Strengths and Weaknesses of "Dividing by Zero"

Strengths:
- The activity was fresh, interesting, and different
- It allows a person to explore their creative side and makes one realize that math does not mean LIMITED by numbers!
- It gives a chance for one to delve and try to understand why dividing by zero is an area that no one want to step into from a different perspective
- It gives a chance for a student to explore in a fun way

Weakness:
- If we choose a word that has a different meaning in a mathematical context, it may make it more confusing for a student.
- It may not be really relevant in mathematics and there is a chance that nothing is learned or gained from it. It's just a "hoop to jump through", leading to a student that is fixed minded
- It could make a student that is not interested in poetry discouraged when they expect to be learning "math"

Interesting:
- I first realized that Math and poetry can bode well in a Harold and Kumar film...

I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three

The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three

As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands

Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed

- Asides from poetry, I want to try and mix different subjects with mathematics! (Like BIOLOGY. =) )

Divide, Zero, Dividing by Zero

DIVIDE

When one says the word DIVIDE, a series of random words flash through my head. Divide, as in using simple arithmetic with calculators. Divide means math. Divide means fractions. Divide makes one thinks of splitting pie into EQUAL PARTS. Divide also means to share things EQUALLY and fairly. At the same time, the word DIVIDE makes me think of an argument. Arguments between families, arguments due to language barriers, a space and gap between nations causes divides. Is division the opposite of multiplication? Grouping things into groups and finding the number of groups- "divide yourself into groups". Divide and conquer- what does that mean?

ZERO

Zero. Absolute ZERO. Nothingness. A vacuum. Zero = 0 = a nice round number~ A nice round number that has nothing IN it, it's empty inside that circle. Maybe that's why the notation 0 is zero? Zero. Coke zero. What is coke zero? Is it truly possible to eat something with ZERO calories? Is there a catch to this? Zero. Nothing... Does it mean that the number zero has no meaning to it? Do kids understand the concept of ZERO? Of NOTHING? Nothing we've experienced has really had NOTHING in it... except for in a vacuum. The word ZERO. Also a character's name in a Japanese anime. Why was he named as ZERO? What significance did it have? On the number line, zero isn't a positive. Nor is it a negative. It's stuck right in the middle. What is dividing by zero mean? Would there ever be a scenario that you would want to add or subtract by zero? Zero is such a SAD number. Zero is a WHOLE number, but not a natural number. Is it not found in nature? Zero. What a nice round number for a number that is EMPTY~

DIVIDING BY ZERO

You want to split something by nothing?
No! Don't you even dare dream of it.
It's ludicrous, it's blasphemy, it's absolute catastrophe!
Chaos and confusion, that's what it will do.
Dividing by zero- are you absurdly insane?

ONE pie, split among two,
Split it into halves and each get a part.
ONE pie, split it among one,
Then the person gets a whole pie to themselves.
ONE pie, split among ZERO...
How can you split a pie with nobody there?

Thinking about it makes my head pound and hurt.
So don't EVER waltz into that gray area.
Don't dare dream about dividing by zero.
It's just simply utterly impossible.

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Here is the first free write with the word DIVIDE:

Divide, division. Wars- splitting up. What causes a divide? And argument and disagreements. There can also be physical divides- divides like being divided across an ocean. Divide = PIE. How many ways can you split a pie up into different pieces? Divide- the OPPOSITE of multiplication? Like add is "opposite" to minus. Divide... a fraction. Divide, a line with two dots, one on top, one on the bottom. Having a divide is a sad sad thing. A dividor would keep a person very organized! Eight divided by two, how many groups of two can fit into 8? Divide also makes me think of cliques and groups with language barriers.

Here's the second free write with the word ZERO:

Zero. Coke zero. Does that mean there is zero calories? Is it possible to have zero- absolutely NOTHING? Is there any possible way to have nothing? You'll still end up with air... except in a vacuum. Zero. A number in the "middle" of the number line, not a negative, not a positive. Just stuck there. Zero- is it written like 0 because there is a WHOLE in the middle with nothing in it? Zero, such a sad sad number~ All lonely, no one to hear. Nothingness. Zero, why are there main characters in anime where the hero is known as Zero? Is there a special significance around it? Zero is a WHOLE number, but it's not a NATURAL number. Why is it not a natural number- do you not find nothing in nature? Zero is funny number since x^0= 1. And anything times zero is zero. Zero- such a funny word to say, yet, it is a word that makes me feel sad, alone and empty~