Math - A State of Mine: I. Introduction

Math—A State of Mine

4th Grade	6th Grade	Group	Mathematician Options
Arthur	Kyle	P	P
Brad	Dave	Y	Al-Khwarizmi, D’Alembert, Euler, Lagrange, Euclid (of Alexandria), Leibniz, Boole, Fermat
Brianne, Mallory	Elizabeth	P
Cameron	Ben	Y	Y
Cody	Dan	W	Napier, Bernoulli (Jean), Bernoulli (Jacque), Diophantus, Copernicus, Newton, Plato, Einstein
Daniel	Tarun	S
Hannah, Julianne	Maegan	P	W
James	Bruce	W	Dodgson, Fibonacci, Pythagoras, Galileo, Archimedes, Eratosthenes, Venn, Napier
Joe	Jeff, Eric	Y
Kelley, Abby	Dana	S
Ken	Yuh	W	S
Lizzie,Maria	Rosalind	P	Gauss, Polya, Heron, Descartes, De Moivre, Babbage, Laplace, Pascal, Hypatia
Maiki	Michael	S
Maya, Isabel	Jessica	Y
Melina	Lindsay	Y
Paul	Philip	S
Ryan	Tim	S
Seaun	Casey	W

Within each one of us lives and breathes a real mathematician. Always. Everything mathematical was, and is, just made up by people like you and me. They were trying to make sense of what was going on around them. Just as you are. They tried to find the words and the rules that seemed to explain what they observed. Just as you do. Your job over the next few weeks is to discover how they did this and what they did. To get their number, so to speak.

Rounded Rectangular Callout: Ok, we buy, this but how come we are with this other class? Different people bring different insights and viewpoints to a problem. This is where being different ages is a real advantage for both sets. The understanding of the mixed groups will be greater than if a single class grouping attempts it alone.

Sequence of Events:

	Group Classwork	Homework
Day One:	Introduction to the project and the buddy pairs. Select the mathematicians and start the Primary and Secondary Question Map.
Day Two:	Finish the Question Map and assign the research jobs. Get clearance from the teachers and a handout of research guidelines.	Independent research
Day Three:	Group research in the elementary school library and computer lab.	Independent research, complete research
Day Four:	Share, compare, and plan the layout of information. Determine graphics. Open web site.	Create graphics, work on web pages. Complete all information.
Day Five:	Work on web site, add graphics and all text.	Polish web site
Day Six:	Complete web site.	Scavenger Hunt
Day Seven:	Share Website with parents and peers.

Laying the Groundwork

In your exploration of your mathematician, there are a few key questions that you must answer.

As a historical figure, what was your mathematician like?
What great contribution to the world did your mathematician make? Your mathematician bettered, or advanced, how people could make sense of their world.
How did this contribution continue to make a difference in the world of today? Your mathematician didn’t just change the world they lived in, they made a difference to your world as well.

These questions cover the what of the project, but they do not cover the how. The next series of questions deals with just that issue.

What will make our partnership fair?
What resources should we use to get our information?
What would make us legal?
How do we show our clear understanding of the questions so that other people know that we know it while it appears that there is some form of thinking going on in our beady brains?
How do we present our information so that other people who read our web site gain understanding about our mathematician without confusion?
How can we present the material differently so that great exclamations of, “Whoa! How cool! We never thought of it like that!”, lightbulb flashes go off rather than having the gentle snores of the brain dead uninterested?

Math—A State of Mine

Group

Mathematician Options