On My Way Home!

My flight was delayed but I should still be back in time for school tomorrow. I had a chance to meet another one of my mathematical heroes! 

Here is a picture of me with Dan Meyer. I'm 5'4''. Any guesses on how talk he might be?

Dreams Really Do come True!

Do you guys have a favorite celebrity that you've always wanted to meet? We'll I have two math celebrities that I've been dying to meet and yesterday I got to meet both of them! 

I know you guys won't recognize these women, but they are both amazingly smart mathematicians who have truly inspired me throughout my entire career. 

Jo Boaler: 

Marilyn Burns:

I miss you guys and I'm looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

PS- We went to Emeril's last night and I was allowed to walk through the kitchen. Amazing!

Math Conference Day 1

Yesterday was a day full of math! So basically, a perfect day for me! I got to meet the author of our textbooks, two guys who have found a way to math really exciting for kids (more about that when I get back), and go to dinner with quite a few of your former elementary school teachers. Can anyone calculate how many seconds it will be before it see you guys in the hallway before school in Thursday? I'm curious because I'm literally counting down the seconds until I see you guys again and I need to know where to start the count! 

Here is a picture if the desk duck enjoying a lemon-pyramid dessert. It was called Lemon La La:

Here is a math problem written by your textbook author. Feel free to send me comments on this and get this discussion going! :)

Making Friends

Making new friends this morning. 

Walking Adventures

Today was another day full of adventure! I started my morning with a walking tour of the French Quarter and a visit to the St. Louis Cemetery. It was foggy and raining all day which just made everything creepy. 

Entrance to the St. Louis Cemetery:

Nicholas Cage's FUTURE tomb. (This is a square pyramid by the way.)  

The desk duck found a cupcake shop. He ate the lemon cake. He tried to convince me to buy cupcakes for the whole team but I reminded him that I have a limit to how much I can carry on the plane. If  two cupcakes fit in a 6in x 6in x 4in box, how many could I pack in a standard empty carry-on?

I found a fountain for the duck to swim in while I ate a bite for lunch. 

We had dinner at Emeril's. It was ridiculously yummy.

As we were walking back we realized that WWF was having wrestle-mania at the Superdome. A very kind man was happy to let me borrow his souvenir championship belt to strike a pose. (Ignore my horrible rain-ruined hairstyle!)

Here is your last math problem for the day. Today I traveled about 17,500 steps. Can anyone calculate my approximate distance in miles?

Tomorrow the teaching part of my conference begins so I may not be able to post. Keep checking back and leaving comments (and be good for the sub)! 

Jackson Square

Having a great time walking around Jackson Square. Desk duck especially loved the music and food!

My first NOLA meal- The Original Po Boy from Mother's:

St. Louis Cathedral:

Corner of Saint Ann's Street and Chartres Street:

Art work:

Street Concert:

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde:

Can anyone calculate the area of Jackson Square? (Here is a hint: I'm not convinced it's actually a square.)

 

A Book For the Flight

Getting ready to board my flight. I was on the wait list at the library, but I broke down and purchased a book suggested by one of my period 9 students- you know who you are. I've already read the entire first chapter. Can you figure out how many pages I have to read each day in order to finish my book before I get home on Thursday?

NOLA bound

Hi Team 6A! 

 

Starting as early as tomorrow morning you can start checking in on my progress as I travel to New Orleans.  Here are some fun facts about New Orleans that I found:

1. New Orleans is where opera was first performed in the U.S., back in 1796.

2. The first Mardi Gras parade took place on Shrove Tuesday 1838 in New Orleans.

3. New Orleans is the largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, the second largest in the U.S. and the third largest in the world in volume of cargo handled.

4. The Superdome is the largest enclosed stadium/arena in the world.

5. The first U.S. theater was established in New Orleans.

6. Antoine’s, established in 1840, is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Louisiana.

7. The name “Uncle Sam” was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. territory — goods labeled “U.S.” were said to be from “Uncle Sam.”

8. Poker was invented in New Orleans in the 1700s.

9. When individual states had their own currency, the Louisiana dix (French for 10) was a favored currency for trade. In English they became known as “dixies” and the term “Dixieland” was coined.

10. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, which still reigns supreme in the city today. Later, jazz spawned both the blues and rock and roll.

 

 

It's All Greek To Me

Over spring break, I visited the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. This place was HUGE! I know I’m a little guy, but I felt tiny compared to the statue of Athena. Here are some facts that I gathered while on my trip.

• Nashville's Athena stands 41'10" tall, making her the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World.
• The statue of Nike in Athena's right hand stands 6'4" tall.
• There are eleven snakes represented on Athena's breastplate, bracelets and belt.
• The Athena Parthenos in the ancient Parthenon was considered the greatest achievement of Pheidias, the most acclaimed sculptor of ancient Greece.
• The Parthenon in Athens was carved out of Pentelic marble and it took the Greeks approximately 10 years to construct the building, 447-438 B.C.
• Nashville's Parthenon was created from brick, stone, structural reinforced concrete, and cast concrete aggregate. It took the City of Nashville nearly 10 years to build their Parthenon, 1921-1931.
• All horizontal architectural elements arch slightly in the center. This means there are no true straight horizontal lines in the Parthenon. These architectural refinements made the Parthenon look alive and flawless to the human eye. This curvature is repeated in Nashville's Parthenon.
• The Parthenon is 65 feet high at its apex.

Historically, the ancient Greeks established many of the fundamental laws and theorems in math and science. Here are some fun facts about Greek Mathematicians.

Pythagoras (c.570-490 B.C.) Greek philosopher and founder of a prestigious school, he explored the relationship of mathematics and music, developed the “theory of means” connecting math with harmony, and advanced his famous “Pythagorean Theory.”

Euclid (3rd century B.C.) The most famous Greek mathematician and physicist, he was author of several books including The Elements.

Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) Developed the method of exhaustion by which he was able to compute areas and volumes to any desired accuracy. His many inventions included the screw and the catapult.

Erastosthenes (c. 276-195 B.C.)
Greek mathematician, astronomer, and geographer who developed the technique for computing the earth’s circumference and compiled a star catalog.

The Desk Duck Visits Brazil

Mrs. Krall took our desk duck with her on her trip to Brazil. Check out the fun things they did together and post your answers to the math problems below.

 

1 Real (R$1) is equivalent to 60 cents. Each candle is 6 Reals (R$6). How much is that in American dollars?

 

1 kilogram is equivalent to 2.2 pounds. One bag of dried sugar cane is ½ of a kilogram. How many pounds are in each bag?



 

Each bag of dried mangoes costs R$4 or 3 bags for R$9. Which is the better deal and what is the ratio of bags to Reals when you buys 3 bags?

 

Fahrenheit is equal to the Celsius temperature x 9/5 + 32.
At the Japanese Garden, the water is 20 degrees Celsius at 3pm. Using the formula 20 x 9/5 + 32, what is the temperature in Fahrenheit.

 

At 5pm, the water was 15 degrees Celsius. Using the formula 15 degrees Celsius x 9/5 + 32, what was the temperature in Fahrenheit?

 

This Pagoda has 3 levels that are 2 meters each. If 1 meter equals 3.3 feet, how tall is the Pagoda in feet?

 

This bridge is 2 meters long. Using the formula: 1 meter = 3.3 feet,
How long is the bridge is feet.


 

The cost to get into this Brazilian Museum is $5.10 in Americam money. If 1 American dollar is equal to 1.7 Reals, how many Reals does it cost to get into the musuem?


 

The duck decided to try some coconut juice. It drank 100ml of coconut juice. If 50ml = 1.7 oz., how many ounces did the duck drink?


 

Ooops!!! The duck drank too much, but had a wonderful time in Sao Paulo and Caldas Novas Brazil!

Real Better Buy Problems

On Tuesday, I took a few students to our local Hy-Vee grocery store to find a few better buy problems. Here is what they came up with:

Organic vs. Non-Organic
 

Sweet Honey Crisp Apples $2.49/lb. (about 2 apples per pound)
Organic Gala Apples $1.69/lb. (about 2 apples per pound)


Store Brand vs. Name Brand
 

Hy-Vee Applesauce 48 oz. for $2.44
Musselmans’s Applesauce 48 oz. for $2.77


Fresh vs. Frozen
 

Sunkist Natural Orange Juice 15.2 oz. for $2.99
Frozen OJ concentrate 12 oz., makes 2 quarts, 2 cans for $3


Same Item in Different Sizes
 

Skittles 7.2 oz. for $1.99
Skittles 16.8 oz. for $2.99



Regular Candy vs. Halloween Candy
 

Halloween Milky Way Fun Size Bars 11.24 oz. for $3.23
Regular Milky Way Minis 11.5 oz. for $3.87