Tagged with creative math lessons

Charty Party Goes to School

Charty Party Goes to School

When I visit with friends, we often play board games. I particularly enjoy games that include creativity, lots of laughter, and not too much competition (since stress-as-recreation doesn’t feel like fun right now). So, I was curious to read about a game that promised creativity and fun, all centered around graphs. Graphs? Of course, my … Continue reading

Creativity in Math. Yes, We Can.

Creativity in Math. Yes, We Can.

Recently I’ve been working on a chapter for a book on creativity in mathematics. I am, to say the least, an unlikely choice to be an author in such a book—a fact of which I‘ve reminded the editors more than once. I’m not a mathematician. Sadly, I am from a generation in which, when I … Continue reading

Planning a Garden, Creatively

Planning a Garden, Creatively

Finally, finally, it is gardening time in Michigan. After the long cold winter, I love seeing things become green again. On one side of our back yard, too tree-covered for anything but shade-loving plants, perennial hostas and ferns appear like springtime magic. Behind the house is a small woodlot, created by the city as a … Continue reading

Need a Shape? We’ve Got a Template for That!

Need a Shape? We’ve Got a Template for That!

Ever scratch your head wondering how to make a coffin shaped paper box? OK, I haven’t either, but now that I’ve thought about it, I’m curious. The thing that sparked my musings, about coffin-shaped boxes, paper polygons, “exploding boxes” (no actual explosives involved) and even a paper icosahedron—along with other paper platonic solids—is a fascinating … Continue reading

Listening, Math, and Mathematical Questions

Listening, Math, and Mathematical Questions

A friend of mine has been working to improve her middle school math students’ listening. They are focusing not just on “paying attention,” or listening to the teacher, but on listening to one another as well. It is challenging and important work. Listening is not just a matter of good manners and a calmer classroom … Continue reading

Emoji Math!

Emoji Math!

Can you solve this problem? If you looked at it and thought, “Well, sure, that is easy,” you might be feeling the way some students do when first introduced to emoji math. Emoji math is exactly what it sounds like—mathematical equations to be solved using the familiar icons in place of traditional variables. It’s algebra … Continue reading

Creative Math Meets the Simpsons

Creative Math Meets the Simpsons

Who knew that The Simpsons animated TV show was full of mathematical moments? Read how British science writer Simon Singh learned that his impression of mathematically gags within the show was completely on target. This led to Singh’s book, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. If you’d like an introduction to Simpson’s mathematics and don’t … Continue reading

Creative Math Meets Video

Creative Math Meets Video

I was excited to receive the most recent edition of The Henry Ford Magazine, published by the newly renamed Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, because bold letters the cover declared it to be “The Math Issue.” Like many of you, I suspect, I have a harder time generating flexible and creative thinking ideas around … Continue reading