According to its web site, Shalier Park State High School '...sits between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland'. It is a school of around 800 students. Ros Christopherson has been working hard over recent months to build a curriculum around Working Mathematically. The school already had some tasks and they have decided they could get better use from them as Maths With Attitude kits. Last month she wrote:
At this stage I am sorting out kits and becoming familiar with the tasks and activities. The tasks were purchased a few years ago and because the teacher who purchased them has left nothing much has happened. I am now in the process of rebuilding the tasks into Maths With Attitude kits. I have implemented 8 maths days for Year 7/8 classes this year where we do the activities for most of the day. We have a new middle school building so 2 Year 7 maths classes team with 2 Year 8 maths classes and we work on a rotation basis doing 4 activities I have chosen. The first one we did was on number and we have done one group. This Thursday we are working with a different 2 Year 7 and 8 group with the same activities.Keep up the good work Ros. None of us are experts, but if we love what we are doing as much as you seem to, the kids know. And what a great idea to combine a Maths Day with a BBQ.We do 2 rotations and have a sausage sizzle where we provide them with sausages in bread and a drink.
The first group seemed to enjoy the activities. The ones I chose were Billiard Ball Bounces, Bob's Buttons, Dominoes and Number Game. This, I hoped, gave a balance for the students.
I am no expert but I am trying and enjoying what I am learning.
Two new cameos this month.
- Diamonds & Rectangles requires sophisticated thinking and the struggle of finding the answer for yourself is perhaps more valuable than the answer. The task does not have to be solved today. It may need to be revisited several times before it is solved. It revolves around shapes which have been sorted into categories and then placed in bags and mislabelled. Is it possible to make one selection from one bag and then work out what is in all the bags?
- Scale Drawing practices a skill which has wide application in the world, eg: creation and interpretation of house plans, maps, engineering drawings and so on. Using the marker and cloth supports a non-threatening learning environment where 'try and erase' leaves no permanent record of attempts which don't work.
Read about these Tasks of the Month in Task Cameos in the Iceberg Information link on the left, or click on a photo to go straight to printable information about the task. Add the printed files to your Cameo Collection. There is a cover page for your collection in the Iceberg Information link.
Special Note, Task 10, Find My Pattern
An error was found in the Task Cameo for this task. It has been corrected. If you print these to make a dossier for staff, you will need to reprint this one. See Iceberg Information/Task Cameos on the left. The error was in the answer to Question 1.
Sometimes it pays to remember that behind the great work teachers are doing in building a Working Mathematically curriculum, is the packing and distribution of tasks. We received this rather uplifting note this week commenting on the support our Distribution Manager, Ina Koetsier, has offered to Wangaratta High School, Victoria, as they have been rediscovering and rebuilding their set of tasks.
You're a champion! Thanks for all the parts, now I have the task centre up and running at the new school. Thanks for all the ease in packaging, and for your list of recommendations regarding what tasks are suitable for each year level. You provide a great service!I think we might keep Ina on for a while longer.
If you are thinking about finding your way into using Tasks and Maths300 to build a Working Mathematically curriculum, you will probably also be thinking about professional development to support the shift in vision. Our usual professional development fee (in Australia) is $1100 per day.
But did you know that if you purchase the Working Mathematically Curriculum Pack or the Task Centre Package that fee is substantially discounted.
The prices of these packages will rise on July 1st. They have not changed since October 2004, even though our daily fee has risen in that time. After the price rise these packages will still be discounted compared to the daily rate, but they will never be as good a deal again as they are now. Orders received before June 30 will be honoured at the current prices even if the PD is for later in 2007.
See Resources/How To Order/Service, Products & Prices on the left for details.
