If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I'm a big fan of geometric construction. I have written about it here more than once, and my Web site includes quite a bit of curriculum involving construction. See the end of the post for additional links. I have many reasons for this… Continue reading Geometric Construction for Middle School
Author: hpicciotto
Ariadne’s String
This post is about a problem I learned about at Unsolved K-12, and was reminded of at Integer Sequences K-12. Both conferences were joint meetings of mathematicians and educators, organized by Gord Hamilton. Like several of my favorite problems from those conferences, this problem involved explorations on a lattice.Here is the problem:- You must get… Continue reading Ariadne’s String
Integer Sequences
Last winter, I attended an interesting meeting of mathematicians and math educators in Banff, Canada. Our charge was to compile a list of integer sequences that would offer suitable problems for students (and teachers) at each level from Kindergarten to 12th grade. It was a sequel to 2014's Unsolved K-12 meeting, and once again was… Continue reading Integer Sequences
Spirograph
Perpendicular bisector theorem
Under the assumptions of the Common Core, the triangle congruence criteria (SSS, SAS, ASA) are no longer postulates. Instead they are to be derived from transformational geometry. There are many consequences to this state of affairs, and I have written about it on this blog: one, two, three. I have developed bits of curriculum, which… Continue reading Perpendicular bisector theorem
Themed courses?
This is the third in a series of summer posts on big-picture planning for a math department. Previous installments: Pruning the Curriculum, and Mapping Out a Course. Today's post represents a further zooming out, to discuss my thoughts about how to organize content across courses. Of course, many if not most teachers are not consulted… Continue reading Themed courses?
Geoboard Triangles
One way to discover or apply the formula for the area of a triangle is to explore area on the geoboard. The initial activities should be along the lines suggested in my Geometry Labs Lab 8.4. (Free download.)After that, one can zero in on triangles, by asking a question like: "Find triangles of area 15."… Continue reading Geoboard Triangles
About Hints, the sequel
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the use of hints in the math classroom. I just reread that post, and stand by what I wrote. I admit that my very last sentence (in the PS) was perhaps a bit snarky, and I'll try to elaborate on it in this post.What is prompting me to… Continue reading About Hints, the sequel
Constant Sums, Constant Products
I just cleaned up an existing page on my Web site: Constant Sums, Constant Products, "an untraditional approach to traditional topics". This is a mega-unit, spanning content from middle school, all the way to what one might call "teachers' mathematics." Take a look at it on a summer day when you have a little time… Continue reading Constant Sums, Constant Products
New on my Web site
I usually mention any new material on my Math Education Page on this blog. Today's installment: three new pages, each of which links to several others.1. A new issue of my Math Education Newsletter, featuring links to recent blog posts, info on my summer workshops, and an update on what's new on my Web site.… Continue reading New on my Web site
Henri's Math Education Blog 