On Thursday, June 21st, at 06:07 am EST, the Earth’s North Pole will be tilted as far towards the Sun as it will ever be in the year. This marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and…
The longest day
Category: Holidays and Annual Events
Investigations that relate to regular annual events.
Celebrate Father’s Day
Thank you 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? Help…
What are the odds that Justify can win the Triple Crown?
Justify has won the Triple Crown. He’s the 13th horse to ever win all three races … Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. Amazing! How do you calculate compound probability? Skip the betting odds and deal only with the…
Mother’s Day is coming up
Mother’s Day by the numbers – Mother’s Day is right around the corner and this means big business for the greeting card and floral industries. Let your students practice averages, percents, and large numbers while they analyze the statistics on Mother’s…
NFL Draft picks
Every spring, roughly 250 college football players are drafted by NFL teams through the NFL draft. Team rosters, careers, and multi-million dollar contracts are on the line … This is one of the biggest days of a football players life.…
Earth Day, 2018 – 12 activities
Sunday, April 22nd is Earth Day – There is so much to bring to your classroom to support recycling, conserving resources, studying climate change and protecting our planet. Have you seen more Monarch butterflies lately? – Students read charts, do a little research, and make observations…
Passover, Easter, and April Fools day – 10 Activities
April Fools Day ideas – We have two strange mathematical riddles to decipher; a “why does this work?” task using the Ghost Whisperer; and Robert Kaplinsky’s Foil Prank. Take your choice! MP.1, MP3,4.OA, 5.G, 8.EE, 8.SP Peeps – Students estimate the number of Peeps sold…
Saint Patrick’s Day
Green, green river – They’re doing it again. In Chicago, the local plumbers union “dye” the Chicago River emerald green. Students learn the meaning of PPM (parts per million) and attempt to figure out how much dye is used to sufficiently…
Pi Day is almost here!
6 possible activities! Celebrate π in your school and in your math class with activities that demonstrate how π was derived; visually show why π makes sense; show a surprising place where π is used; increase students ability to measure and long divide; applauds…
Movies and the upcoming Oscars
We have 11 activities for your Oscar week. Highest Grossing Movies – Let your 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…
Big Air snowboarding
Graphic generously supplied by GraphicNews.com Starting February 18th a new Olympic sport will be televised … Big Air Snowboarding. Some of your students may be officianados of snowboarding. Using this activity could be an opportunity to let those students shine.…
Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year
Which Sweet Heart candies are the best deal? – Students decide which quantity of Sweet Heart candies is the best deal. Ratio tables, unit ratios, devising convincing arguments. 6.RP.2, 6.RP.3, 7.RP.2 Sweetheart Candies – unit rate and ratio activity using those little candy…
Lunar New Year, 2018
Year of the wood dog Lunar New Year begins on Friday, February 16th. This will be the year of the Wood Dog. The year name is a combination of 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches creating a sequence of…
Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday
Tuesday, February 13, 2018, will be the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the season of Lent. Mardi Gras is a last hoorah and is celebrated throughout the world with feasting, partying, and general indulgence. In New Orleans…
Super Bowl ads and scientific notation
The Super Bowl is over now and all of the ads have been seen. Let your students revisit and reflect on the interesting commercials with this scientific notation activity. Newton teacher, Matt Timmins gave us this timely activity which would…