Monday 31 October 2011

Year 1 mathematics resources

All worksheets mathematics for year 1 must be found by clicking on the link for free math worksheets at the top of the page. The worksheets are organized into categories according to the directives of the primary framework for mathematics, although this is now revised.

The categories are:

Counting and number: watching small numbers in steps of one count and write numbers.

Some facts to know: count on and back in two and knowing addition facts to 5.

Calculation: including small numbers, and an introduction to add money

Understanding form: in this stage recognition of triangles, rectangles and squares, as well as the introduction of some 3D shapes

Measuring: using non-default measures and compare

Treatment data: mainly creating lists

Using and applying mathematics: number of stories and investigations.

While there is a significant amount of here is that it is next to nothing compared to the URBrainy site the best that I found online, with more than 1,700 colorful pages of mathematics for the year 1 is have, including full answers.

Go to our year 1 mathematics resources

Thursday 27 October 2011

Mathematics resources: Written addition

One of the most popular parts of the site for parents is our free math worksheets: four rules pages on written addition.

Many parents think that the methods they learned at school (and for many this would in the 1990s) different from today. This is only partially true. Since the beginning of the numeracy strategy and later that the primary framework for mathematics has been the emphasis on the preparation of children so they understand the written methods that they use. There's a lot of preparatory work and methods, often called "the pursuit of the standard written method ' so that cannot be known to parents, but the end result is pretty much the same. It is this intermediate stages which some parents find puzzling.

The default method is written the layout the sum vertically, with numbers will be added under each other. The units are added first, then the trans-European networks and so on. We have several worksheets to illuminate this method completely.

Go to written methods of addition

Sunday 23 October 2011

Fast printing: chart, grids, and Dot paper

Can't make it to your stationary shop? Some isometric paper needed? graph paper? grid paper? No worries, it's okay here. Four grids per page or per a grid page, you will find some quick PDF is printed here. dotted grids with or without numbers, everything to your homework needs is here, only thing needed is your printer and paper.


Thursday 20 October 2011

Building better Math teachers

Many educational jurisdictions have school improvement programmes in place to improve the overall performance in mathematics., however, what does this look like?

A change in curriculum? A change in the developmental sequence of concepts learned? Hiring more qualified teachers? Larger blocks of time spent on teaching mathematics?Providing professional development to existing mathematics teacher?

A professor and Chairman of mathematics education in the Faculty of education, Dr. Brent Davis has a few answers, I am inclined to support. Davis claims "We can build a better math teacher." "But it's more about the fascinating Deconstructing concepts than about learning more advanced math or involved in solving problems with each other." Science daily.

Teachers who work with teachers in support of the evidence and research-based strategies takes time and money, but it seems that the benefits are there, but all too often that a teacher wants to learn in the way they were taught, however with the support, mentoring and ongoing professional development, it seems we may ' build better teachers. "


Monday 17 October 2011

Maximize summer holiday

Teachers often complain about the lag in learning when students come back from summer vacation. There really doesn't need to be a delay as learning during the summer in a fun and engaging way. Especially so with mathematics.

The Math Playground is interactive and offers practice in fractions, decimals, percent, angles, early algebra, trig, multiplication and much more. If children just spent 15 or so minutes 4 or 5 times per week, the results will surprise you and will most definitely keep happy teachers. Although worksheets fine for practice, they are not a lot of fun and holidays are taking a break and some fun! ?


Friday 14 October 2011

Year 6 maths worksheet: Equivalent fractions

equivalent fractions pg 1

Insight into equivalent fractions is the core of understand how fractions work. Much work needs to be done in previous years to show that fractions such as 1/2 and 2/4 have the same value. This is usually done by colors or shading parts of rectangles, circles.

Two fractions that are equal in value that we say are are equivalent.

2/5 is equal to 4/10 which is equivalent to 40/100.

If we start with a group and both the numerator (top number) as the denominator (bottom number) multiplied by the same number remains the break with the same value. The same goes with Division, but not add or subtract.

This makes multiplying fractions much easier than adding or subtracting from them.

Equivalent fractions (pg 1)

Sunday 9 October 2011

Strings 2011

Strings 2011 began today in Uppsala, with presence quite a bit lower than in the past (259 registered participants, versus 500 or so on some of the past such conferences). One reason for this may be the cost of the Conference on high (discussed here), another possible that excellent video of the talks is available, so why bother travel to Uppsala?

The opening talk was by David Gross, who tried to address the question "where do we stand?" for string theory. He claimed that the field is "very healthy", "lively and exciting", "enormous progress in a variety of areas", with "huge progress" in N = 4 flat nr. At the same time, he acknowledged that it was "very disappointing" that string theory was 43 years old.

Strings XXXX conferences featured in the past, often a call for progress towards making predictions which could be tested on the LHC. With LHC data now, gross acknowledged that this has been a failure: there are no string theory LHC predictions. He put a positive spin on this by noting that the absence of any BSM signal on the LHC so far not a concern for string theory, since string theory cannot be tested on the LHC. As for the absence of any supersymmetry signal so far, he says that "I personally am not still concerned", while acknowledging that some people are becoming increasingly pessimistic. While no SUSY not a concern for string theory is, he feels that "it would be very nice for string theory as SUSY appeared". Presumably, he bets on SUSY at the LHC, but he gave no indication of when he would begin to worry (or the bets pay) as SUSY remains there are not.

The main area of progress he sees is the usual gauge-gravity duality that has dominated the field for years, along with progress in N = 4 SYM amplitudes. He sees the Verlinde "entropic Gravity" as an "exciting development I find immensely interesting". Apparently later this week to discuss Verlinde his latest ideas which supposedly an explanation of dark energy and dark matter.

Gross went on quickly the questions about string theory he first raised in a similar talk 26 years ago, which usually are unanswered, including the basic "what is string theory?". The supplementary questions raised by attempts to understand the emergence of space time in the background of a deSitter were a factor that inspired him to end up with the quote that:

The main product of the knowledge is ignorance.

To which he added "after 43 years of string theory, it would be nice to have some answers."

Surprisingly, not a word of gross on great ape or the multiverse. I assume that he is still an opponent, but perhaps feels that there is no point in beating a dying horse. Susskind is not there and oddly enough, the only multiverse-related conversations are from the two speakers brought to do public lectures (Brian Greene and Andrei Linde, hawking's health has kept him from a scheduled appearance of). So is the multiverse with a large proportion of the public profile of the Conference, but pretty well suppressed on the scientific sections. It is also pretty well suppressed "string phenomenology", or any attempt to use string theory to do integration. From 35 or so conversations I see only a few related to this, which is still the advertised primary objective of string theory.

I'm curious about the discussions of Witten, Gaiotto and Gukov, which I hope provides a gentle introduction to their intriguing recent long papers on the arXiv. As far as I find time to watch discussions this week and have comments about them, I will try and add updates to this post.

Update: after most of the discussions online look, is the most notable thing about Strings 2011 how little there is about string theory. One of the speakers, Chris Hull, began his speech with the comment:

During the lunch today was one of the organizers observe that my talk was unusual in one of the few actually talks about string theory. It would be interesting to speculate about what that could mean about the condition of the field, but it would be shameful to do here.

One of the main themes of the Conference so far has been the study of mathematically interesting supersymmetric QFTs in 3, 4, 5 and 6 dimensions, often obtained from a specific class of 6 d theories, which itself remain poorly understood (what is known about them was reviewed by Greg Moore). Witten gave an overview of his work relating Khovanov Homology and QFT, where a chain of different 6 d, 5 d, 4 d, 3D and 2d QFTs. Nati Seiberg reviewed the technology used for the construction of these theories over different backgrounds, noting that this was all about "rigid" SUSY theories and Supergravity, string theory create no appearance.

Update: the videos of the talks are all now. I took a look at the Verlinde spoken, and the ideas he sets still seems to me pretty much empty of all important content. In Jeff Harvey's summary of the Conference he notes that many people have noted that the Conference has not been a lot of string theory. About the landscape is his comment that "personally, I think it's probably not possible to do science in this way." He describes the situation of string theory unification as the Monty Python parrot "no, he is not dead, he rest." while some hope that a miracle will take place on the LHC or in the study of string vacua, revival of the Parrot to speak out.

That the summary main speaker at the Conference for a field the State of the main public motivation for the field as similar to that of the parrot in the Monty Python sketch would compare is pretty remarkable. In the sketch, the whole joke is the Parrot's seller reluctance, no matter what, admit that what he sold was a dead parrot. It is a good analogy, but surprisingly that Harvey would use.


Tuesday 4 October 2011

Year 3 mental arithmetic Sets 3 and 4

Two sets of mental arithmetic questions suitable for 2 years. These sets of 10 questions relate to the count and back in dozens, addition, subtraction, and place value.

I have been asked for more in the way of mental arithmetic questions on many occasions and as the weeks go by this must be in a really useful resource. I'm also trying to match the questions to the primary framework for mathematics Planning, so this could be particularly relevant for the first few weeks of the autumn term.

Year 3_Mental arithmetic (3 and 4)