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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Teaching Mathematics With Poetry: Some Activities, Alexis E. Langellier
Teaching Mathematics With Poetry: Some Activities, Alexis E. Langellier
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
During the summer of 2021, I experimented with a new way of getting children excited about mathematics: math poetry. Math can be a trigger word for some children and many adults. I wanted to find a way to make learning math fun—without the students knowing they’re doing math. In this paper I describe some activities I used with students ranging from grades K-12 to the college level and share several poem examples, from students in grades two to eight.
Math Girl Solves The Pattern, Zoe H. Austin, Jennifer K.M. Austin
Math Girl Solves The Pattern, Zoe H. Austin, Jennifer K.M. Austin
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
During COVID-19 isolation, Dr. Jennifer Austin and her seven-year-old daughter Zoe co-authored the short story Math Girl Solves the Pattern. Here we meet the superheroine Math Girl and her nemesis Minus Girl. Math Girl is observant, curious, and creative. Houses, balls, and sailboats are disappearing! The mystery must be solved. Persevering Math Girl saves the day.
What The Wasp Said, Hugh C. Culik
What The Wasp Said, Hugh C. Culik
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
On a bright spring day, the ancient building housing the English and Logic Departments begins to slowly collapse on itself, trapping McMann (an inept English professor) and Lucy Curt (a logician) in the office they share. As the Fibonacci repetitions of the building’s brickwork slowly peel away, McMann seizes the moment to tell Lucy stories about skunks, stories whose recurrent pattern finally leads to the unrecognized connection between a “message” burned into his ear by a wasp and the orderly universe for which he cannot find a language. At last, he looks up only to see Lucy descending a ladder, …
Wondering, Joanne Growney
Wondering, Joanne Growney
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
This 15-line poem speaks of the ways that motherhood (in contrast with fatherhood) might limit creativity and publication. The lines of the poem have syllable counts that follow the Fibonacci Numbers: 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-13-8-5-3-2-1-1.