Archive: Around Town

Telling students about math is one way to teach it.  But engaging them in hands-on activities that teach the subject can get them more excited about learning it.  That's what Lansing Middle School teacher Brenda Mead had in mind when she devised a math unit that uses racing cars to teach geometry.

Mead applied for and received a MAC (Make Activities Count) Grant for $423.65 to fund the project.  The grant was presented by local McDonald's of Ithaca owner Jeff Parker last month.  Middle School Principal Jamie Thomas says that receiving this grant is exceptional.

The grant will pay for compass packs, a wooden compass and protractor, geoboard stamps, geometric shapes and graph boards.  Mead plans to use the equipment to explore geometric shapes found in racing.  For example students will calculate how many times a tire on a racing car must turn to go all the way around the Watkins Glen NASCAR track.

Mead outlined how the equipment will be used in her grant application, down to specific math problems.  To teach the difference between circumference and diameter she will have students find those measurements for tires.  Students will also design their own race track, learning about how changing the circumference or area change the track itself.

McDonald's offers up to $500 to teachers who want to develop hands-on experiences to supplement regular classroom learning.  The corporation offers the grant to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers.  Mead's grant will provide materials to teach the geometry unit to 100 Lansing middle school sixth graders.

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