Hi,
After several years of doing an Elementary School Math Club, I'm switching to the Middle School level. I was curious if anyone else here is running one for 6th-8th graders? Right now, I'm trying to decide on the focus and structure going forward. The big existential question is whether to continue running like a math circle with occasional contests like AMC or MathCounts or to adopt a new format. There's the pre-canned MathCounts material but that doesn't thrill me much. Other questions I've been pondering:
* Will the kids be more focused because they are a few years older, or less because they're teenagers?
* Could I get them to research and present on a short topic or would that be too large of a commitment.
* How long of a problem set will they typically sit for before losing focus?
* I've used candy (rather shamelessly) to reward kids for bringing back completed problems of the week. Is that appropriate for older kids?
* Generally what's the best approach if I get a large skill range: it could be as wide as Math 6 to Algebra II.
Thanks