Easy as Pi

So I am thinking about how to get kids to remember the difference between Diameter, Radius, Circumference, and remembering the actual amount of what PI equals. I came across this cute little activity that I could put on display in my classroom and help the students remember. 

So as you can see in the pic above, I would have the students each "make their own pie", write on it the Pi symbol and what it actually equals. I then would have then make the long line all the way across and the label it diameter. Draw off a line from the center and label it diameter. Then I would have them make a big circle all the way around and have them label it circumference. This would be an activity that I would do before starting my lesson. This way they could just start to get a VISUAL idea of what they are in for. 

I know that I am a very visual learner so making visual learning an option for my students is very important to me. :) I hope you can use this activity for your students as well! 

Circumference: The distance around something.

Radius: A straight line from the center to the circumference to the circle or sphere.

Diameter: A straight line from passing from side to side through a circle or sphere.

Pi= 3.14

Lattice Multiplication Method

My future students are all going to have different views of learning math or any area we study. Before this class I never even heard of the Lattice Method, which really bums me out because it really is so SIMPLE! I wish that when I was in grade school or even high school they would have taught us this view, instead of teaching us all the original way to multiply. Some people don't like taking the time to write out the box with the diagonals, but if you are a visual learner like me you will really appreciate this video.

In the video they show how to multiply using this method and how to do it with decimals. Now when I was younger I always confused adding and multiplying with the decimals and was never really sure where to put them. In this method it clearly indicates where to put the decimals when multiplying. He even gives a little analogy for when explaining where to place the decimals. He says, "You see where the decimals intersect and then go down the slide". 

I personally am really glad I got the chance to learn this method, and it seems simple to teach. I will absolutely use this method along with many more for multiplication. I want my students to be comfortable with learning and understanding different views of solving.

Helpful hints

I figured that since I was talking about how videos and taking a break help me out so much, that I would post the video that helped me figure out the calculator function for Standard Deviation..So below I posted the video

I also thought I might as well add the "go take a break" photo I took while working on MyMathlab! :)

Have a good rest of the day! Happy Summer! 

Welcome to Infinity & Beyond

Having trouble following the book with Standard Deviation? I know that I tend to be a visual learner, and someone doing an actual problem is the way I learn best. When they show me exactly how they do it, I get a pretty good idea on how I should do it. Reading a paragraph of the book trying to explain it just jumbles up my head! (not sure if "jumble" is a real word, but its Laura-Lango!)  I was trying to think of some tips to give you when you’re stuck! When I got stuck and came back from outside I went online for a new look at SD, I found this website that to me seemed like a "Standard Deviation for Dummies" here's the link... http://www.mathisfun.com/data/standard-deviation.html

One thing I like to do is find YouTube videos that are showing examples of doing a problem, EXACTLY showing what they are doing. My second thing I do when I get stuck is just take a break, since it is summer I love to just go outside lay in the sun and read a good book. Once I get some fresh air I come back inside grab my math homework I was stuck on and work on it outside.

When learning about sets I have become pretty good at it! I did them in my last math class, but before that I had never even heard of them! I know that I will never forget them now because while I was working on the worksheet including them I got a call my nephew was born!!! Such a great day and I will always remember that I was working on my math homework while I got the best phone call ever!  :)