Monday 4 October 2010

Thwarting world supremacy through mathematics....Villainy Maths

Ever wanted to work as a secret agent? To stop a criminal mastermind from taking over the world – one fast food restaurant at a time? Then the Villiany Inc site is for you. Introduce your students to AVU: thwarting world supremacy through mathematics. :)

Villainy Inc, an innovative site for middle grade mathematics students. The site contains activities that explore statistics and probability, algebra, geometry, decimals, percents, negative numbers, and more. In addition, they have added reading supports to ensure that all readers can access the content.

But what is Villiany Inc all about?

Villainy, Inc. Basics

In Villainy, Inc., the user becomes a secret agent working to foil Dr. Wick, ID's plans to overtake the world. The secret agents infiltrate Wick's headquarters in each mission, working under secret orders from the 
Anti Villainy Unit (or AVU).

Villainy, Inc is an animated story about Dr. Eugene Wick, ID, and his sidekick Platypus. Wick and “Platy” have ridiculously goofy plans to take over the world. For example, in Mission 1, Wick wants to turn the Gulf of Mexico into a golf course.

Your students will take on the role of an advisor to Dr. Wick’s company, Villainy, Inc. Outwardly, they seem to go along with Wick’s schemes. But, secretly, they are really working with the Anti-Villainy Unit (the AVU) as double agents, using their math skills to make sure Wick never succeeds.

Each story offers tongue-in-cheek dialogue along with comical animated characters and scenes that set the stage for mathematical success.

The site is extremely well done with colourful animations and fast streaming videos and sounds. Students of varying reading levels are catered for, and they can turn on (or off) the subtitles to the videos. The student tasks are well set out, and teachers can view all concepts being covered through the teachers section.

Need an in-depth guide to the Missions? Our Mission Teacher’s Editions have everything you need — story synopsis, explanations, scripts, vocabulary lists, answer keys, and other web resources. They offer in-depth information about each activity in the Mission, the tools used, the helpers’ advice, and what you or your students should notice on-screen as your students work.

Design features that support readers:
  • The animation is closed captioned and narrated for students to develop fluency as they read along silently.
  • The prose is clear and written in a style that middle school students can easily read.
  • Animations are appealing and engaging.
  • The size/style of the font and amount of print on a page are accessible and motivating.
  • Graphical information (cities on a map, for example) offer additional information via pop-up feature for easy reading.
Cross-curricular possibility
Invite a language arts colleague to read the Mission scripts ahead of time with students. The better the students understand the plot, the more they can focus on the math. Scripts are included in our Mission Teacher's Editions. 

Printable worksheets are available to introduce, record, and extend the mathematical learning in each Mission's activities. 
  adapted from Ideasfor teachers

For MORE great Maths games visit:

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