Thursday, September 16, 2010

Ok, this doesn’t quite fit the bill, but I’m gonna sneak it in.

When I read that this week’s Thematic Photograph from Written, Inc was going to have something to do with numbers and letters, these pictures jumped right out the dark recesses of my brain.  Alas, when the actual criteria for the picture was posted I found out that the picture was supposed to actually have numbers and/or letters in it.  (Expletive deleted), I really wanted to use these pictures.

After much arguing with myself (2.3 seconds) I decided they were the pictures I’m going to use anyhoo.  Hopefully I will be forgiven for living up to the spirit of the law, if not necessarily the letter of the law.  So, here are my number pictures:

A little over a decade ago I borrowed a few digital cameras for my classroom and sent out groups of kids and simply told them “Go take pictures of 2/3”, or 1/4 or whatever fraction their group got assigned.  I told them that they were going to have to be able to explain their pictures to the class, so they wouldn’t just go take random pictures.  Here’s three of the ones that I (think I) remember the explanations for.  Keep in mind that it was a long time ago, and I don’t think I’ll be able to explain it exactly the way they did, and give me a little leeway on the quality of the pictures, digital cameras were in their infancy at the time.

3/4 – because there are 4 things altogether and 3 of them are the same.

1/2 – because it’s a picture of half of my car. (Car #41, I’ve had 14 since then.)

And my all time favorite: 2/3 – because there are 3 there, and only 2 of them are completely in the picture.

7 comments:

A Paperback Writer said...

Well, this is a lot closer to the theme than that one in the guy's comments that had pics of birdhouses......

I like the urinals one. :)

Mustang Sally said...

Ha, ha, Love your take on the theme. Mine is going to be a bit different too.

And that was a creative project to get 'em thinking.

carmilevy said...

I think it fits the theme just fine. I'm not one to take things too literally. Sometimes, the spirit of the thing is more important than the letter. And your description of the assignment you gave your students highlights just how appropriate these pictures are for this theme.

I'm always especially pleased when I see folks push the edge of the envelope around a given theme. Thank you for doing just that with this series. I'm so glad you did!

Got any more creative ways to express this theme?

Mustang Sally said...

p.s. Thanks for the instructions on how to post a link in the comments. Much appreciated.

Max Sartin said...

Mustang Sally - thanks. I love it when I can fit something creative into Math class. I wish I could do it more often.
Carmi - I kind of expected that thinking outside the box would not be discouraged, I'm glad to see that impression was right.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I like your way of seeing things... or is it your sense of humor coming thru??

Max Sartin said...

Well, the pictures were a bunch of 13 year-old's way of seeing things, but it was my humor that gave an "A+" for the urinals. (And they knew I'd find it funny). Gald you liked it.