Third Night

Our avid 7th grade readers have now read through the third night, We learn that Robert had a hard time getting to sleep. This time both Robert and the Number Devil are in a cave without an entrance or an exit. The Number Devil teaches Robert about basic ideas of division and the concept of prime numbers. Also, he tells Robert that if you divide any number with zero, the number will always come out in a strange number.

When answering questions in a post, be sure to answer them in complete sentences. Avoid echoing someone else's comment. Utilize more of the questions. This means find a question that no one has answered, or answer a same question from another point of view. Remember to expand your thinking and think of mathematical examples that will make your response richer. Please respect the blog. Do not treat this blog like a social media site.

Your task this week is to choose one of the following questions and post an intelligent response. Use the bookmark to help guide your comments.

1) Why didn't Robert like division? 
2) According to the Number Devil, dividing by what number is strictly forbidden?
3) What is the mathematical term for what the book describes as prima donna numbers? List the first 15 prima donna numbers. 
4) Why weren't the numbers 0 and 1 included in the Number Devil's chart?
5) What must you do to a number to determine if it's a prima donna?
6) What is the only even prima donna?
7) What does the number devil mean when he says,"Take any even number and I can find two prima donna numbers that add up to it?"
8) How can you write the sum of an odd number greater than 5 using prima donna numbers?

The Second Night

The Number Devil shows up again on the second night in Robert's dreams. Only this time, Robert wasn't as suspicious of the Number Devil as he was on the first night. On the second night, the number devil challenged Robert to identify the missing number from the forest (the last number discovered) 1) Describe this number and its importance? 

When answering questions in a post, be sure to answer them in complete sentences. Avoid echoing someone else's comment. Utilize more of the questions. This means find a question that no one has answered, or answer a same question from another point of view. Please respect the blog. Do not treat this blog like a social media site.

Your task this week is to choose one of the following questions and post an intelligent response. Use the bookmark to help guide your comments.

2) What did the tiny flylike numbers represent? What digit was missing?
3) What was the problem with the Roman numbers?
4) When the Robert writes 9 + 1 = 10, the number devil says, "One and zero? One plus zero             doesn't equal ten." Why did the number devil make this statement?
5) How can you make numbers hop? This is similar to writing numbers in what form?               6) How can you tell a number's value?
7) Robert wrote the year he was born in which two mathematical forms?
8) According to the number devil, what kinds of numbers exist?
  

  

Number Devil Rubric

Below is the rubric that will be used to assess your comments and replies.

Score	1	2	3	4
Ideas & Content	The ideas expressed are not original, often confused and are not connected to discussions around the subject matter.	The ideas expressed are not necessarily original, and are not usually connected to discussions around the subject matter.	The student expresses some original ideas. The majority of ideas are related to the subject matter.	The student has many original ideas and expresses them clearly. The great majority of ideas are related to the subject matter.
Commenting	The student does not comment or ask questions or other classmates.	The student comments or asks questions of at least one other classmate.	Student offers constructive comments and/or asks questions that provide assistance in reaching the solution of the problem.	Student offers constructive comments and/or asks questions of at least two classmates that clarify the problem solving process and/or provides assistance in reaching the solution of the problem.
Writing Quality	Posts are of very poor quality. There is little to no evidence of reading other information in order to form new meaning of the topics at-­‐hand.	Posts show a below average, overly casual writing style with a lack of attention to style. Students pay little attention to other reading and mostly regurgitate previous personal views.	Posts show above average writing style. The content demonstrates that the student reads moderately, and attempts to synthesize information and form new meaning.	Posts are well written, and are characterized by elements of a strong writing style. The content demonstrates that the student is well read, synthesizes learned content and constructs new meaning.
Mathematical     Communication     Clarity of        Explanation	There is no explanation    of the solution, the   explanation cannot be   understood or it is   unrelated to the    problem.	The solution shows that the student has a broad understanding of the problem and the major concepts necessary for its solution.	There is a clear            explanation.	There is a clear, effective explanation detailing how the problem is solved. All of the steps are included so that the reader does not need to infer how and why decisions were made.
Mathematical      Communication   Representation   (when appropriate    or required)	There is no use or inappropriate       use of mathematical    representations (e.g. figures    diagrams, graphs, tables, etc.).	There is some use of appropriate         mathematical representation.	There is appropriate              use of accurate mathematical        representation.	Mathematical representation is actively    used as a means of communicating ideas     related to the solution of the problem.
Writing Conventions	There are greater than three      spelling or grammatical errors in    the explanation.	There are two to three spelling or     grammatical errors in the     explanation or comments.	There is one spelling or grammatical       error in the explanation or comments.	There are no spelling or grammatical      errors in either explanation or comments.

The First Night.....

Hello readers,

WE have all read through the first night of "The Number Devil." Having fun? At first glance, the math all looks easy. The Number Devil comes to a young mathematician (like yourselves) in his dreams. Throughout the book, he will show him "interesting" ways  to think about math. The book all looks easy, but there are twists. In the first chapter, he uses lots of "1's" to make other numbers. So what is the point? 1 x 1 = 1, 11 x 11 = 121, 111 x 111 = 123231, and the kid says what happens if you use eleven 1's times eleven 1's and the pattern breaks and the kid admits that he guessed a lot of 1's, and the Number Devil goes nuts, and explodes.

Why do you think the Number Devil responds this way?

What makes numbers so devilish? What do you need to prove it?

What are most genuine mathematicians bad at?

What problem does the number devil present to Robert during their first encounter? Find the solution to this problem. Explain your process and why it is reasonable.

How many numbers are there? How does the number devil describe large and small numbers?

Your blogging task is to:

1) Answer one of the questions.
2) Read all other posts of your classmates.
3) Make a comment on other students' posts.
4) Write posts in response to other students' posts. 
5) Use your bookmark with accountable talk prompts to help you use your ideas/thoughts to formulate complete sentences.

You will be graded on a blog rubric for a total of 24 points.