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Hello Fellow Math Teacher,
I hope that you enjoy this issue of the Middle School Math
Treasures newsletter. It was a pleasure to meet some of our new
subscribers at the Orange County Math Council's Fall Conference. I
enjoyed the opportunity to be a presenter at the conference and to share
some of our math lessons, projects and games with you. I trust that you
will find at least one or two new ideas in this issue of MSMT.
Enjoy!
Please take a moment and pass our newsletter on
to other colleagues/teachers that you know will benefit from the ideas and
resources contained within. You can use the Forward e-mail link at
the bottom of the newsletter. Thank you so much!
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The Amazing Birthday Cards Activity
Birthday Cards is an activity in which the teacher uses mathematical patterns to determine the birthdays of individual
students in the class. The teacher holds up five cards, one at a time. On each card there are 16 numbers. All the student
has to say is "yes" if his birthday is on the card and "no" if his birthday is not on the card. At the end of the five cards
the teacher will be able to tell the student his birthday using a hidden mathematical pattern.
This is an activity that never ceases to amaze the students, who are hungry to discover the "trick" or the procedure
involved in determining the birthdays. As I always tell them, "It's not magic, it's MATH!"
Printable directions, Birthday Cards, and a student worksheet are included. Just click on the link below.
Amazing Birthday Cards...
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Spotlight: Squarea Project
SQUAREA (a hybrid word I created which stands for "Square Area") is a hands-on math project that helps students to
discover area, volume, and surface area in a very concrete, visual manner. Students measure objects in a classroom,
create square feet, draw square inches, construct cubic feet, construct square yards and cubic yards, and investigate the
surface area of a cube.
Since I developed this project I have used it several times with 6th and 7th grade students. The way in which it allows them
to actively learn the concepts or area, volume, and surface area is truly remarkable. The students are able to visualize
the concepts of a square inch, a square foot, and a square yard. They work cooperatively with others to incorporate their
personal square foot with others to create a cubic foot. Then they combine these with the cubic feet from other classes
to construct a cubic yard. I often have this cubic yard on display at Open House for the parents to see.
Squarea Project Info...
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Math Laughs - The Student's Guide to Problem Solving
The Student's Guide to Problem Solving
1. If at all possible, avoid reading the problem. Reading the problem only consumes time and causes confusion.
2. Extract the numbers from the problem in the order in which they appear. Be on the watch for numbers written in words.
3. If rule 2 yields three or more numbers, the best bet for getting the answer is to add them together.
4. If there are only two numbers which are approximately the same size, then subtraction should give the best results.
5. If there are only two numbers in the problem and one is much smaller than the other, then divide if it goes exactly, otherwise
multiply.
6. If the problem seems like it calls for a formula, pick a formula that has enough letters to use all the numbers in the
problem.
7. If the rules 1-6 don't seem to work, make one last desperate attempt. Take the set of numbers found by rule 2 and perform
about 2 pages of random operations using these numbers. You should circle about five or six answers on each page just in
case one of them happens to be the right answer. You might get some partial credit for trying hard.
8. Never, never spend too much time solving problems. This set of rules will get you through even the longest assignments
in no more than 10 minutes with very little thinking.
More Math Laughs...
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New Printable Math Game - The Inner Circle
This issue we are pleased to announce the addition of an exciting new math game to our website.
"The Inner Circle" is a game in which the teacher (or a student) chooses a number pattern or rule and the students in the
class try to identify that rule. The game requires students to think about many possible number patterns and to revise
their thinking as more numerical data becomes available. The Inner Circle can be used to strengthen math skills involving
fractions, decimals, factors, multiples, prime numbers, and much more. Use your imagination to create different mathematical
rules!
Click the link below to access our FREE, printable math games.
Printable Math Games...
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DigitalLesson.com
Thank you for your interest in DigitalLesson.com and our Middle School Math Treasures newsletter. DigitalLesson.com provides
engaging math lessons and projects on demand. Instantly purchase, print, and present a high-interest lesson
to your students. No waiting for shipment and no shipping and handling costs!
We are pleased to announce that Mathegories PowerPoint Games are now available
on DigitalLesson.com. Click on the link below for more information and to view a sample game.
We welcome newsletter submissions from fellow math teachers who have an idea, activity, game, joke, etc. that they would like
to share with their colleagues. Email us at digitallesson@yahoo.com.
View Mathegories PowerPoint Games...
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Wishing you inspiration and motivation to be the best
math teacher you can be!
Mark
Tully
Founder/Teacher
Digital Lesson.com
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