Autobiography & Interviews
Math Autobiography
Interviews
 
Math Autobiography

In a global networking project students are eager to share information about themselves and learn about the lives of their newly- found distant friends. Students in the math project proposed an idea for introducting themselves with a new twist: telling the story of their life through numbers. In the math autobiographies students use numeric data to ell others on the network about themselves, their families, and the towns in which they live.

An example of such an autobiography, written by 6th grade student Yaneiri Gonzalez, from Esc. de la Comunidad: Antonio Velez Alvarado Manati, Puerto Rico.

My Numeric Autobiography: Numbers in My Live
I was born on August 5, 1984. It was the 8th month of the year; with summer in all splendor. This means that I am nearly 12 years old, over 6 of which I have spent in school. I can tell you that weigh 77 pounds, but don't quite reach 5 feet in height. My immediate family has 4 members. My dad is 30 years old, my mom is 28 and my sister is 6. For my mother I am the oldest of her children. For my father I am the second of three. The favorite meal in our house is beef steak with white rice and red beans, but my favorite meal is rice with beans. My mom Janet thinks and tells me that I am like a reptile who has shed its skin a hundred times and that my stomach is infinite. When I grow up I want to be a judge or a marine biologist in order to see the infinite that is life.

Interviews

One way of looking at how math is used everyday in students' comunities was to get them to interview a relative or adult about how they use mathematics in their job, daily life, or studies. Students were encouraged to ask questions about the specific ways in which math is used, e. g. making calculations, handling money, creating budgets, taking measurements, analyzing numeric data. Students then wrote a report with an accompanying illustration or created math problems for their peers based on the information they gathered.

Rosemary Gaona's bilingual kindergarten class at Evans Elementary School in Tempe, Arizona, took home surveys and talked with their families about how they use math and numbers at home or at their jobs. They then shared their stories with their classmates, drew pictures to go with the stories, and made a class book.

Charlie Bauer teacher fourth grade in the small town of Phoenix, in Oregon. The school has a bilingual program, and many of Charlie's students are children of migrant agricultural workers. One of the people his students interviewed was a mayor of the town, who is also the manager of the mobile home park, and seems to be not only a math fan but also a key player in keeping things flowing smoothly in Phoenix.

We interviewed Mr. Parducci, the mayor of Phoenix. Mr. Parducci said, "I use math to count my own money and balance my check book. I use math every single hour. I love math. It's my best and favorite subject. Sometimes math is hard for me. When you get older, you don't use math as much as you should and you kind of lose your skill. I learned multiplication in third grade. I graduated from high school and got a bachelor's degree in management. My monthly salary is about 1,500 dollars. As mayor, I control city council meetings and make sure no one gets out of control."

We think that since he's mayor, he should get more than 1,500 dollars a month. The chief of police gets 3,500 dollars per month, and we think that is good, but the mayor should get that much, too, because it doesn't sound easy to be the mayor.

Problem:
If you get 1,500 dollars a month how much do you get a year?
Si agarras 1,500 dólares cada mes ¿cuántos dólares agarras cada año?

By/Por: Chava, Lindsey, Fernando