Animal Subtraction

Animal Subtraction

Animal Subtraction The Graceful Tree Conjecture (Ringel et al., 1967) These puzzles are the best way to introduce students to subtraction.  The puzzle is based on a classic unsolved problem that deserves to be in every student’s experience of mathematics. The...
Squaring the Square

Squaring the Square

Squaring the Square (R. L. Brooks, C. A. B. Smith, A. H. Stone and W. T. Tutte, 1930s) Give students addition and subtraction practice and link these numerical activities to geometry. A fraction of students, predominantly girls, thrive when the beauty of mathematics...
Place Value

Place Value

Place Value (MathPickle, 2011) Some number systems use place value – others do not. This video takes you on a tour of number systems including Egyptian, Arabic, Babylonian, Montessori and Scientific Notation. Ron Goodman has edited the video for younger students...
Venus Flytrap – dangerous decimals

Venus Flytrap – dangerous decimals

This is a game to give your students an intuition about fractions. Start by dividing your class into teams. Each team is randomly dealt six cards 1-100 (alternatively they can choose six numbers 1-100.) I'm going to colour the cards to indicate which team they have...
Complete the Quadrilateral

Complete the Quadrilateral

Complete the Quadrilateral (Don Steward, 2013) Try finding the largest and smallest rhombus, rectangle, trapezoids etc. so their vertices  include a special point and the other vertices lie on the lattice points of a grid. The first half of the video is quite easy,...