Category Archives for Holidays and Annual Events
Investigations that relate to regular annual events.
Triple Crown
Joel Rosario riding Orb May 18th will be the running of the Preakness thoroughbred horse race. The Preakness is the second race of the Triple Crown. Hopefully we’ll see the horse, Orb, win the Preakness and get a chance to run for … Continue reading
How much do we spend for Mother’s Day?
Use the Mother’s Day event to engage your students in approximating, reasoning, and investigating. Brian has asked students to estimate how much is spent in the United States for Mother’s Day. There’s a lot to consider and that’s exactly what … Continue reading
Thank your mother and father for all of those diapers.
Which is a better deal, cloth or disposable diapers? How much did you cost your parents in diapers? In the future how much could your kid’s diapers cost? It’s time to celebrate Mother’s Day and then Father’s Day. Help students … Continue reading
The Blue Marble
This video was produced by the Overview Institute to explain the effect of seeing the Earth from space. From space the Earth is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished … Continue reading
Patriots’ Day
Monday, April 15th is the official holiday this year to remember the Battles of Lexington and Concord that began the Revolutionary War 238 years ago in 1775. (The actual date was April 19th, 1775) Both Paul Revere and the British … Continue reading
Season 12, American Idol
Let your student study American Idol viewing figures over the last eleven seasons. Students compare historical season premier and season finale audience size in several different ways to determine which event has had higher viewership. They consider outliers and judge … Continue reading
Foil Prank
Robert Kaplinsky kindly contributed this post. We think it would make a great April Fools day activity. Check out his site for more great lesson ideas. Watch this movie with your class: foil_prank The Challenge(s) How much does it cost to … Continue reading
Peeps
How many Peeps are sold at Easter time each year? Check out our Peeps math activity here. Treat your students to some authentic and delicious math as they estimate, consider reasonability, determine necessary info, problem solve and conduct random samplings. The activity, … Continue reading
Passover Macaroons
Passover begins this year on Monday evening, March 25th, with a Passover seder dinner. Passover is one of the three high holidays in the Jewish religion and celebrates the Exodus of Jews from slavery in Egypt. Let your students review … Continue reading
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
Shamrock Shake
For Saint Patrick’s Day add a little nutrition math to your celebration. In this post we look at calories, carbohydrates, sugars, fats, and proteins to decide what would be left for our day’s meal allotment after we had lunch and … 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
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
Chocolates
Valentine’s Day is here again and that means candies and chocolate. In this activity students approximate the volume (through finding surface area) of three different pieces of chocolate. The chocolates are shaped like a heart, a bat (for Halloween) and … Continue reading
