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…
Brian went to Crete and took a picture of this sign. What do you suppose he’s going to ask next? Yep. “How much will 6 loungers and 2 umbrellas cost?” And more … Systems begin. rent-beach-stuff.pdf
No joke. Saturday was National S’more Day. Thanks to Maggie Hefferman, Newton, MA educator, for the idea of this post. To help you celebrate this strange new holiday, we’ve asked students to do a little math to help quantify…
Math doesn’t usually create a buzz on Twitter. This past week this post did just that. People argued online about whether the answer was 16 or 1 and proceeded to insult each other’s intelligence in doing so. Use our write-up…
If you have a set of cubes for your classroom, this would make a great group hands-on project. Its an old puzzle but the activity deserves a revisit. Below are two straight-on images of my stack of blocks. Can you…
We recently watched the approach of Hurricane Barry and worried about the fate of Louisiana. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, what would another powerful hurricane do to this fragile state? What is it about Louisiana that causes so much…
Worldwide Nike supports many teams and athletes. They design, manufacture, and supply gear for almost every sport imaginable. How much are those give-aways worth? Is the company going to go broke? Probably not. Nike is huge. In this activity we…
Flag of the United States from 1777 to 1795. In honor of Independence Day we thought it would be fun to look at one story about the first American Flag. The rough design of the flag was drawn by a…
Act One: Check out this beach towel! What do you wonder? What would you like to know? Miami artist, Misael Soto (pictured on the left below), created this giant art project to make a statement about people sharing territory at the beach.…
After chlorination, it has been hard to measure the quantity of pollutants in pool water. A Canadian chemist, Xing-Fang Li, has found a marker for urine that chlorine doesn’t disguise. In this activity, students calculate volume of several pools, change that…
Revised! We’re watching another Stanley Cup playoff now. Will there be any really long games during the playoffs? In 2013, a Stanley Cup playoff match between the Bruins and Blackhawks went into 3 overtimes. People stayed up way too late…
This Monday Americans will celebrate Memorial Day. Who are we honoring? How did the holiday come about? Isn’t Memorial Day usually on May 30th? Students learn a little about the history of the holiday, analyze the possibilities and patterns for when…
As outdoor activities get into full swing and the temperatures rise, it might be a good time to look at hydration. A healthy requirement for fluids can’t really be the same for everyone. Surely the amount of water that you…
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…
My dog, Jorge, has just turned 14 years old. He still seems like a puppy to me but I wonder how old he is when compared to a human’s age. He’s definitely not like an 98-year old human (14 years…
