A man from Georgia, Andreas Flaten, finally received his last paycheck from his disgruntled employer. He had been owed that last check for several months and was having difficulty getting his former employer to pay. One morning he found a pile of dirty, oil-covered pennies at the end of his driveway. His past employer had at last met his obligation to Mr. Flaten but in a mean way.
In this 3-act activity, students learn about the story, watch a PowerPoint presentation about the issue and the details of the penny episode. Then they try to reason how much money Mr. Flaten was owed?
Thanks to Maggie Heffernan for the idea for this activity!
The activity as a PowerPoint: How many pennies.pptx
For members we have the activity as a worksheet and our solutions/teaching hints.
GreasyPennies.pdf GreasyPennies-solutions-suggestions.pdf
CCSS: 5.MD.A, 6.RP.A, 7.RP.A