News

• Only days to go. Refreshing, stimulating. Reconsider how you will approach 2017.
• A PD from MC opportunity presented by the Mathematical Association of Victoria.

Children learn more and teachers love it. Developed by teachers who are engineering their classrooms to enhance children's number sense, working mathematically in the early years splices Threaded Activities from Calculating Changes with Investigations adapted from Mathematics Task Centre and Maths300. Threading is a teaching technique using rich, differentiated activities for small amounts of time often. The workshop introduces sample activities and investigations and the planning model teachers have developed to implement them. Mathematical conversation and learning in community - whole class and small groups - are key features. Access to Maths300 is not essential, but enriches if available.

• Years K - 2.
• Workshop led by Doug. Williams.
• Tuesday October 11th, 16:15 - 18:00.
• See Link List below for registration.

• Every task has a life as a whole class investigation.
• For these tasks the equipment has been specially made from Plastazote foam.
• When remaining stock is gone, no more will be manufactured.
• Read the Cameo for each task (see Link List below) to decide the value of a class set.

Making Fractions 1 (2 or 3 class sets) ... 45 pieces @ $4.50 each Making Fractions 2 (1 or 2 class sets) ... 25 pieces @ $2.50 each Making Fractions 3 (1 or 2 class sets) ... 20 pieces @ $3.00 each Rectangle Fractions (1 or 2 class sets) ... 20 pieces @ $2.75 each Algebra Through Geometry (1 or 2 class sets) ... 30 pieces @ $1.50 each Octaflex (7+ class sets) ... 140 pieces @ $2.50 each Maths With Attitude Last four kits: - Number & Computation Years 3/4 - Pattern & Algebra Years 3/4 - Space & Logic Years 5/6 - Space & Logic Years 9/10 Special price $299 $100 saving per kit

Other Resource Bargains 14 Geoboards For tasks such as Reflections and Where Is The Rectangle? as well as a significant amount of other mathematics ... $3.30 each Pawns Perfect for Crossing The River 1 and several other tasks ... Please ask Rotagrams Used in Task 214, Angle Estimation Pack of 20 ... $36 each Use this Latest Order Form Contact Ina Koetsier 03 9726 8316 inak@blackdouglas.com.au

Tasks

Individual tasks ... $11.99 each Kit of 20 tasks Strand specific Choose your strand(s) ... $239.80 each

Starter kit of 50 tasks Choose your year level(s) ... $599.50 each Task Centre Kit of 100 tasks Range of strands and year levels ... $1,199 each

This fabulous task is part of the life experience of so many students, although it was probably their parents who arranged all the flights. Now it's their turn. They will need to sequence flights to tour Australia and in the process will need to call on the mathematics of time, 24 hour time, time difference and timetables as well as facing problems such as: How many ways can we fly from A to B? How do we know we have found them all? Which of them takes the least time?

The cameo offers much more, including additional problem solving opportunities and suggestions to start you thinking about a cross-curriculum unit as a theme to guide the class for a week or two. The thoughts worked for Gemma Headon who added work on angles and scale to the basics of the task for her Year 7 project. In the From The Classroom section of the cameo, Gemma has generously supplied an outline of her student materials and samples of student output.

The scale idea opens up another question. No scale is provided for the map in the task. However, the map does look more or less the same as other maps that do have a scale (such as the one Gemma found for her project). Can the students research information that would allow them to make a good estimate of the scale of the task map?

Click the image to read a high resolution version.

The Times Education Supplement of June 3, 1994 ran a half page article (page XV) on the introduction of the Task Centre Project to the first British school. At the Mereway Middle School in Northampton, which is the first school in England to be using the Task Centre Project materials, all staff have attended a Saturday workshop and are now using the investigative materials in a variety of ways. Allen Andres, and his staff have nothing but praise for the materials, which were introduced to Years 5 to 8 at the beginning of this term. Our professional development experience is extensive ... and available to support your school, cluster or system any time you feel like a chat.