Build Math Confidence   February 2015 Volume 69
 Blog Post: Kings Have Diamonds...Metric-to-Metric Conversion
How do your students remember metric conversions?  My favorite was found in the South Bronx on a middle school teacher's desk while I was observing a student teacher: "Kings Have Diamonds man Diamonds Cost Money" A more popular mnemonic is "King Henry Died by Drinking Chocolate Milk".  The metric system is so brilliant because it uses base 10 (like the number of digits we have on our hands).
Upcoming Conferences/Presentations 
Tuesday February 3 Association of Math Teachers of NJ Monroe NJ
Tuesday March 3 Everyone Reading Conference CUNY Graduate Center, NYC
Sat March 14 Ten County Math Conference North Rockland High School, Thiells, NY
Fri March 20 Precalculus and More Conference Rutgers New Brunswick, NJ 
PARCC Sample Test Items!!
Which is more exciting?  A list of topics (ho hum) or actual sample questions (yippee!).  See the blog post above for a 5th grade Math item.  Seeing the types of questions our students will need to know is what excites Math teachers! With the new Common Core, it is more important than ever for teachers, students and parents to see the content. 
Moleskine Notebooks
When you get an idea, where do you put it? And more importantly, do you know where it is?  In the digital age, there are more places to store ideas and notes. The Moleskine is "the heir and successor to the legendary notebooks used by by artists and thinkers over the last two centuries like van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway."  Moleskine is "providing an indispensable counterpart to the new and portable technology of today. "
Moleskine notebook that works with Evernote
My Favorite Moleskine: Blue Softcover
Brain Teaser
When can you add 2 to eleven and get 1?

Click here for the question and solution to January's Brain Teaser (answer is December 31st)

 

Thanks, Robin the Math Lady Schwartz

www.mathconfidence.com