Week 8: Mathematics and poetry & novels

 Hello everyone! Sorry for the slight delay in posting

our Week 8 material -- this is a week of many meetings, and that slows things down a little.

Here is the link to our Week 8 resources: readings, viewings and activities. I hope you'll enjoy exploring connections between mathematics and literature! Happy reading and writing (and looking forward to reading your Fib and PH4 poems).

By the way, were you aware that the Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ...) was discovered and articulated mathematically by the Sanskrit linguist and poet Hemachandra in India, about a century before Leonardo of Pisa, AKA Fibonacci, was born in Italy?

If you're interested in knowing why we ought to be naming this sequence something like 'the Hemachandra/ Fibonacci sequence', here's a link to a very interesting short film by Fields Medalist Manjul Bhargava that gives a clear explanation of Hemachandra's insights based on poetry! It's an optional viewing, but well worth watching.

And another optional resource link in case you're interested: an e-version of the delightful kids'/ YA novel, The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Ensensberger. Folder of PDFs of chapters. A highly recommended resource for middle years, up to Grade 8 or 9, with beautiful illustrations. You may want to get your own copy to use with your classes!