Given I'm spending 3-4 days a week with 5th & 6th graders, teaching them Python, I'm looking for ways to sync with what Common Core says they should be learning math-wise.
They general strategy here is to look for topics already in the curriculum and develop coding skills around those topics. Turns out that prime versus composite is important at that age, and the classic algorithm used to teach that is the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Most coders have written at least one of those. Since we're transitioning from block-based MIT Scratch with not much keyboarding, to full-fledged lexical Python, I'm thinking to assess facility with keyboarding (typing) by having them hand-enter a Sieve, and running it to check for any syntax errors. While we're still doing natural and whole numbers it makes sense to look at other number series as well, ones we can explore using very simple Python. Triangular and square numbers, then polyhedral number sequences, such as successive shells around a nucleus. 1, 12, 42, 92... http://oeis.org/A005901 (note link to my website under links) https://github.com/4dsolutions/Python5/blob/master/STEM%20Mathematics.ipynb Pascal's Triangle is an important hub for studying number sequences. It even embeds the Fibonacci Numbers. These are the kinds of ideas I've been circling for some years. http://4dsolutions.net/ocn/numeracy0.html What's new is I'm getting more opportunities to test them in real world classrooms. Coding with Kids is keeping me busy. With my adult students, I'm looking at what I call the "Five Dimensions of Python" wherein they expand their awareness of the language, from keywords (dimension 0) to 3rd party ecosystem (dimension 4). http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2017/09/five-dimensions-of-python.html (links to another Jupyter Notebook) I've finally figured out that Codesters (codesters.com) is about Python 2.7, not Python 3.x. I've been confused on that score. Given cryptography is playing a more important role in everyday eCommerce, it makes sense to beef up some of the Number and Group Theory aspects of K-12. I've been arguing on math-teach that right when we introduce primes versus composites, we should likewise introduce Fermat's primality test. http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=10241002 http://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?threadID=2883906 Kirby
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