Category Archives for Algebra
These posts help students see patterns and relationships.
Green, green river
During the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago, the local plumbers union dyes the Chicago River emerald green. Students learn what PPM (parts per million) means and attempt to figure out how much dye is used to sufficiently color the … Continue reading
Pi day and more pi activities
Thursday is pi day (3.14) and we have tons of math activities and tasks to engage your students. Check out our pi day post which includes several pi explorations. You might also consider some of these timeless yummymath tasks that let students … Continue reading
3.14@1:59:26 = Happy Pi day
March 14th is almost here. Celebrate π in your school and in your math class with activities that demonstrate how π was derived; show a surprising place where π is used; increase students ability to measure and long divide; applauds the … Continue reading
Iditarod race
On Sunday, March 3rd, the incredible endurance Iditarod race began officially in Anchorage and then restarted in Willow, Alaska. There is so much mathematics in this race that our activity feels totally insufficient. But, perhaps the activity will raise interest … Continue reading
Cruising
There have been a lot of cruise ship mishaps and disasters this year. While these are in the news, let your students consider how these floating cities manage their resources and which of their needs are precarious as they calculate … Continue reading
How much will movie tickets cost?
We’ve recently updated this activity and thought that we should mention it again. In this investigation, Brian looks at the changes in movie ticket prices over the last 30 years. Using his scatter plot (or his data) students analyze rates of … Continue reading
Oscars 2013
Students develop their own ideas about compounded percent change while they have the opportunity to speak about the upcoming Academy Awards show. Worldwide box office income is compared for the top ten grossing movies of all time. Is total gross … Continue reading
Snow Days
Here are some pictures from a recent snowfall at my house. It snowed for 23 hours and we ended up with two snow days (no school). Using the pictures in the slide show make a prediction as to how many … Continue reading
Presidents’ Day 2013
Monday, February 18th, is Presidents Day. We honor presidents, veterans, purple heart recipients and sell cars. Is there more to Presidents Day? Students can learn a little of the history of the day while they check out how much various … Continue reading
Fat Tuesday – Mardi Gras
Tuesday will be the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the season of Lent. Mardi Gras is the last hoorah and is celebrated throughout the world with feasting, partying, and general indulgence. In New Orleans revelers throw and … Continue reading
Super Bowl and NFL posts
Use the Super Bowl and Football hype to motivate your students with one of our activities. Just click on any of the green links to go to that activity & post. 4th down – Use data to analyze whether to … Continue reading
How have Super Bowl ads changed?
Here’s one more Super Bowl analysis to motivate your students: 4 million dollars for 30 seconds of ad time. That is how much a 30-second commercial costs during the 2013 Super Bowl. Wonder how much it will be in the … Continue reading
Typical Super Bowl scores 2013
The Super Bowl is coming up! Are you planning to share a prediction for the score of the big game? Don’t leave it all to chance, use math to help you get a better idea of what to expect for … Continue reading
4th Down
It’s 4th down. Should you go for it? Punt? Kick a field goal? Instead of using your gut, use research, data and math to make the right call … The graph below gives the recommended option for 4th down situations … Continue reading
Big Burger 2013
Time to treat the kids to ratios, proportions, fractions and big burgers! In this activity students explore ratio of the different ingredients in the world’s largest burger. They then apply this ratio of ingredients to other giant burgers. This is … Continue reading
