Interactive Probability Game

My name is Will and I am teaching how to figure out the probability of you picking different cards out of a bag. I am teaching this with a PowerPoint (which my teacher turned into an easily downloadable PDF file). I chose to teach it this way because it's interactive and a teacher could go as fast or as slow as she/he could manage with his/her class. I liked making this PowerPoint because I wasn't working on math worksheets (haha).

Click here to view the game

*Beating Stick Math Team Note: This game could be used whole class to reinforce basic probability concepts. It could also be used in small group centers. Another option would be to print the slides. Please feel free to use this game anyway you see fit. If you find a new and creative way to use it, please leave us a comment telling us how you used it.

What is a Fibonacci Number?

A Fibonacci Number is a part of a set of numbers adding up the number before them starting with 1 + 1. The sum is the next number in the series.

Here is an example:

1 + 1 = 2
2 + 1 = 3
3 + 2 = 5
5 + 3 = 8
8 + 5 =13
13 + 8 = 21
and so on...

Can you figure out the next ten Fibonacci numbers in the series? Post your answers below.

Thanks,
Will

Video Preview: Percentages

We are learning about percents. To show our learning we are making a video about tips and tax at a restaurant. We are giving you a little sneak peek of our video. So, four people go to a restaurant and buy orange juice, two sodas, a fruit bowl, mini hotdogs, steak mashed potatoes and peas, pizza and fries,  a sandwich and fries, burger and fries, 3 doughnuts, pie slice, and ice-cream. If the subtotal is $36.00 and pay 7% tax and we leave a 15% gratuity (a fancy word for tip), what is the total cost of our dinner?

Post your guesses in the comments below, and stay tuned for our video.

Thanks,

Caroline, Cal, Morgan, Albert, Justin, Michael

Read This! Inch Worm and a Half

Lorenzo and Morgan each read Inchworm and a Half by Elinor J. Pinczes.

Here are their write ups:

Hi! I'm Lorenzo and I read Inchworm and a Half which is about an inchworm who can't measure everything so he gets a 1/2 inchworm. They still can't measure everything, so they get a 1/3 inchworm. They can't measure everything so they get a 1/4 inchworm. Finally they can measure everything. I found it interesting that he didn't need a 1/5 inchworm becuase there are so many different sizes in a garden. The book teaches you about fractions and different sizes.

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This book teaches small children fractions and how to measure. It teaches you that you can split an inch into four, three, and two. The rhyming words get stuck in your head so you will remember the important things in measuring. The inchworm is measuring things with her body but she comes to some things she cannot measure. Then a smaller worm comes along and asks what's wrong. Shes says, "I canot measure a length it spoils my fun if a length cannot be done." The half inch worm explains, "I am half your size so I could do it." So they run along measuring fruits and they come to something the half inchworm cannot measure. Then a third inchworm comes along and says, "what's wrong?" "I cannot measure a fruit." "I am exactly a third of an inch So maybe I can measure the rest of it." The trip looped on measuring fruits and vegetables until they came to something even the third inchworm could not measure. "How very absurd! Not even one third." "Here maybe I can help. I am one fourth of an inch." So they kept on adding worms.

By: Morgan

Read This! 12 Ways to Get to 11

I'm Caroline and I read a book called 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merrian.

Can you think of 12 ways to get to 11 using addition? To get you started here is one way: 5 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 11. Comment below with the other ways.

Read This! Chimp Math

Today I read a book called Chimp Math by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel. This book is about a chimp that had to be taken care of by people because he when he was born he was much smaller than an average baby chimp and his mother ignored him. This book also uses timelines and charts to show how the baby chimp grew. I found this book interesting because it uses an animal rescue as an example to teach you about timelines and charts.

By: Sydney

Read This! Ten Black Dots

Hi! It's Caroline again. I also read a book called Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews.

In the back of the book it shows a graph like this:

1   *

2   **

3   ***

4   ****

5   *****

6   ******

7   *******

8   ********

9   *********
10 **********

How many dots are there? How many dots would there be if the graph went to 50? Explain how you found the answers.

Read This! Spaghetti and Meatballs for All

Hi, I'm Albert and I read Spaghetti and Meatballs for All by Marilyn Burns.

This book is about a couple who wants to host a dinner party for 32 people. They rent 8 tables and 32 chairs and try to set them up so each table has 4 chairs.  First they set up the tables so 8 tables form a 1x8 rectangle but that only seats 18 people. They kept trying different options to get all 32 people seated. Finally they set up the 8 tables seperately so that there were 4 chairs at each table and since 8x4= 32 all the people could sit.

This book teaches about perimeter by showing that if the tables were connected, less people could sit down but by having them seperate, more people can fit which means the perimeter is greater.

Read This! A Remainder of One

Michael and Will both read A Remainder of One by Elinor K. Pinczes.

Here's what they wrote:

This book is about an army of 25 trying to divide the soldiers into even lines. Joe is left behind because there is a remainder of 1. He was left behind because the army tried lines of 4, 6, and 8, and each time there was a remainder of 1. Then they tried lines of 5. Then the lines are even because 5 x 5 = 25. I found it interesting that Joe didn't suggest to march in lines of 5 in the beginning. This book teaches about dividing with a remainder. By: Michael

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I'm Will and I read a book called A Remainder of One. This is about how if you divide 25 by 2, 3, or 4 you have a remainder of one but if you divide it by 5 you get 5 without a remainder. I found it interesting that 24 would divide evenly by 1, 2, 3, or 4 but not 5. This book teaches that all numbers can be divided by something.

Read This! One Hundred Hungry Ants

I read One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes. In this book one hundred ants are marching to a picnic. The smallest ant keeps thinking they are going too slow and keeps arranging all the ants into more and more rows. Since that won't make them go any faster, they loose time and when they get to the picnic there isn't any food left because the other animals ate it. It was interesting that the ants actually thought that making more rows would make them go faster. This book teaches you the different ways you can divide 100 evenly.

By: Cal

Read This! Polar Bear Math

Hi! I'm Amanda and I am the beating stick math teacher. The other day the kids and I decided to read different math books and then share with you what we learned. I asked them to share the title, author, a summary of the book, and what we learned from reading the book. We had fun completing this activity! I know teachers usually just watch their students complete assignments, but I saw a book that really caught my eye and I decided to complete the activity too. Here's my write up:

I choose to read the book Polar Bear Math: Learning about Fractions from Klondike and Snow by Ann Whitehead Nagada and Cindy Bickel.

I was so excited when I saw this book because I remember when Klondike and Snow were born at the Denver Zoo. Their mom abandoned them and the zoo keepers had to take care of them. Klondike, Snow, and their caregivers received a lot of attention from the media (meaning they were on the news). Here is more about their story if you are interested. This book teaches fractions through the real life needs (making formula, the caretaker's schedule) of these two polar bears. It was really interesting to me to see just how fractions are used in real life. It's funny, because I tell my students all the time about how fractions are used in the real world, but it is so neat to actually see them in action. Also, I learned something neat. Did you know that 2/3 of all polar bears give birth to twin polar bear babies? That means for every three mommy polar bears five baby polar bears are born! That's kind of crazy! I really enjoyed reading Klondike and Snow's story and learning about fractions too. This book is great for kids just learning about fractions and for kids who like learning about animals too.

We hope you enjoy our book reviews, and hopefully you will find them helpful.