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    Special Quarter Projects -  Each student must choose one problem from a set of three problems each quarter.

For instance, the first quarter projects of 2003-2004 were:

                    a.   Laura and her pet white rabbit, Sugar, had to figure out how many different ways the rabbit could jump up 15 steps, one or two steps at a time.
                        b.  There is an old problem called " Tower of Hanoi".  Therea are 25 disks on  three separate poles.  By following some rules, how many moves will it take to move all the disks to another pole?
                        c.   How many 9's are used in making the whole numbers from 1 to a trillion?

There are 6 steps that the students must complete to finish the project.

1.  Restate the problem in their own words (12 points)   What does that mean?  Take the original problem and state it in their own vocabulary.  Make plenty of changes.  Don't just change "steps" to "stairs" and think you've really put into your own words. Be creative.  Rearrange the sentences.  Do not change proper nouns (like Laura into Suzy), but use synonyms (like "bunny" for "rabbit").  Do not leave out importat data like 1 trillion or percents.

2.  Make a diagram (12 points).  What does this mean?  Make a picture of the original problem.  Type the original problem on the diagram, either right on the sheet or attached to the sheet.  Do not put the problem on the back.  Do not hand write it.  Keep the original problem on there, word for word.  Do not restate it (that's step 1 on another sheet of paper).  Use clip art if you want.   The main is that you can visualize what the problem entails.  If it's about 3 towers and 25 disks, draw 3 towers and 25 disks.   You do not have to draw the solution to the problem, just a picture of the original problem as it's stated.

3.  Show all calculations (12 points) Write down everything you did to solve the problem.  You may use a calculator, but you have to show what your steps were.

4.  Explain your reasoning (15 points) Explain WHY you added, subtracted, etc.  How did you know what to do?

5.  Make up a new problem (12 points) Write up a similar problem for someone else to solve.  Make enough changes to show that it is a different (but similar) problem.  If the original talked about rabbits jumping up some steps, have a frog jumping over some lily pads.

6.  Type the problem (12 points).  If you don't have a computer at home, plan on using your account on the school's computer.  Come in early, stay late, plan accordingly.

Extra Credit – Mr. Price

2000-2001

     You may choose from among the following items to do extra credit any time this year.   The topic is listed and the maximum amount of extra credit follows.  Talk to the teacher first to get an okay and then proceed!

1. Create a video along the theme of “Math Teacher as ………..”.  Think up an occupation and then make a video about it.   Example:  “Math Teacher as Olympic Ice Skater”, “Math Teacher as Beautician”, or “Math Teacher as All-Star Wrestler”.  Involve as many ideas as possible.  You may have up to 4 students in your group.  Each member will receive up to 30 points of extra credit.

2. Write a 2-3 page, double-spaced, research paper on a famous mathematician.  You must have at least 3 sources and document these in your bibliography.  The paper must be typed or printed out by a computer.  (25 points)

3. Make a crossword puzzle using at least 15 math words.  Include an answer key  (20 points).

4. Write a “Top Ten Reasons to Learn Math” list.  Be creative.  (10 points).

5. Write poem dealing with math.  (10 points) Perform for class (5 pts)

6. Teach a lesson on a topic of math to the class.  You must include a lesson plan describing what you are going to teach and how you are going to teach it.  (25 points)

7. Read the book, “Math Curse”, and write up your own version of “Math Curse”.   (25 points).

8. Do the problems in one of the sections of the textbook that we will not be covering.  See the teacher for details.  (10 points) 

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