Maths class: Imagined by kids

Multiplication Song

The longer version of the multiplication song!

Day 6: Finale of a Love-Hate relationship!

Dear Love Maths,

We have come to the end and it's time for me to declare that I have fallen for you. Yes, you have succeeded in helping me to break down the wall of fear. Now, I can proudly say that you are the "square root" of my heart and I will able to try and solve any challenges you throw at me with confidence and enthusiasm.

Thank you for showing me that you are the "element" to my set of numeracy experiences.

With lots of love,
Uma

Today's lesson marks the end of our module with Dr.Yeap. It was an eye-opener and I must admit that learning mathematics is not that bad after all. Thank you Dr.Yeap for making my journey an interesting one! 

Highlight of today's lesson was:

Salute!!! 

How the game is played:

Three players (A, B and C)

A deck of cards without the joker, Jack, Queen and King.

Player A will be the dealer and will say salute. The other 2 players B and C will place a card on their foreheads face up. They can see the opponent's card, but not their own. Player A will multiply the two numbers and announces the answer for the two cards. Players B and C will then have to guess the numbers on their cards. The first person to say the answer to  her own card gets to keep the both cards. This is a great game for multiplication addition or even subtraction!

I sure had fun playing this game with my team mates, Punitha and Vasantha. I'm sure that the children would love it,too!

Anyway, here is a video for you to see how the game is played:

Till we meet again, 

KEEP CALM and ENJOY MATHS!!!

   

Day 5: Its all about "Maths" Day!!!

Today's lesson started late as my group members and I went on a hunt to the Singapore Art Museum in search of an ART work that we can use to provide mathematical experiences during differentiated learning.

Art pieces that captured our attention:

“The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke”

-Jerzy Kosinski

We began our lesson with:

"Differentiation"

What?!!!

"Differentiation means tailoring instruction 

to meet individual needs."

Why?!!!

How?!!!

Problem 18:

How many different types of squares can you make with 7 pieces of Tangram?!

Below is a picture of the squares I made with my teammates Punitha and Vasantha :)

We tried making a square with 6-pieces of tangram BUT we couldn't; 

I wonder why and how to make one?!

Can you solve this?

Next, Multiplication:

I learnt that it has 4 meanings>

There are different strategies to solving multiplication questions. 

Pick a way that works for you:

Problem 19: Making squares from triangles

                     Angles

Method 1:

Cut out a triangle from a construction paper > an isosceles right angle : 90 degrees

Next, we were asked by Dr. Yeap to make a rectangle out of a triangle.

We had fun doing it. Try it for yourself, too! ;)

A fun day indeed!!!

Day 4: A 'lil bit of EVERYTHING! @_@

Let's talk MATHS: Fractions, Subtraction,

Multiplication & Polygons?!

Problem 13: Mind Reading

Step 1: Think of 2 digits & reveal only the 1st

e.g. 2

Step 2: Make a number by putting the 2 digits together e.g. 26

Step 3: Add the 2 digits together 2+6=8

Step 4: Subtract the smaller number from the bigger number e.g.26 - 8 =18 

Prof Yeap guessed the answer correctly for all the examples given by my friends.

How did he do it?

Did he really read their minds?!

Activity:

Reveal the 1st digit to your partner. Ask her to guess the final answer using the steps above. What was the 2nd digit?

 

0 to 9...
So many digits...
Which one did your friend choose?!!!
Was she able to guess the 2nd digit?!!
So how do you get the answer?!!

Easy!!!
 Look for PATTERNS!!!

One of the method is: Take the 1st digit and make it a Ten. Next minus the 1st digit and Taa-Daa... You would have solved it in a matter of few minutes!!!

Example:

50-6= 44

or

80-4=76



Problem 14: Fractions and Subtraction

Activity:

1 bar=1 whole

Q(S):

@ show 3 1/4

@ show 3/14-1/2

Method 1

Divide all the bars into 1/4s

13 - 2

 4    4 

11

 4    which is the same as 2 3/4

Method 2

3 1/4 - 1/2

      31/4

   /   \

11/4     2

  /

from 5

        4 take out 2/4 (1/4+1/4=1/2) remaining 3/4

so 31/4 - 1/2 = 2 3/4

Problem 15: 3 little Pigs

Question:
The 3 little pigs bought 4 pizzas. How would they share the pizzas equally?!

    

Method 1:

4 divide by 3 = 3/3 + 1/3 = 1 1/3

Method 2:

4 divide by 3

12 thirds (12/3) divide by 3 = 4/3 = 1 1/3

so each pig gets:

Problem 16:Multiplication

Activity: How do you find the answer for the multiple rows of bird?

There are a few methods to find out the answer:

Method 1:Count in doubles 

If 2 x 7= 14 

then 4 x7=28> 14+14

Method 2:Subtraction

If 5 x 7= 35

then 4 x 7= 35 - 7 = 28

Problem 17: Polygon on a Geoboard

Have you ever tried making shapes using a geoboard?

Dr Yeap drew a square on the dot paper and then a polygon which has one dot in it. He challenged us to draw other shapes that also has one dot in the polygon. He changelled us to find out how many squares are there in the polygons that we drew.



Can you find which polygon is mine?

Answer: It's the 5th one from the left.

So how many squares are there in the polygon that I drew?
 Just count the number of dots that the polygon is made up with and divide the number of dots by 2, and you will get the answer.....

Example:

Number of dots: 6

6 divide by 2 = 3

Therefore, there will be 3 squares in a polygon.

  

 Quote for the day:

To conclude today's lesson, I found out that

MATHEMATICS is an unique creation!

Enjoy this video!!! :)

Day 3: Mentally Challenged!!!

Today was an awfully long day and I wanted to do nothing but just SLEEP! The problem that awaken me to my senses was....

We were to use the digits 0 to 9 to form sums by adding two digit number to another two digit number which would give us a two digit answer!!! But the challenge was not to use the two digit number twice!

Then we were challenged to think deeper. 

What is the largest two digit answer possible?

Answer: 98 (Many possible ways such as 57+41 , 61+37...)

What is the smallest two digit possible? 

Answer: 39 (Only one way, which is 25 + 14)

Problem 10:Quiz 1!!!

Keynotes from Quiz 1

 "Enrichment" is DIFFERENT from "Acceleration".

In enrichment, we provide more challenges so that the child will be more proficient in that topic!
Introduction of a concept of a higher level (teaching tomorrow's lesson)...that'll be acceleration!

Just when I was feeling awake and relaxed, who had to appear?!! My arch nemesis, FRACTIONS!!!

I would gladly share if this was a 3kg cake but it's only a small slice of it.

Do I still have to share 3/4 of it?

But....

I love CAKES!!! 

Hurray!!!

Luckily, I managed to solve the problem and get the RIGHT answer!



 

Signing off,

Uma >_<

 

 

Day 2: Distance!

Dear my love Mathematics,

 I am going to keep my distance from you but I think love will bring us a little closer. Yes, my dear, you have me swimming in the deep ocean of numbers and problems. I am hoping that I can look at all your angles and find the "X" in your heart!

So, my love, don't let time and speed create a wider distance between us.

With XOXO,
Your Muse,
Uma

Yipee!!! Today's lesson was all about WHOLE NUMBERS!!! ^_^ 
I learnt that numbers can be used in many ways. They are:

• Ordinal Numbers
• Cardinal Numbers
• Norminal Numbers
• Measurement Numbers

Another key point to take away for me was that Dr Yeap mentioned that "You cannot add or subtract things that have different nouns." Thus, we cannot give children different nouns for addition or subtraction, For example: "Add 5 apples and 3 oranges!!!"

Anyway, there were a few things that got me a little hyped up. Firstly, problem 5: "Sesame Street!"

Can you solve the riddle?!! So, what's your answer?!!

Secondly, problem 6: One or Two?!
This games teaches children to subtract without mentioning that they are actually doing it! While playing this game with my friends, my strategy was to take control  and ensure that only 5 or 3 beans will be left so that I will be VICTORIOUS! My plan worked and I won in all the rounds!!! Now, what's your strategy to winning it?!

  

 

 

Next, problem 7: "Jack and The Beanstalk!"

 

 

"TEN FRAMES" was introduced and it will be good to expose children with this activity. Not only would they learn counting, sorting, subtracting and one-to-one correspondence, they will also have fun.

 

Ten Frames is using the "Make 10 Method".

 

5 +7 +6= 18

/  \

5  1

 

 

***Word of the day: "Subitize" > It is a "rapid, accurate and confident judgment of number."

 

Lastly, problem 8: "How do you share 51 eggs among 3 persons?"

 

Let's Divide!

How many eggs does each of them get?

How many ways are there to divide and solve the question?

 

 

Answer:

 

51  /  3  =  17

                                                              /    \

                                                            30  21

 

Wow! Wasn't that easy?!

 

To conclude my blog, here's a little something from me to you! <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1 : Beginning of a LOVE-HATE relationship with MATHEMATICS!!!

My Dear Love Mathematics,
 
You know that I don't like you that much and I cower in fear when dealing with your problems. After seeing you, my heart becomes a null set; making me feel sick and anxious. The probability of us becoming one is Nil. Nevertheless, I have to face you now and overcome my fears if I don't want to run miles and miles away from you.
 
So my love, please show me mercy and set me free of your infinite complex numbers and equations!!!
 
With lots of  XOXO,
Your One and Only Muse <3

 
Today is the first day of lesson and I'm already dreading to go for it!!! Well you see, I was never a FAN of MATHEMATICS!!! Just hearing the name makes me cringe! But I have to get through this if  I want to overcome my fears.
 
During today's class, we were presented with four problems to solve. The problems were:

"What letter in a name is 99?"

 

 It was amazing to see how everyone in class used to find the answer.

Through this activity, I learnt that there are several patterns such as multiples of 2, 6, 10 or 12 and that there are several methods to solve the question. Try it and you 'll have fun , too!

 "Card Trick"

 

Wow! This was the most memorable problem for the night. I was awe-struck when Dr. Yeap performed this trick. It was simply magical. The method used to find out how this trick works was through "trial and error" and with the help of my wonderful coursemate, Hui Min! Thank you so much, dear! Enjoy the video and spread the magical dust around.

 

 

 

 

"The Shredder"

 It was fun trying to solve this with my team mates.

 Fun with "Tangrams"

 Ooohh... this activity brought back so many wonderful memories. I remember the fun I had when doing this with my students. I made different sized rectangles with the tangrams. Do you know that tangram is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. And that is was invented in China during the Song Dynasty!!!

 Well, here are some pictures...

 

 

To conclude, Dr. Yeap mentioned that "Practice makes perfect" but that you are practicing the wrong thing perfectly.


P/s: I think I'm slowly falling in love with you, Mathematics!!!

Signing off,

Your muse,

Uma