These are notes for a Math Olympiad preparation class for 5-6th grade students.
Before the class:
- No interest? No problem.. bring a book to read
- Eat a snack before class
- Visit the restroom before class
- Bring a pencil (2B), a white eraser, and scratch paper
- Be in the classroom on time
During class:
It is disappointing to not being able to solve a problem in the allotted time; it is even more disappointing to being able to solve it and still get it wrong because of carelessness. Do not let bad habits interfere with your math:
- Do not monkey around; we only have one hour; use it well
- Write down things you find interesting
- Write clearly; we are writing not just for us but for other people that see our work
- Be organized
- understand the problem; read it all before tackling it
- Stuck? Solve a toy version of the problem
- have an expectation of the answer
- do a sanity check
- You got extra time? solve the problem in a different way
- write the answer as a rewording of the question
- Do not scream the answer; we’d be taking away the opportunity of other kids to figure it out on their own
The basic document of Math Olympiads
We will go over the terms early in the year.