Exponentially Fun
Every Tuesday at lunch, Room 16 is filled with anywhere from ten to twenty eager fifth through eighth graders who are attending the Upper School Math Club meeting. They enjoy their lunch while solving math puzzles, learning cool computation tools, and trying to be the first to answer a question to win the “World’s Greatest Student” statue! The cynical observer would say that the students come for the candy that is handed out at the ending bell. I would argue that they come because they get to experience the beauty and power of mathematics AND because they think math is fun!
As a math teacher, I have always been dismayed to hear students and adults remark that they are not good in math. I have never heard the same lament about English or history, and one of the missions of the Math Department at Harbor Day is to dispel this notion among our students. Everyone can be good at math and enjoy the incomparable feeling you get when you solve a difficult problem successfully. At Math Club, “mathletes” get to experience that thrill without the pressure of a test. They also feel pride as they explain their reasoning on the SmartBoard to their fellow club members. Math is learned best when the subject is challenging but fun, and that combination is what draws students to the club.
Chip and Arlene have 60 stickers between the two of them. If you double the number Arlene has and halve the number Chip has, then they each have the same number of stickers. How many stickers does Arlene have?
Sam’s sock drawer is a mess! None of the socks have been folded into pairs. He has 16 white socks, 10 black socks, and 8 blue socks. If Sam reaches into his drawer in the dark to pick out two socks, how many must he pick to guarantee that he will have a match?
What is the probability that flipping a fair coin 15 times will yield equal numbers of heads and tails?
Back
As a math teacher, I have always been dismayed to hear students and adults remark that they are not good in math. I have never heard the same lament about English or history, and one of the missions of the Math Department at Harbor Day is to dispel this notion among our students. Everyone can be good at math and enjoy the incomparable feeling you get when you solve a difficult problem successfully. At Math Club, “mathletes” get to experience that thrill without the pressure of a test. They also feel pride as they explain their reasoning on the SmartBoard to their fellow club members. Math is learned best when the subject is challenging but fun, and that combination is what draws students to the club.
Math is a special subject. One of its attractions is that there is always an answer and there is often more than one way to get that answer. The logical reasoning skills that are learned in math class and practiced in Math Club are skills that reap benefits in all aspects of life. Studies have shown that math ability is a strong predictor of future success, and having fun doing math builds confidence and a positive attitude that will carry our HDS students through many a tough high school math class.
The human brain loves puzzles, as evidenced by the popularity of Crossword and Sudoku puzzles. So it is no wonder that Math Club draws interest from all sorts of math students: the timid thinker, the impulsive adventurer, or that student who just wants to take a chance on math without fear of getting the wrong answer or a bad score. All are welcome at Math Club and have a really good time, while growing their brains in an important way.
Here is a sampling of some of the challenges you might find in Math Club:
Chip and Arlene have 60 stickers between the two of them. If you double the number Arlene has and halve the number Chip has, then they each have the same number of stickers. How many stickers does Arlene have?
Sam’s sock drawer is a mess! None of the socks have been folded into pairs. He has 16 white socks, 10 black socks, and 8 blue socks. If Sam reaches into his drawer in the dark to pick out two socks, how many must he pick to guarantee that he will have a match?
What is the probability that flipping a fair coin 15 times will yield equal numbers of heads and tails?
Check your answers below or, better yet, have your child help you through them! Math IS fun, and Math Club is just one way that Harbor Day students can find that fun!
[Answers: 1) Arlene has 12 stickers. 2) 4 socks 3) Probability = 0]
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Mrs. Stockstill has been teaching Upper School Mathematics at Harbor Day since 1996.
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Mrs. Stockstill has been teaching Upper School Mathematics at Harbor Day since 1996.
Harbor Day School
3443 Pacific View Drive
Corona del Mar, CA 92625Phone<title><script type="mce-text/javascript"> (function(a,e,c,f,g,h,b,d){var k={ak:"984895077",cl:"EfBCCP-Fv3UQ5ZzR1QM"};a[c]=a[c]||function(){(a[c].q=a[c].q||[]).push(arguments)};a[g]||(a[g]=k.ak);b=e.createElement(h);b.async=1;b.src="//www.gstatic.com/wcm/loader.js";d=e.getElementsByTagName(h)[0];d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a[f]=function(b,d,e){a[c](2,b,k,d,null,new Date,e)};a[f]()})(window,document,"_googWcmImpl","_googWcmGet","_googWcmAk","script"); </script><head><body>1-949-640-1410<html></html></body></head><br><br><br>
949-640-1410
Corona del Mar, CA 92625
949-640-1410
Harbor Day School is a co-educational private independent K-8 school established in 1952.