This document provides an overview of hands-on math teaching methods. It discusses using the local playground to teach math concepts like calculating the slope of a slide. It also presents activities like drawing soldier figures to represent the order of operations and using cut-out shapes to demonstrate decimal conversions. Teaching probability is discussed alongside visual aids like certain, likely, 50/50, unlikely and impossible.

1. Welcome To Hands-on
Math
Instructor: Jeremiah Dyke
http://handsonmath.blogspot.com/
Burn The Tex tbooks, Shred The Worksheets,
Teach Math.

2. Who Am I?
Author, Educator,
User of Hands on
Math.
handonmath@gmail.
com

3. Here are Some Great Pics
Of Our Site

4. Playground Math
Why should other subjects recieve a monopoly on
fieldtrips? Take your students to the playground outside
your school or within the nearest park and teach them
math Your local playground offers so much in terms of
teaching mathematics. It simply takes some thought.
Some examples,The Slide:
• Calculate the slope of the slide by using tape to plot x/y
corrdinates.
• Notice the triangle that is formed beneath the slide,
calcualte the area that is formed
• calculate side of the right triangle using c^2 = a^2 +
b^2.
• Have students make their own playground on
construction paper out of only triangles
• find a polynominal that expresses the slide and
calculate the distance traveled down the slite after t
seconds
• What type of line is the slide, linear, so what is its
highest exponent? Is the slope positive or negative?
• The slide itself is a rectangle, calculate the area and
perimeter or calculate how many sudents could fit into
the slide at one time----> try it (be careful of course)

10. Real Number Maze

12. Order of Opperations

13. Parenthesis: The General
Exponents: The Colonel
Multiplication/Division: The Sergeant
Addition/Subtraction: The Private
A great activity would be for you to have your students draw each soldier and label them Parenthesis:
The General, Exponents: The Colonel, Multiplication/Division: The Sergeant and Addition/
Subtraction: The Private.
Now take this problem as an example:
(4 + 3) + 2^2 x 6 and ask what is the generals command? What is the Colonels command? What is the
Sergeants command? Wha is the Privates order?

14. This is my favorite way of distinguishing between complementary and supplementary angles. First, we know that
complementary angles are two angles whose sum is 90 degrees. Likewise, supplementary angles are two angles whose sum is
180 degrees.
First ask what name comes to mind when you hear the word complementary…complement. Ask who can you give a
complement to? Can you give a complement to your grandmother on her 90th birthday? What about on her 180th birthday?
Perfect! So, you can only give complements to 90 year old grandmothers, thus, complementary angles can only by 90 degree
angles.

15. When teaching decimals conversions: “W” or the “butt cheek”
method?
I personally like the butt cheek method. Nevertheless, a good way to practice this is to actually cutout a upper case W or a Butt
Cheek and have the students place them on the decimals to percentage problems

21. Teaching Probability Of Events (Likely, Impossible, Certain,
Etc)
This is an easy way of teaching your students to distinguish between Certain, Likely, 50/50, Unlikely and Impossible