SamizdatMath

Do you want to know what the problem is with all that math you think you're "teaching?" It's missing something, and no, it's not "standards," or "aims" or "concision" or cryptocurrency. No, it's missing something far more important. AND, would you like to use a measurement system used by 98% of all the countries in the world? Your math is missing "ambiguity." And the metric system! Let's look at how your textbook is probably teaching area and perimeter. It probably states the definition, and th

This activity is based on data collected by PolitiFact, a non-partisan group of reporters and editors that check the veracity of factual statements by presidential candidates. The students will look at a set of bar graphs and answer questions about which presidential candidates tells the most kinds of truths and lies. The students then take the data and turn them into a stacked histogram that ranks the statements from "True" to "Pants on Fire" lies. It's fun AND educational!

You have a locked briefcase that you want to send to your friend on the other side of the country. You put a lock on it and keep the key around your neck. There is no second key, you can't duplicate this key, and you don't want to send it to your friend, because you're afraid it might get lost or stolen. How does your friend open the case? That's a question that has a lot of relevance to the use of prime numbers! But I digress: this is a set of activities designed to enhance your students' un

Since the first modern Olympics in 1896, runners in the 100 meter sprint have been setting records on a regular basis, earning the title of the "fastest human on earth." How long can these records be broken? Will there eventually be a runner who can do the 100 meter sprint in just a few seconds? This activity shows students how the change from measuring time from tenths of a second to hundredths of a second allowed more records to be broken, and that by graphing these records, the new records ca