News

September News In this edition of the News you will find:   Only Days Left   Lilydale's Success Continues   Poly Plug Review Republished   Resources for Little Kids   Rotagram Investigation Guides   Tasks of the Month Task 167, Sliding Tiles Task 168, Mirror Patterns 3 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.

Only Days Left You can see the message on the right. This is a significant discount which several schools have enjoyed through this term. Only days left now. Orders in house by close of business September 20th will be honoured at the discount price even if delivered in Term 4. Ring Ina Koetsier, our Distribution Manager, on 0403 133 710 if you have any questions. Your chance. Your choice.

Ended September 20th. We're sorry if you missed it. Look for other discounted resources on our Order Form

• Lilydale's Success Continues

  Last month we reported on Lilydale's massive professional development and resourcing program aimed at developing working like a mathematician as the core curriculum. The school has arranged six in-house coaches and an external provider from Mathematics Centre to support them. With around 40 Year 7 & 8 classes in the school this investment is essential. Last time our report was about the introduction of tasks to a Year 7 class. This month we can report on the first whole class investigation with a Year 8 class. And the best form of report is the students' own journals. We have added photos and background information to the cameo for Task 132, Red To Blue. This is a must see for any Year 8 teacher. Find the cameo through the Link List below.

• Resources for Little Kids

  Paola Moritz from Geo Australia dropped in a couple of weeks ago to show us the company's new activities using Sphinx and MiniGeoFix. We use these materials in some of our tasks because they are the best for the job - Australian made, extremely durable and safe for children - but Paola has now developed activities for pre-school children (and perhaps your nieces, nephews and grandchildren). We were very impressed with the activity cards, which are printed on waterproof, tear-proof, virtually indestructible plastic.

  If you are interested in these new products, our Distribution Manager, Ina Koetsier (inak@blackdouglas.com.au), can provide more information and arrange an order for you.
  • Geo Sphinx Kindergarten is 80 crystal blue pieces + 8 double-sided plastic activity cards & instructions in a handy storage box with clip-on lid.
  • MiniGeoFix Kindergarten Pack is 400 pieces and 24 plastic task cards with drawings scaled 1 to 1.
  • Geo Pattern Blocks is a set of approximately 250 shapes of 5 different kinds and a teaching guide in a handy storage tub which also has application into upper primary school. Each activity in the guide is linked to AC: Mathematics outcomes. Not suitable for children under 3 years.

• Rotagram Investigation Guides

  Rotagrams (see Link List below) were invented by Geoff Giles, one of the world's foremost mathematics educators, to introduce students to the concept of angle without the messiness of measuring their size. He went on to develop independent workbooks that used Rotagrams to lead students on an adventure through the world of angle properties and the properties of angles in shapes. Since Geoff's death Mathematics Centre has obtained permission to recreate Rotagrams so they can continue to be used in Task 214, Angle Estimation, but Geoff's publications have become very difficult to find. Heather Scott is a British mathematics consultant, and a supporter of Mathematics Centre, who has extensive experience using Rotagrams in the classroom. In fact, Heather was the first to order our recreated Rotagrams. She is currently developing Rotagram Investigation Guides that challenge in a similar way to Geoff's original booklets. The photo shows her current samples from a 16 page book which is in the planning stages. These samples are available for just £0.99 each (plus postage) and you can pay by PayPal. Contact Heather directly by email to arrange your order. Heather's email is: info@outstanding-outcomes.com We recommend using Rotagrams to enhance your Shape & Space curriculum and look forward to Heather completing her much needed support work.

• Tasks of the Month
  Two new cameos this month.
  The Task Cameo Content Finder has been updated to include these tasks.
  • Sliding Tiles is a content free reasoning task which involves many aspects of Working Mathematically including trying a simpler case, listing all possible cases and explaining to others. It relates to a family of popular sliding tile puzzles some of which, are also available as 'apps'.
  • Mirror Patterns 3 was designed by a Year 8 class. It encourages the student to create designs by starting with an asymmetric tile and using first one mirror, then two mirrors. Lots of room for creativity and for What happens if ...? questions.
      
  Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.

Link List Resources & Ordering Working Like A Mathematician (PDF) Red To Blue John Gough's Poly Plug Game Pack Review (PDF) Web Papers Poly Plug Search the Task Library for these tasks which use Geo Australia products: Task 24, Squares Around Squares Task 31, Cube Nets Task 32, Tetrahedron Nets Task 42, Triangles Around Triangles Task 55, Fold Up Houses Task 181, Pointy Fences Task 186, Tetrahedron Triangles Rotagrams Task Cameo Library (185 tasks listed) Task Cameo Content Finder Mathematics Centre Home - Bookmark this page. Did you miss the Previous News? If so you missed information about: Lilydale's Successful Start Success Continues in Canberra Success with Parents at Grenfell Updates to Task Cameos Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month (Tasks 164, 165) ...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).