Making Math Fun
It’s time to start thinking of the summer. Many students attend summer academic programs, and here are lists of the math camps that have the best reputations across the country:
These can be very different programs, so please leave questions, comments or anecdotes in the comments below.
While students took the AMC 8 Exam at Bard College on November 19, 2013, parents were invited to attend a panel discussion on Supporting your Child as a High Achiever in Math and Science. Here is some information about the panel members, panel discussion, and additional information sheets below.
Halle Kananack, (moderator) math educator and consultant
Halle Kananack is a K-12 math coach. She also leads professional development sessions for teachers, and is a writer for a Common Core-aligned math curriculum. A former middle school and high school math teacher, Halle also taught at SUNY Ulster, through the Bard Prison Initiative, and for a variety of adult-ed and GED-prep programs. Halle is passionate about math education and its potential to mentally empower us. She believes that genuine understanding, creative thinking, and having fun are essential ingredients to the math experience.
Ben Houston, STEM Professional
Ben Houston is the parent of an 8th grader and a 4th grader who both excel at math and science. He is a licensed professional engineer and currently works in digital mapping, having cross trained in cartography, geodesy and surveying. To him, math and science are like art: something found in the beauty of everyday life, and by making such topics simply an extension of everyday life as opposed to isolated academic endeavors, kids can then be free to explore them with fun, freedom and creativity.
Jing Ju, Parent
Jing Ju is a full-time mom of two boys. She was previously a software engineer with advanced degrees in science and engineering. She grew up in China, and everyone in her family loves math.
She has a positive attitude towards math and really believes that Math is beautiful, math is fun, and math is straightforward.
Jing Ju has higher academic standards, and she helps kids practice math skills through games.
She encourages kids to explore their math potential. They are allowed to learn math according to their own pace.
Deborah Mosher, NY State Master Teacher
Debby Mosher is a math teacher at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook New York, where she has taught 7th grade math and 7th grade accerated math for 15 years. Previously, she was a computer programmer at IBM where she worked on mathematical modeling of computer software and hardware. She recently was named a Master Teacher in New York State. One of her mathematical interests is learning about the lives and contributions of famous mathematicians in history, and using that material to create excitement for students in math class.
Japheth Wood, Bard Math Professor
Japheth Wood is a math professor at Bard College. He directs the Bard Math Circle and the New York Math Circle, and works with both pre-service and in-service math teachers in New York City and the Mid-Hudson Valley. He sees math circles as a low-stakes math enrichment activity that has potential to inspire and prepare students and teachers mathematically, and a way to connect mathematical professionals, teachers and parents to support mathematical education in ways that are not possible otherwise.
For Math, we have heard about AMC, MathCounts, MathOlympiad, CML etc, what are such similar, well defined programs and resources for Science for Middle Schoolers?
What career opportunities can my daughter explore in math and science, and how can I support her when she starts to think about career choices and colleges with a focus in math and science?
Does Bard support math circle students by offering any summer programs for students?
Supporting High Achieving Middle School Math Students
Eli Byers & Deborah Mosher, New York State Master Teachers
Information Sheet from Mrs. Lin
More information to come! If there is information you’d like to include but isn’t here, please email bardmathcircle@gmail.com.
At this month’s math circle in the Kingston Library, we focused on the SET game above all our other wonderful puzzles and games. For those new to the game, there was the beginner’s table, and for those adept at finding those 3 card triples, we had the advanced table. Can you find any sets in these photos?
Most students made a cardiod curve. It’s amazing how many straight line segments can give the illusion of a curved line. There is some deeper mathematics underneath what looks like string art: given a family of straight lines like we drew in this activity, the envelope of the family of lines is a curve that is tangent to each of the lines. In this case, the envelope of the lines is a cardiod curve.
To investigate further, what is the envelope of another family of lines? On the orange sheet, we see another envelope of a family of line segments.
You can download this month’s problem set on our documents page.
See you at the next Bard Math Circle!
Our Kingston Library math circle met for the second time this fall on Saturday. It’s very heartening to see the regular faces (each a year older, and growing fast) and the newcomers are also a welcome sight.
There was a lot of great mathematical thinking, as can be seen in this scratch work.
(note the typo – I forgot to update the date from September’s circle meeting)
We had a lot of students sharing their work on these problems at the end of class.
Each month we also feature a hands-on project, and this month we made a paper cut and glue Curry’s Triangle Paradox.
What do you find disturbing in the following picture? The graph paper grid is there intentionally to help measure distances and areas.
We’re less than 4 weeks away from the AMC 8 Contest, and here is an update on registration, and some other information.
We now have 54 students registered for the AMC 8. If everyone attended, we’d surpass last year’s attendance of 49 students (although we had 71 students register, total).
Any student 14.5 years of age or younger on the day of the contest and not enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 or equivalent is eligible to participate.
We now have:
22 Eighth graders
13 Seventh graders
9 Sixth graders
9 Fifth graders
1 Earlier grade
If there are 10 or more students from a school, they form a section. At the discretion of the Bard Math Circle, we may form additional sections by grouping schools (i.e. by city or county). All the remaining students will also form a section. Certificates are given to the top 3 students in each section.
We now have this many students from the following schools. Tell your classmates, and try to form a full section!
11 Van Wyck Junior High School
8 Saugerties Junior High School
6 Union Vale Middle School
3 Lagrange Middle School
2 Fishkill Elementary School
2 Highland Middle School
2 St. Mary School, Fishkill
1 Arlington Middle School
1 Ascension Holy Trinity
1 Brinckerhoff Elementary School
1 Bulkeley Middle School
1 Gayhead Elementary School
1 Germantown Central School
1 Grant D. Morse Elementary School
1 Hagan Elementary School
1 Harry L Edson Elementary School
1 Haviland Middle School, Hyde Park, NY
1 Linden Avenue Middle School
1 MC Miller Middle School
1 Mizzentop Day School
1 Netherwood Elementary School
1 Pawling Middle School
1 Robert E. Bell Middle School
1 St. Joseph School
1 Todd Middle School
1 Vail Farm Elementary School
1 Wappingers Junior High School
No problems on the contest will require the use of a calculator. However, you may bring rulers, protractors, and erasers. We’ll provide #2 pencils and unmarked scratch paper (but you can bring those too).
Before the exam, you must fill in the following information, so don’t forget it!
Our math circle programming has started, and our very first meeting at the Kingston Library this fall will take place on Saturday, September 28th, 1-3pm. We’re all looking forward to seeing you there! Please invite a friend.
News and Announcements
We’ve moved our webpage to our own URL: bardmathcircle.org. Please take a look – the site features blog posts of interest, and also information on each of our programs.
Las actividades fueron pensadas para estudiantes de la escuela media y escuela primaria, sin embargo, ¡todos son bienvenidos! Los estudiantes podrán elegir y ser parte de distintas actividades de matemáticas como: acertijos matemáticos y juegos de lógica, proyectos prácticos de matemáticas para llevar a casa y compartir, y una hoja de problemas que desafían el nivel matemático de la escuela media.
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Publicado por La Voz en La Voz el 9/26/2013 10:54:00 a.m.
Hello Math Lovers,
Bard released a very nice article about the Summer Program in Mathematical Problem Solving. Go ahead and read the article:
While the program was in session, I provided updates to the Bard community, and among the many wonderful and supportive responses was this question:
Curiously do we offer any programs like this for local kids with the same academic curiosity and promise?
I love this question! Of course, the answer is very complicated and nuanced.
On the face of it, not at all. Bard does not provide a 3 week sleep-away math camp for local kids on this beautiful, secluded campus. No all-star math staff selected from a national search for instructors who have the deepest mathematical knowledge and incredible experience and success at igniting mathematical passion and excitement. No amazing math curriculum, where students can delve deeply in to advanced mathematics that they’d never learn in school. We don’t offer that.
But, the SPMPS students are selected from some of the most underserved NYC middle schools. Each of these schools has a very high poverty level; at least 75% of students at each school qualify for free lunch, and at most of the schools that statistic is up around 90% or 95%. The typical student at these schools is far below grade level, and part of what makes SPMPS work is attention to building up necessary technical skills that are just plain missing.
However, the mid-Hudson Valley has all that too – not just urban poverty, but rural poverty too, with many students who have fallen behind, yet have an amazing intellectual potential.
We also have the Bard Math Circle, a small program with huge potential. The most consistent program happens monthly at the Kingston Library, and now the annual AMC 8 contest.
What do you think? Where could this go? Let’s discuss this in the comments.
Japheth
We’re planning out events for the next school year, and here are two programs that will be running, starting this fall:
Event: Monthly math circle in Kingston, NY
Location: Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street
Dates: We will meet on the following Saturdays, 1pm – 3pm:
2013: September 28, October 26, November 23, December 21
2014: February 8, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14
Audience: Geared toward middle school and upper elementary students
Interested? Email bardmathcircle@gmail.com and ask to join our Kingston email list.
Program: We feature puzzles and games, challenging problems, and hands-on projects. We help students strengthen their critical thinking skills and make math more fun.
Location: Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson
The New York Math Circle is running its 5th summer math workshop (the 4th time at Bard College). The theme of this summer’s workshop is “Surface Area and Volume”, and is a nice experience with Solid Geometry for teachers. This is of interest to teachers local to Bard, as the commuter discount on top of the public school teacher discount together drop the cost of the workshop to minimal.
The full announcement is below:
New York Math CircleClick here to Register
To our fellow math teachers,
With the end of the school year in sight, you may be wondering what to do with yourself this summer. The answer is our Summer Teachers’ Workshop!
Summer Workshop 2013 at Bard College (July 29 – August 2)
This summer’s theme is “Volume and Surface Area.” We’re looking forward to helping participants deepen their content knowledge of Solid Geometry and enrich their math classrooms with challenging problems. The workshop is designed for middle school math teachers, but all math teachers are welcome.
Mathematical Program
The workshop features 24 contact hours of mathematics centered around Volume and Surface Area. Mornings consist of collaborative problem sessions, while the afternoon talks—led by NY Math Circle instructors and Bard math professors—enrich and extend.
The co-organizers of the workshop are Japheth Wood, executive director of the New York Math Circle and math professor in the Bard Master of Arts in Teaching program, and Justin Lanier, math teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, and math blogger at I Choose Math and Math Munch. Japheth and Justin have designed the workshop to address the following questions, and more:
For more information and to register for the workshop visit: http://www.nymathcircle.org/workshop
Public School Teachers: The Math for America discount for public school teachers drops the cost for the week (including room and board) from $445 to just $295. A letter from your principal is required.
Commuters: Local teachers save $150 for not requiring a dorm room for the week. But you still get everything else, including meals!
PD and Graduate Credit: Upon completion, you will receive a certificate and a letter documenting 24 math contact hours. With the approval from your principal, this can count as PD. You can also earn 2 graduate credits from the Bard MAT Program (a separate processing fee applies) by documenting how this workshop enriches your classroom over the following year.
Entertainment and Arts offerings
Independent of our workshop, the arts are alive at Bard College this summer. We’ve cleared the schedule on Wednesday afternoon for you to explore. You could choose to attend a 3pm performance of Oresteia by Sergey Taneyev, go for a hike, or discover other treasures that the area has to offer.
Our closing meal on Thursday evening will be at the Spiegeltent: a choice of classic summer fare — including burgers and brats from the grill, fresh salads, gourmet ice cream, and handcrafted beers and wines from the Hudson Valley region. Vegetarian options available, of course. Dinner transforms into performance, with Spiegeltent’s Thursday Night Live! Musicians Imharhan and Mamadou Kelly perform Music of Mali. “A captivating combination of traditional and contemporary West African sounds. The rumble and grit of Saharan nomads with electric guitars.”
Anna Weltman
Justin Lanier