Math + Play = Joy & Beauty 

Below is a growing collection of math to play with. 

Virtual Play

    Paper and Pencil Play

    Play With Your Math

    This website was created by two teachers in Massachusetts, who take problems that they love, and adapt them so that they are accessible to everyone. They design posters and handouts that hook you visually and explain the problem in just enough words. The problems that they pick require trying, struggling, failing, adjusting, and trying again until, finally, a discovery is made. Here are just a few examples of what you'll find:




    Sankaku Puzzles

    Sankaku puzzles are geometric based logic puzzles that focus on finding the area of a triangle. The goal of each puzzle is to connect three dots to form a triangle with the specified area.

    (See the list above for a virtual version of Sankaku puzzles using DESMOS)

     


    ZUKEI Puzzles

    Connect dots on each grid to create the specified geometric shape. 



     Learn how to make Spirolaterals!

      



    Teaching Math Play

    GAMES FOR YOUNG MINDS

    Games for Young Minds is a website with reviews of board games and free games by Kent Haines, a math teacher interested in how people learn through play. For each game he reviews, he describes how to play, where’s the math, and some good questions you can ask.


    MATH PICKLE

    Math Pickle is a free online resource of original mathematical puzzles, games and unsolved problems for teachers. Its visually compelling puzzles and games engage students in tough problem solving. Its puzzles are organized by grade and subject – each designed for a 45-60 minute period. All have low-floor, high-ceiling. 



    The above playlist is a series of short animated films created for the National Film Board of Canada:

    • Notes on a Triangle (1966), Rene Jodoin
    • Dance Squared (1961), Rene Jodoin
    • Perspectrum (1972), Ishu Patel
    • Lines Vertical (1960), Norman McLaren & Evelyn Lambart
    • Lines Horizontal (1962), Norman McLaren & Evelyn Lambart

    In this math-rich 5 part series, legendary animator Norman McLaren & Grant Munro explore the basic principles of animation. 

    Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching

    by Dan Finkel from Math 4 Love

    "Mathematics is not about following rules, it's about playing—and exploring, fighting, looking for clues, and sometimes breaking things. Einstein called play the highest form of research. A math teacher who lets their students play with math gives them the gift of ownership. Playing with math can feel like running through the woods when you were a kid. And even if you were on a path, it felt like it belonged to you... if you want to know how to nurture the mathematical instincts of your [students], play is the answer. What books are to reading, play is to mathematics.

    [A class] filled with blocks and puzzles and games and play is a [class] mathematical thinking can flourish. I believe we have the power to help mathematical thinking flourish everywhere. We can't afford to misuse math to create passive rule-followers. Math has the potential to be our greatest asset in teaching the next generation to meet the future with courage, curiosity, and creativity. And if students get a chance to expereince the beauty and power of authentic mathematical thinking, maybe it won't sound so strange when they say, 'Math? I actually love math.'"


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