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News

March 2014

In this edition of the News you will find:

mathematicscentre.com

Calculating Changes Members

Maths Task Camp in New Hampshire

What The People Say

Documents You Might Use

Tasks of the Month
Task 193, Surface Area with Tricubes
Task 234, Growing Tricubes

Please feel free to distribute this information.

Email News Services
If you would like to subscribe please send an email request to: doug@blackdouglas.com.au:

In the subject line write Subscribe Maths.

In the body of message state which divisions you want to subscribe to, or simply write Subscribe All.

Add your name and preferred email address.

Update messages are sent from:
Mathematics Centre monthly
Calculating Changes bi-monthly
Maths300 occasionally

Working with Mathematics Centre
will help you find your way around our site
Browsing Hint
Use the View/Zoom options of your browser to 'move' the page closer or further away. Ctrl +, Ctrl - and Ctrl 0.

mathematicscentre.com

Yes it's here. A new web address for your world of alternatives to text-based learning.
Enter mathematicscentre.com into Google and we are likely to be at the top of the list. Or use the link in the Link List below. (Supporters in the US please note the spelling of 'centre'.)
This is not a new site. It is a new world address for an old favourite offering the same broad range of professional learning and exciting resources based around learning to work like a mathematician in best practice classrooms.
Black Douglas will continue to manage the site at this new address, but the version of Mathematics Centre on the Black Douglas site will soon be removed. So, we invite you to take yourself to the opening page of mathematicscentre.com and bookmark it. From here you can navigate to all the parts you are used to and discover things you didn't know were there.

Notes:

If you are reading this you are already in the new site. Click Search Mathematics Centre in the navigation box at the top of the page and that will also take you to the home page. Bookmark it, then come back and keep reading the news.

It will take a little while for the Search Engine to work well. The robots and web crawlers need time to do their thing and index what they find.

Calculating Changes Members
The move to the new address has meant that Calculating Changes passwords (not Maths300 passwords) have had to change because of increased security built into the password software. If you haven't received a new password yet, or you want to know if your school is a member, please contact Doug. Williams, doug@blackdouglas.com.au, (03) 9726 8316.
For more information about engineering 'aha' moments in number K - 8 using Calculating Changes, see the Link List below.

Maths Task Camp in New Hampshire

Dr. Richard Evans has sent us news from the February issue of Mathesis, the journal of the New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics. They were recently given a grant to provide a one week camp experience for 20 - 25 students entering Years 3 - 8 'from immigrant or low socioeconomic families who may be performing below their potential'. Plymouth State University will loan their Tasks as a teaching resource and Drs. Evans and Prevost will mentor two instructors in their use. Dr. Evans tells us:
We are hoping to stimulate some interest in math among students who might not be doing well in math. The tasks are usually fun for students and teachers tell me that they have seen changes among students using them.

Is a Task Camp an idea for your school?
Have you seen changes in your students through using tasks?

You are always welcome to tell us your story.

What The People Say
All these comments have arrived by email in the past month. Thanks for the support. Glad we are helping.
1. Lisa Harris, St Vincent's Primary School, Aranda, ACT
  Just wanted to share another extraordinary Working Like A Mathematician (WLAM) moment that happened in the classroom yesterday! I won't go into the details too much but the students were completing the Predict A Count activity. They were so engrossed in what they were doing (as was I) we didn't even hear the bell ring for lunch!!! I kid you not, even the one student in my class who is always hanging out for it to be recess or lunch missed it! It was amazing, it's been a while since that has happened.
  The kids at St Vincent's love WLAM!!
  Predict A Count is a Free Tour Calculating Changes activity for Years 1- 8 (and probably beyond). See Link List below. Lisa has also recently written a story called Lighting Mathematical Fires, which is linked below too.
2. Lauryn, recently retired
  Thank you for all your hard work and fabulous ideas over the past years. You have inspired many great lessons.
3. Brooke Jeffries, Mother Teresa School, Harrison, ACT
  I am still enthusiastically plugging WLAM at my school and this year in particular we have a big Numeracy focus. Thank you for all the amazing work you do for us and for learners everywhere!!!
4. Maria Andersson, Krokom, Sweden
  Douglas workshops är det absolut bästa jag någonsin fått uppleva, vilket alla som var där tyckte.
  (Douglas' workshops are the absolute best I've ever experienced, as anyone who was there found.)
5. Zenith, parent in Carolyn Delaney's class, Haberfield Public School, NSW
  Good Afternoon!
  My name is Zenith and I am currently volunteering in my son's classroom Year 3 for your excellent Task Centre session. I found that your Task Centre is really great to approach the children learning in every angles. I love it.
  - Could parents be helpful in your classroom when using Tasks? Throughout the history of tasks in schools, there have always been teachers who thought so.

Documents You Might Use

These documents are freely available from Mathematics Centre. See Link List below.

One page flow chart to help you create your own curriculum centred on working like a mathematician.

Powerful 69 page manual to support the use of Tasks. Every main section provides links to the relevant part of Mathematics Centre so the support goes way beyond the printed pages.

Easy find reference page of links to key areas of Mathematics Centre.

Tasks of the Month
Two new cameos this month.
The Task Cameo Content Finder has been updated to include these tasks.
- Surface Area with Tricubes explores the meanings of area, surface area and volume while at the same time exploring the spatial skill of representing 3D objects using isometric paper. The basic shape is one Tricube. Its volume is constant at three unit cubes. Its surface area is constant at 14 unit squares. But its base area will depend on how it is placed on the table. One possibility produces a remarkable base area of zero.
- Growing Tricubes focuses on pattern and algebra. The key is discovering that 'four Tricubes make a Tricube', which actually isn't true. Understanding why powers a Sphinx-like investigation in three dimensions which produces a visual pattern that can also be represented as various number patterns and this leads to algebra and functions, graphing, equation work and scale factors.
Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.

Keep smiling,
Doug.

Link List

Mathematics Centre Home

Calculating Changes Home

Calculating Changes in Brief

Predict A Count

Lighting Mathematical Fires

Creating a Working Mathematically Curriculum

Task Centre Manual

Working with Mathematics Centre

Task Cameo Library (195 tasks listed)

Task Cameo Content Finder

Did you miss the Previous News?
If so you missed information about:

New Web Address

Mathematical Valentine

Crossing The River 1/Maths300 ETuTE

Bubblz The Maths Clown

Pick A Box Solutions

Rotating The Sphinx

Domino Trails Update

Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month
(Tasks 174, 175)

...and more...

Did You Know?

You can Search Mathematics Centre.

Our Site Map acts as a Table of Contents to help you find what you need in Mathematics Centre.

You can find photos of every task using the Task Library.

You can find tasks by content using the Task Cameo Content Finder.

Calculating Changes offers Content Finder & Year Level Finder tools.

You can find tasks coded by Year Level and Curriculum Strand in the Task Centre Catalogue. (PDF file)

You can search for lessons by Year Level, Curriculum Strand, Lesson Features & Keyword at Maths300.

You can connect Tasks to their Maths300 companion lesson using Tasks & Maths300 (a PDF file).
Excel version provided by Pymble Ladies' College

All these links, and more, appear in Working with Mathematics Centre (a PDF file).

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