Mathsational

I am about to start my 13th year of teaching high school math.  Every year, I buy way too much stuff for my classroom.  (My school does not provide us with very much in terms of physical supplies). This year, I am actually buying only a few things.  Of course there are some things that I will make as well.  Here are my must haves for the new year. 1)   Patty Paper  - for paper folding constructions and other activities from Patty Paper Geometry .  I already have the book, I just need to refill my paper supply.  This book is great for discovering geometry in a low tech, hands-on way.  Sure Geometer's Sketchpad is great, but sometimes physical is good too. 2)   The Classroom Chef  - I received this order a few weeks ago but was finishing a grad class.  I have a conference this week, so I'm hoping to start reading next week.  I follow both Matt and John on twitter, so I have high expectations.  I think their boo...

The origins of Barbie Bungee seem to be unknown, at least according to this twitter conversation. Looking for the earliest known copyright on Barbie Bungee. WHO INVENTED THIS THING?! https://t.co/CIayCEHJVC — Dan Meyer (@ddmeyer) October 21, 2015 I've seen it done in classrooms since I started teaching circa 2004, however, advancements in technology have made it soooo much more fun.  Many students have smartphones capable of taking slow motion video which adds to the engagement. Here is what I did on my most recent go-round. I did this lesson with a class called Survey of Math.  It is our remediation class for students who did not pass our state exam on algebra 1.  Most of the students seemed to enjoy it, especially the end when they dropped their dolls. This group even wanted to try to get closer to the floor and wanted to add the new data point and recalculate their regression line. Some of the interesting things that happene...