The Game of Hex – an Online Resource
Here’s a nice online version of the popular strategy game Hex. It’s one of the this collection of 100 JavaScript games to play online. The MathsClass blog mentions it in an April 2009 blog entry. It’s possible to demonstrate how to play Hex to a class if you have an LCD projector, and you can [...]
KenKen Construction – Building Puzzles in the Classroom
My classes spent part of the today creating their own KenKen puzzles. The enthusiasm and results exceeded my expectations. Here is the five-step process we used: 1. Draw a 4×4 grid. You can use a 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” scratch paper (1/2 normal size) and have kids create a 4″ square. Then subdivide this into sixteen [...]
Friday Afternoon Lifesavers – the Teacher’s Best Friend; Part 1, Equation Search
Friday Afternoon Lifesavers are exactly what they sound like: at the end of the week when you and your students are running out of gas, these activities come to the rescue. They are mathematical, engaging, fun, and give the teacher a much-needed break. Equation Search can be used with many different levels of students. Its [...]
Triple Nine Wall Clock – Student Work
Here are almost two dozen clocks made of nothing but nines! Students use three 9′s instead of traditional numerals for the clock faces. Click the graphic below to view these neat products of student creativity. I’m using Google’s image hosting service, Picasa, to post these images online. It’s a free service that’s easy to use [...]
Triple Nine Wall Clock – Answers for a Great Lesson Plan
My classes just finished working on their Triple Nine Wall Clocks and would like to share some of their solutions for getting the integers from one through twelve. They found several ways to find most of the clock numbers, and your students likely will also. They turned in their projects today. Once I’ve scanned and [...]
Triple Nine Wall Clock – a Timely Student Math Challenge for Clockwatchers
Here’s a neat challenge for your students: Ask them to find a way to represent each of the positive integers from 1 through 12 using exactly three 9′s. This puzzle is a variation of the Four 4′s puzzle: Write each of the positive integers using exactly four 4′s. Some sample answers include the following. 1 [...]
KenKen Activity Masters from the New York Times Teach Your Students Numerical Reasoning
Here are twelve ready-to-hand-out masters you can use to teach your students numerical and logical reasoning skills while they solve these intriguing puzzles. Students love these puzzles, view them as games, and enjoy them tremendously. Classroom management problems are almost nonexistent; one of the only issues is that some students want to keep working on [...]
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