Tag Archives: Math

Geometry Magic

Howdy. Are you visiting from the Student Blogging Challenge? Please, go here.

Of all the strands of math, I think I love Space and Shape (2-d shapes, 3-objects, and transformations) the most. I like to notice how the shape of objects appears to change as my perspective changes. I still remember how exciting it was to learn to create the illusion of three dimensions on a piece of paper when I was first shown how to draw a 3-D box when I was nine. It was just a bunch of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines! Geometry is magic!

The film below was made by Rene Jodoin, a Canadian animator at the National Film Board of Canada, in 1966, long before the age of computers. The  stop-motion animated paper cut-out technique he used required that each movement was done manually. It must have been complex to plan and carry out–notice how beautifully the music and images flow together.

When we watched this as a class there were plenty of oooohs and aaahhs–this is such a simple idea, but look at the endless variation.

We will be starting our geometry projects soon…this film and others like it are terrific inspiration.

Can I Help Someone By Playing a Game?

Maybe…

Take a look at this site called Free Rice. Read “How to Play” on the right-hand side.

The first page of the game tests vocabulary. Notice that you can listen to the word that you are defining. You can also change the subject and play games using multiplication, famous paintings, or world geography.

What do you think?

Is it worth playing a game that donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for each answer you get right? Post your opinon on the blog!