Math Warm-Up: Today Is February 4×3×2×1
[Photo by Tom@HK.]
One of my favorite warm-up exercises for Math Club is “Today is ______.” Each student invents one or more mathematical expressions for today’s date and writes his or her favorite on the board for all to admire. Answers range from lazy (24×1 — at least it’s an excuse to talk about identity elements) to unnecessarily repetitive (1+1+1+…), but we usually get a few gems as well.
Today is February ![\binom{6}{3} + \sqrt[4]{2^{8}}](http://s0.wp.com/latex.php?latex=%5Cbinom%7B6%7D%7B3%7D+%2B+%5Csqrt%5B4%5D%7B2%5E%7B8%7D%7D+&bg=ffffff&fg=333333&s=0 "\binom{6}{3} + \sqrt[4]{2^{8}}")
I need a longer activity for this Friday’s co-op class. Maybe we’ll make our own version of Theoni Pappas’s calendar: I’ll print out blank calendar pages and have the kids fill in expressions for March 2009.
Teachers: Share Your Wisdom
Do you know a quick, effective math warm-up exercise? I’d love to try it out. 
Post in the Comments below, or write it up on your own blog. But don’t forget to come back here to post a link!
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