Holiday Shipping

Now that the holiday shopping season has begun, it's time to get the packages to your homes. Two big companies take care of a lot of that shipping. How do they manage that? Did you ever wonder how they pull it off? What are the numbers like? Students will look into real data (updated in 2025!) from the two companies to estimate holiday shipping volumes and analyze the numbers behind on-time deliveries and delays during this busy time. 

Teachers might start this lesson by asking students if they've shopped online for the holidays, & to predict what percent of holiday gifts are delivered on time and what percent are not.

📝Suitable for Grades 5–8. Younger students can focus on estimating, while older students can dive deeper into reasoning; See the teaching tips in the solutions
⏰ Min. 30 minutes