Week 6

DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS IN MATH CLASS

1. Find a fourth “target” word that’s related to each of the three words:

   Show……….. Life…………. Row……….

   Cracker………Fly…………...Fighter…….

   Dream………..Break………...Light………

2. A man who lived in a small town married twenty different women of the same town. All are still living and he never divorced a single one of them. Yet, he broke no law. Can you explain?
3. Find ten coins. Arrange the ten coins so that you have five rows, with four coins in each row. How will you do it?

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Week 2

DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS IN MATH

Dear Students and Parents,
Last week we discussed brainstorming and learned how our thought process works. We started by discussing: What can a computer be used for when it is turned OFF? At first students had a really hard time thinking of anything a computer could be used for when it wasn’t even turned on, but as we continued they were able to come up with several ideas. Through this exercise the students were able to explore the principles of brainstorming and brainwriting.

We also looked at how the way we phrase a question or a problem plays a significant role in how we solve the problem or answer the question.

Week 1 Challenge
Patches of water lilies double in area every twenty-four hours. On the first day of summer, there is one water lily on the lake. Sixty days later, the lake is completely covered with water lilies. On which day is the lake half covered?

Some students were confused by wording such as: double, twenty-four, and sixty. The phrasing of the problem led many to believe they needed to divide sixty days by 2 to get the 30^th day as the correct answer. However, the correct answer is: The lilies cover half the pond on the next to the last day. Through this problem we learned the importance of rephrasing the problem and putting it into our own words. Well done Brian, Sivapol, and Enok!

This week we looked at some challenges that illustrate how some puzzles require a sudden spark of insight to solve. My math teacher used to say that a good math problem takes about two to three days to solve. I still remember the joy and excitement I felt when I solved those problems =) Psychologist who researched creative insight say that some problems are solved suddenly when you least expect it. So I recommend that students read these problems carefully, cut them out and put them on your fridge, and think about them for awhile. You may not get them right away – but don’t give up! The second problem took me a couple of hours to think over, and my husband solved it in just 3 minutes =)

Week 2 Challenge

1. The Nine Dot Problem: Connect the nine dots with four connected straight lines without lifting your pencil from the paper.

   . . .

   . . .

   . . .

2. Imagine that you’re a gardener, and your client tells you to plant four trees. But the client wants each tree to be exactly the same distance from each of the other three. How will you do it?

This newsletter, as well as a calendar with Math and Bible assignments, can now be viewed on the school website www.mdis.net. Please click Class news and then the Grade.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Tania Thakur

References:
Michalko, M., 2001. Cracking Creativity: The secrets of creative genius. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, California.
Sawyer, K., 2007. Group Genius: The Creative power of collaboration. Basic Books: New York.

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Week 2

DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS IN MATH

Dear Students and Parents,
Happy New Year 2009! May this be a PEACEFUL year for all of us!
This quarter in my Math class, besides working on our regular curriculum, we will be working on THINKING SKILLS. Every week we will be discussing different thinking strategies to see how we can apply them to become more efficient and creative in different areas of our lives.
The thinking strategies we are going to look at include:

• Knowing how to see
• Making your thoughts visible
• Thinking fluently
• Making novel combinations
• Connecting the unconnected
• Looking at the other side

The students will also learn to appreciate the “collective intelligence,” or the team work. They will see how the intelligence of a group is greater than the intelligence of an individual.
Here is the first challenge that will help the students realize how the words and chains of words that we use in framing a problem play a significant role in the way we approach problems. The second problem will help the students understand the principles of brainstorming and brainwriting.

Week 1 Challenge

1. Patches of water lilies double in area every twenty-four hours. On the first day of summer, there is one water lily on the lake. Sixty days later, the lake is completely covered with water lilies. On which day is the lake half covered?
2. What can a computer be used for when it is off?
   Math is one of the best ways to sharpen your brain. Have fun!

Mrs. Tania Thakur

References:
Michalko, M., 2001. Cracking Creativity: The secrets of creative genius. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, California.
Sawyer, K., 2007. Group Genius: The Creative power of collaboration. Basic Books: New York.

Science Activities for Grade 6
This is good opportunity for grade 6 in this academic year(2008-2009) to learn about Observing GOD's World: the text leads students from the Known to the unknown by teaching important Science Concepts Within the Context of things they See and Know the aim in the first quarter was to learn about Plants and animals/a variety of invertebrates.they did productives in the 1st Quarter and they would like to present them to.

Andrew is very excited to display his seed Collection	Sivapol Collection from seeds
My tree's fruit gives nutrients that help to strengthen the Teeth	My tree is important because it's sap is used to make Maple sugar and Maple Syrup.