Oct 06

## Archimedes’ Puzzle

http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lesson.aspx?id=2523

“The Stomachion is an ancient tangram-type puzzle. Believed by some to have been created by Archimedes, it consists of 14 pieces cut from a square. The pieces can be rearranged to form other interesting shapes. In this lesson, students learn about the history of the Stomachion, use the pieces to create other figures, learn about symmetry and transformations, and investigate the areas of the pieces.”

I really like the area questions.

Has an Activity Sheet.

Sep 09

## Practice Homework Note

Note: The MyMathLab (MML) homework (which is for practice) will be left open through the end of the semester.  This is following a request by a student.  This way it can be practiced later on for exams and the final exam.

The graded homework (which are quizzes inside MML) of course have a due date.

Aug 31

## Schedule of SBA Quizzes

No Calculators allowed on SBA Quizzes, as a general rule. Occasionally, as warranted, calculators will be allowed.

 Standard Date of 1st Quiz Date of 2nd Quiz S.1 S.2 S.3 S.4 S.5 S.6 S.7 S.8 S.9 S.10 S.11 S.12 S.13 S.14 S.15 S.16 S.17 S.18 S.19 S.20 S.21 S.22

Aug 25

## Note for August 2015 – MML!! ~~ update

To access MyMathLab you do this straight from WesternOnline (WO).  Log on the WO first. (Go to Math 260.) Click the Pearson link.  The following document shows how to do this

Jun 08

## 13 Rules that Expire

Great article from Teaching Children Mathematics,Volume 21, Issue 1, Page 18:  13 Rules that Expire
…avoid using these…
Overgeneralizing commonly accepted strategies, using imprecise vocabulary, and relying on tips and tricks that do not promote conceptual mathematical understanding can lead to misunderstanding later in students’ math careers.
These are good guidelines for teachers (and students of Math 260).
For example…
• You cannot take a bigger number from a smaller number.
• Addition and multiplication make numbers bigger.

May 13

May 02

## 19 DIY Ideas for elementary teachers

Some great (low cost) ideas

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alessiasantoro/teachers-making-learning-fun-literally?utm_term=.ebqWPMn3R

Apr 27

## Conic Sections on Desmos

Go to this Desmos graph

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/tsfynm2to8

It shows two each of the four conic sections

• Circles,
• Ellipses,
• Hyperbolas,
• Parabolas

Note: A hyperbola has two branches. Only one is shown in the image.  A cone actually has two frustums.  The image only shows one frustum.

http://www.intmath.com/plane-analytic-geometry/conic-sections-summary-interactive.php

Apr 20

## Why the Area of a Trapezoid is What it is

There are six ways to show that the area of a trapezoid is $\frac{1}{2}h(b_{1}+b_{2})$

See the following PowerPoint file:TrapezoidArea6Ways

Apr 07

## Stacking Cups – Two Stacks

This is a 3-Act lesson. It involves systems of linear equations to model a physical situation.  (This could be thought of an extension of the cup-stacking activity that has been around for some time.  However, I think this lesson can be done without the original, one-stack lesson.)

http://www.101qs.com/1897-stacking-cups–act-1#