving right 30 from the origin and then moving down to the -10 on the Y axis. I plotted a point at the intersection of the two line segment found at (30, -10).

Best of luck!

Guess My Rule....If you know Geometry!

A long time ago, little Tommy was sitting in his classroom, and the teacher asked, "Tommy, can you use the word "geometry" in a sentence?". Tommy said, "Sure! One night an acorn fell asleep, and the next day it wake up and said,'Gee I'm a tree!' ".

All kidding aside, one of the simplest, and yet deepest, ways to explore your knowledge of geometry is to play a game called Guess My Rule. It's simple. You put three or four polygons that follow a certain rule inside a circle and a couple that do not follow the rule outside of the circle. Then, you have someone "Guess My Rule".

So, what do think my rule is? Please don't be cute and say "polygons with less than five sides". While, the shapes inside the circle do have less than five sides (the ones on the outside do as well), my rule is a bit more complex :-}

Oh, a hint you wish? Well, I always investigate polygons by looking at their sides and angles!

Have fun!