Lost+in+Lexicon+Teaching+Resources

__ Primary & Sources; V ____ ideo & Website Resources __
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**Noyce, Pendred. "[|Pendred Noyce: View from the Windowseat"]**

This is a blog created by the author, Pendred Noyce, of __Lost in Lexicon__. In her blog, she discusses several issues involving mathematics education and other issues in the education system. She also posts about mathematical and English education topics. Her most recent post about mathematics education involves __Lost in Lexicon__ and the issue of female roles in mathematics raised in the book. She discusses the views of people today and some studies that have shown that math anxiety is linked among female students and their elementary teachers. The post ends with an announcement that __Lost in Lexicon__ the Musical is underway and gives a sampling of the lyrics to one of the songs: “Because Girls Can’t Do Math.” Some of her other posts involve math anxiety, different math classes, other books she has written for math teachers specifically, and the mathematics curriculum. There are several posts about mathematics education that would be interesting to any math teacher.

This source is very useful and interesting from a math teacher’s perspective. Pendred Noyce effectively gives her view as well as supporting information on topics in the field of math education. She backs her opinions up with research and valid information. She discusses relevant information in the education world, as well as gives teachers some support for tough questions like “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” Of course, this blog is not all a teacher should rely on for opinions and information on math education issues, but it is a reliable source as Pendred Noyce is the author of several books such as __Lost in Lexicon__ and the other books in that series. She knows what she is talking about when it comes to teaching students math because the book is very well written and mathematically correct and educational. This is a very good source to keep in mind.

This is a very good source to have when reading __Lost in Lexicon__ because of the link between the two: the author. In her blog, Pendred Noyce refers to __Lost in Lexicon__ quite a few times. As a teacher, you will be able to relate her blog to the text easily and it will enhance the themes of the book significantly more. Reading the section of lyrics from “Because Girls Can’t Do Math” while reading __Lost in Lexicon__ brings the reading to life and really makes you think of the significance of men actually believing that females cannot do math. It gets the point across much better than if you were to just read the book. Pendred Noyce’s blog is a great source to have around when you are reading her book, __Lost in Lexicon__.

**Rowan, Kristin. "Mean Girls: A Metamorphosis Of The Female Math Nerd." //Mathematics in Popular Culture: Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media//****. 187-197. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. //MLA International Bibliography//****. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.**

This secondary source is an essay about the role of female "math nerds." It discusses how this role was used and changed throughout the movie, //Mean Girls//. The article begins by describing the stereotypical female nerd from previous movies; these females are generally not considered attractive my today's society and often wear glasses and no makeup. The idea of an attractive female math nerd is presented in //Mean Girls//, but this persona is shed for the more acceptable dumbed-down version of an attractive female. The article goes through the main characters transformation from math nerd to popular and dumb female. Through the explanation of the movie, the author ties how the main character still remains a nerd on the inside but keeps that part of her, the true part of herself, hidden from the world to remain socially acceptable. Once the plot summary is completed in the essay, the new age of attractive nerds in media is touched on. The author then incorporates other resources that explain how having good role models for females in mathematics is important for all young females. The essay reiterates this point and goes as far to say that having role models for students of women who are both nerdy and beautiful has great outcomes for female students today. This idea is an extremely important and necessary part of the mathematics world.

This is a wonderful resource to have as a teacher. Not only does it cover the shift from typical nerd to socially accepted nerd, but it also gives great detail about the importance for students to have female role models in mathematics. The essay goes through each vital step in the main character's transformation and then covers the resolution of the movie. This source points out the fact that the main character is only changing her outer appearance, but inside she remains a nerd and she cannot change this, nor does she want to. The essay lists several resources that could also prove valuable to math teachers. The end of the essay covers how this topic should be handled in society and classrooms. Overall, this resource is a good resource to have in the classroom.

This essay would be useful in relation to __Lost in Lexicon__ because the topic of females in mathematics is covered a lot in the book. It is common in the book that females are the ones who have difficulty with mathematics. The topic of popularity versus nerd is touched on when Daphne is experiencing her favorite show. In the show, Daphne becomes a wealthy, popular student and doesn't seem to have a care in the world. She does what she wants and goes shopping quite often. From the reader's point of view, Daphne does nothing with academics, and definitely not mathematics. She is in this show what the main character of //Mean Girls// becomes. This essay relates to this situation well, and it covers how such situations can be prevented. This source is valuable to the text in that it drives home the point that females belong in mathematics and can keep their identity while being smart in the subject.

**Washington, Mary Ford. //Real Life Math Mysteries : A Kids' Answer To The Question, "What Will We Ever Use This For?" / Mary Ford Washington//****. n.p.: Waco, Texas : Prufrock Press, 1995. //BearSearch//****. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.**

This source relates mathematics to real world situations. It lists several careers in the world that incorporate math unexpectedly. For each career, a brief summary of examples of people who have those jobs and a summary of the job is given. Following this, a few problems involving the careers are listed that can be used for students or teachers. This is a good resource to have as a math teacher. All too often, students ask the question, "When am I ever going to use this?" in regards to mathematics. This book answers that question. It shows that math is everywhere in the world, even in careers that you would not expect math to be involved with. This book can show students that math is unavoidable and should be embraced rather than neglected. This is a valuable resource for schools to have.

This book ties in well with __Lost in Lexicon__ because of the dynamics of the characters in __Lost in Lexicon__. In the towns were language was the central focus, the idea of using mathematics is preposterous. Even Daphne is guilty of seeing how mathematics fits into every area of life. This is also a misconception among many students in school today. This book clears up that misconception by showing that math is involved in even the oddest of careers in the world. This is a good resource to have around when discussing this theme in __Lost in Lexicon__.

**Noyce, Pendred, Joan Charles, and Todd Bearson. //Lost in Lexicon: an adventure in words and numbers//****. Because Girls Can't Do Math ed. Minneapolis: Scarletta Press, 2011. Media.**

This source is a slideshow with a song attachment on it. The slideshow holds no real importance except to help listeners visualize the song, but the song is vital to mathematics education. The song is titled “Because Girls Can’t Do Math.” The song is about just what the title says: a male sings about why females are unable to do mathematics. The song is quite catchy, and the lyrics are greatly entertaining. A sample of those lyrics is “The female mind is like a delicae flower. When exposed to math, it wilts and cowers.” Halfway through the song though, the music changes slightly and a female begins to sing. This female then lists the reasons why females can do mathematics and she defends her sex.

This is a wonderful source to have as a teacher for several reasons. First of all, this source makes it clear that females are able to do math, even if society does not believe so. This is a very empowering song to have handy because it really breaks down the misbeliefs people have as to why females cannot do math and then lists several reasons why females are able to do math, sometimes even better than males. Another reason this is a great source to have is that within the song, several famous mathematicians are named, both male and female. This source defies stereotypes and is education for mathematics students. Having a song like this handy will prove very useful in using the book __Lost in Lexicon__.

This is the perfect resource to have in regards to __Lost in Lexicon__; the book inspired it! This song was written for the now under construction __Lost in Lexicon__ Musical. Issues presented throughout the book are touched on in “Because Girls Can’t Do Math.” At the beginning of the book, Daphne has anxiety in regards to math and refuses to do any over the summer. Later on, Daphne and Ivan visit a town where it is illegal for females to do math. This theme is present through the entire book. The song fits perfectly into the book. It would be very easy and effective to tie this song into the use of __Lost in Lexicon__.

**Krulwich, Robert, Marcus du Sautoy, and Simon Singh. "[|Can Math Be Beautiful?]." //World Science Festival//****. Simons Foundation.**

This entire website is a valuable resource to have as a teacher of mathematics. It contains several videos of discussions with mathematicians on topics in mathematics. Every video is relatively short and very entertaining from a mathematical perspective. This particular video is enthralling from the view of a math teacher because it discusses not only the beauty of mathematics, but also the simple complexity of mathematics. It really shows how infinitely large and definitive the mathematical world is. The mathematicians in this video are clearly in love with their subject and their enthusiasm is infectious. The entirety of the four minute long video is a discussion about a proof by Euclid that shows how beautiful mathematics is. The proof is four lines long and the mathematicians are trying to explain to the host of the discussion why this is such as beautiful concept. The video itself is beautiful and will truly entertain any person in the mathematical world.

The video is a great resource to have as a teacher. It shows students how much fun and excitement math can be. It covers a complicated concept in the most simple of ways. The video emphasizes that everything is mathematics is "eternal" and "remains forever," this is nothing can be ruled out of mathematics if it has already been correctly proven. Mathematics is a valid subject that leaves little room for disagreement on proven topics. That is what makes it such a beautiful subject. This video is a discussion between real mathematicians who have devoted their lives to the subject and they bring the argument that mathematics is beautiful across well.

This video intertwines with the book so well because of the nature of mathematics. The video is about the ever-expanding complexity of numbers and this topic is touched on quite a bit in the book. Daphne is always questioning the validity of mathematics and even is convinced that certain concepts are lies, such as imaginary numbers and negative numbers. The video explains the validity of mathematics and this is also explained to a lesser extent to Daphne by a mathematician in Lexicon.

**"[|Ivan's Number Blog]." //Tumblr//****.**

This website resource is one that is directly related to the book as it is a fictional blog created from the perspective of the mathematically-oriented character, Ivan, from the book. The blog is located on Tumblr and has several posts. The posts are math questions that are relatable to real life situations and are advantageous for teachers. The questions cover a variety of topics covered in the classroom and are fun and interactive for students. It is a good resource to use to get students interested in math.

This is a good source to have around when you are looking for example problems to give to students. This is also a good website to tell students about so they can explore other areas of mathematics on their own in a structure way. The problems on this blog are relevant to math classroom topics but also real life problems. The only drawback to this resource is that it does not come with an answer key.

This resources ties into the book very easily as it is purely based on the book. The blog is written from the perspective of one of the main characters in the book, so it is automatically relatable to the book. There are additional ways that the blog is relevant to the book though, for example, there are situations and problems similar to those in the book on the blog. Also, the problems can be solved using the same thought process that Ivan uses in the book. This blog is dependent upon the book and therefore is an important resource to have when reading the book.

**Riddle, Larry. "[|Women's History: Women in Mathematics]." //AP Central//****. College Board.**

This is a college preparation website that is a valuable resource to keep around. It covers several female mathematicians, from Maria Gaetana Agnesi to Gloria Hewitt respectively by timeline. It contains short biographies of six famous female mathematicians. The biographies include the women's careers and their contributions to the mathematical world. The website also gives more links to other websites on famous female mathematicians.

Having a resource like this around is useful for several reasons. Our society today is still cursed with the stereotype that females do not belong in the mathematics world or have difficulties understanding mathematical concepts. Having some basic knowledge on female mathematicians is valuable for classroom use. Also knowing that there have been women who have helped in the advancement of mathematics is essential because then you as a teacher will not give off the impression that you believe in the stereotype.

The book relates well to this resource as it is a common theme in the book that it is a belief that females cannot do math. In fact, in one town it is illegal, and in another a seamstress cannot properly measure the lengths needed to make clothes because she cannot understand the concept of measurement and simple mathematics. This subject is touched on a lot throughout the book and this source shows that females can clearly do math as they are part of the reason we are so advanced in mathematics. The knowledge that women have the ability to do math is vital for teaching and for the understanding that the stereotype is only being portrayed in the book and it not actually a real thing.