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Mar
4
World Math Day
March 4, 2010 | | 1 Comment
On Wednesday my students had a great time competing in the yearly event called World Math Day. My classes started practicing the beginning of February in preparation for this event. They played at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasted for 60 seconds earning points for each correct answer.
The Guinness Book of World Records challenged math students from all over the world to see if more than 1 million students could help unite the world in numbers within the 48 hours of the event.. It only took 1 hour to pass the 1 million-student mark.
For today’s event I made arrangements to take all classes to the computer lab. The day began slowly with some technical difficulties but by 4th hour we were full steam ahead and the kids loved it. I even had the students that were absent compete from their home computer. Before the day was over it was reported that because of the problems experienced earlier in the day, the event would be extended an additional 12 hours. The kids were thrilled and they left for the day anxious to get home and continue competing.
When the event ended for us on Thursday at 6 PM EST. 1,133,246 students and 56,082 schools from 235 countries united to set a new world record by correctly answering 479,732,613 questions.
We had 115 students participating from my 5 classes completing 46,836 correct answers.
Overall High Score for Practice
- Allison W. 3,035
- Emma L. 1,801
- Colby B. 1,335
- Rachel Z. 1,270
- Anthony C. 1,029
- Garrett E. 821
- Daniel S. 556
- William W. 514
- Zayna G. 464
- Ari D. 438
Overall High Score for Event
- Grayson H. 3515
- Anthony C. 1,772
- Rudo M 1,734
- Cynthia L. 1,678
- Emma L. 1,672
- Jonathan S. 1,589
- Rachel Z. 1,299
- Ashley M. 1,292
- Travis M. 1,022
- Emmanuel S. 979
2011 will be even bigger with World Maths Day becoming part of the World Education Games which will include events not only for Math but also Science and Spelling..
Everyone is invited to unite the world in learning! See you in 2011.
Feb
28
#13 The wonderful ways of ratios by Mariano Q.
February 28, 2010 | | 5 Comments
We are learning all the time. Some of our learning takes place in school and some outside of school. Write about something you have learned in math recently and how it has affected you.
Mariano
Math is a very fun and challenging concept that teaches you skills necessary now and in the future. You learn new math skills almost every day. I have recently learned about ratios. Ratios are a very big part of algebra. They support certain equations and make doing math a whole lot easier.
For example, ratios are most likely used in the store when you try to decide what item has a better price. Lets say you have a choice of buying a 16-ounce bag of candy for $2.99 or a 20-ounce bag of candy for $3.09. To find the better price, ratios create the equation. 16/2.99 as 20/3.09 then you divide. So for a 16-ounce bag, 1 ounce costs 19 cents. And for a 20-ounce bag, 1 ounce costs 15 cents. It pays off to buy a 20-ounce bag of candy rather than a 16-ounce bag. These types of ratios can also be used for determining which bank has a higher interest rate, or even deciding on which size (small, medium, large) of beverage cup to get at a fast food restaurant.
Ratios can be expressed in many ways. Lets deal with two certain numbers: 20 and 100. You can write them in these ways; 20 : 100, 20 is to 100, 20/100 and they all still mean the same thing.
On a recent homework assignment, Lesson 10-6: Similar Figures, ratios were used to express measurements of the similar figures. The image below shows two similar triangles.
In order to find x cm, we relate the same sides of the two different triangles 4/2 as 9/x and find the cross products.
- 2(9) = 4x
- 18 = 4x
- Divide both sides by 4 and get:
- 4.5 = x
However, don’t forget writing ratios in simplest form. Lets go back to the numbers 20 and 100. When we write a ratio, you usually have to put it in simplest form. As you may know, 20/100 = 1/5 in both fractional and rational form. You may sometimes see ratios as 20 : 100. Just take an extra step and change it to a fraction and simplify.
There are many more methods involving ratios that we have not yet learned. Some methods may seem hard to you, but as you get more experience, you will soon find what you once thought of as hard will be a piece of cake.
Feb
22
iPod Touch vs. iPhone
February 22, 2010 | | 13 Comments
As savvy as I am with my technology in my classroom, I still am in the dark ages with my personal technology.
I am finally considering getting either an iPod Touch or iPhone, so I am coming to all of you for help.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you like or dislike about these two product. Help me out by comparing things like cost, apps, and usefulness.
Feb
14
M.C. Escher
February 14, 2010 | Tagged bonus math, class, news | Leave a Comment
I had an incredible experience today when I went to the Boca Raton Museum of Art. There I spent 3 glorious hours viewing the work of M.C. Escher. I first became aware of Escher when I started my classes on their study of tessellations. Then when my son moved back to Florida he brought with him a mounted jigsaw puzzle of Escher’s Drawing Hands.
I encourage everyone to treat yourself to this wonderful learning experience. I can’t wait to begin our study of tessellations with this years classes.
Feb
14
#26 Favorite Classroom Tech by Rachel C & Dominick A
February 14, 2010 | Tagged Blog, class, Essay | Leave a Comment
Think about how technology has benefited our classroom. Our principal has decided that students in our school can have new technology for all of your classrooms. Which technologies you would recommend should be in all classrooms to benefit our learning and why.
Rachel C
How does technology benefit our classroom? Technology has benefited our classroom in many ways. In my classroom we have technologies such as remotes, sound systems, computers, and webcams. These technologies have made learning easier, faster, and overall more fun and should be standard in every classroom.
Technology has made life and learning much easier for many people. Technologies such as remotes and sound systems have helped making learning easier. What are remotes? They are devices used in the classroom that allows a student to punch in answers for testing, class work or just practice. That makes testing much easier for both the teacher and students. A sound system also makes things easier in the classroom. It uses a portable microphone so the teacher doesn’t have to strain his or her voice to be heard. Students also use them when making presentations. Both these technologies have improved learning in the classroom.
Technology also makes learning faster and more efficient. Some examples are computer and once again remotes. A computer makes basic writing and data calculation much faster so more time can be spent learning concepts. They also make research much faster and more efficient so more time can be spent on learning the facts than looking for them. Remotes make learning easier but they also make it faster. No time is wasted fumbling with paper and pens just to get ready to learn. It also makes things more efficient and faster for the teacher since answers can be analyzed quickly and grades can be given automatically. Teachers don’t have to waste time checking paper and calculating grades and can spend more time with students.
Technology also makes learning fun. Webcams let us learn from people in other parts of the world. In my class we are talking to two students, Kyle and Ashley, who are from Canada. They get to practice teaching and we get to have class with teachers that are thousands of miles away. Every class can make learning more fun with webcams.
All these technologies have made learning easier, faster and more fun. Students will enjoy school more if they have a better experience with learning.
Dominick A
Technology has helped our classroom a lot. Here is some technology I would recommend. I think it’s a good idea to keep the CPS, pencil sharpener and a new projector. First, I would like to keep them because they are little remotes. You can take tests and answer in the blanks instead of using paper. The second is the pencil sharpener. When someone’s pencil breaks, they have to go to the pencil sharpener. The sharpener is very noisy and distracting. So, I would like a less noisy pencil sharpener that sharpens quickly. Last but not least, the projector. We already had one break so I think it would be better that they get one that won’t break
Feb
7
Generous Students & Parents
February 7, 2010 | Tagged class, news | 2 Comments
As you know last Saturday I participated in the 2010 Susan G. Komen South Florida Race for the Cure®. Thank you for supporting my efforts. Due to your support and the support of the classes, I was able to meet and exceed my financial goal of $500.
It was a marvelous race with one of the largest crowds that I have witness in all the years of my participation. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the weather was fantastic.
A special thanks to Period 5 who was the winner of the party that will be held Wednesday, Feb. 10
Job Well Done!
Feb
7
Garrett E
“Oh no! The computer isn’t working. What am I going to do?” The average American family uses a computer over 2 hours a day. What would we do if computers were never invented? I don’t know. But three of the reasons people use computers today are for businesses, for emergencies, and just for pleasure.
To begin with, one of the reasons Americans use computers is for businesses. If you want a job these days, you have to know how to use a computer. In a business, computers are useful because they can store information and do almost a whole job at once. None of the people in America could do 30 multiplication facts at once and in a business something has to be able to do that and a computer can. Sometimes business managers pay more for a computer to use to do a job than they would pay a person. But there are always flaws in having only computers to remember things. One example is if you lose power, and you don’t have a generator to give you power, you wouldn’t be able to do any business. Now in a time when you don’t have power to a computer, there has to have been some type of emergency.
In addition, another reason most Americans use computers is in emergencies. As you know, normally when you need something the most, like a phone, you won’t be able to find it. So a computer is a good backup plan for an emergency. Even though computers aren’t the best in fires or robberies, they are good for a family emergency. If you want you can email someone which, unless the person you are emailing is on the computer when you click send, will normally take at least a couple of hours. In other cases, you might want to talk something over with someone live. All you have to do is get on an online chat room or a live web cam. Now the final reason most American families use a computer is the one everyone likes. So read on and find out.
Last but not least, most American families use computers for pleasure. One of the favorites is for computer games. There are many websites that have games on them, and there are also many games that come on discs. The games can be anywhere from playing hide and seek with Barney to extreme sports like skiing away from an avalanche. Another way people use computers for pleasure is for e-mailing each other. On an e-mail, you can say or talk about almost whatever you want. One more good thing about communicating by e-mail is that it’s free. One last thing people do on a computer for pleasure is read and write forums. There are fishing forums, sport forums, how to build boat forums and more. It would only take one computer to do all this and more.
In conclusion three of the reasons most American families use computers are for businesses, emergencies and pleasure. Now you have seen just a few of the reasons most Americans use computers.
Avalois T
TYPE, TYPE goes the computer keys. American families use the computer for many reasons. Some people like to play games such as kids, or check income, such as adults. There is a lot of ways to use the computer. Some people use it for emergencies, business purposes, and some just for pleasure.
To begin, people use the computer for emergencies. Why not? People may have to find where the nearest hospital is. Say for instance, a girl is choking. The family doesn’t have a phone, so they can’t call 911. All they have is a computer. They have to use the computer to know where to go to save her life. Some other emergencies is that somebody could have forgotten a number and do not have a phonebook to look it up. They would go on the computer and look it up.
Secondly, people also use the computer for business purposes. Some people work as accountants at banks where they need the computer. They have to put in the exact amount of money somebody is withdrawing or depositing. Other people use the computer to check income. If they are the manager of a store they have to use the computer to see how much they are earning on a certain product.
Finally, people just use the computer for pleasure. About 90% of kids go on the computer to have fun. Kids mostly play games, some watch movies, videos, or check their mail. When kids get grounded they can only use the computer for homework. The least popular thing to do on the computer is check mail. Some kids are too young for them to have an email address. They should wait until they are about 6 years old to get one and know how to use a computer.
Many American families use the computer for emergencies, business purposes, and for pleasure. Computers are a great way of having fun and getting some information fast. That’s why everybody should use a computer.
Jan
31
#28 Should we ban homework? by Alec, Manisha & Hannah
January 31, 2010 | Tagged Blog, class, Essay | 10 Comments
Alec G
Homework Be Gone! Hooray! No homework! Most kids enjoy the pleasure of not having any math homework. But I say yes to math homework. Math homework is the easiest subject, it’s my favorite, and you always come up with a definite answer.
To start things off, math is the easiest subject. All the methods are explained until you know them backwards. You can easily do homework after you have learned the lesson. If you’re going to ban homework from a subject I’d rather it be Language Arts.
You have to find the hidden meaning and interpret the cause and effect but worst of all grammar. Grammar is as cruel as medieval torture methods. You have to capitalize, punctuate and etc.
Besides being easy, math is my favorite subject. The feeling of turning to a new, crisp page in my math notebook to do my math homework makes me happy. You can always rely on math to stimulate your brain with pleasure.
Finally, math has no hidden meaning. You don’t need to decipher anything or find out things through context clues. Math is straightforward like an arrowhead. You are either right or wrong when it comes to math. There are no partially correct answers like in Language Arts. In conclusion, I think math homework should stay. Its easy, my favorite, and there’s no hidden meaning. Got to go! And do my Math homework!
Manisha Ayyagari
What would happen if your principal decided to ban math homework, possibly forever?
Most people hate math homework but I’m not one of them. I love math homework because it helps me improve my math skills, I don’t forget what I have learned and I don’t get bored while doing math homework.
To start off with, math is a skill that will stay with you forever so you need to be good at math. By doing math homework you improve your skills. For example when you are checking your homework you find mistakes and you learn from them so you won’t make that mistake again.
Have you ever heard the saying “Practice makes perfect”? It’s true if you practice math you will succeed big time. This applies to anything you plan to achieve in. Even an extra 15 minutes a day can help you a lot with math.
Moving forward, when you go home you tend to forget things. It’s the same thing with math when you go home you forget what you have learned in math. If you do math homework your mind will be refreshed and you’ll know what to do the next time you have a test. The disadvantage of not doing math homework is that you forget and you have absolutely no clue what to do when you have to take a test. Not having a hard time doing a test means having math homework.
Proceeding on, when you get bored what do you do? Well there’s really nothing to do. But when you have math homework you are totally occupied and busy. Math homework is like a game when you are trying to figure out equations. It’s as fun as playing video games and there is no way you could possibly get bored. You can even do your math homework with your friends it’s double the fun.
Finally, having math homework helps improve my math skills, I don’t forget what I learned and I don’t get bored while doing math homework. Convinced yet? Join me in my protest to stop the principal from trying to make the wonderful math homework extinct.
Hannah U
“Attention, there will be no more math homework.” To me that sounds like music to my ears. I’m not saying that math homework is bad, it just keeps kids from doing the other things that they need to do like indoor and outdoor activities, sports and clubs, and it keeps kids inside all day.
To start it all off, math keeps us kids from indoor and outdoor activities, such as playing outside, watching movies with friends, shopping, board games, video games, and much, much more. We need to be able to socialize with our friends and be free.
Moving on, keeping up with travel soccer and club meetings can be pretty tough when your loaded with homework. Physical and Mental activities are important in a child’s life. We have got to keep moving. With math homework, there is no time to get up and keep moving.
Last but no least, math homework keeps kids inside all day. We need to be active. Kids need to know what that crisp evening air feels like against their skin. Not dust, flavored drinks, and air conditioning feels like. Sitting inside all day isn’t right when your a kid. We can’t stay inside forever!
You now know why math homework is such a pain! It locks kids up all day and keeps us from doing all our indoor, outdoor, sports, and clubs. If our principal wants to ban math homework, he’s on the right track.
Jan
25
A Big Thank You by Kyle Webb
January 25, 2010 | Tagged class, mentor | 2 Comments
Shortly after the New Year I received a very nice note from Kyle. For those of you who do not know, Kyle mentored our class remotely from Saskatchewan, Canada. Kyle has given me permission to share his letter.
Ms. Ionno & Class,
It was such a pleasure working with you and your students this past semester. Despite some of our technical difficulties, I enjoyed it so much. I really wish I had been able to devote more time to working with your class. Unfortunately, I’ve come to realize that there never seems to be enough time in a day to accomplish everything you’d like to. The experience has really opened my eyes; not only to the endless possibilities created by technology, but to the impact that I can have on a student.
I always knew I had wanted to become a teacher to make a difference, but I had no idea I would be able to make any sort of impact on students in Florida like I saw in your students’ comments. This experience has further inspired me to become a teacher, and the best one that I can be. So thank you very much! Without such a great mentor who was willing to try things out and give me an opportunity to come into your classroom, this may have never happened.
Your students really are lucky to have such an awesome teacher who is open to new ideas and willing to try new things. I wish I would have had such a great teacher when I was a student. I really hope we can continue to keep in touch in the future and that I can learn even more from you about how to be a great teacher.
Keep in touch, and all the best in the New Year!
Kyle Webb
Jan
24
#3 Decimals: Are they really important? by Sera & Daniel A.
January 24, 2010 | Tagged Blog, bonus math, Essay | Leave a Comment
Sera
What do you mean you don’t have to learn decimals! You are as dumb as a June-bug if you think you don’t have to learn decimals. You use decimals everyday. When you’re washing dishes you have to put a fraction of the soap you want to use in the dishwater. And yes a fraction is a decimal just in a different form. Decimals are important because you use them in almost every (well paying) job, when you’re dealing with money, and while you are doing your chores.
You must and this is a must know decimals for any and almost every job. For example if you want to be a singer you have to save a fraction of your time to dedicate time to singing. Another example is if your an artist you have to a save a fraction of paint for your next picture. And remember a fraction is a decimal. Guess what else there are a lot of that get fired because they don’t know decimals.
Ohhhh… yeah by the way you’re going to be broke, if you don’t learn decimals’. Someday you’re going to buy something for 15 dollars, give the cashier a 20 and get 2 dollars back. You want to know why because you don’t know how to subtract decimals. I’m sorry to say your going to live in a box begging for money. And before you say anything you are sooo not living with me.
Daniel
What is .25 plus .40, decimals are important to know in life. I have a friend that doesn’t think decimals are important. Decimals help you solve everyday equations, help you to not have an embarrassing moment in public, and they help you solve problems that you may have in life.
First of all my friend should know that decimals help you solve every day equations. Such as when you are purchasing an item or counting how much money you have after purchasing an item. This can help you know how much you are spending on a purchase with decimals or cents. It also helps you pay bills when you grow up in life. Decimals are very important in life.
Second of all my friend should know decimals because they help you in public. If someone asked you to add something up or to add dollars for them and you don’t know how to because you don’t know decimals, that would be embarrassing. You wouldn’t want to be looking like a fool in front of everyone 84% of people knows how to add decimals.
The last reason why you should learn decimals is because they help you solve problems. If you have a money problem or just an everyday decimal problem, decimals help you solve them. Decimals even help you solve non-math problems. Decimals add to your intelligence and understanding.
Decimals are important to know, they help you solve everyday problems, they help you avoid embarrassing moments, and they help you solve non-math problems.
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