KS3/4 Maths - Juggling with Algebra
Year 7 pupils at St Edward's school get an inspiring introduction to number sequences and algebra courtesy of one teacher's juggling skills.
Head of maths Ian Vallance spotted the potential of resident juggler and colleague Nicholas Hyde, and decided he could use them to create a stimulating and memorable maths lesson.
In this programme, Nicholas Hyde who is head of science, teaches the Year 7 maths pupils how to analyse juggling techniques to introduce number sequences and algebra.
He explains to the pupils that the juggling world has an accepted notation for the patterns that can be successfully thrown.
This is based on the comparative units of height to which objects need to be thrown by the left and the right hand.
The pupils have a go at juggling and begin to realise the various permutations that are possible and the number patterns involved. The teacher moves them towards what the permutations would be when they don't know how many balls are available.
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FacebookDavid Moffat on 15 July 2008
Very entertaining, but does anybody check to see if they learn any better as a result ...
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- Duration: 15:00 minutes
- Published: 13 August 2007
- Licence information for KS3/4 Maths - Juggling with Algebra
- Next showing on TV: 11:00 16 February 2010
Featured in
Support Materials
Downloads
Useful websites
Juggling equipment A large range of quality equipment that can be bought online or at stores in London and Brighton
MAA Online: Ivars Peterson?s MathTrek Article on juggling in maths
SiteSwap Some background to the maths of juggling
JONGL A downloadable animated juggling simulator if you haven't got a juggler on hand! (website partly in German)
How to juggle Virtual animated juggling lessons
Comments
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juggling With Algebra15 July 2008 - 11:48Very entertaining, but does anybody check to see if they learn any better as a result
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Siteswap notation30 June 2008 - 21:25Thanks for the comments Vincent - I'm "the fellow juggling five balls" and to be honest I've never learnt the proper siteswap notation so your link was really interesting. Our objective in the lesson is not to teach siteswap but to help the pupils see the patterns and develop the pupils abilities to see how a mathematical model links to the real world...but maybe we shouldn't have called it 'siteswap' if it's not the same as the "proper" notation!
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Thought I might throw this18 April 2008 - 04:48Thought I might throw this in here
http://www.jugglingdb.com/compendium/geek/notation/siteswap/understanding.html
Good program for the kids. But the math used was actually wrong. The link above has a description of juggling 'siteswaps' or juggling math. It was developed by mathmeticians that were interested in juggling.
I was a little suprised that the fellow juggling five balls didn't know it. A 2 is a hold (usually) in the hand and a 10 is generally called an A.
Maybe the guide can help you in further developing your learning plan.
Obviously, this comes from a juggler that uses the system. Ask him if he can do (8x,6) :)
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juggling with algebra19 September 2007 - 18:59excellent idea, now all i need is someone able to juggle!!
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Re : Juggling27 September 2007 - 12:14Hi Rasty,
Glad you liked the ideas. There is a web site called 'jongl' which is a virtual programmable juggler. He makes even less mistakes than Nick and is free to down load. I had hoped that they would have included this in the program unfortunately time didn't allow.
Cheers
Ian Vallance
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Re : Juggling with algebra18 November 2007 - 17:16Hi Ian
i realy liked the program. i am thinking of introducing this kind of idea into my teaching. could you share some more please?
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Juggling with algebra18 November 2007 - 09:17GREAT HELP
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