Presents an activity centering on Baravelle spirals in regular polygons to review and connect a number of algebraic and geometric topics, as well as to involve students in formal calculations, visualization, pattern discovery, series, estimation, and recursion. (MKR)

Presents an activity in which students estimate the weight and volume of one million dollars in notes and coins of various denominations. Also presents several geometry activities. Student worksheets for the activities are included. (JN)

Archimedes' method for estimating the value of pi is developed and compared with the Gregory-Machin infinite series method. Programs for the TI-81 calculator for finding the upper and lower bounds using the classical method and estimating pi using infinite series are provided.(Author/MKR)

This book uses foods as catalysts for learning mathematical concepts. Each hands-on activity in this math center suggests accessible, healthful, and easy-to-prepare foods to be used in school or at home. An introduction to parents and teachers includes supplies list, gobble-up germs poster, and food guide pyramid and serving information. The…

A variety of suggestions for making the mathematics curriculum more meaningful and interesting to students are described. Activities that incorporate real-world situations are provided for verbal items, common and decimal fractions, estimations and rounding off numbers, large and small numbers, geometry, probability, and statistics. (KR)

Discusses how students construct mental images that aid estimation skills in the measurement of angles. Reports research identifying four strategies that students use to estimate sizes of angles. Strategies include utilization of the mental images of (1) a protractor; (2) a right angle; (3) a half-turn; and (4) angles of a polygon. (MDH)

The Colorado Model Content Standards for Mathematics were designed to serve as a guide for school districts as they define standards that will enable every Colorado student to develop the mathematical literacy needed for citizenship and employment in the 21st century. A new vision is provided of the content students should study in order to…

This book was developed for teachers, youth group leaders, after-school child care providers, and parents, who may not have the time or the expertise to develop strategies for preparing students to be effective problem solvers. The content is organized in a pyramid style to make it easy to locate and grasp the information provided. Information on…

Presents the Morris Loe Angle Trisection Approximation Method to introduce students to areas of mathematics where approximations are used when exact answers are difficult or impossible to obtain. Examines the accuracy of the method using the laws of sines and cosines and a BASIC computer program that is provided. (MDH)

This book is one in a series of teacher resource books developed to: (1) rescue students from the clutches of computers that drill and control; and (2) supply teachers with computer activities compatible with a mathematics program that emphasizes investigation, problem solving, creativity, and hypothesis making and testing. This is not a book…

This unit is designed to acquaint elementary students with the way a computer operates and the way people communicate with computers. The format of the unit was designed so that the instruction can be provided by the classroom teacher. The lessons are constructed so that, with some teacher guidance, the students can work through them step by step.…

Shows that the experiment of the ancient Greek mathematician and geographer, Eratosthenes, can be replicated and used to teach geographic concepts. Eratosthenes calculated the most accurate ancient measurement of earth based on fundamental mathematics concepts and earth-sun relations. Includes instructions, illustrations, graphs, and historical…

This series of units is designed to help middle, junior high, and high school students use LOGO computer language as a tool to explore concepts in geometry, estimation and problem solving. The format of the unit was designed so that the instruction can be provided by the classroom teacher. The lessons are constructed so that, with some teacher…

One method (attributed to Archimedes) of approximating pi offers a simple yet interesting introduction to one of the basic ideas of numerical analysis, an iteration sequence. The method is described and elaborated. (PK)

Virtually every public issue depends on data, projections, inferences, and systemic thinking. Besides basic mathematics skills, numeracy (quantitative literacy) encompasses estimating tolerances and errors, constructing complex computer simulations, using flowcharts, drawing inferences, and calculating in three dimensions. The narrow…