Nike’s latest bet

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Nike has just chosen a surprising person to represent the 30th anniversary of their slogan, "Just Do It".  Colin Kaepernick, past quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, has been a subject of controversy since 2016 when he "took a knee" during the National Anthem at the start of his NFL games. Colin was protesting racial injustice in the United States.

In an attempt to dscover how this controversial choice might affect Nike's business, Darren Rovelle, a sports business analyst, hosted a Twitter poll.

This activity is about the viability of that poll.  What is required to produce a meaningful poll?

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Monarchs are flying south again

In mid-August and early September, the Monarch butterflies begin their annual migration south to more moderate climates to hibernate and overwinter.  It is an incredibly long migration and fascinating to observe.  But, the populations data on Monarchs has seriously changed and apparently students and conservation groups can help the butterflies to be successful in their journey.

In this activity students read charts, do a little research, and make observations about the decline and resurgence of Monarchs.

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Labor Day 2018

In this short activity, students learn the meaning and history of Labor Day as they look for patterns emerging from the Labor Day dates over the past years. Students then use those observed patterns to predict future dates of the holiday.

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But it didn’t sell?

A&W offered a bigger, tastier burger but it didn't succeed in grabbing customers away from the hugely popular McDonald's quarter pounder. The A&W third pounder hamburger cost the same as McDonald's quarter pound burger but customers still didn't bite. Studies found that Americans thought that one-third of a pound contained less meat than a quarter of a pound. Wow!

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How much does it cost to send you back to school?

School-gear

Back to school spending is huge and students might not appreciate what it costs to send them back to, essentially, their job of learning.  In this activity students decide what equipment and supplies are necessary, estimate how much that will all cost, confer with groups or partners to refine their lists, and then research to find out more accurately how much it will probably cost to send them back to school.  This activity could be used for students in upper elementary school all the way to high school.  It offers an opportunity for kids to get estimating, researching, reasoning, calculating and communication skills honed for the coming year.

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