Welcome Zoom Room ToDoodles Calculator

Skill Topics

Application Topics

Resources

Math OER
 Book Report 

One of the big misapprehensions about mathematics that we perpetrate in our classrooms is that the teacher always seems to know the answer to any problem that is discussed. This gives students the idea that there is a book somewhere with all the right answers to all of the interesting questions, and that teachers know those answers. And if one could get hold of the book, one would have everything settled. That's so unlike the true nature of mathematics.

- Leon Henkin

This book reports is a brief assignment. If you are spending more than a couple hours on in, you are taking it too seriously.

First, pretend you run a small business. Imagine almost any business. It must have multiple items for sale. But it is so small it has few employees besides the owner, if any.

Culinary students could use a food cart, small restaurant, or small catering service. Early Childhood Education students could use a tutoring or home child care businesss. Nursing students could use a rural cash-only personal practice.

Feel free to be creative, and even funny. Students in past terms have imagined themsleves doing everything from selling socially awkward hand-crafted goods to being a hit man.

Second, visit the class library and find a book that interest you.

Third, review the Ten Rules of Thumb from Factfulness. These are common mistakes people make when thinking about numbers and trends.

Now you have an imaginary business, a book, and fresh in your mind the Ten Rules of Thumb. Read the first three chapters of the book while thinking about how its lessons could influence your business decisions.

(You can read more than three chapters, but do not need to.)

Then respond to six writing prompts:

• What did you learn during your first hour with the book?
• Summarize three chapters of the book. What does it teach? Who is the intended audience? How does it applies to your business?
• How is its math used to see the world more clearly, or with better habits?
• How could its math apply to your business?
• How is math incorporated with narrative? Was it presented as examples, equations, diagrams, or problems? Did the use of math flow nicely with the text? How could these communication techniques apply to your business?
• Find an example of when one of the Ten Rules of Thumb from Factfulness were carefully followed or erroneously broken.