Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

1 1

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · 3d

Sorry for the delayed response — I've mostly been out of social media.

What's worked for my dept is NOT merging algebra and geometry into the same units, but inserting algebra units in "Math 2", and geometry units in "Math 3". Likewise, distributing trig units in Math 2, Math 3, and Precalc.

Map Coloring | www.MathEd.page

Reposted by Henri Picciotto

Kathy H @kathyhen.bsky.social · Mar 26

Looking forward to trying out this series of lessons with my math club.

www.mathed.page/puzzles/maps/

Thank you, @hpicciotto.bsky.social , for your amazing lessons!

#MTBoS #MathsToday #ITeachMath

An introduction to map coloring, leading to a 'two-color theorem', and providing a possible first activity in graph theory for a high school discrete math class.

Pattern Block Dodecagons | www.MathEd.page

3 14

Reposted by Henri Picciotto

John Golden @johngolden.bsky.social · Mar 30

paging @hpicciotto.bsky.social www.mathed.page/manipulative...

Pattern block regular dodecagons with sides greater than 1

Letter from a Homeschooling Mom

1 1 4

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · 3d

Letter from a Homeschooling Mom who finds that my approach to curriculum works best with her son — going from specifics to generalizations, and from the informal to the symbolic, with problem solving and visual representations throughout.
blog.mathed.page/2025/10/15/l...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Today, another guest post, this time from a homeschooling mom. — Henri Algebra and Geometry Greetings! I hope this email finds you well. I know you don’t know us, but I wanted to personally…

blog.mathed.page

3

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · 12d

Recognizing functions: from graphs, from tables, from geometry, from experiments, from function diagrams.
Free curriculum materials:
www.mathed.page/recognizing....

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Recognizing Functions | www.MathEd.page

Links to lessons and activities about recognizing functions from data points or function diagrams, grades 7-11

Today, I share a guest post by Margot Schou, who I had the good fortune of mentoring at the start of her career. With her permission, I inserted footnotes with links to some relevant further readin…

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · 18d

Mentoring and Coaching: a guest post by Margot Schou about how we transmit teacher know-how to the next generation.

blog.mathed.page/2025/10/01/m...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Mentoring and Coaching

blog.mathed.page

4

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · 18d

Same! I used to step out with my daughter to look at the night sky. Now that she is in her fifties, she still texts me about interesting moon and planet sightings.

1 2

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Sep 12

A naked-eye astronomy unit for grades 4-12 I developed back in the 1970's.
www.mathed.page/look/
It was written on an antediluvian computer and hand-illustrated, but it's free!

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Look, Up in the Sky! | www.MathEd.page

A hands-on, eyes-open introduction to the solar system for students in middle and high school.

September 2025 Newsletter | www.MathEd.page

1 1 7

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Sep 2

New issue of my newsletter:
www.mathed.page/newsletter/2...
Interdisciplinary learning, habits of mind, story tables, plus lots of links.

Subscribe! www.mathed.page/e-list.html

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Henri Picciotto's math education news

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Aug 7

Guest post by Frank Cassano and Anya Sturm: how to seamlessly integrate argumentation in curriculum and assessment.

blog.mathed.page/2025/08/06/i...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Geometry Labs | www.MathEd.page

Reposted by Henri Picciotto

Paula Beardell Krieg @paulakrieg.bsky.social · Aug 6

Recently took a class that deciphered the line work in an Alhambra tiling. I decided to color and weave it, too. Then went looking for a photo of the actual wall. Hard to find! Was so pleased to find a collection taken by @hpicciotto.bsky.social posted on www.mathed.page/symmetry/spa....

My hand drawn mage based on an Alhambra. repeat pattern . Within this ten inch square there are lines colored with red, chartreuse, turquoise, purple and a bit of gold and black. The systems of interlocking and woven paths are kind of mind boggling and seems to have worked their way into my soul .

A close up of my drawing of the Alhambra tiling. Even in this small area there are dozens of under and oven weaving of lines. There are many shapes that are locked together.

A photo of The tiling at the Alhambra, taken by Henri Picciotto

1 2 17

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Jun 9

Well, yes, but with the added constraint that two or three faces are Pythagorean triples. I didn't see that in that article, but maybe I didn't look closely enough.

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Jun 9

A guided inquiry introduction to taxicab geometry for students is in Geometry Labs 9.1 and 9.6.
www.mathed.page/geometry-labs
An extended version for teachers and everyone is here:
www.mathed.page/geometry-lab...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

A whole book of hands-on geometry activities, using manipulatives. The labs complement traditional paper-pencil work and computer-based interactive explorations. Suitable for middle school and high sc...

3 6

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Jun 2

→ But now I wonder: is there a box with _two or three_ "pythagorean faces", _and_ a whole-number long diagonal? I haven't been able to find one. But to be honest, I probably didn't put enough time and energy into it. If you find such a box, let me know!

1 1

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Jun 2

During a bout of insomnia, I asked myself: what should the height of a box with base 3 by 4 be, so that its long (internal) diagonal is a whole number? I found an answer, and in the morning was able to generalize it into a way to get a pythagorean quadruple from any triple. →

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

Oops. I posted the wrong link. Trying again.

blog.mathed.page/2025/05/27/i...

Integrating Problem Solving Seamlessly: A guest post by by Frank Cassano and Anya Sturm.

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

Integrating Problem Solving Seamlessly: A guest post by by Frank Cassano and Anya Sturm.

www.mathed.page/teaching/ful...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

1 1 2

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

I agree! Fast is slow, and slow is fast...

There Is No One Way to Teach Math: Actionable Ideas for Grades 6–12

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

re: lagging homework, see
www.mathed.page/teaching/ful...
and
www.routledge.com/There-Is-No-...

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

A collaboration between a seasoned math teacher and a research mathematician, this resource offers balanced instructional ideas based on student intellectual engagement and skilled teacher leadership....

www.routledge.com

2 4

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

My department saw a huge improvement in understanding by spreading trig over more trimesters.
First: the tangent (see www.mathed.page/geometry-labs Labs 11.1-11.3)
Next trimester: sine and cosine (Labs 11.4-11.6)
Next trimester: law of sines, law of cosines
Next trimester: the functions
#mtbos

1 4

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · May 28

Nice!
See www.mathed.page/geometry-labs Lab 5.4

#mtbos #iteachmath #mathed

Geometry Labs | www.MathEd.page

A whole book of hands-on geometry activities, using manipulatives. The labs complement traditional paper-pencil work and computer-based interactive explorations. Suitable for middle school and high sc...

Henri Picciotto @hpicciotto.bsky.social · Mar 3

→ Also, pedagogically, alternating between units with substantially different content helps in at least two ways: 1. extend exposure to each subject. And 2. reinforce the idea that you need to hang on to this knowledge beyond the short-run quiz-test horizon. See www.routledge.com/There-Is-No-...