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 we’ve passed the darkest day, how will daylight hours change … gradually, linearly, suddenly? Time differences, patterns, play with cool online simulator.
Why would anyone need such a big roll of toilet paper? How does it compare to Charmin’s other toilet paper products? If this roll lasts for one month, how big a roll would I need to be able to last for one year?
On Veterans Day we honor the men and women that have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. As of the the 2010 Census, there are 18.8 million living veterans. We found these maps that show where veterans…
Use our updated data on Halloween spending in America to engage your students in an analysis of the ratios and percents of population, participation, and money spent in honor of October 31st. This activity takes kids through finding parts of wholes as well as ratio, percents and proportion problems.
Updated! Students look at the past and present populations of the U.S. and the past and present population of school attendees to calculate the percentage of the population that are enrolled in K-12 schools. They are asked to draw conclusions…
On Friday, June 21st, at 11:54 am EDT, 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…
Presidents Day is also about car sales. Should you buy a hybrid car or an electric car to save money? What about the environmental considerations? Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years…
Catching a productive meteor shower can be a stunning experience. On the evenings and mornings of August 11th and 12th there could be a very good show. A nearly new moon will leave the night sky dark. Depending on the…
This is part II of our reflections on the World Cup games. Part I, World Cup rankings, explained and let students practice with the formula and weighting that is used to establish each country’s team rank. This second activity deals with…
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…
Scoring Ski jumping – The scoring rubric for each of the Olympic events is intended to eliminate the possibility of scoring bias from the judges. Let your students learn more about the scoring of one event and decide whether it seems fair…
On October 24, 2017, the Olympic flame was captured on Mount Olympus, Greece. (Lighting the Olympic Torch). That flame lit one of this year’s Olympic Torches and the Torch relay was begun on its way to the opening Winter Olympic…
With the start of summer and wonderful outdoor activities, it might be good to examine the growth of Lyme disease occurrences in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published maps for all of the…
Powerball and MegaMillion jackpots are growing all the time. Having a terrible chance of winning half a billion dollars might be a context that engages your students. Examine compound probability to decide if playing Powerball is worth it. As part…
