Knowre

Have you ever wondered why the number 1 isn’t a prime, even though 1 is the product of 1 and itself? It actually used to be considered prime, but mathematicians redefined prime numbers just to exclude it!

Mathematicians wanted to simplify the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, which states that every positive integer greater than 1 can be written as a unique product of primes. The order of the primes doesn’t matter.

For example, 12=2*2*3, so the unique prime factors of 12 are 2, 2, and 3. If 1 were prime, there would be lots of different ways to write 12 as a product of primes: 12=1*2*2*3, 12=1*1*2*2*3, 12=1*1*1*2*2*3, etc. Not so unique anymore!

Watch this video from Numberphile to learn more about 1 and prime numbers:
https://hubs.li/Q01GBsd70

In April, we celebrate National Poetry Month and Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, so please enjoy this poem from one of Knowre Math’s comics!

Every Knowre Math lesson for grades 6 and up begins with a fun comic related to the skills that will be covered. Each comic asks a question that students should be able to solve at the end of the lesson. Check out more examples to share with your class here:
https://hubs.li/Q01GBmH60

Not only is April Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, it’s also National Poetry Month!

The equation is a limerick by Leigh Mercer:
A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more.

There are many connections between math and poetry. Limericks, like the one above, have the rhyming pattern A, A, B, B, A.

Math is also found in non-rhyming poetry. For example, the number of syllables is very important in haiku, a traditional Japanese form of poetry with three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

Have fun writing and reading math poems all April long to celebrate the intersection of these two disciplines!

April is Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, so it’s a great time to look for math everywhere in your life! For example, what is the shape that you create by peeling a tangerine in a spiral? Is it different if you peel a wide strip or thin strip?

Try it for yourself, or check out this podcast about the math behind peeling a tangerine!
https://hubs.li/Q01GB1Bt0

Where else do you see math in everyday objects?

Today’s date, 3/20/2023, is a palindrome in m/dd/yyyy format, meaning the numbers can be read in the same order forwards and backwards: 3202023. Today and the next 9 days will also be palindromes in m/dd/yy format!

It’s ! On March 14, the date can be written as 3.14, the beginning digits of π (pi). When written as a decimal, pi has infinite digits that never repeat. Pi is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It is irrational, transcendental, and delicious! How are you celebrating Pi Day?

Test Prep with Targeted 10

Test Prep with Targeted 10 Test Prep with Targeted 10 Assignments

Katherine Johnson was one of many women working as “computers” during the space race. Even after NASA began using electronic computers, astronaut John Glenn still refused to fly until Johnson verified that she got the same calculations. In 2015, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

For younger learners, check out the book Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13.
For older learners, check out the book or movie Hidden Figures.

With state testing fast approaching, make sure your students’ needs are being addressed. Knowre Math’s Targeted 10 algorithmically generates 10 questions in each student’s Zone of Proximal Development. Walk Me Through support and videos are available to students as they review.

Learn more about Targeted 10 Assignments here:
https://hubs.li/Q01zYfMS0

Even if you haven’t heard of Dr. Gladys West, she’s had a big impact on the world—and your movement through it! The Earth isn’t a perfect sphere, and Dr. West’s work modeling the variations caused by gravity, tides, and other forces laid the groundwork for GPS and the highly accurate maps we use today.

Read more about Dr. Gladys West here:
https://hubs.li/Q01zYpYw0

With just a few weeks to go until testing, teachers stopped using the math software they had used all school year and switched to using Knowre Math every day in their classrooms to get ready for end-of-year testing. See how Knowre Math helped them prepare:

https://hubs.li/Q01xn_vp0

With Knowre Math, teachers can create assignments with due dates for students, or allow them to work at their own pace. Students working at their own pace can choose to continue through the curriculum, or redo lessons to earn the maximum coins and stars.