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When there are m ways to do one thing, and n ways to do another thing, the there are m

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For the last two weeks, we have been working on strategies to solve challenging logic word-problems leading up to the Math Learning Math Contest.

After surviving another wonderful Thanksgiving in NYC, I experienced once again the crazy pace of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Terrific Tuesday (I made that last one up). In negotiating extensively with several companies over the weekend, I once again was faced with hundreds of mathematical calculations using every operation (+-x/). Although calculations were critical, I noticed that many of the companies with whom I dealt made significant mistakes when using a calculator (usually a place value error). Also, being specific was critical.

The election on November 8, 2016 was a very close call in so many key states. It was also the first time that I remember the candidates being so divisive in style, rhetoric, message, policy, and yes, ethics. So many children were angry on Wednesday morning that I created a lesson focusing on how the results stacked up from a mathematical perspective.

The 3rd through 6th graders were craving multiplication Kakooma after its introduction last week. Not only did we explore this new challenge but we did it with square, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, and octagonal patterns. We spent considerable time looking at the advantages of hexagonal tessellations vs. pentagons which do not tesselate.