The middle of April is a busy and interesting time. We have 6 timely activities to try in your classes.
Tax time, Patriots Day, Boston Marathon
Tag: 6.SP
March Equinox – big deal? … and 5 more Spring activities
Brand new! What’s with the March Equinox? Does it really affect our lives? Is it just some astronomical occurrence? Students calculate the daylight hours at the March Equinox by time between longest and shortest days. They examine the progression of…
Just some March Madness math
This is the first of several activities about March Madness. Figuring percents, bar graphs, trends, big numbers, and probability.
Mardi Gras and Presidents’ Day
How much are US presidents paid? Step graph. Fair?
Mardi Gras, meaning, parades, beads, value, cost, reuse, environment.
Typical Super Bowl scores
In this activity students study historical Super Bowl data to reflect on average (mean, median, and mode), losing scores, winning scores, and range of scores. They are asked to judge which of these central measurements seem the most meaningful and explain their reasoning.
Median age of country populations
The median age of countries is used to predict the future needs of each country. What are the ramifications of a predominately young population or a predominantly older population, Why do scientists use the median measurement to study this?
Big bucks 2023
Huge sports contracts! We often hear about big player contracts. Who makes the most per year? Per game? What sports?
Before the holidays (16 activities)
We have tons (well, 16) of activities to bring to your class in this last week before the holiday break. Movies, science, art, cooking, economics, weather and the logic of calendars. Enjoy!
Three Hanukkah activities
Three great activities to play and learn about Hanukkah. Soda displays, Hebrew calendar, and relating two recipes for their healthiness.
Lots of Cranberries
In this activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics.
Do teams that spend a lot win a lot?
In this activity students compare team wins with team salaries in the four major North American sports … the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL. Students use data from recent seasons to create scatter plots comparing wins and salaries for each sport
Should I buy a gasoline, hybrid, or electric car
Should you buy a hybrid or an electric car to save money and the planet? Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years of ownership. They then work with systems of equations to…
NBA Finals 2022
A little sports history and data analysis through the context of NBA Finals math! In this activity students consider scatter plots, circle graphs, bar graphs, Venn Diagrams and the concept of mean.
The odds of horse race betting
Rich Strike surprised everyone at the Kentucky Derby horse race in early May by moving from 18th place at the half-way mark (out of 20 horses) to winning the race. Churchill Downs, the track in Kentucky where the race took place, paid out $81 for every dollar that was bet for Rich Strike to win. How do they figure that?
Who has the greatest Men’s March Madness program?
The Kansas Jayhawks just won the finals of this year’s March Madness tournament. Which NCAA teams have had the best basketball programs over the years. Students decide which stats count towards the “Greatest March Madness Program”.