Mathematics 171, Winter, 2004
Geometry for Elementary Teachers

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Instructor: Dr. Virginia M. Warfield
Office: Padelford C-437
Office Hours: Mondays 12:30-1:30; Wednesdays 1-2
Email: warfield@math.washington.edu
Telephone: 543-7445

Teaching Assistant

Joan Lind
Padelford C-108

Office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 4, and by appointment

Project Descriptions

PROJECTS: OUTLINES AND TIMELINES

Project 1

Our most elaborate project will be helping Leschi Elementary School run a pair of Math Fairs. These will be family events that take place from 6:30 to 8:00 on March 9 and 11, one for grades K-2, and one for grades 3-5. Groups of Leschi students will be in charge of "booths" or tables at each of which there will be some enticing mathematical activity. You will be helping the students by first designing the activities (with my help!), then spending an hour and a half one day teaching a group of them how to do the activity you designed and then being in the background during the fair itself. In preparation, we will spend all or part of a class before then doing a Preview Fair and checking out (and possibly helping modify) each other's activities.

Here is my proposed timeline. Note that I am well aware that there are going to be glitches -- in particular that for some of you it may be completely impossible to schedule the events at Leschi itself. We will deal with that one case at a time (but we will deal!)

February 4 I hope to have a list of times the teachers at Leschi could make groups of kids available for coaching. I will allow class time for you to find a partner who is free for the same Fair evening (either March 9 or March 11) and for the same coaching time.

February 11 you and your partner will give me a sketch of your planned activity.

February 18 we will have a class Pre-Fair to check them out.

Sometime between February 23 and March 5 you and your partner will go to Leschi during the school day and coach a bunch of students.

March 9 or 11 (or both!) from 6:30 to 8:00 you will take part in the Fair.

Project 2:

Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott.

You should read it by February 11 and turn in a one page book review.
Then for February 18 you will write a chapter of a sequel to Flatland, or a variant of Flatland. This we will discuss in a lot more detail after you have read the book itself.


Project 3 is going to be a construction project. My original idea was simply to make it variations on akaleidoscope, but it seems to me that some of you in the course of exploring might well come up with geometrical things you would be more interested in constructing. If enough people come up with projects that have a puzzle or challenge component we will spend all or part of a class day admiring each other's -- but not if everybody opts to do the same thing.
These will probably be due March 8.

Make-up Work

Format: for both the assignments and the FURs, if you have completed 70-79%, you owe me one assignment from the list below, 60-69%, two assignments, 50-59%, three assignments, etc.

The List:

#1 Read §9.6 (pp. 217 - 226) and hand in problems 1 and 2 from page 226.

#2 OPTIONAL If you have access to a geoboard and another player, do Class Activity 9U from the Class Activity book and report on the results.

#3 Read §9.9 (pp. 244 - 251) and hand in problems 1 and 2 from page 251.

#4 From page 253 - 255, hand in #4, 6, and 7.

#5 From page 256, hand in problems 9 - 11

#6 Read §9.7 (pp. 227 - 235) and hand in #2 - 4 on page 235.