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News

June 2011

In this month's News you will find:

Red Square  It's A Small World

Red Square  PD Makes A Difference: Story 1

Red Square  PD Makes A Difference: Story 2

Red Square  PD from MC: New Courses

Red Square  Additions to 4 Arm Shapes

Red Square  Additions to Poly Plug & Tasks

Red Square  New Prices

Red Square  Time for a Change

Red Square  Tasks of the Month
Task 131, Walk The Plank
Task 132, Red To Blue

858 tasks placed in schools during April/May.
331,867 placed since the project began in July 1992.

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  • PD from MC: New Courses
    Once again we are pleased to be working with Critical Agendas to offer courses to Victorian Teachers. See Link List below for for PDF fliers with full details of these courses:
    • August 11: Working Mathematically in Pattern & Algebra (Years 3 - 10)
    • August 12: Working Mathematically in Number & Computation (Years 3 - 10)
    • August 16: Working Mathematically with Infants (Years K - 2)
    Numbers are limited, so book early.

  • Additions to 4 Arm Shapes
    Two different teachers from two different parts of the world have contributed remarkable insights to a new From The Classroom section of the cameo for Task 154, 4 Arm Shapes. See Link List below.

  • Additions to Poly Plug & Tasks
    There are many tasks which can be converted to whole class investigations using Poly Plug. Two new ones have been added to this library this month. They are Task 131, Walk The Plank and Task 145, Land of ET. See Link List below for the Poly Plug & Tasks library.

  • New Prices
    As noted in earlier eNews this year, prices of tasks and task-based resources will rise on July 1st. The price of a task has not changed since October 2004, but all suppliers have increased their prices in that time. Ina Koetsier, Distribution Manager, has worked hard to absorb cost rises, but now we must succumb to the economic pressures.

    From July 1st all tasks will be $16.50 each (plus freight) with consequent changes in the price of task-based resources. A full new price list will be available next month.

  • Time For A Change
    Sneak a careful look at the task card in this photo.
    From July 1st all Mathematics Task Centre cards will look like this.
    • New presentation.
    • More colour.
    • More focus on working like a mathematician.
    • Crisper, clearer language.
    • Fresh, modern look and feel.
    • Same huge range of challenges for all ages and abilities.
    Mathematics Task Centre, a division of Mathematics Centre, is the world's largest source of hands-on problem solving tasks.

    These new Mathematics Task Centre tasks were having their first outing at a professional development session organised by fourth year trainee teachers during their recent PD week. It seems somehow appropriate that the first people to experience this sublime new collection are the very people who will bring them to their students through the next twenty years.

  • Tasks of the Month
    Two new cameos this month.
    • Walk The Plank is a game situation where the number of turns to finish varies with the length of the plank. You walk the plank, according to the fall of two special dice, to either return safely to the boat or be eaten by sharks. The investigation concerns which plank length makes the best game. The task also offers a number line model for operating with integers.
    • Red To Blue is a logic challenge with many variations which can be approached using any one of a number of mathematician's strategies. The task is easy to state and easy to start, but not necessarily easy to do. When variations are explored, one of the surprises is that a generalisation appears which can be expressed in words and symbols.
    Walk The Plank      Red To Blue
    Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.

Keep smiling,
Doug.
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Link List

  • Did you miss May?
    If so you missed information about:
    1. Software for Task 142, Tower of Hanoi
    2. Maths Mats at Clontarf Beach State School
    3. Tasks in Africa
    4. Swedish Teachers at Work
    5. Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month
      (Tasks 129, 130)
    6. ...and more...

Did You Know?

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

  • The Activities link of Calculating Changes offers Content Finder & Year Level Finder tools.

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

  • 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).

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Previous News

April 2011 ... March 2011 ... February 2011 ... Dec 2010/Jan 2011
November 2010 ... October 2010 ... September 2010 ... August 2010 ... July 2010
June 2010 ... May 2010 ... April 2010 ... March 2010 ... February 2010 ... Dec.2009/Jan.2010
November 2009 ... October 2009 ... September 2009 ... August 2009 ... July 2009
June 2009 ... May 2009 ... April 2009 ... March 2009 ... February 2009 ... Dec.2008/Jan.2009
November 2008 ... October 2008 ... September 2008 ... August 2008 ... July 2008
May/June 2008 ... April 2008 ... March 2008 ... February 2008 ... Dec.2007/ Jan.2008
November 2007 ... October 2007 ... August/September 2007 ... July 2007
June 2007 ... May 2007 ... April 2007 ... March 2007 ... February 2007 ... Dec. 2006/ Jan. 2007
November 2006 ... October 2006 ... September 2006 ... August 2006 ... July 2006
June 2006 ... May 2006 ... April 2006 ... March 2006 ... February 2006 ... Dec. 2005/ Jan. 2006
November 2005 ... October 2005 ... September 2005 ... August 2005 ... July 2005
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November 2004 ... October 2004 ... September 2004 ... August 2004 ... July 2004
June 2004 ... April/May 2004 ... March 2004 ... February 2004
December 2003 ... October 2003 ... August/September 2003 ... July 2003
June 2003 ... April/May 2003 ... March 2003 ... February 2003 ... January 2003
December 2002 ... November 2002 ... October 2002 ... September 2002 ... March 2002
December 2001 ... October 2001

Continue exploring our history back to July 1992 through the Sense of History link.

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