The well-planned writing workshop is an effective tool for expanding the mathematical discourse of students and helping them become more skillful writers in the discipline. This article reviews a step-by-step process for conducting a workshop and details different reader response strategies. It also offers suggestions for various types of…

Indicates in-class and at-home math projects for sixth graders. Activities focus on map-making and exploration of maps. (RH)

Points out how dice games can be used to teach mathematics concepts, discussing 13 dice games of varying difficulty. (RH)

This column solicits mistakes, fallacies, anomalies, et cetera, that raise interesting mathematical issues and may prove useful to teachers. Included in this issue are yet another proof that zero equals one and a differentiation that yields three equals two. (Author/JJK)

Describes techniques to integrate the reading of newspapers into mathematics instruction. (RS)

A method for finding the complex roots of a graph is detailed. A conjecture is made regarding the nature of zero points of fourth-degree polynomial functions, but it is not proven in general. Mathematical induction is viewed as a promising tool to prove the conjecture that turned out unproductive. (MP)

Describes various kinds of games for one and two players. Provides the diagrams and rules for the games and puzzles. (YP)

Competitions at one high school are described: they try to attract as many participants as possible, not just excellent students. In one type, creativity is stressed; another is a tournament; a third involves problem solving activities. Examples are included. (MNS)

Suggest several math activities using the simple technique of tapping a sugar maple tree for sap. Information and activities presented are useful in tapping one or two trees on school property, helping students who tap trees at home, or leading a field trip to a nearby maple sugaring site. (ERB)

Decimal expansions of fractions are considered. Theorems and corollaries for some properties and for prime and composite denominators are presented. It is suggested that students write computer programs to deliver decimal expansions. (MNS)

Some lesson ideas with magic squares are given. The parametric form of three-by-three and four-by-four squares are each discussed and a worksheet is included on doing and making magic squares. (MNS)

How to play the medieval game of Rithmomachia, the battle of rhythms, is described. It is really eight games played with one set of rules. (MNS)

Four unusual mathematics problems with interesting routes to solution are presented. A general method of solution to problems of this type is proposed. (MP)

Described is an activity demonstrating how a scientific calculator can be used in a mathematics classroom to introduce new content while studying a conventional topic. Examples of reading and writing large numbers, and reading hidden results are provided. (YP)

Reviewed are short articles that contain new insights on topics taught in the early years of undergraduate mathematics. Included are the elementary theory of curves defined by the combination of polynomials, the differentiability of the sine function, and another proof of the irrationality of the square root of two. (Author/JJK)