help needed please xx

[sambolina]

Hello Everybody!:waving:My name is Sam and I am a new member.. I am 37 and presently in my second year of a BAHons degree is Primary Teaching, specialising in Maths... Not only am I new to teaching but I am also new to forums :laugh: My children probably know more about computers than me but I am prepared to learn. I live in the North Of England and I have been given my first assignment and it is a tricky one... I have to choose a famous modern day mathematician and do a half hour presentation on what their contribution to maths was and then do a 20min micro lesson.. omg!! half the peoples biographies i have read are so complicated i am starting to panic.. can anyone help point me in the right direction :idontknow: i would be most grateful x

[Brit]

go to the children's section of your library. look for names you are familiar with from your other reading. kids' books usually explain things in a way taht you can use in your mini-lesson. Even if you don't find anything on the person you're presenting on, look at how info is framed on Einstein, or other science/math minds in kids books.

Hope that helps.

[teacher5]

First of all calm down. Secondly, I don't know if it is a British thing, but in America we call it math or mathematics, not maths. Third of all, Brit has got it right. You need plain and simple English to communicate. The World Book Encyclopedia has a simple children's version. Get some easy ideas from this source. Also go to kid friendly online sites like yahooligans.com Furthermore, if you know anyone with an acess code to BrainPop.com that may be another good source. Good luck!

[seastarmath]

The AIMS foundation has a book out called "Historical Connections in Mathematics" You can google AIMS and find their site. That book has mini biographies of different mathematicians and lessons based on the concepts they developed. Some of the mathematicians featured are really historic, but some might fall into the modern category. You don't have to purchase the entire book, either. If you find a lesson you like, you can just download that particular lesson for about two dollars. (I just downloaded some lessons for decimals.)
Let us know who you choose and what lesson you developed. I will keep my eyes and ears open for you in the meanwhile.

Or maybe look for someone who did something with computers.

[sambolina]

It is an English thing i think calling it Maths..:laugh:At university they call it Mathematics and in school it is called numeracy:rofl:they need to determine just one word.. but hey.. is this not quintisentially British:laugh:hope that i spelt that right.. we like to confuse ourselves and others.. thank you soooo much everyone for your advice and help.. it makes sense to go to a library and read a childs version which in turn will enable me to understand how it is put across at that level.. and the websites you have pointed me towards sound great... thanks guys!! and yeh i sooo need to calm down.. a bad habbit of mine where math is concerned is to panic first:) i will need to determine however, if my micro lesson is aimed at my peers (which i fear it is as we are being filmed) and not the primary class level. i will keep you updated. thanks once again:waving:xxx