Students appreciate how their latitude effects the darkness of their late afternoon location as they study the earth's tilt and the logic of daylight hours. Is latitude the central angle of the Earth?
The activity: winter-solstice2019.pdf
How much snow is that?
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Start out this activity with: What do you notice? What do you wonder?
How many inches of snow produced that pile? How much snow in volume is on top of the car? How much could that snow weigh?
Students try to approximate the weight of the snow by using our snow water equivalent percents (SWE) and their own thoughts about how dense this snow might be. When they've calculated a weight or range of weights, we try to decide whether the car should have been flattened by all of that snow. Wicked fun! Is this even possible or was this picture photoshopped?
The Forever Roll
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That's a big roll of toilet paper! Why would anyone need such a big roll of toilet paper? How does it compare to Charmin's other toilet paper products? If this roll lasts for one month, how big a roll would I need to be able to last for one year? Why did Charmin make this product? Will it sell?
The activity: TheForeverRoll.pdf
Thanksgiving, football, Black Friday, and giving (11 activities)
Macy's new balloons - Students measure Macys's new balloons in handler-height, taxicab widths, stories tall, and bicycles long. 5.MD, 6.RP.A, 6.SP, 7.RP, 7.G.A, 7.G.B, 8.G
Not enough mashed potatoes - Use Brian's famous mashed potatoes recipe to practice changing decimals to fractions; calculating ingredient measure for various-sized Thanksgiving gatherings; have students explain their reasoning; and to have students figure out how many servings 7½ pounds of potatoes would make. 5.NF.6 , 5.NF.6 , 6.RP.1 , 6.RP.2 , 6. RP.3 , 7.RP.1
Black Friday deals
When shopping next Friday, students will be able to add some understanding and analysis to the trip after calculating savings in dollars and percents with this timely investigation.
How should I cook my turkey?
Should I oven bake it, deep fry it or barbecue and smoke it? When do I have to wake up to begin preparations? How long will the cooking take? How much will it cost? How many can I feed? Will there be enough mashed potatoes? I feel panic coming on!
The activity: TurkeyDinner2019.pdf