UPDATE: I need to be more fluid with the due dates as the school media center is not open yet for checking out books due to circumstances beyond their control. When the school library opens for student use, I will put forward reasonable due dates. However, all students are strongly encouraged to do these steps as they can, and students are not limited to using only the school media center. Some students (and I know their families have helped) have already selected their mathematician and found three excellent sources. THANK YOU. I am so impressed with your commitment to your child’s education. I want you to know how much I appreciate your support and involvement in making this school year a success for your child.
Hello Oxbow Talons,
Please read this information carefully. It contains directions for your 1st 9 weeks project.
I AM…
You, one of the world’s famous mathematicians, will be writing your “auto”biography and publishing it on your own page in our wiki located here at http://soms.wikispaces.com.
You will also appear in person on a date yet to be selected in our classroom’s living history math museum. This will be the equivalent of a rock concert for all your adoring fans (and parents and community members) who will want to hear straight from the horse’s mouth all about your life and most important mathematical discovery(ies).
In order to be ready, here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Select a famous mathematician using the following criteria:
- You are genuinely interested in this person.
- This person made an important contribution to the field of mathematics OR they used mathematics extensively AND critically (couldn’t have managed to do what they did without math) to accomplish their most well-known achievement(s).
- This person may be living or deceased (dead).
- You are able to locate at least three (3) different, reliable, trustworthy sources of information about this person. At least one source MUST be from a book. Other sources may include non-internet-based encyclopedias with the following exceptions.
ONLINE encyclopedias you MAY use:
www.britannica.com
www.worldbookonline.com
Grolier’s online encyclopedia
MSN Encarta Encyclopedia
Smithsonian Encyclopedia
The MacTutor History of Mathematics Click on Biographies Index in left hand margin.
ONLINE encyclopedias you may NOT use:
www.wikipedia.com
or any online encyclopedia NOT included on the approved list above
2. On an index card, write and turn in to the appropriate homework basket in the back of the room:
- your name (first and last), (1 point)
- Period___, (1 point)
- the name of the mathematician you selected, (1 point)
- the titles, authors, publishers, and ISBN numbers of the 3 books or encyclopedias you found that reference this mathematician. (12 points)
- the reason you chose this person, (1 point)
- one interesting fact you’ve discovered about this mathematician so far. (1 point)
Complete Steps 1 and 2 by September 1, 2008.
3. Receive approval to go ahead with your project from Ms. Walsh. (3 points, if first submission approved)
Complete Step 3 by September 8, 2008.
(Students who do not receive approval on their first selection, may have until September 8, 2008, to select a mathematician and receive project approval.)
Need ideas? Google “famous mathematicians”, visit your local public library, browse the biographies and autobiographies sections and mathematics sections at a local bookstore, visit the school library.
