Quick Class Poll

Today in class we asked the students a few questions about the program. Here's what they had to say:

Q: What will you take with you, having progressed through the Pimooteewin program?

"My smarts."
"My math!"
"That book that you read in class, "Rich by Thirty". I didn't get to read it but I want to."

Q: What made the most impact?

"Being motivated to do better in my life, to come to school. Time management skills will help me a lot!"
"The trips -- I've never been to the ROM or the AGO."
"The people in the classroom. It was awesome for the people who showed up regularly."
"The awesome food... and the free tokens."

Q: What would you change for next time?

"I'd change my attitude towards math next time -- it's not as bad as I think sometimes... as long as I think."
"I would change the way that it is taught, make it more strict. Like, giving consequences or more homework."
"Maybe do one take-home assignment every week."
"Windows that open."
"No windows!"
"I want to see more people, more that are willing to be here every day."
"Absolutely nothing."

Q: What are your next steps?

"I want to do more outreach in the community for the program."
"I need to find a job where I can do some reading, writing, and math."
"I'm going to try to find a job in the community, like, to work with the community."
"I want to apply to Native Child this year!"

This program has been such a unique and memorable experience for everyone involved. We'd love to hear your comments and feedback in the form below!

Posted by Karen Craigs

Introduction to Algebra

Are there similarities between algebra and Native war record robes?

War Record Robe

This morning we looked at pictures and learned more about the counting coup concept. These war robes and coup sticks were worn by Native warriors (especially from the Plains) as badges of honour, showing the history of their prior battle actions. The more dangerous the action, the more prestigious the coup.

Counting Coup Stick

If you think about it, the robe and the stick are just story-telling devices that group together: a) different symbols representing the elements of the story, b) the actions taken, and c) the consequences of those actions. We found that we can relate these ideas specifically to: a) numbers in a math equation, b) the operators, and c) the results. (This idea was modified from an Australian aboriginal study.)

In class, students drew up several stories using their own meaningful symbols. For example, one student recounted the events of last week's full moon ceremony using just a simple addition story. It contained people coming in from different communities, a full moon and stars, as well as items needed in the ceremony (for example the water and drum). Another student commented how similar these picture stories are to the ancient Egyptian tombs, recounting the histories of the kings with hieroglyphs.

From a mathematical perspective, these stories are important for us to analyze. You might recognize that taking away an element from the story will change the story's consequences -- much like in a math equation. We explored different ways of compensating for making a change, much like you would do in algebra.

For example, if we have the equation 3 + 4 = 7 and we change the 4 to a 2, we tried to find different ways in which we could do something to the story to compensate for the change. (We came up with four ways -- how many ways can you come up with?)

Joke: What kind of clothing does a mermaid wear? ... An algae-bra! 

After the break, we played a counting game with 12-sided dice and Monopoly money. Everyone started with $20 and we took turns rolling the dodecahedra. Integers between -6 and +6 are on each die: a negative roll meant we had to give away that amount; a positive roll, we were given it. Rolling two together meant we had to solve the overall value first!

Dodecahedron: a polyhedron with 12 flat faces

 After a few rounds, we had to start keeping track of IOU's, a perfect example of how negative numbers work in business. We found that negative numbers and subtracting are similar concepts (but they don't always lead you into the hole!).

Tomorrow we'll continue our algebra introduction with some more activities...

Posted by Karen

Tangram Video #1

Just before the holiday break in December, our math class took lots of photos for several stop-motion videos made of tangram pieces.

A tangram is just a small math puzzle where a square has been cut into seven simple pieces (5 triangles, a square, and a rhombus) -- see the picture to the right as a reference. These seven pieces can then be formed into all sorts of funny shapes and characters...

Here is the < VIDEO LINK > to the first stop-motion movie. We made two other ones based on nursery rhymes so check back again for updates!

Posted by Karen

Rock Crystal Candy

A couple Fridays ago we set up an experiment in class to make Rock Crystals.

These ones are just made of sugar mixed in water. The trick is to heat the water so that it can dissolve even more sugar than normal (called "super-saturation"). When the solution evaporates, sugar crystals should be left behind.

We used a kettle to boil the water in the classroom, then mixed it with as much sugar as we could in a large mixing bowl. Each of us came up with our own colour combination using food colouring mixtures.

The following Tuesday... nothing had happened. That was a surprise! The instructions called for crystals forming overnight but three days had passed with no effect!

By the following Friday, some small crystals had started to form on the surface of the sugar solutions. The red one solution by far the best looking crystal growth -- it had been the last one from the mixing bowl, which meant it had all the extra sugar from the bottom.

Next time we should try to keep a constant heat on the water and really try to super-saturate the solution before it cools.

Some brave souls tried to eat the rock crystals... Check out this YouTube < VIDEO LINK > to see what happened!

Posted by Karen