Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Can Chess Help Me Become Better At Math?



In class we have been playing a lot of chess. Anytime we are finished our work for the day, away go the pencils and note books and out come the checkered boards. At first, many of you didn't know how to play chess at all, but very quickly you have learned the moves and the strategy behind the game.

Have you every asked the question, what does chess have to do with math? Just like Math, chess requires the ability to problem solve. In Math you learn formulas and steps, in chess you learn the moves of each piece - these things do not change and are constant; however, even though we may memorize our formulas or chess moves, outcomes are always changing and our brains have to adapt to a real-life math problem you've never encountered before or a chess move you have never seen.

What do you think of Chess, do you think it will help you with your Math skills? Parents, here is a link to a great article about the benefits of chess for students.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Welcome to Fractions!

Welcome to the beginning of our Fractions Unit. Over the next 6 weeks we will be taking a look at how to represent, compare and how to add, subtract and multiple fractions. Check out the pencast for a quick introduction.
Mr. C Pencast
This pencast is flash enabled and will not work on iphones or ipads Livescribe