My publisher, Master Books, recently interviewed me for their podcast about the Big Book of Math. Check it out to learn more about the resource and how to use it–you might pick up a few nuggets from math’s history along the way!
I’m excited to have just finished the draft of a full-color, 8.5 in by 14 in by 15 ft math timeline, on which students will be able to watch math in action throughout history—and see how math points us to the Creator in the process. Below is a sneak peek into just a few of the facts students will learn. Stay tuned for publication information!
Electricity—we take it for granted and use it countless times a day. Turning on lights, using a computer, microwaving those leftovers, looking at a digital clock, cranking down the AC, opening the refrigerator, doing a tub of wash—the list of daily uses of electricity or electrical devices could go on and on.
But did you know it’s math that helps us explore electricity and design devices like lights and computers? A glance back at history reveals a lot of math—and points us to the Creator.
Back in 1785, A man named Charles-Augustin de Coulomb discovered a mathematical relationship between the force and distance between electric charged particles by doing experiments. His result can be expressed algebraically like shown below.
In other words, the force produced by electricity can be described mathematically!
Later, many other men would do experiments and discover more of the ways electricity works. One key discoverer was a man named Michael Faraday, who realized that magnets can generate electricity and invented the first electric generator. Once again, math was used in this design. In fact, the relationship between the electrical voltage, the number of coils of wire, the change in something called magnetic flux, and the time can be described like shown below.
Faraday, like many other great scientists/inventors, saw creation (which math helped them explore) as pointing to God. Faraday wrote,
“The book of nature which we have to read is written by the finger of God.”
Sit back and think about it for a minute. Even at the microscopic level, electricity (which later scientists would realize is the flow of electrons) operates in a consistent enough fashion to describe it with formulas that we can rely on to work to such a degree that devices like light bulbs and computers can be built around it. Why is creation that consistent? Because a faithful, consistent Creator governs all things.
I hope you enjoy this short interview I had on the Master Books Podcast titled “Teaching Math to Help Students See God & Develop Life Skills.” I had fun discussing Revealing Arithmetic and Principles of Mathematics, as well as sharing about the biblical worldview in math. Check out all the show notes on the Master Books Podcast page.
It’s easy in anything we do to forget why we’re doing it. In math especially, it can be easy for students to lose sight of why they’re learning what they’re learning.
As you head back to school this fall, remember to keep bringing math out of a textbook and showing its usefulness. Below are a few ideas.
Students at this level now have the background knowledge to delve into some really cool applications and to see at a deeper level how we use math to describe God’s creation! Pay attention to percentages in the news. Capitalize on different science concepts they’re studying, pointing out the math involved (the Internet is a great resource to research–or have them research). Explore the math used in fields of interest to them. The possibilities are truly endless.
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Need ready-to-go-ideas or a curriculum that already includes lots of practical examples? Check out our math materials.
Despite how it often comes across to high school students, geometry is anything but meaningless. In fact, geometry means “earth measure.” It’s a branch of math that helps us measure God’s creation, from the microscopic to the vast distances of space.
I recently had the privilege to develop a geometry eCourse (available on MasterBooksAcademy.com). While it was the most challenging eCourse I’ve developed (creating slides to visually walk through proofs involving different shapes step by step required more than just walking through equations), it was also the most fun to work on. I was blown away over and over again by how geometry sings the Creator’s praises and proves a useful tool. Here are some examples, based on Harold Jacobs’ Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding curriculum and the eCourse I developed to go alongside it (the eCourse both walks through the material and expands on the ideas in the textbook to really bring in the biblical worldview as well as to help students master the concepts without being overwhelmed by the challenges).
Geometry and God’s CreationDid you know that geometry was used to find the circumference of the earth…and the distance to the nearest star? The distances of outer space are mind-blowing in themselves—yet how much more incredible the God who stretched out the heavens (Isaiah 42:5)! Geometry helps us describe the arrangement of molecules; did you know if the molecules in our bodies were just mirror images of what they are, life as we know it wouldn’t work? Geometry shouts out that life didn’t happen by accident. Geometry helps us see the design in our eyes, and how God gave us the ability to perceive both distance and depth. With geometry, we can measure the height of things we can’t physically stretch a measuring tape to measure—such as a mountain or a tree.
Geometry and Real-Life TasksNot only does geometry help us explore God’s creation, but it helps us complete real-life tasks. It helps us design bridges, make beautiful art, and engineer chairs, to name a few. Geometry proves a wonderful course to talk about how God made man in His image and how we’re accountable to our Creator for how we use the intellect and abilities God gave us (a great theme to explore in high school as students are thinking through their futures). On a daily basis, we all experience the effects of geometry applied for both good and evil. Every time we use our cell phone, we’re using cell networks that are really a grid of “hexagonal cells” (Jacobs, p. 583)…and we’re using that device for either good or evil.
While proofs are definitely a key part of geometry, they too are a useful tool. Proofs help us figure out if something applies just in one situation or in all, making them essential in describing God’s creation. After all, if we’re going to use geometry to measure distances in outer space where we can’t physically check our measurements, we need a way to think through those measurements logically. Deductive reasoning is thus a key piece of geometry—and it applies in other areas of life too. In the eCourse, students learn how in any proof, we start with assumptions—and the conclusions we reach are only as valid as the assumptions we begin with. This is key to understand when discerning through arguments people make (and when making them). For example, if you assume a uniformitarian perspective for how a canyon was made, you will reach different conclusions than if you assume a catastrophic global flood was the cause.
Don’t let geometry fool your students: it’s really an exciting journey through which we can behold God’s handiwork and get equipped to serve Him each step. While geometry can feel like a whole new world for students as it’s very different than arithmetic or algebra, understanding its purpose can help students push through the challenges to learn the key skills that really apply outside of math as well.
If you’d like to learn more or need a resource that teaches geometry from this perspective, check out the geometry eCourse I developed on the Master Books Academy. The first chapter is free to watch, and it will give you a greater glimpse into how geometry, far from being a meaningless exercise, is an incredible journey into measuring the earth.
Looking for ways to keep math fresh during the summer? How about to use the summer to help students grasp some concepts that just haven’t fully sunk in yet?
Summertime can be a great time to really give students a glimpse into math outside of a textbook, to build their biblical worldview of math, or to give some added practice on different skills. Below are a few ideas to help.
I hope you have a fun summer together!
I’m excited to have just finished an eCourse to go alongside Jacob’s Elementary Algebra!
The course, which is now available as part of the Master Book’s Academy, brings in the biblical worldview of math, presents the concepts, walks through examples, and more, offering an easy transition from Principles into high school math.
Learn more and view a sample chapter at the Master Books Academy.
P.S. I’m sorry I’ve not blogged much recently–it’s been a busy time! My husband and I just moved into our first home. We’re also still working on Algebra 2 (we expect it to be finished within a few months)…along with other math projects (stay tuned for more details in the upcoming months).
With much of the world sheltering in place, I thought now might be a good time to blog about working on math during the downtime. These ideas also work during summer vacation…and throughout the year.
Show Your Child Math Around the House
Look for simple ways to show your children math concepts in action around the house. Here are a few ideas.
As you show your children math in action, remind them that math works outside of a textbook because God created and sustains a consistent world.
For more ideas of how to reinforce arithmetic concepts, take a look at Revealing Arithmetic. It explains how to look at each concept biblically (and why different methods work!), offering many practical real-life ideas (along with a few worksheets) you could use with your children to show them the concept in action. Many of these ideas (such as designing and using an abacus) would make great (and fun!) shelter-in-place activities.
Use Worksheets for Trouble Areas
I’m cautious about publishing a list of drill worksheets, as while drill worksheets have their place, there’s a problem if math becomes only about fact memorization or drills. Students need to see why they’re learning what they’re learning and have opportunities to really apply the concepts they study outside a textbook! Drill worksheets are like scales and technique exercises in music. They help students master a skill, but they’re not a song. And just like most students would hate practicing music if all they played were technical exercises without any songs, so most students will hate math if all they do are drill worksheets.
Nevertheless, math drills serve their place. Some students need extra reinforcement on specific problem areas. (Although make sure they really understand the concept before throwing too much drill at them; sometimes students struggle to remember because they don’t really understand why the method works or why they need to learn it.) With that in mind, here are some internet resources for printing out worksheets.
Again, please remember to use drills like you would technical exercises—in small doses to help strengthen skills, not as your main teaching device. Please see the first section above for ideas on actually helping students see why they should bother mastering math’s mechanics. If all students see are the mechanics, they’re completely missing out on understanding math as a way of describing God’s creation and a real-life tool they can use to serve Him. And, to return to the music illustration, they might just decide they hate math, only because they’ve only seen the “exercise” part of math without ever getting to “play a song.”
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Have a favorite math worksheet site? Did you try out one of these sites? Have you found other ways to reinforce math during this down time? Please share in the comments!
And please join me for a free webinar on Math from a Biblical Worldview? next Tuesday! Learn more/register now here.
Several years ago, I was asked to write an algebra program…and I said no. I wasn’t going to write a high school program unless the Lord sent me someone to coauthor it with me.
And then he sent me my husband, who has his doctorate in materials science and engineering, other degrees in physics and engineering, a job as a data scientist, and a passion for sharing God’s handiwork in math that mirrors my own. So…
We’re writing an Algebra 2 program! Principles of Applied Algebra 2 (working title) is well underway, with an anticipated release in the spring 2020, Lord willing. (We’re doing Algebra 2, as it was the more urgent need. Please see the Algebra 1 program we carry.)
Writing this program has been exciting. I was one of those students growing up who didn’t understand the purpose of algebra—I learned it, but didn’t see why I was learning it. Most algebra books come across as a whole bunch of meaningless, often hard-to-understand problems.
But algebra doesn’t have to be that way at all! I’ve been having loads of fun researching the different “tools” in algebra and seeing how they all really help us explore God’s creation and complete real-life tasks…and then conveying that in the program. We want students to leave their math lessons for the day understanding why they’re learning what they’re learning, equipped to really apply math, and awed at the Creator.
Ready for a sneak peek? Watch for an excerpt sometime next week!
We would cherish your prayers for us as we write.
– Kate [Loop] Hannon
So…it’s that time of year again. Time when many anyway start thinking about heading back into academics…and math.
Wherever I’ve spoken on math, the number one question I usually get is related to curriculum. So I thought it might be a good time to share a couple of thoughts on choosing a math curriculum.
On a more personal level, also consider
Finding a good math curriculum can be challenging. The need for more good math curriculum prompted me to write a math curriculum for junior high (Principles of Mathematics), along with a handbook (Revealing Arithmetic) to go alongside a curriculum the younger grades and add the elements that are often missing in curriculum (such as history). We also carry an elementary and high school program that many have found helpful. So know that those materials are available for you too.
Whatever curriculum you choose, remember that math isn’t neutral or a mere textbook exercise–it’s a way of describing God’s creation. And viewing it that way should transform how it’s taught at every level.
I’m a sinner saved by grace through Jesus Christ. I’m also a writer—I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pen. I… Meet Katherine [Loop] Hannon.
