Festival Fun and MathematicsAuthor(s): Jerald L. MikesellSource: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 26, No. 5 (January 1979), pp. 40-41Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41187752 .

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Festival Fun and Mathematics By Jerald L. Mikeseil

What causes some of the sharpest students in the district to work harder than they have worked all year?

What allows students to express their talents in research, art, mathematics, and construction?

What gives students with good aca- demic ability the opportunity to win ribbons and trophies in recognition of this ability?

What brings literally hundreds of parents, administrators, and teachers together in a challenging yet pleasant atmosphere?

A District-Wide Mathematics Festival! Each spring all of the elementary schools in the district are invited to send a team of six students who will represent their school at the annual mathematics festival. For the event, which is sponsored by the mathematics

A t the time this article was written, Jerald Mike- sell was Director of Mathematics and Science for the Mesa (Arizona) Public Schools. He is pres- ently principal of the Glacier Valley School in Juneau, Alaska.

department of Mesa (Arizona) Public Schools, approximately one hundred fifty of the best mathematics students in the district meet for a full day of exciting mathematics activities. This means that the participating students not only will have the chance to listen to and interact with one of the leading mathematics educators in the state but that they will also be invited as a team to prepare and bring for display at the festival an exhibit that illustrates some of the mathematics activities at their school. All students will also partici- pate in exciting mathematics games that will test their skill and ingenuity.

The idea for the district-wide mathe- matics festival came from Phelps Wil- kins, an elementary school principal in the Mesa area. The design and imple- mentation of the festival were largely the responsibility of the district-level mathematics team. The activities and problems for each of the stations were developed or gathered and adapted by the Mesa district mathematics staff.

Registration Each school is asked to prepare and

submit a team roster at least two weeks prior to the festival. This allows time for making name tags, setting up ade- quate work areas, planning lunches, and so on. The details of organization and setting up are handled by the dis- trict mathematics department.

Exhibits Each team may submit an exhibit or

display that is representative of some of the mathematics activities in its school. The exhibit can be a collection of items from various classes within the school, or the team might prepare a special display representing a mathematics concept or activity. Displays must be made by students; teachers should work in an advisory capacity only. The names of those who made or prepared displays should be marked on a tag or card.

Displays may involve student dem- onstrators or participators and, if so, must be tended by a student.

Entries are judged on the basis of creativity, originality, neatness, and how effectively the mathematics con- cept is expressed or conveyed.

40 Arithmetic Teacher

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Activities The activities are held in the multi- purpose room of one of the elementary schools. The six activity stations are set in different locations around the multi- purpose room or in adjacent rooms. Each student from a team goes to a different station. This means there are as many students at each station as there are teams participating. The stu- dents compete in one of the six stations and then move to the next station in the rotation. Twenty-five minutes are al- lotted to each activity. A typical festi- val schedule would be as follows:

8:30- 9:10 Registration and set- ting up displays

9:10- 9:40 Introductions and spe- cial guest

9:40-10:05 First competition 10:05-10:30 Second competition 10:30-10:55 Third competition 10:55-1 1 :20 Fourth competition 11:20-12:00 Lunch and viewing ex-

hibits 12:00-12:25 Fifth competition 12:25-12:50 Sixth competition 12:50- 1:20 Entertainment

(we had a ventrilo- quist)

1:20- 2:20 Presentation of awards and gathering dis- plays for departure

The first year the stations were as follows:

1) Solving puzzles using geometric pieces 2) Silly word problems 3) Mathematical sequences 4) Mental computation 5) Making equations 6) Estimating

The stations for the second year of the festival were the following:

1) Solving story problems 2) Number sequences and patterns 3) Estimations 4) Mental arithmetic 5) Geoboard geometry 6) Making equations

Even though some of the topic titles remained the same for the second an- nual mathematics festival, all the prob- lems were changed. We had about 20 percent of the students who were re-

peaters from the first year and there is one student who might participate for five years. He was a team representa- tive as a second-grader and again as a third-grader.

Awards All students who participate receive a certificate of participation. Ribbons and trophies are awarded to teams with the best exhibits and to teams that score the highest in the mathematics games. These ribbons and trophies are paid for by a $5 fee assessed to each participating school.

At each station a score was kept on each member of each team by team. A ranking by school for each station was then possible. Ribbons were given out to all members of each team who fin- ished first, second, or third in each event.

Once the first round of competition is completed, someone should be as- signed to correct and record the work of the participants. During the opera- tion of each subsequent period of com- petition, the work of the preceding pe- riod should be corrected and results recorded so that scores can be quickly

compiled and the results tabulated for the presentation of the awards.

To determine the overall school win- ner, the rankings from all stations were compiled. If a team from a school fin- ished first at a station they were given a one (1); a tenth-place finish earned a ten (10). When these points were to- taled, winners of first, second, and third place were determined and each winning team was awarded a trophy.

Results The response of the students, parents, teachers, and administrators was ex- cellent. We also had excellent television coverage. Many of the parents came and stayed all day. We didn't expect this the first year, but we were pre- pared for it the second year and it turned out to be very helpful for we had about two hundred people who came for at least part of the day. Many of them were there all day.

The benefits of the mathematics fes- tival have been many. Increased inter- est, great improvement in the displays, and generally good public relations have made the time and effort spent a worthwhile investment. D

ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS EDUCATOR

Assistant professor in the Department of Early and Middle Childhood Education. Primary responsibili- ties include teaching methods courses for under-

graduates and graduates, supervising in a field- based teacher education program, and conducting in-service programs. Minimum qualifications include:

(a) a doctoral degree with a concentration in ele- mentary mathematics education;

(b) two years' training, teaching, and/or supervi- sory experience in elementary school mathe- matics;

(c) one year of supervisory experience in a teacher preparation program.

Desired qualifications include:

(d) evidence of excellent teaching in a mathe- matics education program;

(e) three years of elementary school teaching; (f) experiences in teaching elementary school

mathematics through the use of concrete materials;

(g) experiences in conducting in-service pro- grams and writing curriculum; and

(h) evidence of active interest and potential in re- search and publication.

Salary is competitive, based on qualifications and

experience (10-month contract). Applications must include:

(1) a letter of interest, (2) at least three current reference letters, and

(3) current academic vita. Deadline: February 15, 1979. Send materials or write for further information to Dr. Charles Thompson, Chairman, Elementary Mathe- matics Education Search Committee, School of Education, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ken-

tucky 40208. Phone (502) 588-6431 .

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

January 1979 41

1

Arithmetic Teacher Articles

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