Volume 1, Number 11
Back to Table of Contents
16 December 1996 Vol. 1, No. 11
Vermont Portfolio | Polyhedra | Adult Numeracy | Four 4's Puzzle
THE MATH FORUM INTERNET NEWS
MATHEMATICS PROBLEM SOLVING CHALLENGES
http://plainfield.bypass.com/~union/problems.html
An Ant is at the bottom of a 12-foot-deep
well and is trying to get to the top. During
the day it climbs four feet but at night it
slides back two feet. How long does it take
for it to get out of the well?
The Vermont Portfolio Program invites students to
use creative strategies to solve story questions.
Students choose a problem to solve and send in a
solution showing how they found it; assessments
of their efforts are returned via e-mail.
Questions are provided to help guide students
toward finding a strong solution, along with
suggestions for problem-solving and communication
skills, and solution strategies.
This site is the Forum's DECEMBER HOT SPOT:
http://mathforum.org/~steve/steve/current.html
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POLYHEDRA IN THE CLASSROOM
http://mathforum.org/alejandre/workshops/unit14.html
Suzanne Alejandre's new Web unit introduces students to
the surface area of polyhedra, focusing on the importance
of measurement. She supplies numerous nets in the form of
handouts to be cut out and folded in the classroom.
Students calculate the surface area of a rectangular
prism; name the characteristics (number of edges, faces,
vertices, and the shape of the face) of six specific
polyhedra (cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron,
icosahedron, and cuboctahedron); demonstrate their
understanding of these characteristics; and explore
polyhedra in the real world through crystalline
structures and 'buckyballs'.
Writing samples and suggestions for student activities
are provided, and all objectives are coordinated with
the NCTM Standards.
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WHAT IS NUMERACY?
Numeracy can be defined as "...the aggregate of skills,
knowledge, beliefs, dispositions, and habits of mind -
as well as the general communicative and problem-solving
skills - that people need in order to effectively handle
real-world situations or interpretative tasks with
embedded mathematical or quantifiable elements."
-Iddo Gal, "Big Picture: What Does "Numeracy" Mean?"
Reprinted from the Sept./Oct. 1995 issue of _GED Items_,
http://mathforum.org/teachers/adult.ed/articles/gal.html
The Math Forum hosts a page with links to related
Web sites, mailing list information, and a selection
of articles on the subject:
ADULT NUMERACY: RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
http://mathforum.org/teachers/adult.ed/
On the Adult Numeracy mailing list participants engage
in lively, focused discussion. The Math Forum provides
searchable archives of this list:
NUMERACY DISCUSSION ARCHIVES
http://mathforum.org/epigone/numeracy
To subscribe to the Adult Numeracy list, send e-mail to
majordomo@world.std.com. The body of your message should
say "subscribe numeracy" (just the words, not the
quotation marks). You may leave the subject line blank.
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RUTH CARVER'S FOUR 4'S PUZZLE
http://mathforum.org/ruth/four4s.puzzle.html
The 1996 Puzzle featured in our last newsletter filled
up so fast we thought we'd offer another similar test
of your ingenuity. Here's the challenge: using four 4's
and any operations, try to write equations that have
the numbers from 0 to 100 as the answer.
As this is the first announcement of our Four 4's Puzzle,
if you act quickly you should find plenty of open slots.
Please send answers using the e-mail link on the Web page.
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CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE:
The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/
Ask Dr. Math http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Problem of the Week http://mathforum.org/pow2/
Internet Resources http://mathforum.org/~steve/
Join the Math Forum http://mathforum.org/join.forum.html
Send comments to the Math Forum Internet Newsletter editors
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