Little Red School House
and Elisabeth Irwin High School

A Pre-K-12 Progressive Education

Our Mission in Action

Let’s Talk Math!

Michelle Boehm, Middle School Mathematics Teacher, Math Department Chair

A comment that I often hear from parents is, “I don’t know how to help my child with math.” To that I usually respond, “Perhaps you’re thinking about this the wrong way. One of the best ways you can help your child develop their mathematical thinking is to simply “talk math.” Math is all around us, so taking a minute to notice it would definitely promote some interesting math conversations. For example, standing on the lunch line last week, Pat Higgiston (MS/HS math teacher) and I noticed a box of Romanesco broccoli, a great example of fractals in nature. Recently, I asked 8th graders the following question, “Using an 8.5 by 11 piece of paper, can you construct cylinders with different volumes?”

The immediate answer was, “No, because no matter what you do, it’s the same size piece of paper.” They then set out to prove their conjecture and discovered that they were incorrect. Two students were so inspired that they actually went home and continued their investigation. They constructed some cylinders, and used rice to test their thinking. How great is that!

Fostering mathematical discourse in a classroom is an important component to building confidence and risk-taking. Sharing thoughts, trying to convince others that an answer makes sense, and asking questions of each other allows for different entry points into math discussions. Similarly, at home, adults can help with homework by asking:

How is this related to what you’ve done in class?
Can you make a guess?
Can you explain what you’ve done?
I tried it too and got a different answer. Can we look at this together?

You don’t need to have the answers and should shy away from giving answers. Doing some problem-solving together, modeling what to do when stuck, is a valuable lesson in itself.

Margaret Andrews (MS math teacher) and I have led a few Math Trails with both high school students and adults. A Math Trail is a walk with a number of stops and at each stop a mathematical observation is made or question asked. We’ve done this along Spring Street and across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Participants were encouraged to widen their visual scope, including looking up and down, and to really try to zoom in on the math all around them. Examples of our Math Trail questions included:

Starting in Manhattan, can you cross each bridge and tunnel only once and visit each of the boroughs?

These Roman numerals appear atop the Manhattan Municipal Building. What year is represented? Did you know that the Romans had a way to represent fractions?

Why aren’t manhole covers square?

Always fun to see mathematical notation in unexpected places. (If you’re not familiar with factorial notation, click here.)

One of the more accessible Math Trails can be found in your local, neighborhood supermarket. There are math questions or curiosities in every aisle:

What do those unit rate tags on the shelving mean?

What’s the better buy, the small or large box of cereal?
How much pasta do you need for the class potluck?
Can you estimate the bill as you go?
What does 25% more of that roll of paper towel mean?
Is the cylindrical container for Quaker Oats oatmeal the best packaging

Another obvious entry point into a math discussion is personal finance. Allow me to share two recent math moments in my home: my husband asking me when a monthly metrocard is the better deal and my son wanting to talk about the details of choosing and managing a credit card. I was very excited to have both conversations! You see where I’m going with all this? We have access to math, and “do math” many times a day. I challenge you to change your perspective a bit and take some time to look at the world (or your life) through your math lens. You may be surprised by what you see and by all means, ask the math question or share the curiosity.

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