From: Claire (for Teacher2Teacher Service)
Date: Apr 06, 2007 at 17:08:55
Subject: Re: Multicultural Education

Hi, Allison --

Thanks for writing to T2T. Maybe the opener could be something like, "All
cultures do math!" There is a wonderful book by Claudia Zaslavsky -- Math
Games and Activities from Around the World. There is also a second volume --
More Math Games ...

Kids love games, and they are a wonderful window into a culture. Do you teach
in a self-contained classroom, or maybe team with a social studies teacher?
It would be interesting to make some connections between the games and the
culture, how they reflect the culture, the materials used, the math ideas.
The book is widely available. The materials are easily gathered.

You can read about Claudia at
http://www.math.binghamton.edu/zaslav/cz.html

Kids are often fascinated by different number systems. They're almost like
codes. Mayan and Egyptian might make good examples. There are lessons to be
learned with them that help children understand and appreciate our own number
system.

I hope this is helpful.

 -Claire, for the T2T service

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