Math Write-up and Poem

Math Poetry

Time Writing:

Divide:

When I hear the word divide I think about cutting some object, such as pizza, into pieces for a number of different people. This word also results in the image of splitting people into groups to do group work popping into my head. The division symbol also pops into my mind when I think of the word divide. I think back to the days when I learned long division. Unlike my friends, I did not mind doing long division. The word divide also reminds me of the night before my History of Math final in university. I had to learn this new way of dividing. I think it was a method of dividing from the Arabic mathematics. I spent hours trying to figure out how to divide using this method of division. I was very fortunate that my dad knew how to divide using this method. It took me awhile to get this method, but I finally got it. I was so happy to see a question using this method of division on the exam because I knew exactly how to do it.

Zero:

When I think of the word zero, the number zero pops into my mind. I like multiplying numbers by zero because it is easy to figure out the answer. I like when numbers or problems are all to the zero exponent because these answers are very easy to figure out. Also, when I hear the word zero I think of the zero laundry detergent box that used to be on the shelf in my laundry room when I was little. Zero soap is excellent at taking out stains in clothes. I also enjoy saying the word zero because it sounds neat. If a person really thinks about it, zero represents nothing. Temperature freezes at zero degrees Celsius. The word zero rhymes with hero, and Zero to Hero was the name of the first major research paper I ever wrote. This research paper was about how Elvis Presley became the King of Rock and Roll and I wrote it in English 11. It is my most favourite paper I ever wrote.

Poem on “Division of Zero”:

Dividing by Nothing

Division – splitting items among a number of people

Zero – an empty space that represents nothing

What happens when these two words are brought together?

You get division by zero!

But wait, this means splitting a number up into no groups.

How is this possible?

I do not understand.

How do I deal with this problem? Is there a solution?

There is a solution – it is not possible!

Oh, I see, I understand - it all makes so much more sense now.

Teacher-ly Comments on Math Poetry

Math poetry is something that I have never heard of before. I think that it is very interesting and brings out a different side of math. Math poetry takes away the emotionless that many people think exists in math. I thought it was very interesting to write a poem about division by zero. At first, I found this assignment to be very difficult because I could not remember how to write a poem – I have not written a poem since high school and writing poetry was not my favourite part of English. However, once I started writing I found that writing a poem was not extremely difficult.

I think that there exist many positive aspects to having high school students write poems about math. By doing this kind of assignment math students can see that math can be a creative subject – like many other subjects. Students also get a chance to express their feelings about a particular mathematical topic with math poetry. Another positive aspect of math poetry is that it gives students a break from just answering questions and it can result in students enjoying math a great deal more. Math poetry can also help students, who have difficulties in math, express their ideas about math or a particular math topic.

Although math poetry has many strengths, it also has a few weaknesses. Some students might not be very good at writing poems. Hence, these students would find this activity to be very difficult. Moreover, if students are having difficulties in English and math then they would find this activity to be very difficult. Furthermore, some students might not learn a great deal from math poetry; therefore, it might just be a waste of time to do. However, although there are some negative aspects to math poetry, I would love to try it in my math class at least once because it might be very fun for the students and it might help them understand the math more.

I think that math poetry can be used in any grade: grade 8 to 12. I think that students must first know how to write a poem before they are told to just write a poem in math class. However, I do not think that this would be a very big problem because many students have to take an English class from grade 8 to 12. I think that it is possible for students to write a math poem on any topic in the math 8 to 12 curriculum. Therefore, I think that it is possible to use math poetry in any math class in high school and I think that it would be very interesting to try.