NZL One - Two - Three

If  algebra is about seeing patterns and making connections, how can we connect number, geometry & algebra? One approach... think about the number 180; 180 degrees on a straight line 180 degrees is the sum of the interior angles in a triangle 180 degrees in a semicircle 180 is an even number and a multiple of 10 180 in standard form looks like this 1.8 x 10 ^2 Is 180 a happy or an unhappy number? What pairs of numbers add up to 180? How many different pairs can you find? What patterns can you see? How do you know if you have found all the pairs? A spreadsheet is one way for students to experiment : Use the View> Show Formula option to introduce students to the algebraic logic behind spreadsheet formulae How could we draw this? How else could we draw this? How could this be written using symbols? 120 + 60 or 120 + 60 = 180 Target 180 Two numbers add to 180. If I know one number what could the other number be? Use a tabl...

2016  is Year of the monkey The Monkey is ninth of the 12 animals in the recurring 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. Every 12 years there is a Monkey year. Monkey years are all multiples of 12, from 12 AD, through 1200 AD, to now in 2016. How many monkey years can you list in 2 minutes? ------------------------------------------------------ Number skills must be mastered early in secondary school if we want to keep the other topics accessible to students. From great maths teaching ideas This post from William Emery   got me thinking about what we do on a regular basis to ensure mastery of number skills. I also wondered if we mapped the NZ Mathematics & Statistics curriculum in the same way, would we likely get a similar result. Top of the list of essential skills for success  Multiply & Divide whole numbers followed by  Add & subtract whole numbers then   BEDMAS (BIDMAS BODMAS .... )  place value & decimals ar...